Welcome to the Ives Family History blog. There are many Ives families and Ives genealogy is covered a lot in the genealogy forums. I am writing about the descendents of William Ives, one of the founders of New Haven CT. It is not like a regular blog that posts on current events and does not go back and makes changes to prior posts. Rather it is an online draft history that I hope to continue to improve. I intend to continue to modify this document on an ongoing basis and welcome all comments, additions, and corrections. This includes going back and correcting material already posted when new evidence arrives. I will post fairly regularly for several months until I have provided all the research that I have completed. Then I will make periodic updates through new posts and corrections to existing material. You suggestions are welcome.
I am Bill Ives, the grandson of Sumner Albert Ives of Greenville, SC and the great grandson of Sumner Abraham Ives of Pinebluff, NC. A few years ago I wrote a family history of the Ives family (my father's side) and the Fleming family (my mother's side). In both family histories I also looked at the maternal sides going back many generations. I was named after two people. One was William Ives, the first of my family in this country who came in 1635 and first settled where I now live, Cambridge, MA before becoming one if the founders of New Haven in 1638. I was also named after my maternal grandmother, Willie Goodloe Fleming of Oklahoma.
I have also launched the Sharp Family in NC blog about the family of my paternal grandmother, Gladys Sharp Ives who married Sumner Albert Ives. She was the daughter of Henry Clay Sharp. For the past two and half years I have also been wiring a blog, Portals and KM. It covers my business interests during the week and music, art, and food on the weekends. It functions like a regular blog with regular daily posts.
I am now going to start this Ives family history blog as an experiment. I am starting with William Ives, publishing daily until I get the bulk of the material presented. I will first cover William to set the stage. Then before going further I will look back into issues around his origins in England. Next I will cover the early history of New Haven and the surrounding area to provide context. Next, I will address William's wife (whose name is controversial). Then I will proceed through his descendents to my grandfather. At various points I will divert to brief histories about the locations where these Ives families lived. For privacy purposes I am not going to write about the three current generations but deal in the past as this is an experimental history. I hope it will be useful. I may try some other family history blogs to share my research on other branches of the family. The Fleming family blog will likely be next
This informal Ives family history was put together from a variety of sources such as Ives, Arthur Coons, The Genealogy of the Ives Family, Hungerford-Holdbrook Company, Watertown NY, 1932 and Jacobus, Donald Lines, Families of Ancient New Haven, vols. 1-9., Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1923. (I will provide a list of sources as my next three posts - it is long). Every attempt was made to use first hand sources and I tried to avoid speculation. However, some of the sources may not be validated while some of the material is extracted from primary sources and reputable books.
I did not continue my first family history blog, on the Sharps of NC, at the time I started as I wondered how I would get people to come. I still do not have the answer but I am now trying again with both that blog, this one and perhaps others. If you find this blog useful, tell others. If your write a blog on family history and like what I am doing link to me. Let me know who you are and I will take a look at what you are doing. Perhaps we can learn from each other both in terms of substance and style.
Feel free to use any of the material in this blog for your own work, online or offline. I only ask that you credit the source. Thanks. Bill Ives
