Our Genealogy Projects
The Association has always supported genealogical studies of the descendants of Gov. Thomas Welles. Early officers of the Association answered mail and did research for others.
Over time, the Association's commitment to producing a quality family history was placed in the hands of four genealogists whose work spanned generations. The following Association genealogists have produced works that are available in libraries and archives.
Over time, the Association's commitment to producing a quality family history was placed in the hands of four genealogists whose work spanned generations. The following Association genealogists have produced works that are available in libraries and archives.
Lilla Elizabeth Briggs Sampson (1855-1942), and Chester A. Wells (1907-1970):
1968 Manuscript in Five Volumes
Lilla Briggs Sampson of Johnstown, New York, was the first to pursue the descendants of Governor Thomas Welles for the Welles Family Association. She was an accomplished genealogist who had already published works on the descendants of Henry Sampson of the Mayflower and of John Briggs of North Kingston, Rhode Island. She lived only a few years after the start of the Association. Her Welles research was given to the Welles Family Association. Her research was not limited to the first six generations after settlement in Connecticut. Instead, she and later Chester Wells looked to take the family lines down to the 20th Century.
As Chester Wells states in the introduction to his 1968 typescripts, he started with Lilla Sampson's material and added from published sources.
As Chester Wells states in the introduction to his 1968 typescripts, he started with Lilla Sampson's material and added from published sources.
While this is not an exact copy of the first part of the manuscript presented to the Welles Family Association by Mrs. Lilla Sampson, it closely follows her information. We of the Welles Family Association owe a debt of gratitude for this data. Only those of us who have in a small way tried to collect information from our families will realize the great amount of time and energy Mrs. Sampson must have spent in collecting this data.
The Chester Wells manuscript is in five volumes, organized as follows:
There are two extant copies of the typescript prepared by Chester Wells.
- Book 1 contains family groups 108-223 in the line of John[2].
- Book 2 contains family groups 1-39 in the line of John[2].
- Book 3 contains family groups 40-107 & 250-291 in the line of John[2].
- Book 4 contains family groups 300-349 in the line of Thomas[2].
- Book 5 contains family groups 350-484 in the line of Samuel[2].
There are two extant copies of the typescript prepared by Chester Wells.
- One was donated by the Welles Family Association to the Connecticut State Library on 27 February 1969. It was bound by the library and is kept in the Cage area. Patrons can request it for study in the reading room of the History and Genealogy Unit.
- The other copy is in the possession of the Registrar of the Welles Family Association. The manuscript copy in the hands of the Association has been annotated and amended. After the current books are published, photocopies of this unique resource will be donated to the Connecticut Historical Society. This set of five photocopies is shown below.
Donna Lee Holt Siemiatkoski (1946-2001):
1990 Book and 1995-1997 Research Papers
By 1984, the Association again became interested in supporting a scholarly treatment of the family history. Windsor, Connecticut, native Donna Holt Siemiatkoski undertook the assignment. In 1990 she published the first volume covering family history in England and descendants in America to the fourth generation, with the fifth generation appearing as children. This effort received a citation from the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. The certificate notes that, "This valuable work updates and corrects earlier publications as well as making significant contributions of its own."
Donna continued to work on the project's projected volume 2 covering generations 5 and 6 as heads of household. She published works-in-progress on the descendants of the three sons of the governor, John, Thomas, and Samuel, but did not have enough time to finish her work before her untimely death in 2001. Her obituary discussed her Welles research and the wonderful trip to sites in England that she had organized for family members in 1990.
Donna research materials are a part of the Welles Family Association's papers. She kept her notes on family group sheets arranged in descendants order. That is, a family's chart is followed by the family charts for their children, interspersed with the family charts of their grandchildren. This arrangement permitted Donna to search in extended family groups which were often in a limited geographic area.
Donna continued to work on the project's projected volume 2 covering generations 5 and 6 as heads of household. She published works-in-progress on the descendants of the three sons of the governor, John, Thomas, and Samuel, but did not have enough time to finish her work before her untimely death in 2001. Her obituary discussed her Welles research and the wonderful trip to sites in England that she had organized for family members in 1990.
Donna research materials are a part of the Welles Family Association's papers. She kept her notes on family group sheets arranged in descendants order. That is, a family's chart is followed by the family charts for their children, interspersed with the family charts of their grandchildren. This arrangement permitted Donna to search in extended family groups which were often in a limited geographic area.
Donna Holt Siemiatkoski produced the first published genealogy for the Welles Family Association just before Christmas, 1990. This book is no longer in print.
It served as the basis for all further work on the Welles family history. It is for this reason that new publications on their title pages state, "Based on work begun by Donna Holt Siemiatkoski."
Brigham Young University provides a digital copy of this book in their BYU-FHL Digital Collection.
Click here to access digital copy.
It served as the basis for all further work on the Welles family history. It is for this reason that new publications on their title pages state, "Based on work begun by Donna Holt Siemiatkoski."
Brigham Young University provides a digital copy of this book in their BYU-FHL Digital Collection.
Click here to access digital copy.
Donna Holt Siemiatkoski published a Research Paper on the descendants of the Governor's oldest son, John, in 1995.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
Donna Holt Siemiatkoski published a Research Paper on the descendants of the Governor's second son, Thomas, in 1996.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
Donna Holt Siemiatkoski published a Research Paper on the descendants of the Governor's youngest son, Samuel, in 1997.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
This book is no longer in print. The last generation in this book is reproduced in Volume 3, Part B, of the current family genealogy.
