In dealing with writing any history names become intertwined, but no more so than in writing family histories. My Ribble line married into the Phinney line, which is my maternal line.

The Phinneys came here shortly after the Mayflower. Initially, the name was spelled Finney. They were Puritans and landed at Plymouth Rock. Mother Finney was the name they gave the lady of the ship that had small children. Her husband, Robert Finney, died on the ship on the way over and buried at sea.

Puritans didn't or rarely married outside their religion. Plus it was still a fairly low population, therefore, many marriages are within the same circles. In a couple of situations, my 10th great grandparents on a paternal line and my 10th great grandparents on a maternal line is the same couple, Deacon Stephen Hart and his wife, Margaret Farrington. No incest involved just a small gene pool.

Researchers think that Mother Finney was really Protesia Holdich Finney from Devonshire, England.

It is thought that the Finneys came from Orkney Islands off the North side of Scotland.

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