Changelog

This archive is a living record. Most research happens in the winter months, when New England work moves indoors. Updates are posted here as they land. Corrections are logged, not hidden.

  1. 18 October 2026

    Home page numbers, computed

    Every count on the home page is now computed from the archive's data: five Mayflower passengers (John Cooke, born about 1607 at Leiden, added), the Mayflower gateway lines and the Franklin relationship. Tristram Coffin emigrated in 1642 and left no record of why; the Nantucket purchase now names the nine purchasers and the twenty proprietors.

  2. 18 October 2026

    Portledge, retold as history

    The Portledge Centuries is now the history of the house and the Coffins of Alwington, with no claim of descent. Tristram Coffin's father, Peter Coffin of Brixton, is proven by his will of 1627; no record names Peter's parents.

  3. 18 October 2026

    Descent charts name Carol Perry Long

    Charts through the Perry, Swift and Wall families now name John's mother, Carol Perry Long, in place of “a living parent.”

  4. 18 October 2026

    Only proven links count

    Moved lineages that rested only on family tradition to the Basement. The family pages now show only links proven by records.

  5. 18 October 2026

    Col. Charles F. Perry Jr.'s service

    His service from the Army and National Guard registers: a private in the Field Artillery in 1917, an officer of the 101st Field Artillery, and a Colonel, Army of the United States, retired 13 July 1947.

  6. 17 October 2026

    Corrected: the Cathcart line

    Removed a Scottish noble ancestry that rested on a FamilySearch tree link no record supports. Robert Cathcart of Tisbury, innkeeper and town clerk, is the real ancestor; his parents are unknown.

  7. 17 October 2026

    Descent charts

    Every person page with a recorded line now shows a chart from that ancestor down to John, one row per generation, with how well each link is documented.

  8. 17 October 2026

    Names linked across the site

    Wherever a name on the site has a person page, it now links to it.

  9. 17 October 2026

    Mentioned on

    Each person page now lists the pages that mention that person.

  10. 17 October 2026

    Isaac Robinson

    New person page: Isaac Robinson.

  11. 17 October 2026

    Corrected: Hannah Coffin's father

    Hannah Coffin's father was John Coffin, not James, as Alexander Starbuck and Allen Coffin both record.

  12. 17 October 2026

    Four stories footnoted

    Four more stories now carry numbered footnotes.

  13. 17 October 2026

    History joins the Stories book

    The History pages are now part of the Stories book: new chapters on the Mayflower, Nantucket whaling and the Annotator's album, Background pages for Nantucket and the Revolution, and an overview. Old History and Battles links forward to their new places.

  14. 17 October 2026

    Two new stories

    Stories: The Countess and the Tower; A Ship Called Pole. Corrected: William Hawkins (d. 1589) was not a knight.

  15. 17 October 2026

    Stories as a book

    Stories are now organized as a book: parts and chapters, in order.

  16. 17 October 2026

    Numbered citations

    New stories carry numbered citations and a bibliography; older pages are being footnoted.

  17. 16 October 2026

    Thirty Pounds and Two Beaver Hats

    Story: Thirty Pounds and Two Beaver Hats, from Dionis Coffin’s beer case to the purchase of Nantucket.

  18. 16 October 2026

    A page for every ancestor

    Added: a page for every ancestor in the archive, linked across the site.

  19. 16 October 2026

    Leroy E. Swift

    Added: the story of Leroy E. Swift, Civil War naval officer, and the family’s Louisiana chapter.

  20. 16 October 2026

    The Swifts in Louisiana

    Added: the Swift family’s Louisiana chapter, 1868-1880, from church, census and marriage records.

  21. 16 October 2026

    Leroy E. Swift: USS Mahaska

    Verified: Leroy E. Swift’s Civil War service as an Acting Ensign aboard USS Mahaska, from Navy and Massachusetts records.

  22. 16 October 2026

    The Swift portrait case

    Sourced: the Swift portrait case, with its inscription transcribed; corrected to a tintype.

  23. 16 October 2026

    Leroy E. Swift: naval service sourced

    Sourced: Leroy E. Swift’s Civil War naval service now cited to the family portrait and inscription; service record still sought.

  24. 16 October 2026

    Leroy E. Swift

    Corrected: Leroy E. Swift’s Civil War service marked as under research pending a primary record.

  25. 16 October 2026

    Early ancestors and the Mayflower

    Corrected: early European ancestors relabeled to match their verified lines; Mayflower passenger generations corrected (Cooke and Warren 12th, Soule 11th).

  26. 16 October 2026

    Generation labels checked

    Corrected: generation labels across the family lines, now checked against the FamilySearch tree on every update.

  27. 16 October 2026

    Twelve ancestors added

    Added: twelve ancestors on the Winter and Warren & Arden lines.

  28. 16 October 2026

    Generation labels corrected

    Corrected: generation labels for Thomas Macy II, Tristram Coffin and Peter Folger (10th great-grandfathers).

  29. 16 October 2026

    Nantucket: Founding Ancestors

    Added: Nantucket founding ancestors table.

  30. 16 October 2026

    The Contents index

    Structure: the Contents index now builds from every ancestor table on the site.

  31. 16 October 2026

    Ten ancestors added

    Added: ten ancestors across the Swift, Warren & Arden, Jenkins and Coogan lines.

  32. 16 October 2026

    Nantucket: The Founding Families

    The Folger-to-Perry families on the founders page, with vital-record and Barney citations. The Foster line enters through Betsey Foster.

  33. 16 October 2026

    Peter Folger & Benjamin Franklin

    Harriett Ann Folger's parents set from the records, and three confirmed routes back to Peter Folger.

  34. 3 October 2026

    Sources & References

    Rhode Island and Westcott sources added, with supplementary Nantucket sources. The bibliography is alphabetized within each category.

  35. 3 October 2026

    Research Log

    Plain-language links to each audit report.

  36. 30 May 2026

    The 17th-Century Upheavals

    How two upheavals of the mid-17th century, the English Civil War in Devon (1640s) and Cromwell's 1654 confiscation in Cork, set both sides of the family in motion, and how four centuries later their descendants converged at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Carol Perry and John Patrick Long met as students in the 1970s.

  37. 24 May 2026

    Notable Ancestors and Cousins

    A directory indexing the documented network of kin: the founding families of Nantucket, four Mayflower passengers, and documented cousins including Benjamin Franklin and Lucretia Coffin Mott, each linked to its proof.

  38. 13 April 2026

    The Coogan Line: Hounds of War

    From the ancient kingdom of Uí Maine in Connacht to the political families of Fall River. Four generations documented, motto: Non metuo. I do not fear.

  39. 9 April 2026

    8 Revolutionary War Battle Pages

    Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Valley Forge, Monmouth, Newport, Yorktown, and more. Documenting every engagement where our ancestors served.

  40. 9 April 2026

    The Liberty Tree

    Our family on both sides of the most famous tree in American history. Nathaniel Coffin Jr. cut it down.

  41. 9 April 2026

    Benjamin Franklin. Our Cousin

    Through the Folger line of Nantucket, a documented cousinship preserved in the family record. The full descent is rendered on his dedicated page.

  42. 9 April 2026

    Current Research

    The active research projects listed on the About page.

  43. 7 April 2026

    DNA Heritage

    23andMe ancestry composition mapped to the documented family lines. Irish 23.6%, British & English 31%, French 0.5%.

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