My Dad and I long attributed our love of travel to our Gypsy blood. Twelve generations before me, my first ancestor to cross the Atlantic and settle in North America was Augustine Bearse, a Romany Gypsy. Throughout Europe these nomadic people were persecuted and accused of crimes wherever they wandered. Born in France in 1618, Augustine moved to England and at the age of 20 was deported to America with others of his kind because he was a Gypsy. One of 88 passengers on the Confidence of London, Augustine sailed from Southampton, England landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 24, 1638. He settled, married and raised a family at Barnstable, Massachusetts where he became known throughout the community as a man of good character. As I started this blog when I was about to cross the Pacific Ocean and settle for a time on the far side of the sea, it only seemed right to give credit to Augustine and the Gypsy blood I inherited from him.
The title no longer fits as well as it once did and I’ve even thought of changing it, but the blog has been known as Following Augustine for so long now that I hate to do that. Besides, I’m still a wanderer at heart and life continues to take us in unexpected directions, so perhaps it isn’t all that ill-fitting.
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Such a cool idea for your blog!
Thank you! I just read your post about the orphanage in Uganda and my heart was moved.
Thanks for reading!
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You managed to track back family that far?
A relative did the research quite a few years ago and self-published a book that many family members have copies of.
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Just finished 4 treatments of the prrt radiation for a trial. I find out in August how things are going with my tumours in the liver. They originated in my pancreas 10 years ago. Love your blog. Shelley Orr.
I hope you get good news in August, Shelley! Do let me know please.
How interesting!! Makes me wonder if I have gypsy in my heritage. I’m half Romanian so maybe? I just followed your blog, brought here by a comment you made on another blog that I follow. Nice to meet you and I look forward to reading more!
Welcome! I hope you continue to find things that you enjoy reading here on Following Augustine!
Love the story behind your blog name! Great way to honor your ancestor. Genealogy is fascinating. One of my cousins managed to trace our roots back to the 1400’s in the Middle East. From there, they went to France, then England, then the United States. Don’t know how they managed to get from New Jersey to the hills of Kentucky, tho.ha!
It really is fascinating, isn’t it? My brother has been doing some research on another branch of our family tree and sharing it with me.
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Hi Cousin! (I also trace my ancestry back to Augustine Bearse.) I wanted to reach out on a couple of items. You also might be interested to know that his wife was Mary Hyanno, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, which is considered as one of the Algonquin tribes. Her native name was “Little Dove.” Augustine’s journey is truly inspiring. The photo that you have included is of Austin Bearse (born in the same town in 1808 and a known abolitionist who helped transport fugitive slaves). I am assuming that he was a descendant of Augustine’s.
It’s nice to “meet” you! I have read about his marriage to Mary Hyanno and her Indigenous background. I don’t remember where I found the photo, but I understood that it was Augustine. I do know that he was also known as Austin. Much of the information that I had access to came from a distant relative in Prince Edward Island who researched family history quite a few years ago.
It is very nice to meet you too! Your trips look wonderful! I also share the same desire to travel, and I like to learn languages. Maybe Augustine helps explain some of this for me as well. 🙂