Richard Man of Scituate, Massachusetts

I am a descendant of Richard Man(n) who arrived in Scituate in 1636 from England. Scituate was settled by a group of people from Plymouth about 1627 (see Plymouth Colony.) Several generations of the Mann family lived at the Mann Farmhouse at the corner of Stockbridge Road and Greenfield Lane, which is now a museum: http://scituatehistoricalsociety.org/mann-house

Family history has been preserved in a book by family genealogist George S. Mann (my 2nd great grand uncle): Mann memorial. A record of the Mann family in America. Genealogy of the descendants of Richard Mann, of Scituate, Mass. Preceded by English family records, and an account of the Wrentham, Rehoboth, Boston, Lexington, Virginia, and other branches of the Manns who settled in this country.

Richard and his wife Rebecca had 4 sons. Thomas, the second son, begat 8 children. The 8th child, Ensign Mann, Sr. (born around 1699), wed and died in Petersham, MA. Ensign Sr. begat another Ensign Mann in 1740. Ensign #2 went to Harvard, was the leader of the Sons of Liberty and begat Ensign Mann Jr. in 1778. Ensign Jr. begat William, William begat Horace, Horace begat James Lamb Mann, and this is where my line in Athol/Petersham ended. James' daughter Vera (my grandmother) married a preacher and lived all over the U.S.

The Start

A year ago I started researching my ancestry and have been loving every minute of it. I found out a little about my grandmother's family, but spent most of my time on my grandfather's Newfoundland roots. But last evening I started back researching my Massachusetts roots--specifically the Mann family. My grandmother was Vera Ida Mann and she was born in Athol, Mass. in 1914.

Since I left off last year, a lot of people have jumped on the research wagon and I was able to trace back to 1577 England! (I still have to verify the paper trail.) The Richard Man family arrived in Scituate, Plymouth, Mass. in 1636, and the settlement is still there, along with a museum! http://www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org/sites_mann.html

Before I go further on this blog, I must state that I have had a fascination with Massachussetts that started with the death of JFK Jr., and in 1999 my husband and I traveled there every fall for about five years. We love Boston, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. OH, HOW I LONG TO GO BACK!