An extraordinary tome documenting the DELANO family in America entitled "The Genealogy, History and Alliances of the American House of Delano, 1621-1899" was published in 1899. It is arranged in two "books" and is commonly known as the "GHAAHD". Both "books" are available to members for viewing and/or downloading in PDF form via links on this page. Please make sure you read the GHAAHD NOTES later on this page for important corrections to some of the information presented in the GHAAHD.
For your convenience, the original Index to the GHAAHD, compiled by Mrs. Mortimer Delano, is available to view or download here.
Book the First, containing the "History and Heraldry of the Maison de Franchimont & de Lannoy to Delano, 1076 to 1621", was edited by Mortimer Delano de Lannoy, then the family pursuivant-of-arms and a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the Societe Suisse D'Heraldique and the Herold Society Zu Berlin. In this "book", Mortimer presented some European history and heraldry with a list of chevaliers de la Toison d'or (Golden Fleece). He also included various lines of royal ancestry of Lannoy with attempts to connect them to Philippe de Lanoy, based upon the belief that Jean de Lannoy (11-A) was the father of Gysbert de Lannoy, Philippe's father.
Sadly, we now know that Mortimer's proofs of these royal lineages are invalid, as it has been shown that Jean de Lannoy was not Gysbert de Lannoy's father.[1] The various lines of descent presented on pages 89 through 93 are therefore not connected to Philippe's family. These lines are annotated as A (from Guelph), B (The Moerovingian Descent from Priam), C (The Lannoy Descent from Charlemagne), D (The Descent from William The Conqueror), E (The Two Disputed Lines from Jean-Emanuel) and F (Line from the Actii of Rome). At this time, there exists no known proof that Philippe's family might have been descended from royalty; accordingly, we must assume there is no such connection. It is an inconvenient truth that disproving Mortimer's lineage theories cannot be taken as proof of something else unless there is but one other possible alternative; that not being the case here, we yet remain without documentary proof of Philippe's true lineage.
The larger Book the Second, entitled "The Delano Genealogy From 1621 - 1899," was compiled by Major Joel Andrew Delano and arranged by Mortimer Delano de Lannoy. Although arranged in an awkward manner, it is an amazing book and a tribute to the interest of our DELANO ancestors living in an era following the U.S. Civil War who contributed information to assist in this massive genealogical effort. Besides the genealogical information of each family entity, biographical and historical information is given when known. This gives the reader an insight to that family's history during the Great Migration to the West and to Canada, Chile, Australia and other parts of the world.
Please note: Much of Mortimer's compilation in Book the First has been (and will continue to be) reexamined by our European Research Group in an effort to provide substantiating documentation as far back as possible. Some significant errors have been found and substantiating documentation continues to be a work-in-progress. Consult our newsletter "Bonnes Nouvelles" numbers 58, 59, and 60 (available on this site to members only) for the latest findings as summarized in the GHAAHD Notes below. Book the Second is in the process of being corrected and arranged in an acceptable genealogical format by Muriel C. Cushing, the DELANO KINDRED Genealogist. The results of this effort, spanning the first seven generations of Philippe's descendants, have been published in multiple volumes by the Mayflower Society under the titles of "Philip Delano of the Fortune 1621" and are available under the "SHOP" tab at the top of this page.
GHAAHD NOTES
by George B. DeLano, Editor of Bonnes Nouvelles, the Delano Kindred newsletter.
(Click here to view or download these notes as a separate file.)
The Genealogy, History and Alliances of the American House of Delano 1621 to 1899 (GHAAHD) provides an 1899 view of the DELANO family in the Americas. It is divided into two books. Significant genealogical research has been completed since then and many errors have been discovered. The reader should keep in mind this genealogy was printed 34 years after the Civil War. The first book, The Heraldic and Genealogical History of the Maison de Franchimont & de Lannoy, edited by Mortimer Delano de Lannoy of New York City, has much erroneous information in it. Some of the most significant errors in this difficult to read book are as follows:
To view Book the First from the GHAAHD, click GHAAHD First Book.
The second book, The DELANO Genealogy: From 1621 –1899, was compiled by Major Joel Andrew Delano, then residing in Grove, Newaygo County, Michigan. Major Delano provides an introduction and identifies major contributors to this work (pages 96 through 98). Unfortunately, the arrangement of book two by Mortimer Delano de Lannoy makes this compilation difficult to follow in some cases[8]. It is arranged by the line of descent from each child of Philip Delano and his wives Hester Dewsbury and Mary Pontus Glass and a listing of unknown lines. Proportionally there are fewer errors in the second book of over 430 pages than in the first book of about 90 pages. Significant errors include:
To view Book the Second from the GHAAHD, click here.
Footnotes: