Signing of the Mayflower Compact

John Alden (1599?-September 22, 1687) was one of the Pilgrims who emigrated to America in 1620 on the Mayflower and founded the Plymouth Colony. He was originally hired by William Bradford and others to be their cooper. Though he could have returned to England the following year, he chose to stay in the new colony. About 1623 he married Priscilla Mullins, with whom he had many children. He was one of the first settlers of Duxburrough or Duxborough, known today as Duxbury, Massachusetts, where he lived for most of his life. From 1633 until 1675 he was assistant to the governor of the colony, frequently serving as acting governor and also sat on many juries, including one of the two witch trials in the Plymouth Colony. “Photograph of a painting signed Percy Moran, showing Myles Standish, William Bradford, William Brewster and John Carver signing the Mayflower Compact in a cabin aboard the Mayflower while other Pilgrims look on. ... “Photograph of a painting signed Percy Moran, showing Myles Standish, William Bradford, William Brewster and John Carver signing the Mayflower Compact in a cabin aboard the Mayflower while other Pilgrims look on. ... Year 1599 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ... Pilgrims is the name commonly applied to early settlers of the Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts. ... Year 1620 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Mayflower was the ship which transported the Pilgrim Fathers from Plymouth, England to North Virginia (in what was later to become the United States of America) in 1620, leaving Plymouth on September 6 and dropping anchor near Cape Cod on November 21. ... Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 until 1691. ... Bas-relief on Bradford Street in Provincetown depicting the signing of the Mayflower Compact William Bradford (March 19, 1590 – May 9, 1657) was a leader of the separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was elected Governor of the Colony for 15 two-year terms. ... Portrait of Priscilla Mullins (Mullens/Alden)[1] Priscilla Alden (née Mullins) (c. ... For the place in England see Duxbury Woods Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Plymouth County Settled 1624 Incorporated 1637 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  37. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Events February 13 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. ... Events January 5 - The Battle of Turckeim June 18 - Battle of Fehrbellin August 10 - King Charles II of England places the foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London - construction begins November 11 - Guru Gobind Singh becomes the Tenth Guru of the Sikhs. ... Devil, one of the main protagonists of the witch trials. ...

There are several theories regarding John Alden's ancestry. According to William Bradford's Of Plimoth Plantation, he was hired as a cooper in Southampton, England just before the voyage to America. In The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers Charles Edward Banks suggested that John was the son of George and Jane Alden and grandson of Richard and Avys Alden of Southampton. However, there are no further occurrences of the names George, Richard, and Avys in his family which would have been unusual in the seventeenth century. Bas-relief on Bradford Street in Provincetown depicting the signing of the Mayflower Compact William Bradford (March 19, 1590 – May 9, 1657) was a leader of the separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was elected Governor of the Colony for 15 two-year terms. ... The front page of the Bradford journal Written over a period of years by the leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation is the single most complete authority for the story of the Pilgrims and the early years of the Colony they founded. ... This page discusses the English city of Southampton. ...

Another theory is that John Alden came from Harwich, England where there are records of an Alden family who were related by marriage to Christopher Jones, the Mayflower's captain. In this case, he may have been the son of John Alden and Elizabeth Daye. Arms of Harwich Town Council Harwich (IPA, /hɑːˈɹɪtʃ/) is a town in Essex, England, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. ... Christopher Jones was master of the Mayflower between at least 1609 and 1623 and captained it on the transatlantic voyage that established the Plymouth Colony settlement. ...

In 1634 John Alden was jailed in Boston for a fight at Kenebeck in Maine between members of the Plymouth Colony and the 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. Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 until 1691. ... A map of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ... Bas-relief on Bradford Street in Provincetown depicting the signing of the Mayflower Compact William Bradford (March 19, 1590 – May 9, 1657) was a leader of the separatist settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and was elected Governor of the Colony for 15 two-year terms. ...

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. The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... Baptist churches are part of a Christian movement often regarded as an Evangelical, Protestant denomination. ...

