Fifteen Generations

In a discussion elsewhere I happened to mention that my family was already on the North American continent prior to the Mayflower landing in Plymouth in 1640, and was asked to prove it.  This is what I provided as evidence.

The Butler Line of Descent from Gerard Spencer.

First Generation

Gerard Spencer was born on 20 May 1576 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England and died before 8 Jun 1646 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England.  Gerard married Alice Whitbread, daughter of John Whitbread and Eleanor, on 10 Nov 1600 in Upper Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England. Alice was born about 1578 in Upper Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England. They had five children: John, Thomas, Michael, Gerard, and William.

2nd Generation

William Spencer was born before 11 Oct 1601 in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England.  He traveled to the New World as a colonist in 1630 and died in Hartford, Connecticut in May of 1640 at age 39.  William married Agnes Harris, daughter of Bartholomew Harris and Elizabeth Collamore, about 1633 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Agnes was born before 6 Apr 1604 in Barnstaple, Devon, England and died after 1680 in Hartford, Connecticut. They had three children: Elizabeth, Sarah, and Samuel.

3rd Generation

Sarah Spencer was born about 1635 and died on 3 Nov 1691 in Hartford, Connecticut about age 56.  Sarah married John Case about 1656 in Simsbury, Connecticut.  John died on 21 Feb 1704 in Simsbury, Connecticut. They had five children: Elizabeth, Mary, John, William, and Samuel.

4th Generation

Mary Case was born on 22 Jun 1660 in Windsor, Connecticut and died on 22 Aug 1725 in Simsbury, Connecticut at age 65.  Mary married William Alderman in 1679 in Windsor, Connecticut.  William was born about 1657 and died in 1697 in Farmington, Connecticut about age 40. They had two children: Thomas and William Alderman.

5th Generation

Thomas Alderman was born on 11 Jan 1683 in Simsbury, Connecticut and died in 1715 in Cohansey, New Jersey at age 32.  Thomas married Mary Seagrave on 27 Apr 1702 in East Hampton, Long Island, New York.  They had five children:  Mary, Thomas, William, Daniel, and an Unnamed Infant who did not survive childbirth.

6th Generation

Daniel Alderman was born in 1711 and died before Oct 1785.  Daniel married Abigail Harris, daughter of Nathaniel Harris and Miriam Brooks, in 1740 in Salem County, New Jersey.  Abigail was born on 26 Mar 1720.  They had seven children:  John, Rachel, Mary, Daniel, David, Hannah, and Abigail.

7th Generation

Daniel Alderman was born on 11 Mar 1748 in Deerfields, New Jersey and died on 8 Aug 1824 in Duplin County, North Carolina at age 76.  Daniel married Sarah Newton, daughter of Isaac M. Newton and Jemima Chambers, on 4 Aug 1772 in Duplin County, North Carolina.  Sarah was born on 20 Oct 1757 in Duplin County, NC and died after 1831.  They had eight children: Jemima, David, Rachel, Sarah, Isaac, Mary, Elisha, and Elizabeth.

8th Generation

Sarah Alderman was born on 7 Jan 1782 in Duplin NC and died before 1830.  Sarah married James Newton (her second cousin), son of Jacob Newton and Lois Jones,.  James was born about 1777 in NC and died after 1850 in FL.  They had three children: Martha, Hannah Carolyn, and Jane.

9th Generation

Hannah Carolyn Newton was born on 17 February May 1821 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina and died on 26 Dec 1875 in Calhoun County, Florida at age 54.  Hannah married Ennis Pippin, son of Solomon Pippin III and Milley, as his 2nd wife, on 2 Oct 1841 in Thomas County, Georgia.  Ennis was born on 10 Apr 1810 in Edgecombe County, North Carolina and died on 10 Aug 1892 in Clarksville, Calhoun County, Florida at age 82.  They had 14 children: Daniel Marian, Nathaniel Amos, Nancy Julia, Mary Elizabeth, John B., Amanda Jane, William Ennis, Marrie Nathan, Bennet Washington Pate, Solomon, Martha, Milly Jane, Adah Susan, and Hannah Carolyn.

10th Generation

Mary Elizabeth Pippen was born on 23 Dec 1847 in Calhoun County, Florida, and died on 10 Dec 1925 in Altha, Florida at age 77.  Mary married John Butler, son of William Butler and Ann, on 30 May 1865 in Calhoun County, Florida.  John was born about 1841 in Georgia (his exact time and place of birth is unrecorded) and died on 17 Aug 1899 in Jackson County, Florida at about age 58.  They had 12 children:  Mary Elizabeth, William Ennis, Mary Ann, Hannah, Nancy K., Amanda, John Franklin, Lucy, James Henry, Lovie, Daniel Amos, and Jessie.

11th Generation

John Franklin Butler was born on 20 Feb 1878 in Calhoun County, Florida, and died on 1 Jul 1934 in Orlando, Florida at age 56.  John married Nancy Ann Porter, daughter of William T. Porter and Francis (Fannie) G. Worthington, on 3 Jan 1903 in Jackson County, Florida.  Nancy was born on 10 Aug 1887 in Jackson County, Florida and died on 18 Mar 1943 in Orlando, Florida at age 55.  They had nine children: Matthew Franklin, Parilee, Charles Cartes, William Bertie, Lavada, Rosetta, Vernon Sylvester, Annie Lucille, and an unnamed Baby Girl who did not survive childbirth.

12th Generation

Vernon Sylvester Butler was born in Altha, Calhoun County, Florida on 5 March 1922, and died in Orlando, Florida in 1986.  Vernon married Vinnie Pearl Helms, daughter of Alto Lee Helms and Callie Vedora Campbell, in Orlando, Florida.  Vinnie Pearl was born in Tangerine, Orange, Florida on January 22, 1927 and died in Apopka, Florida in 2011.  They had four children:  Jack V., Patricia, Sandra, and Charles.

13th Generation

Jack V. Butler was born.  Jack married Cheryl Elaine Macfarlane, daughter of Thomas Graham Macfarlane and Ruth Elaine Pinkerton.  They had three children: Jack V. Jr., Aaron and Nathan.

14th Generation

Jack V. Butler, Jr. was born.

Which makes my children the fifteenth generation since Gerard Spencer.  William Spencer, Gerard's son, was the earliest European ancestor I have to live in North America.  And he was here before the Mayflower landed in 1640.