Weymouth New England Genealogy

The following are excerpts from "Families of the Pilgrims - JohnAlden and William Mullins" published by the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants in 1986

John, Jr. was born before 22 May 1627. He married Elizabeth(Phillips) EVERILL, widow of Abiel EVERILL. She was born before 1640 and was buried in Boston on 7 Feb 1695/6. The birthdate for Joseph is after 22 May 1627. Mary SIMMONS died after 10 Mar1696/7. Alexander STANDISH, son of Myles STANDISH, was born inPlymouth before 22 May 1627 and died in Duxbury on 6 Jul 1702.He married (2) Desire DOTY, widow of William SHERMAN and IsraelHOLMES, born around 1645 and died 22 Jan 1731. She is buried in Marshfield. Abigail HALLETT was born around 1645 and died inDuxbury on 17 Aug 1725. John BASS was baptised in Saffron Waldon (Essex), England on 18 Sep 1630 and died in Braintree on 12 Sep1716. Me married (2) in Braintree on 21 Sep 1675 to HannahSTIRDEPHANT or STURTEVANT, widow of Samuel. Thomas DELANO was born on 21 Mar 1642 and died in Duxbury on 13 Apr 1723.
The death dates for Mary and Priscilla are just dates where they were known to be alive. The death record for David falls between5 Jun 1718 and 1 Apr 1719. Mary SOUTHWORTH died after 28 Mar1718.

JOHN ALDEN "John Alden was hired for a cooper at Southampton wher the ship victualed, and being a hopefull young man was much desired, but left to his owne liking to go, or stay when he came here, but he stayed, and maryed here," wrote William BRADFORD in his "Historyof Plymouth Plantation". A hopeful young man indeed, John Alden was about 21 years of age when the "Mayflower" sheltered at Provincetown harbor in November of 1620, and he was one of the 41 men who signed the Mayflower Compact in her cabin shortly after their arrival. His skills and strength must certainly have been a great aid to the weary Pilgrims in their race to build shelter on shore before the hard set of winter, and his wise counsel and efficient administration were to serve the colony for the next 67 years.

In 1623 John took part in the division of land, being in that group that received land on the north side of town, but because the record is worn, exactly how many acres he recieved is unknown. In the division of cattle in 1627, with his wife Priscilla, and children Elizabeth and John, he was part of the 4th lot that received four Raghorne heifers that had come on the ship "Jacob". Also in 1627, Alden joined with seven other men --Bradford, Standish, Allerton, Winslow, Brewster, Howland, and Thomas Prence -- who assumed the debt of the colony from the merchants in London. His trustworthiness and popularity were rewarded by positions in community government for more than 55 years and under five governors of the colony. He served at various times as governor's assistant, deputy to the General Court, treasurer, and deputy governor, and on various committees to review laws, redress abuses, and handle disputes. He also served on the councils of war against the Dutch in the 1620's and 50's and the Indians in 1675.

John and his wife, Priscilla, received a grant of land in Duxbury in 1627 and lived there during the farming season, returning to Plymouth for Sunday worship and the winter season. In 1632 a permanent settlement in Duxbury was established by the Aldens, the Standishes and others. John's (and perhaps Priscilla's) later years were spent in his son Jonathan's house, which had been built in 1653 and still stands today. A portion of this house is believed to be the old house built by John, moved from its nearby foundations and added to the new house. From his own deposition made in 1682 when he stated he was "aged 83 yeers or thereabouts" and had been "one of the first comers into New England to settle att or about Plymouth which is about 62 yeer since...," we know that John Alden was born about 1599. The place of birth is assumed to be England, but no more specific origin has been proved. He died in Duxbury on September 22, 1687, the last surviving signer of the Mayflower Compact. He left no will, having distributed his lands to his children before his death.

John Alden's wooing of fellow Mayflower passenger Priscilla Mullins, is probably the best-known story of the Pilgrims, but little is actually known of their years together. They were probably married by 1623 or 1624, and Priscilla died before John, sometime after 1680, but no more specific dates are known for these two important events. William Bradford recorded in his list of Mayflower passengers that John and Priscilla Alden had 11 children. However, at another place in his manuscript, Bradford's calculations seem to indicate there were only 10 children. Since no one has yet identified an eleventh child, we list 10 here.

The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers by Charles Edward Banks 1929 The Grafton Press John Alden: As is well known, Bradford states that John Alden was a youngman "hired for a cooper" at Southampton just prior to the sailing of the expedition. The municipal and parochial records of Southampton show several persons of that surname living in the city prior to 1600. The register of St. Michael shows the burial of a Richard Alden, 30 April, 1598, and the marriage of a"Wydoo" Avys Alden three months later. Evidently she was the widow of Richard. The Assembly Books of the corporation of Southampton show the name of George Alden, a fletcher (arrowmaker) living in the parish of All Saints. His name appears regularly from 1587 to 1620 in the Court Leet Books of Southampton. Unfortunately, the early registers of All Saints do not now exist, but the Assembly Books show that he was surveyor of highways, 1600; a beadle in 1605; bondsman the same year (signing with a mark); surety for an alehouse keeper, 1619; with a last appearance of his name in July, 1620, in the stall and art lists when the "Mayflower" and "Speedwell" were lying at anchor in Southampton Water (Assembly Books, pp. 6, 39a). Jane Alden, a widow, was taxed in the city subsidy for 1628 (P.R.O.175/522). From these records it is a fair presumption that John Alden, said to have been born in 1599, residing in Southampton in 1620, may have been the son of George the fletcher, who disappeared -probably dying in that year - leaving John, an orphan, free to take employment overseas. Jane, the widow, may have been his mother and Richard and Avys his grandparents. His marriage with Priscilla Mullins, a fellow-passenger, derives some contemporary interest from the fact that a William Mullins and a George Aldenwere both in the tax list of Holyrood Ward in 1602 (AssemblyBook, fol. I). From Caleb Johnson: "Extensive research has been done into the ancestry of John Alden, but nothing has conclusively been found. There are two major theories that have been presented over the years: Charles Edward Banks, in his book The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1929, puts forward a theory that John isthe son of George Alden and Jane (---) and grandson of Richard and Avys Alden of Southampton, England. Since Bradford says John Alden was hired in Southampton, this would be a logical place to start looking for Aldens. No other supporting evidence has been found, and it has been noted by many researchers that the names George, Richard, and Avys do not occur anywhere in John Alden's family. Naming children after parents and grandparents was an extremely common practice in the seventeenth century, and the absence of such a name is nearly enough evidence to disprove this theory.The currently popular theory is that John Alden came from Harwich, Essex, England. There was a sea-faring Alden family living there, who were related by marriage to Christopher Jones, captain of the Mayflower. It has been suggested John Alden maybe the son of John Alden and Elizabeth Daye, but this is notfully proven either."