Great Migration Study Project facts for kids

The Great Migration Study Project is a big research project. It aims to create short life stories for everyone who moved from Europe to New England between 1620 and 1640. This time is known as the Puritan Great Migration.

More than 5,000 people are included in this study. This number does not count their wives and children. Most of these settlers came from England. A few came after living in the Netherlands for a short time.

The project is led by Robert Charles Anderson. It works with the New England Historic Genealogical Society. This important work has been going on since 1988.

What is the Great Migration Study Project?

The Great Migration Study Project is like a huge detective mission. Its goal is to learn about the first European settlers in New England. These settlers arrived between 1620 and 1640. This period is often called the "Great Migration."

The project creates short biographies for each person. These biographies tell us who they were and where they came from. Most of these early settlers were from England.

Why Study Early Settlers?

Learning about these early settlers helps us understand history. It shows us how the first towns in America were built. It also helps us learn about the challenges they faced. This project helps people trace their family history too. It connects them to these important early Americans.

How the Project Works

Researchers for the project look at many old documents. They study church records, land deeds, and old letters. They also look at court papers from the 1600s. All this information helps them build a picture of each person's life. They want to know where people lived, who their families were, and what they did.

Books and Resources from the Project

The Great Migration Study Project has published many books. These books share all the information they have found. They are a great resource for anyone interested in early American history.

• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633: This set of three books covers the first group of settlers. It describes over 900 early New England families.
• The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634–1635: This series has seven books. It focuses on people who arrived in these two years. About 1,300 families or single people came during this time.
• The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony: This book is about the settlers of Plymouth Colony. It includes people who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. It covers those who lived there until 1633.
• The Winthrop Fleet: Massachusetts Bay Company immigrants to New England, 1629-1630: This book tells the stories of immigrants who came with the Winthrop Fleet. They settled near Boston during the first year of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
• The great migration directory: immigrants to New England, 1620-1640: This book is a list of all known immigrants from the entire project period. It tells you when they arrived and where they first lived. It also lists their origin in England, if known.
• The Great Migration Newsletter: This book combines all the newsletters published from 1990 to 2016. It has articles that add more details to the individual life stories. It also talks about topics like how towns were settled and old passenger lists.
• Puritan pedigrees: the deep roots of the great migration to New England: This book looks at the Puritan ministers who led the migration. It shows their family connections in England.
• Great Migration Parish Map: This is an online map. It shows the original parishes (church areas) in England where many settlers came from. You can find it at americanancestors.org/parishmap.