The Baldwin Connection

The Cousins? ... Very distant but yes.


The dangerous part about exploring your genealogy is that you never know who will turn up as a distant relative. Our Baldwin ancestry traces it's way back through our Thompson Line (Grandpa's mother i.e. Haver, Thompson, Stone then Baldwin ). I heard years ago that the Baldwin (Alec, Billy etc.) actor family had their family tree traced by Genealogy.com and yesterday I found a link to the ancestry of Billy Baldwin. I followed it back and soon determined that they were not connected to our Baldwin Clan that settled in Chester County Pennsylvania in the 1680's.

Their line, however, does trace directly back to Walter Palmer, who is also our direct ancestor. Walter Palmer (a Puritan) came from England in 1629 aboard the "Lyons Welp". He sailed on April 5, 1629 with Thomas Minor (another direct ancestor) from Gravesend, England and landed in Salem, Massachusetts in June of 1629. Both men lived for awhile in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Plymouth Colony before being enticed to settle Connecticut by William Bradford, Jr. (son of the famous first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony). Thomas Minor married Walter's oldest daughter (by his first wife) Grace and with Walter and a man named William Cheseborough they founded the historic port town of Stonington Connecticut in the 1650's.

The actor Baldwin's line traces directly back to the marriage of Walter Palmer's daughter Rebecca (by his second wife) to a John Baldwin. Our line still traces through the Thompson line however it takes a different route. Walter Palmer, Grace Palmer, Clement Minor, William Minor, Stephen Minor, William Minor, Noah Minor, Elisabeth Minor, Rebecca Thompson, Minor Thompson, Fannie Thompson, Robert L. Haver, Robert T. Haver then Chris, Nicole and Matt. Walter Palmer, who has been described as a 6' 5'" giant, is the 11th great grandparent of Chris Nicole and Matt.

See Baldin Family Tree at Genealogy.com