Myths and Controversies

Woodworth Myths and Controversies

DNA and more access to data has enabled the elimination of some old myths.

MYTH
MYTH Walter, Jr of Little Compton was son of Walter of Scituate(?)	FALSE. There was NEVER a Walter jr, son of Walter b about 1610, anywhere. Further, there was no "nephew Walter" in Little Compton.	See discussion.
MYTH: Walter's parents were Thomas Woodward and Elizabeth Tyson(?)	Proven thoroughly false with DNA. Further, church records show the names of all of five of Tom and Liz's children, and none were named "Walter".	See discussion.
MYTH: Walter's wife's name was Elizabeth Rogers, or Dorothy(?).	Simply no record exists. Wife's name is totally unknown.
MYTH: Walter and wife are in the Canterbury Cathedral microfiche records(?)	Yes, but record is clearly faked. Added about 1918 by a US Army officer during WWII, claiming "friend of family".	See discussion
MYTH: Walter was born in Kent Shire, England	NO EVIDENCE EXISTS OF WALTER BEING FROM KENT. Walter was born in Staffordshire, far from Kent. Stowe records show Walter b 1608, with an older brother Thomas born 1605, and parents Henrye and Jonne Webbe who married in 1599. Walter's DNA matches a cluster of surnames whose line origins centered around Stowe. Walter named his first born after his older brother Thomas.	Walter's DNA was found several times in Staffordshire area, far north of Kent Shire. See slide show.
MYTH: Walter Woodworth started out as a Woodward and changed it to Woodworth.	FALSE: Walter's surname in Staffordshire, England was "Woodworth", and DNA says ALL Woodworth DNA groups have NO genetic relation to any Woodward.
MYTH: Walter Woodworth had a coat of arms, consisting of three grasshoppers. Or... There is a coat of arms for everyone with the Woodworth surname, and it has three grasshoppers..	FALSE: Walter never had a coat of arms. A surname coat of arms is not possible for anyone. The grasshopper coat of arms that showed up in a Woodworth book belonged to an individual absolutely unrelated to any Woodworth, and the book never suggested that the coat of arms had belonged to any Woodworth.	Click here for details.
MYTH: Two brothers traveled to the colonies with Walter. One was Nathanial Woodward.	FALSE: There is no record of any brother of Walter traveling to the colonies. Walter's only brother Thomas remained in the UK, probably inheriting his parents' farm.
MYTH Benjamin, son of Walter, is claimed to have married Hannah Damon	Per the research of Diane (Woodworth) Liebert from the Rootsweb archives FALSE: "Benjamin was married to Deborah and had three daughters, then after Deborah died he married a Hannah, but it wasn't Hannah Damon. According to the Damon genealogy, Hannah Damon was born on 2 Dec 1672. She married John May on 12 Dec 1695 in Hingham and after he died, she married Preserved Hall on 3 Dec 1730. They source this information from the Hingham history vol. p.65. She had no children. During that time period, Benjamin and his wife Hannah were having children."