Ancestors

Below are our periodically updated
Ancestor Lists,
information about our ongoing
Taverner Project,
and information for our
Members to claim their ancestors
for membership in another Society.

Below are links to lists of some of the qualifying taverners and innkeepers, organized by colony. These are mostly compiled from the list of ancestors established by our members; however, we have undertaken a project to enlarge these lists over time. Updated lists will be uploaded to our site as time permits. The project referred to is discussed below the list buttons.

As these are NOT complete lists of qualifying Taverners/Innkeepers, your qualifying ancestor may not be listed here, but that does not mean you are not eligible for membership through that ancestor.  We estimate that there may be as many as 25,000 qualifying ancestors during the time-period in which we allow qualification.

Click on the colony button below to view the list of identified Taverners and Innkeepers to date for that colony. The lists are organized alphabetically by Taverner’s/Innkeeper’s surname under the colony in which he or she operated.  Life-dates are provided for many of the ancestors, as well as their license/service date, when known.  Members and Prospective Members are required to locate and furnish appropriate documentary evidence of the Taverner’s/Innkeeper’s service at the time of submission of an application.

These lists were last updated August 3, 2025.

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Click on the state to look at the approved ancestors.

In addition to these lists, visit our BIOGRAPHIES page where we feature biographies of some of the ancestors claimed by our members.

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Flagon & Trencher Taverner Project

As a member, you may also want to participate in our record-extraction project.

Flagon and Trencher has undertaken a record-extraction project to identify all qualifying operators of colonial taverns, inns, or ordinaries.

The time-period of interest is prior to December 31, 1783, within any of the American Colonies that existed by that date.

• Whether or not you are a member, you can assist us in this project.
• Genealogists, local historians, and other interested parties can contribute to the success of this ongoing project.
• Submissions can take the form of either paper copies or electronic transmission.
• All contributors will be acknowledged for their assistance in our newsletter, Flagon & Trencher News.
• For further information please contact the Keeper of the Records.

Another Lineage Society
Membership Opportunity

Did you know…

Many Presidents and First Ladies are descended from Colonial Taverners and Innkeepers.  That means that if they are descended from your Taverner or Innkeeper, you are related to that President or First Lady.

If you have kinship to any President or First Lady through, say, one of these Taverner/Innkeeper ancestors, you qualify for membership in The Hereditary Order of the Families of the Presidents and First Ladies of America.

If you are interested in joining this excellent society, please contact Alexander Bannerman (the Secretary of Registry for that Order); or, visit the Order’s website – www.presidentsandfirstladies.org – for more information.  Their PDF fillable application and instructions are on the site for download.

To find the President’s or First Lady’s ancestry, consult Ancestors of American Presidents and First Ladies by Alexander Bannerman, Gary Boyd Roberts, and Patricia Wasilik (2025), now available for purchase.  No home genealogical library should be without this set of books!  Purchase information and an ordering form are provided below.

Also, if your taverner/innkeeper ancestor qualifies you, you don’t have to provide all of the documentation again.  The Order accepts Record Copies from Flagon & Trencher!

A list of some of the Taverner and Innkeeper ancestors of various Presidents and First Ladies appears below.

Some Taverner/Innkeeper Ancestors
of Presidents and First Ladies

Caleb Abell
Robert Abell
Jeremy Adams
Robert Andrews
Robert Ashley
Jonathan Bacon
John Baker
Edward Bangs
John Bartlett
Samuel Bigelow
John Bissell
William Clark (of Northampton)
Henry Cobb
Richard Cocke
Tristram Coffin
James Cole (Jr.)
Christopher Comstock
Thomas Cornell
Hugh Drury
Walter Fairfield
Thomas Gardner
Nicholas Danforth
Mrs. Elizabeth (___) George
Nicholas George
Stephen Goodyear
Edmund Greenleaf
John Hathaway
Capt. John Heard
Nicholas Jacob
Capt. John Johnson
Henry Kingman
Thomas Knight
John Larkin
Francis Littlefield (the elder)
Henry Lyon
Jean Marot
Gabriel Maupin
Thomas Newhall
George Norton
Abraham Parker
John Parmenter
Corn. Joseph Parsons
Jan Peeck
David Pulsipher
Nathaniel Richardson
Daniel Rindge
Moses Robinette
Isaac Robinson
Nathaniel Rust
John Severance
James Shields
Dionis Stevens
William Trask (Jr.)
Maria deTrieux
Lucas Vanderburgh
Cornelius Waldo
Samuel Walker
Thomas Walker
George Walton
Richard Waters
William Weeks
John Woodcock
Dr. Henry Woodward

The Order looks forward to welcoming you to Membership!