Captain John Alden

Personal and Family Information

Captain was born on 6 JUL 1598 in Stoke, near Guildford, Surrey, England, the son of unknown parents.

He died in 1687 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America.

His wife was Priscilla Mullins, who he 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).

Events

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Notes

Note 1

MY 10x GREAT-GRANDFATHER

John Alden was one of the single men who traveled on the Mayflower. He was recruited at Southampton to be a cooper on the voyage. John’s parentage and origins are unknown; he was born by 1599 to be old enough to sign the Mayflower Compact.

John married at Plymouth, circa 1623, Priscilla Mullins who came on the Mayflower with her parents, William and Alice Mullins, and her brother Joseph. Priscilla alone survived the first winter. John died 12 September 1687 and was buried at Duxbury. Priscilla’s death date is unknown, however she is said to have been present at the 1680 funeral of Governor Josiah Winslow. Gravestones for the couple were placed in the Old Duxbury cemetery in the 1950’s. At his death in 1687, John was described as the “ancient Magistrate of Plymouth.”

John was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, 11 November 1620, while the ship was anchored at Provincetown. In the 1623 land division he would have been granted one acre. In the 1627 Cattle Division he is listed with wife Priscilla, daughter Elizabeth and son John.

In 1634, John was involved in an incident at Kennebeck where a violent quarrel broke out about trading rights and two men were killed, one being John Hocking. John Alden happened to be in Boston at the time arranging supplies for the trading post and was arrested, being the nearest official of Plymouth Colony, but was released when the events became known.

John was respected in the community and by 1633, and for many years after, served the town as one of the Assistants to the Governor. He often served on committees to set land boundaries and determine taxes, and as the colony’s treasurer. In 1660, having spent many years working for the colony, and at that time being “low in his estate,” he was granted a “gratuity” of £10. In fact, he continued as an Assistant right up to 1686, the year before his death. In one area John was said to be a disappointment, being a “notorious persecutor” of Quakers that came before him in court.

In a deposition dated 6 July 1682, John Alden, Esq. testified that he was “aged 83 yeers, or thereabouts, testifyeth and saith, That I…being one of the first comers into New England, to settle att or about Plymouth, which now is about 62 yeer since, doth know…that the little iland lying neare the southerly point of Mount Hope neck, called by the Indians Chessawanucke, by the English Hoge Iland, did then belonge…to the said Sachem Osmequin.”

Children of John and Priscilla (Mullins) Alden:

Elizabeth Alden, born at Plymouth, circa 1624-5; died at Little Compton, RI, 31 May 1717; married at Duxbury, 26 December 1644, William Pabodie; they had 13 children: John, Elizabeth, Mary, Mercy, Martha, Priscilla (died young), Priscilla, Sarah, Ruth, Rebecca, Hannah, William and Lydia Pabodie.

John Alden, born at Plymouth, circa 1626; died at Boston, 14 March 1701/2; married at Boston, 1 April 1660, Elizabeth (Phillips) Everill; they had fourteen children: Mary, John (died young), Elizabeth (died young), John, William (died young), Elizabeth, William (died young), Zachary (died young), Nathaniel, William, Zachariah, Sarah (died young), Nathan and Sarah Alden.

Joseph Alden, born at Plymouth or Duxbury, circa 1627; died at Bridgewater, 8 February 1696/7; married circa 1660, Mary Simmons and had seven children: Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Mercy, Hopestill, Elizabeth and John Alden.

Sarah Alden, born probably at Duxbury, between 1630-40; death unknown, before 1688; married circa 1660, Alexander2 Standish (Myles1) and had eight children: Lorah, Lydia, Mercy, Elizabeth, Sarah, Miles, Ebenezer and David Standish.

Jonathan Alden, born probably at Duxbury, circa 1633; died at Duxbury, 14 February 1697; married at Duxbury, 10 December 1672, Abigail Hallett and had six children: Elizabeth, Anna, Sarah, John, Andrew and Jonathan Alden.

Ruth Alden, born at Duxbury, circa 1637; died at Braintree, 12 October 1674; married at Braintree, 3 February 1657, John Bass and had seven children: John, Samuel, Ruth, Joseph, Hannah, Mary and Sarah Bass.

Rebecca Alden, born at Duxbury, before 1649; died before 5 October 1722; married at Duxbury, before 30 October 1667, Thomas Delano and had nine children: Benoni, Thomas, Deborah, Jonathan, David, Mary, Sarah, Ruth and Joseph Delano.

Mary Alden, born at Duxbury, date unknown; died after 13 June 1688, unmarried.

Priscilla Alden, born at Duxbury, date unknown; died after 13 June 1688, unmarried.

David Alden, born at Duxbury, circa 1645-50; died at Duxbury, circa 1718-19; married by 1674, Mary Southworth and had six children: Ruth, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Benjamin, Alice and Samuel Alden.

Sources:

Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, John Alden, vol. 16, part 1 of 3, by Esther L. Woodworth; Alicia C. Williams, ed.

Mayflower Passenger References (from contemporary sources and scholarly journals), by Susan E. Roser, 2011, pp. 1-29.

