A family history
worth preserving.
From the medieval parish of Cann in Dorset to colonial Delaware, Pennsylvania and Illinois: discover the evidence, places and people behind the family name.
Delaware · Pennsylvania
Illinois · England
Before the Atlantic crossing.
Follow the name through historic Cann parish in Dorset and examine the documented arms of English Cann families—with the distinction between historical possibility and proven descent kept clear.
The places.
The people.
Explore places, ancestors, and documents together. Each exhibition distinguishes historical records from family tradition and questions still being researched.
Cann, Dorset: The Village and the Name
A historic parish adjoining Shaftesbury, with medieval associations, a church and surviving early-modern registers. Its relationship to the American Cann line remains an open research question.
Explore exhibit ↗The Cann Arms: History, Identity and Evidence
A closer examination of English heraldry, the historic Bristol Cann family and the difference between documented arms and a surname-wide emblem.
Explore exhibit ↗John Cann of Delaware
A New Castle merchant and public official, seen through court records, land transactions and an unfinished family history.
Explore exhibit ↗Archival research resource: Delaware Public Archives digital ancestry research collections
Source guide for researchers investigating Cann and related family history. The linked archive page is accessible, but it does not by itself establish an ancestral relationship or historical event.
Explore exhibit ↗England, a surname, and several possible beginnings
Cann parish, Bristol and Gloucestershire offer research paths. A place name or shared surname is not proof of descent.
Explore exhibit ↗From Delaware into the nineteenth century
Following reported households through Maryland and Pennsylvania, while keeping gaps in the lineage visible.
Explore exhibit ↗Reading the family through the land
Deeds and estate divisions name relationships, but similar parcels and repeated names require care.
Explore exhibit ↗Revolutionary service: a record is not yet a lineage
Distinguishing the Delaware soldier, a Kentucky pension applicant, and the families still under investigation.
Explore exhibit ↗Every person is
part of the story.
Move from an individual life to parents, children, relatives, and the events that connect them. The family tree is a living index to the collection.
Explore the family tree ↗Look closer.
Find people and sources; see where the evidence is strong and where questions remain.