Serendipity with the Sissons

You know how it happens in genealogy - one thing leads to another and then it avalanches. With the aid of the internet it happens much more quickly these days. And so my Sisson tale begins.

The other day I was contacted by my colleague, David Martin, a genealogist with the Genealogical Society of Cape Cod. He knows I'm a house historian and had read my post on Westport, Massachusetts House Histories. He wanted to know if I knew anything about a house in Westport that was built by one of his Sisson ancestors.

I didn't know anything about the house unfortunately but I did reply back to tell him that I am also a Sisson. I also had to admit to him that I had never researched the Sisson family.

The funny thing about my New England lines is that they are so far back that I don't bother researching them. I know, ridiculous you are saying. Most people would jump to have those old lines. I guess my New York ancestors just keep me distracted!

The first Sisson immigrant was Richard Sisson who came over to America by 1650 and settled in Rhode Island. David tells me there's a very good Sisson book called The Descendants of Richard and Mary Sisson by David and Joan Sisson.

My most recent Sisson ancestor is Phebe Sisson (born 1774 - died 1841) who married David Albro, Jr.  Phebe was the daughter of George Sisson, Jr.

Not long after discussing the Sissons with David, I was contacted by Lisa Saunders, another Sisson descendant.  She directed me to a blog post she wrote recently about a serendipitous moment of discovering some Sisson Ancestors in "Is Captain Sisson Reaching Out From Beyond the Grave?"  Check out her blog post even if you're not a Sisson and especially if you love serendipity in genealogy.

Now that I am discussing my Sisson heritage all around, it has caught my interest and I want to know more.  If you are a Sisson descendant too, here are some additional resources for researching the family:

1) The Official Sisson Family webpage

2) A Sisson Family Reunion is held every two years in different locations.  This is more of a research conference for Sisson researchers than strictly a descendants reunion.  The next one will be held in Albany, New York, June 21-23, 2012.

3) The Sissons are also arranging a research trip to England in September 2011 to further trace the ancestry of immigrant Richard Sisson.  It is being coordinated Susan Ashley Blake, a Sisson in England. If you might be interested in participating in that trip send me a line and I will put you in contact with her and others participating in the trip.

I would love to add my house history angle to the Sisson family research.  If anyone knows of existing Sisson family homes please let me know where they are.  It would be fun to do a little research on them.