Note 2

Deputy Governor John Alden (42)(170) was born about 1599 in England. He died on Sep 9 1687 in Duxbury, Massachusetts. By far the most famous of all my American ancestors, John Alden and Priscilla Mullins are a classic example of stumbling into history. Alden was a cooper and, because of his needed skills, was recruited for the Mayflower before it sailed in the autumn of 1620. Thus he was not one of the saints--i.e. of the sect that organized the expedition--but one of the strangers, those who were added to the roster because of their skills.

Although assured of fame by virtue of having sailed on the Mayflower, they became even more famous because one of their vast progeny, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, wrote a poem about their love affair. This legend--of Alden going to Priscilla to press the suit of his friend Miles Standish and she preferring the messenger to the message--has no documentary evidence but it is very ancient and might be true.

Alden was the last surviving male passenger and signer of the Mayflower Compact. He served as surveyor of highways, deputy from Duxbury to the General Court, as a member of the colony's war council, treasurer, and as governor's assistant for many years, an important position. He was Deputy Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1664-65 and in 1677. He also served on the jury of one of the two witch trials held in Plymouth. In both these trials the defendant was acquitted while the accuser was convicted of libel, fined, and whipped.

After living in Plymouth for a few years he moved to Duxbury where he was granted a farm of about 169 acres. He later was granted an additional farm in Bridgewater. His house still stands, one of the greatest tourist attractions in Massachusetts.

Despite a great deal of research, John Alden's ancestry remains uncertain. All that is known for sure is that he was hired in Southampton, England, for his skills as a cooper and that he must have had a good education judging from the positions of responsibility in which he was very soon placed when he settled in the Plymouth colony. Because he and Priscilla had ten children, all of whom lived to maturity and eight of whom married and had children of their own, the Alden descent is by far the most common of Mayflower descents. The genealogist who uncovers his English origins will have instant fame in the genealogical community.

John Alden and Priscilla Mullins were the 3rd great grandparents of President John Adams and the 4th great grandparents of President John Quincy Adams. They are also the 9th great grandparents of Vice President Dan Quayle.

An article about John Alden appears in the Dictionary of American Biography. He was married to Priscilla Mullins Probably 1622 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/002100/002185/notes/steele.dir/parsonstech/genealogy/trees/jgordon/d71.htm

Note 3

Parents and origin are unknown.

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John Alden was born in England, about 1598, and died 12 September 1687, at the age of 89, in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony.

He was a cooper by trade and hired on as a "Mayflower" crew member in that capacity at Southampton. The conditions of employment permitted him to either remain in America or return as a crew member to England. He chose to remain in the New World. He was one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact.

In May 1623, John Alden married Priscilla Mullins. Her father and mother died in the general sickness of that first winter at Plymouth.

About 1632, they moved to nearby Duxbury. John Alden served in many public service capacities over the years, including assistant to the Governor and twice as Deputy Governor.

Priscilla died in about 1685.

John died on 12 September 1687, the LAST survivor of those who signed the Mayflower Compact.

John Alden had settled with the Pilgrims in Plymouth Colony, though not a pilgrim himself.

He was hired to repair "The Mayflower" while she lay at Southampton, England. Without any religious motives, John decided to journey when she set sail, perhaps with the hope of being prosperous in the New World, or perhaps because he wished to follow Priscilla Mullins. They married in May 1623. From 1633 until 1675, he was Assistant to the Governor of Plymouth Colony, frequently serving as Acting Governor, and also sat on many juries, including one of the two witch trials in Plymouth Colony.

In 1634 Alden was jailed, in Boston, for a fight at Kennebeck in Maine between members of Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony. While Alden did not take part in the fight (which left one person dead) he was the highest-ranking member the Massachusetts Bay colonists could get their hands on, and it was only through the intervention of William Bradford that he was eventually released.

In later years, Alden became known for his intense dislike of the Quakers and Baptists, who were trying to settle on Cape Cod. A letter survives complaining that Alden was too strict when it came to dealing with them.

John Alden was the last male survivor of the signers of the Mayflower Compact of 1620, and with the exception of Mary Allerton, was the last survivor of the Mayflower's company.

He died at Duxbury on September 12, 1687.

Both he and his wife Priscilla lie buried in the Miles Standish Burial Ground. He made no will, having distributed the greater part of his estate among his children during his lifetime.

(Findagrave.com)

Note 4

The children of John and Priscilla

Priscilla and John Alden had ten children, with a possible eleventh dying in infancy. It is presumed, although not documented, that the first three children were born in Plymouth, the remainder in Duxbury.

The children were:

1. John (1626–1701). Moved to Boston and married there Elizabeth (Phillips) Everill, widow of Abiel Everill. They had thirteen 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/murdered during the Salem witch trials. Alden was later exonerated.

2. Elizabeth. (1624/25–1717). Married William Pabodie (Peabody), 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 ninety-four. 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.

3. Joseph. (1627-1697) 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.

4. Sarah. Her marriage to Myles Standish's son, Alexander, undercuts 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 or possibly eight children. Their home, Alexander Standish House, in Duxbury still stands.

5. Jonathan. Married Abigail Hallett, December 10, 1672. Lived in Duxbury until his death February 14, 1697. He was the second owner of the Alden House which he received from his father. The house then passed to his own son, John, one of his six children. 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, Massachusetts, 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 of Plymouth Colony. 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."