I have been doing some more geneological explorations, using as a guide a family tree given to me by my uncle, and a book on ancestry.com about the Child family (my mother's father's family). Using the book, I've now gotten back to Benjamin Child in the 17th century and Roxbury, Massachusetts.
This stuff is addictive. HWMBO wanted me to stop, so I will. However, it gets very interesting back there. The book mentions my great-grandfather (born 1871).