At the time of his death, at Duxbury on September 12, 1687, he was the last male survivor of the signers of the Mayflower Compact of 1620, and with the exception of Mary Allerton, he was the last survivor of the Mayflower's company. For the place in England see Duxbury Woods Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Plymouth County Settled 1624 Incorporated 1637 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  37. ... September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years). ... Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ... This bas-relief depicting the signing of the Mayflower Compact is on Bradford Street in Provincetown directly below the Pilgrim Monument. ... Year 1620 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

He is remembered chiefly because of a popular legend, put into verse in 1858 as The Courtship of Miles Standish by his descendant Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, concerning his courtship of Priscilla Mullens, whom he married in 1623 after having wooed her first on behalf of his friend, Miles Standish. There is no known historic basis to the legend. 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Courtship of Miles Standish is an 1858 narrative poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow set in the early days of the Plymouth Colony. ... Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet whose works include Paul Reveres Ride, A Psalm of Life, The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. ... Priscilla Alden (nee Mullens) (1604 - 1680), noted member of Massachusettss Plymouth Colony of Pilgrims, was the wife of fellow colonist John Alden (c. ... Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Signing of the Mayflower Compact Myles Standish (c. ...

John Alden's house in Duxbury, built in 1653, is open to the public as a museum. It is run by the Alden Kindred of America, an organization which provides historical information about him and his home, including genealogical records of his descendants. For the place in England see Duxbury Woods Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Plymouth County Settled 1624 Incorporated 1637 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  37. ... Events February 2 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated. ...

John Alden and his wife Priscilla lie buried in the Miles Standish Burial Ground in Duxbury MA. For the place in England see Duxbury Woods Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: Country United States State Massachusetts County Plymouth County Settled 1624 Incorporated 1637 Government type Open town meeting Area    - Town  37. ...

John and Priscilla had the following children who survived to adulthood: Elizabeth, John (accused during the Salem witch trials), Joseph, Priscilla, Jonathan, Sarah, Ruth, Mary, Rebecca, and David. They have many thousands of descendants. 1876 illustration of the courtroom; the central figure is usually identified as Mary Walcott The Salem witch trials, which began in 1692 (also known as the Salem witch hunt and the Salem witchcraft episode), resulted in a number of convictions and executions for witchcraft in both Salem Village and Salem...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a descendant of John Alden, as were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Orson Welles, Dan Quayle, Frank Nelson Doubleday, Roger Nash Baldwin, Samuel Eliot Morison, Gamaliel Bradford, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Herbert Henry Dow, Martha Graham, Adlai Stevenson III, Jan Garrigue Masaryk, Dick Van Dyke, Julia Child, James Whistler, Ned Lamont, and (presumably) Marilyn Monroe.^[1] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet whose works include Paul Reveres Ride, A Psalm of Life, The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. ... John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) served as Americas first Vice President (1789–1797) and as its second President (1797–1801). ... John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was a diplomat, politician, and President of the United States (March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829). ... This article contains a trivia section. ... James Danforth Dan Quayle (born February 4, 1947) was the 44th Vice President of the United States under George H. W. Bush (1989-1993). ... Frank Nelson Doubleday (January 30, 1862–January 8, 1934), known to friends and family as “Effendi”, was a famous U.S. publisher. ... Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was a noted civil libertarian, pacifist, and social activist who held Communist views at least until age 55. ... RAdm Samuel Eliot Morison (1887-1976), USN historian Samuel Eliot Morison, RAdm, USNR (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian, notable for producing scholarly works that were both authoritative and highly readable, an ability recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes. ... Captain Gamaliel Bradford, privateersman, was born in Duxbury, Mass. ... Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, (May 16, 1804_January 3, 1894) educator who opened the first English_language kindergarten in the United States. ... Herbert Henry Dow (1866 — 1930) was a U.S. (Canadian-born) chemical industrialist. ... Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 - April 1, 1991), an American dancer and choreographer, is known as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance. ... Adlai Stevenson III Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (born October 10, 1930, in Chicago) is an American politician of the Democratic party. ... Jan Masaryk (September 14, 1886 - March 10, 1948) was a Czechoslovakian diplomat and politician. ... Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an Emmy-Award winning American television and movie actor, comedian and dancer. ... Julia Child (August 15, 1912–August 13, 2004) was a famous American cook, author, and television personality who introduced French cuisine and cooking techniques to the American mainstream through her many cookbooks and television programs. ... James Abbott McNeill Whistler (July 14, 1834 - July 17, 1903) was an American painter and etcher. ... Edward Miner Lamont, Jr. ... Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe Award-winning American actress, singer, model and pop icon. ...

References

1. ^ Some Famous Alden Descendants

External links

• John Alden from MayflowerHistory.com
• Alden Kindred of America
• John Alden at Find A Grave