Aside from Native Americans that predate all landings, six centuries before the Pilgrims, Vikings would land in North America. The Spanish would have a settlement in Florida in the late 1500s. English men settled Jamestown 16 years before the Pilgrims and Polish people would arrive in America in 1609 as indentured servants.
I seem to have several lines of ancestors that pre date the landing of the pilgrims. Thomas Burgess is about the most famous but lately I have been doing searches on the Satterlees, also spelled Satterly, Saterly and Satterley.
Hannah Satterly would receive the pension of John Satterly from the Revolutionary war. They were both born in Rhode Island and had moved into New York State following the Revolutionary war. John would die in the Washington county, New York area in 1829 and Hannah would live past 1843. Fifty-eight pages of documentation of the request for the reinstatement of the pension to Hannah from John for the period of 1829 to 1842. Her son Ira would send a letter in her behalf requesting the pension.
In the 1850 Census I find Joseph Satterlee the son of Hannah and John living in Otto, Cattaraugus county, New York. The family was large, consisting of about 10 children, many of which remained in the Otto area, living next door to each other.
Hannah and John’s son Nathan Satterlee would live with them in New York state, marry Lucy Mallory and move on to Wisconsin and remain there until his death in 1854
Another son, Daniel Satterlee would marry Amey Clark. Their daughter Anna Nancy Satterlee would marry Samuel Reynolds, they would live in Essex county, New York and have 10 children. Their daughter Luanna would marry Zachariah Deyo Oakley, my 3rd great grandfather and live in Olean, Cattaraugus, New York.