Priscilla Mullin

Personal and Family Information

Priscilla was born in 1603 in Dorking, Surrey, England, the daughter of William Mullins and Alice Unknown.

She died in 1650 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America.

Her husband was Captain John Alden, who she married on 12 MAY 1622 in Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America. Their ten known children were Elizabeth (1623-1717), Captain John (1626-1702), Joseph (1627-1697), Sarah (1627-<1688), Priscilla (1630->1688), Jonathan (1632-1697), Ruth (1634-1674), Mary (1638-1688), David (c1642-<1719) and Rebecca (c1640-<1722).

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Multimedia

Priscilla-Jo...

Notes

Note 1

BIRTH: feb1602, Dorking or Guildford, co. Surrey, England, daughter of William Mullins and Elizabeth Wood.

MARRIAGE: John Alden, May 12, 1623, at Plymouth.

CHILDREN: Elizabeth,John, John, Joseph, Priscilla, Jonathan, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, Rebecca, and David.

DEATH: and 1687 at Duxbury. she attended the funeral of Josiah Winslow in 1680, but no primary source exists to confirm.

Priscilla Mullins was born probably near Guildford or Dorking, co. Surrey, England, to William Mullins. She came on the Mayflower to Plymouth in 1620 with her father, brother Joseph, and mother step mother Alice. Her family, herself excepted, died the first winter. She was shortly thereafter, 12 May 1623, married to John Alden, the Mayflower's cooper, who had decided to remain at Plymouth rather than return to England with the ship.They John and Priscilla lived in Plymouth until the late 1630s, when they moved north to found the neighboring town of Duxbury.

John and Priscilla would go on to have ten children, most of whom lived to adulthood and married. They have an enormous number of descendants living today.

American Colonial Figure. One of the charter members of the Plymouth Colony, arriving on the first voyage of the "Mayflower", her marriage to John Alden is the third known marriage in the Plymouth colony. Born in Dorking, Surrey, England, she was a young girl of 18 at the time of the sailing of the Mayflower in 1620 for America, when she arrived with her parents. When her parents died in the first winter ashore, in early 1621, a hard time when about half of the colony perished, she chose to stay with the Pilgrims even though she had a brother and sister surviving in England.

Between the time of her parents' deaths in 1621 and her marriage to John Alden 1623, it is not known whom she stayed with or how she survived. John married Priscilla Mullins at 21, A legend of a rivalry between John Alden and pilgrim Miles Standish for Priscilla Mullins arose, and was first published in the book, "Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions" in 1814, by Timothy Alden. The story was popularized by the poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1858, however, there is no documentation of such a rivalry to have existed in any of the records of the Plymouth Colony.

Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson

Note 2

MY 9x GREAT-GRANDMOTHER

Note 3

Biographical Summary of the Alden ChildrenIn order of birth, the children of John and Priscilla are listed and briefly described below. They have 11 known children , the first three children were born in Plymouth, the remainder in Duxbury.Note: Zachariah Alden and Henry Alden have both been incorrectly identified as sons of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins in various publications. For information on the genealogy of Henry Alden, see Mayflower Descendant 43:21-29,133-138; 44:27-30,181-184. 1. Elizabeth. Married William Pabodie, a civic and military leader of Duxbury where all thirteen of their children were born. They moved to Little Compton, Rhode Island where Elizabeth died in 1717 at the age of about 94. Their descendants were prominent in settling areas of Rhode Island and Connecticut. From Elizabeth’s line comes the one individual most credited with spreading the fame of John and Priscilla far and wide, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his \"Courtship of Miles Standish.\"2. John. Moved to Boston and married there Elizabeth (Phillips) Everill, widow of Abiel Everill. They also had 13 children. He was a mariner and became a naval commander of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was a member of the Old South Church of Boston and his ancient slate headstone is embedded in the wall there. Perhaps the best known event of his life is when, on a trip to Salem, he was accused of witchcraft, spending fifteen weeks in a Boston jail. He escaped shortly before nine of the other \"victims\" were executed. He was later exonerated.3. Joseph. Moved to Bridgewater where he was a farmer on land purchased earlier from the Indians by his father and Myles Standish. He married Mary Simmons. They had a total of seven children. Joseph died sometime after 1696/7.4. Sarah. Her marriage to Myles Standish son, Alexander, puts to rest any idea of a long-standing feud between the Aldens and the Standish clan. In fact, there is much evidence to suggest that John and Myles remained lifelong friends or, at the minimum, associates. Sarah and Alexander lived in Duxbury until Sarah’s death sometime before June 1688. (Alexander subsequently married Desire Doty, a twice widowed daughter of Pilgrim Edward Doty.) They had seven and possibly eight children. The Duxbury house where they lived still stands.5. Jonathan. Married Abigail Hallett December 10, 1672. Lived in Duxbury until his death February 14, 1697. Was the second owner of the Alden House which he received from his father. The house then passed to his own son, John. Six children. We gain a little insight into his life when, at his funeral oration, Jonathan was described as, \"...a sincere Christian, one whose heart was in the house of God even when his body was barred hence by restraints of many difficulties which confined him at home.\"6. Ruth. Married John Bass of Braintree where they lived and had seven children. Of the more illustrious descendants of this union came Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Ruth died on October 12, 1674.7. Rebecca. Married Thomas Delano of Duxbury by 1667, a son of Philip Delanoye, one of the original settlers of Duxbury. They had nine children. Died in Duxbury sometime after June 13, 1688.8. Mary. No record of birth or marriage. Died after June 13, 1688.9. Priscilla. Same information as for Mary.10. David. Married Mary Southworth, daughter of Constant Southworth. Died sometime during 1718 or 1719. Six children. A man described as \"a prominent member of the church, a man of great respectability and much employed in public business.\"

Note 4

Priscilla Mullins was born probably near Guildford or Dorking, co. Surrey, England, to William Mullins. She came on the Mayflower to Plymouth in 1620 with her father, brother Joseph, and mother or step-mother Alice. Her entire family, herself excepted, died the first winter. She was shortly thereafter, in 1622 or 1623, married to John Alden, the Mayflower's cooper, who had decided to remain at Plymouth rather than return to England with the ship. John and Priscilla lived in Plymouth until the late 1630s, when they moved north to found the neighboring town of Duxbury.

John and Priscilla would go on to have ten or eleven children, most of whom lived to adulthood and married. They have an enormous number of descendants living today.