CSG Book Review

by R. G. Tomlinson (CSG #55L)

THE 2005 GARNSEY-GUERNSEY-GURNSEY GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY
by Judith L. Young-Thayer, 698 pages, 7x10, hard cover, indexed, LCCN 63-17437. Published by Gateway Press, Order from Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc., PO Box 435, Glastonbury, CT, 06033. Price: $79.00 + $4.00 P&H (CT residents add 6% sales tax)

The great majority of Garnseys and Guernseys in America descend from Henry of Dorchester, MA and his wife, Hannah Munnings. A smaller line traces from Joseph of New Haven and Stamford, CT. The 2005 Garnsey-Guernsey-Gurnsey Genealogical Dictionary incorporates information on these lines from the 1963 and 1979 editions of The Garnsey-Guernsey Genealogy along with numerous corrections, additions and expansion to include new information gathered since 1979. Family Historian, Judith L. Young-Thayer has also created new chapters which include: (a) descendants of G-G-G women, (b) G-G-G entries for whom relationships are unknown and (c) various Garnsey documents (journals, letters, land records, etc.).

The book is arranged in seven sections. Section I contains the descendants of John2 (Henry1) and Elizabeth Garnsey. Section II presents the descendants of his brother, Joseph2 (Henry1) and Hannah (Coley) Garnsey. Section III deals with the descendants of Joseph2 (Joseph1), the only son of Joseph1 and Rose (Lockwood, Waterbury) of Stamford. Section IV includes the descendants of G-G-G women and Section V presents G-G-G entries for whom relationships are unknown. Section VI adds an interesting and vital feature by reproducing original G-G-G documents such as the journal of Nathan Garnsey (1772-1843).

This attractively composed book presents information in “dictionary” format with the individuals in each of these sections listed in alphabetical order. This arrangement does away with the need to separately index the major lines. There are indexes at the end of each section for the surnames of men and women who married into the G-G-G families.

The book is nicely bound in the Gateway Press tradition and will make a worthwhile addition to the genealogy library. Of course, it will be an indispensable to the researcher of the surname Garnsey, Guernsey, and its variations, as well as a resource on collateral lines. Future generations will be deeply grateful for the inclusion of the sometimes-neglected data on the women.