Long Island Genealogy
Welcome to Long Island Genealogy




Please Consider a Donation - Asking for donations is never easy, sadly it's a fact our presence doesn't come without cost.  Because of that we are asking you to become a contributing member of "Long Island Genealogy" by making a donation to support it's work.  Without your support we can't continue.
Donations can be made by clicking on the Donate Button to the left or sending a check.  For directions on sending a check please follow this link.
Long Island Records
Cemetery, County, Village, Town and Hamlet
Surname Databases
Major Surnames from LI History
Reference Books
Online and CD Collections
Surname Books and Articles
Online and CD Collections

The Ketcham (Ketchum) family of Long Island

The Descendants of Edward Ketcham

     Edward Ketcham is first found in Cambridge, England from 1619 to 1628, where his marriage to Mary Hall on 22 Aug 1619 is recorded in the records of the Church of Saint Andrew, as well as the birth of his children Mary (bapt. 7 May 1620), John (bapt. 8 Sep 1622), Hester (bapt. 10 Apr 1626), and Ann (bapt. 19 Oct 1628). No other records of Edward or other Ketchams are found in Cambridge.
     Edward Ketcham is next found in Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635. He may have arrived in 1630 on the Winthrop fleet or in 1633 on the Ipswich.  By 1637 Edward was reportedly on the Board of Freemen, the town council of Ipswich.  Sometime after January 1640 Edward moved from Ipswich to Hashamommock, later Southold, Long Island, where in 1651 the first record of him is found.

Ketcham's Hotel - Center Moriches Circa 1910
The following paragraphs were found on the Web site - Ketcham Genealogy A site dedicated to the genealogy of the Ketcham/Ketchem/Ketchum family in America, descendants of Edward Ketcham, Puritan.  It is a wonderfully constructed site and a well documented resource for the first few generations of desc ent from Edward.

Edward Ketcham: The Progenitor of all Ketchams? (Herein also of Henry Ketcham.)

     It is probable that Edward Ketcham is the progenitor of all Ketchams in America (with the exception of rumors of a native American Ketcham line).   While likely, it is only probable because two caveats have been noted: the mysterious Henry Ketcham and the "Scottish Ketchams."
     A Henry Ketcham is found in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1638. (Savage 1990, vol. 3, p. 14.) According to the published genealogies, we know nothing further of Henry Ketcham or his descendants (are there any out there?).  While the presence of Henry Ketcham is troubling for a definitive answer to the question, Henry Ketcham is almost certainly related to Edward Ketcham.  If Henry is not Edward's son, they are likely brothers (it is highly unlikely that two unrelated Ketchams would be found in Ipswich together in 1635).  If that is the case, the progenitor of all Ketchams (assuming Henry's descendants are in fact among us), is Edward's and Henry's father -- an as yet unnamed "Ketcham" who is the progenitor of us all!
     Some of the Ketcham genealogies also allege the existence of Scottish "Ketchams," a Scottish clan whose name (in Gaelic) is spelled differently than "Ketcham" but which sounds similar.  None of the books give any further information, or the source of this story.
     Without further evidence that Henry Ketcham left descendants and is not Edward's son, we may conclude that Edward Ketcham is in fact the father of us all.  If not Edward, the progenitor of all Ketchams would be Edward's father.