Barbara Jean Mathews:
Volumes 1, 2 and 3
About three weeks before her death in August 2001, Donna invited current genealogist Barbara Jean Mathews of Lexington, Massachusetts, to visit her home in Windsor. Although weak and confined to bed by this time, Donna went over her research materials and manuscripts, describing the tasks and work products before having her sons transfer 13 boxes of materials to the back of Barbara's minivan. Barbara was an experienced professional genealogist who had already published books on the descendants of Philo Hodge of Roxbury, Connecticut, and of Thomas Lamkin of the Northern Neck of Virginia.
Barbara left Donna's Family Group Sheets and manuscripts (one for each of Gov. Welles's six surviving children) intact. She created an organization system for correspondence, submissions from family members, and research files on each family covered in the books. The next step was to take the word processing files, applying consistent formats and interweaving the six separate works into one combined family genealogy.
Barbara assembled a team of co-workers, including Nancy Pexa for onsite research in Hartford, and Kathryn Smith Black to continue the work on the daughters which had not yet culminated in Research Papers. The team focused on supporting the material with documentation and citations. The team added probate, land, and biographical information to the text. Each original family treatment doubled or tripled in length as source citations became part of the manuscript.
Now there are nearly two dozen boxes of materials arranged as follows:
In addition to material for the genealogy books, the Welles family manuscripts include applications to the Association since 1936.
Barbara and Kathryn will prepare these materials - including Donna and Chester's manuscripts - for donation to the Connecticut Historical Society.
Barbara left Donna's Family Group Sheets and manuscripts (one for each of Gov. Welles's six surviving children) intact. She created an organization system for correspondence, submissions from family members, and research files on each family covered in the books. The next step was to take the word processing files, applying consistent formats and interweaving the six separate works into one combined family genealogy.
Barbara assembled a team of co-workers, including Nancy Pexa for onsite research in Hartford, and Kathryn Smith Black to continue the work on the daughters which had not yet culminated in Research Papers. The team focused on supporting the material with documentation and citations. The team added probate, land, and biographical information to the text. Each original family treatment doubled or tripled in length as source citations became part of the manuscript.
Now there are nearly two dozen boxes of materials arranged as follows:
- Welles family correspondence contains letters to and from family members arranged by the name of the correspondent. Some files contain full family treatments including published genealogies. Others contain materials not available elsewhere, such as Bible records.
- Welles family genealogy files are arranged by family numbers from the recent published genealogy. Each files contains three versions of the manuscript, from 2001, from the mid-2000s, and the 2015 published version. In addition, files contain hard-to-obtain research materials such as deeds and probate records.
In addition to material for the genealogy books, the Welles family manuscripts include applications to the Association since 1936.
Barbara and Kathryn will prepare these materials - including Donna and Chester's manuscripts - for donation to the Connecticut Historical Society.
The research for the 2015 publications took place over fourteen years, often at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, Connecticut.
Nancy Pexa, standing here with the microfilms she is about to consult, fact-checked tens of thousands of statements in Volumes 1, 2, and 3.
Kathryn Smith Black made trips from Massachusetts to work on Volume 3, Part A.
Volume 1: 2nd Edition
Barbara Jean Mathews published the second edition of volume 1 in 2013. It expands on the first edition, providing documentation of facts and expanded historical and biographical information.
In October, 2014, the book won the prestigious Donald Lines Jacobus Award from the American Society of Genealogists. See their news announcement here.
Not long after, Barbara was elected a fellow of the honorary society.
The 2nd edition is no longer in print.
Volume 1: 3rd Edition
The third edition of Volume 1 came out in 2015. We discovered the marriage in England of immigrants Thomas Welles and Alice Tomes. This exciting new information needed to be treasured.
At the same time, Volume 2 saw completion. Volume 2 covers the fifth generation as heads of households with the sixth generation as children. Its 1293 pages are split between two bound books due to length. Part A starts with the key to source citations and Part B ends with the index.
Volume 2: Parts A, and B
Volume 2 covers the fifth generation of descendants as adults and shows their children. Part A includes the introduction, the key to citation abbreviations, and the descendants of the governor's children Mary, Anne, and John. |
Volume 2 Part B contains the descendants of the governor's children Thomas, Samuel, and Sarah, and the index to all of Volume 2. To have the entire volume 2 you must buy both books. |
Volume 3: Parts A, B, and C
Kathryn Smith Black wrote the Part A of volume 3. This volume covers the sixth generation of descendants as heads of households, with the seventh generation as children. It covers the descendants of the governors two oldest children, Mary and Anne.
The volume includes its own index. |
Donna Holt Siemiatkoski originally wrote Part B of volume 3 in the period 1995-1997 as Research Papers. When updating the research papers became impossible, the material for the sixth generation descendants of the governor's sons John, Thomas, and Samuel was re-published as a stand-alone volume with a new and more complete index.
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Barbara Jean Mathews wrote Part C of volume 3. A slim volume, it covers the sixth generation descendants through the youngest child, Sarah, as heads of household with their children as the seventh generation. The volume includes its own index. |
Because of the number of volumes and indexes in the family project, Kathryn Smith Black produced a Combined Index to aid researchers.
