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Dear Patrick,
Thank you so much for the synopsis of Jean Gaston and the legends surrounding him. Your report was well-organized, well-written and clear. IÕm a former newspaper editor, so I appreciate your concise and easy-to-digest report.
IÕve done some research on the family that has included trips to Massachusetts, where I saw the graves of my immigrant ancestors, Alexander Gaston (1707-83) and his wife, Mary Wilson Gaston. Their son Alexander (1754-1853) was also my ancestor. He is buried with his parents in a small wooded graveyard off a gravel road in the Berkshire Hills.
IÕve also spent time at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, where I read several genealogical reports on the Gastons. Each one I read traced the family back to Jean. I find it fascinating that the stories about Jean Gaston are etched on almost all branches of the family tree. Yet thereÕs no documentation.
The last four generations of my branch of the family cared about family history, so IÕve inherited a couple of hundred documents. Among them is a letter written in 1925 by William Alexander Gaston, a Boston lawyer. He responded to an inquiry from the wife of Willard Edgar Gaston of Shenandoah, Iowa. William wrote this:
ŌThe first Jean Gaston probably had a family name that he dropped and thereafter used his middle name as a surname. What the original family name was is now wholly conjecture. Jannet Thompson, who married my first ancestor in this country, John Gaston, born 1703, used to talk of it. But the name, then unused for several generations, was considered unimportant and was forgotten.
ŌThis fact was stated by my grandfather, Alexander Gaston. He used to hear her mention the name.Ķ
WilliamÕs letter contains more information. If youÕd like me to send you a copy via e-mail, I will.
IÕve also written to Gastons in County Antrim Ņ 29 in all. I received only two responses, one from a young man named Mark Gaston who calls me regularly. I also received a letter from a Thomas Gaston who owned a farm that was in the family for many generations. But Thomas was forced to sell the farm because neither of his children wanted it. Unfortunately, neither Mark nor Thomas has much genealogical information.
You say that youÕve hired genealogists to research the Gastons in France and Northern Ireland. IÕd like to see their full reports, and IÕd be willing to pay you for the data.
IÕm age 56, retired and a resident of Longview, Washington, where I have lived since 1973. I plan to write a book on the family history because IÕve got so much material that family members have kept.
So I hope to hear from you. IÕm willing to share, free of charge, anything I have.
Robert B. Gaston
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