Baldwin Landing at Ticonderoga - Lake George NY

Hello, Blog-friends. Though I began this post in good old Torrington where I live, I will likely see it polished and posted tonight from the cottage where I am making my latest stay here in Lake George, New York, on a family vacation. If all has gone to plan, my grandmother is here with us and we expect to see my brother and his family tomorrow for a second day of vacation fun.

Famous Cousins #2 - Alec Baldwin + Baldwin Brothers

Alec Baldwin

And the Other Ones

And now its time to look at another famous cousin!

This guy's name is Alec Baldwin. Finally, when people see that your last name is Baldwin on a form or medical sheet and inevitably, incessantly, invariably ask you, "Are you related to Alec Baldwin!?!?" you can say "YES, we are related. Now go away!" before you lamely tip over a plastic picture frame on their desk and awkwardly stumble away, only to return sheepishly, because remember, you still have an appointment there.

Not only that, but now you can also know exactly HOW this family relationship came to be...

Alec Baldwin

Fraud Baldwins: Fraudwins? "Mercy Baldwin, of Waramaug: All this, Franklin Bearce's Fraud?"

The Mystery of Fidelia Thompson

I have heard that Fidelia Thompson (or Thomson) may have been part Indian. Finding information on great-grandma Fidelia has been very difficult. Aside from her marriage to William H. Baldwin (1816), the fact that she died young at 23, her father's name Gideon Thompson, and that she was buried in New Preston, I know nothing more about her. If I could find her mother's name it would be of great value to my research, but I have not come across any records.

Of My 3rd G.Grandfather, Lyman J. Baldwin (Sylvester Branch) and his Sons, William and Frank

Lyman J. Baldwin (1843 - 1921)

Following the "Sylvester branch": My great-great-great-grandfather, or 3rd great-grandfather, is Lyman J. Baldwin. He was born March 28, 1843 in New Preston CT, and he died Sept. 21, 1921 at the age of 78.

At the time of Lyman's birth, his father William H. Baldwin was 26, and his mother Fidelia A. (Thompson) Baldwin was 22. I know (thanks to Aunt Roz) that on Christmas day 1843, Fidelia died, aged only 23. Lyman was only eight months old at his mother's death and so he was raised by his grandmother Amanda (Drake) Baldwin. Amanda was the wife of William H, as seen in my chart below.

Of my 14th G. Grandfather, Robert Baldwin (1468) and The Earlier Baldwins, and Dundrige Manor

Bealdwine = Baldewyne = Baldwin

It's been said that the name Baldwin means "brave, bold friend" and originated from Old High German, the earliest form of the German language which developed and appeared during the years 700 to 1050 AD. Variant early spellings can look something like Bealdwine or Baldewyne or Baudouin, as well as many others. English itself is a Germanic language, and the earliest Baldwins I can find appear in the area near Chesham in England. The Baldwins' origins therefore seem thoroughly European, and the name appears in many well kept records, centuries old (which is the only reason why I am able to share this information today).

Of my 9th G. Grandmother, Esther Baldwin (1746 - 1820), Double Ancestry, and Self-Cousin-ism. Also: Three John Baldwins

The lineage of Esther Baldwin (1746 - 1820)

In my first post I listed my lineage dating back to Robert Baldwin and Agnes Dolte. There was something pretty funny lookin' if you took notice of generation #9, where Asahel Baldwin married an Esther with a maiden name of Baldwin. I was recently able to look into and verify her lineage back to Joseph and his father Richard using Charles Candee Baldwin's The Baldwin Genealogy and its supplemental volume, and please see my previous post "The Problem of Richard Baldwin" for further exposition on the previous generations back to Robert.

After doing this research I can put together a second, different line of descent from Robert Baldwin and Agnes Dolte down to Esther Baldwin, and then down to myself, and it reads as follows:

The Problem of Richard Baldwin (1565)

Before I go any further, I must settle a problem. It's...
 

The Problem of Richard Baldwin (1576 or 1565)

This is going to be a really boring post for some.

To start: Richard (1576) has a birth year given as 1576 in nearly every internet link that I can find. However, I can find no reliable reason for this. He is said by Seversmith (as I will discuss below) to have been born in 1565 based on his research. Since I can not find any reliable source for the date of 1576, I will be using 1565 instead for this blog until I have better information.

When investigating the parents of Richard Baldwin (1565), one can run into a problem. Many sites and sources list his parents as being Richard (1540) and Isabel Chase. Richard (1540) is given as the son of Richard (1503) in these cases, and this seems well enough...

Of my 9th G. Grandfather, Richard Baldwin (1622 - 1665) and Early Milford CT

Richard Baldwin, my 9th great-grandfather

(Now, y'see, that looks like great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa when you write it out, which is something, really, and when we get into the 38th and 45th generations later on, not on the Baldwin line, but on others, it's really going to be ridiculous. No one wants to read about great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandpa Richard over and over again, and so I use the numbers. See, 9th g. grandfather, now that looks neater, doesn't it?)

My Baldwin Family Line. Let the blog commence?

HEY, YOU GUYS!

I made a blog.

The purpose of this blog is to post family tree research that I and others have done, and to share it with interested people, most probably within my family. Hi family!

Also strange, random, internet stalkers.

Hi stalkers!

I need to try to figure out the information-privacy balance, so for now I will try to limit information on currently living generations.

I guess a good first post would be to list all of the generations I have on the direct paternal Baldwin line, including all of my g-g-grandmothers. This can form the spine for what I will delve into and talk about later. Consider this the main trunk of the tree. Interesting stories and posts will almost always refer back to this main line.