	Genealogy information and records concerning ancestors in the thirteen original American colonies.

On This Page

A Colonial event for each day of May taken from a book published in 1899. These events are not in chronological order, but rather an event for each day of the year, like a "This Day is History".

People

Colonial Ancestors Database

Graduates of Harvard

Revolutionary War Soldiers

Farmington Soldiers in the Colonial Wars

Women of the Revolution

Officers Who Took Oath of Allegiance at Valley Forge, 1778

Colonial Biographies

The 13 Colonies

Connecticut

Delaware

Georgia

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

New York

New Jersey

North Carolina

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Virginia

The Other Colonies and Colonists

Vermont

Search for Vital Records

The Genealogy Register

This Day in Colonial Times - May

Source: A Year Book of Colonial Times Compiled by the Rev. Frederick S. Sill, D.D. Member of the Society of Colonial Wars, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, 1899

May 1	1690 - The New England and New York Colonies resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada.
May 2	1746 - Engagement in the Gulf of Mexico between Capt. Seymour in the Snow Dragon and Capt. Jefferis in the Greyhound and a Spanish ship of war.
May 3	1717 - Brunswick, Maine, was set off as a township.
May 4	1626 - Peter Minuit became third Colonial Governor of New Netherlands.
May 5	1755 - Philip Schuyler received a Captain's commission from Gov. De Lancy.
May 6	1697 - The Charter of Trinity Church, New York, was signed by William III.
May 7	1725 - Battle with Indians at Fryeburg, Maine.
May 8	1763 - Pontiac and other chiefs held a Council with Major Henry Gladwin at the Fort in Detroit.
May 9	1640 - An ordinance was passed by New Amsterdam for the protection of the Indian cornfields.
May 10	1676 - An "Epidemical cold" prevailed in New England, so that the military forces were disbanded for a season of recovery, by order of the Courts.
May 11	1741 - Executions in Connection with the Negro Plot in New York began.
May 12	1678 - The King of France granted a monopoly of trade on the Mississippi to La Salle.
May 13	1607 - Arrival of the London Company Colonists with Capt. Christopher Newport in the James River, Virginia.
May 14	1607 - The London Company Colonists landed, and established Jamestown.
May 15	1760 - The French Shipping in Quebec harbour was destroyed by the Colonial forces.
May 16	1691 - Leisler and Milborne were hanged in New York for reputed treason.
May 17	1760 - Siege of Quebec raised by the French, and England left in possession of all Canada.
May 18	1731 - The boundary line between New York and Massachusetts was settled.
May 19	1676 - The "Falls Fight" under Captain Turner.
May 20	1690 - Destruction of Falmouth, now Portland, Me., by French and Indians.
May 21	1607 - Capt. John Smith and his companions started to discover the head of the James River.
May 22	1637 - The Hartford troops under Captain Mason persuaded the Mohegan Indians under Uncas to join them against the Pequods.
May 23	1773 - Battle of Sag Harbour, Long Island.
May 24	1607 - Captain Smith's company erected a cross on the islet near the Falls of the "Powhatton" River and changed its name to "James."
May 25	1637 - Capt. John Mason arrived at the fort of Sassacus, chief of the Pequods.
May 26	1637 - Defeat and rout of the Pequod Indians under Sassacus, by Capt. John Mason and Uncas.
May 27	1754 - Date of a Poster of the New Theatre in Water Street, Philadelphia.
May 28	1690 - Capture of Fort Loyal, at Portand, Me., by the French and Indians.
May 29	1645 - Some of the Indian sachems agreed to a treaty of peace with the Dutch of New Amsterdam.
May 30	1685 - Date of Wm. Penn's great treaty with the Indians for a large portion of Pennsylvania.
May 31	1754 - Washington succeeded Col. Joshua Fry as colonel in command of the Ohio Expedition.

Other Resources:

New England Early Genealogy Database
Search this 73,000+ name database of ancestors from the early New England period of 1600+/- to 1700+/- to see if your ancestors are included. The index of this database is free and will show the names included, however, a subscription is required for full access.

Search Revolutionary War Rolls See images of the actual regimental rolls from the National Archives. They are being put online through the joint project of National Archives and Footnote.com.

Search Revolutionary War Service Records Images Images of the records from the National Archives. Search the images to see if your ancestors' records have been added yet. If they are not be sure to check back since this is an in-process project. Footnote.com is in the process of working with the National Archives to put images of these records online to be searched.

Search Revolutionary War Officers Collection of Revolutionary Officers Information

Search Revolutionary War Service Records, 1775-83 This database is a collection of records kept by the National Archives listing men who fought for the colonies during the war. This database contains only those records available in the National Archives and may not include all persons involved in the American Revolutionary War. Compiled Military Service Records (CMSR)Each volunteer soldier has one Compiled Military Service Record (CMSR) for each regiment in which he served.

Search Colonial Families in the U.S. This database covers the families of the early English colonies in America. Beginning with the first landing at Jamestown this series covers families up through the start of the American Revolutionary War and beyond into the Nineteenth Century. Many vital records are included, as well as locations of births, marriages, and deaths. In addition to containing family genealogies this database also contains armorial bearings, or coats of arms, for some of the more prominent families from England and Scotland.

Old Colony Ancestors Online Access this database of nearly 200,000 names with roots in Southeastern Massachusetts, complete with citations, containing information on over 57,000 marriages, with a total of more than 950,000 text records. Some families are followed for only 2-3 generations, but many are traced for up to 15 generations. Once a family moved beyond the Southeastern Massachusetts area, most reports stop. Some are followed as they migrated westward into the Berkshires and up into Vermont and upstate New York.

This free genealogy site may be linked to freely for personal and commercial purposes. All free genealogy information on this site may be used freely for personal genealogy research. The source, Colonial Ancestors should be cited in your work along with any other sources cited on our page for the information. No information on this site can be used for any commercial purpose, other than linking, without written consent of Colonial Ancestors. This site contains links to other sites, and Colonial Ancestors makes no warranty and has no responsibility for the content of those sites.