My Abraham Livingston connection and the War for Independence

It is so important to know where we come from, the forces, events and ideas that helped shape our worlds and the people we come from. This notion has been a strong theme in my life, I feel compelled and almost responsible to know my people and their stories. I have big feelings about my people and love them for the things they did and the sacrifices they made. "My people" made me and I promise I will not forget.

On to today's story, I want to share the stories about the Livingston family. This story centers around the war for Independence and my ancestor Captain Abraham Livingston. Abraham  was born about October 1753  in New York, United States and we have record of his christening 03 October 1753 in the Reformed Dutch Church, New York, New York. He was born to the wealthy and affluent father who was a merchant and trader, John Livingston and Catarina Ten Brock, the daughter of Col Dirck Ten Broeck and Margarita Cuyler. Catarina must have had very high opinions (and gives us a peak into her character) as it is said of his mother, Catarina,

" ...she never spoke the English language. A description of the ceremonious visits the children of the family paid their grandmother is still repeated among the descendants. On New Year's, the only day of the year on which the grandchildren were permitted to visit her apartments, they came with the greatest delight, mingled with awe. The low curtsy was made, and their greetings spoken in Dutch taught them for the occasion."

Catryna Ten Broeck Livingston, portrait of her childhood

By 1765, Abraham was about 12 years old and the family had moved to Montreal Canada most certainly for his father John Livingston to pursue his business of trader and merchant. Having been raised by a strict Dutch mother, he had to have been fluent in the Dutch language, and being American knew English, but the family also lived in French Canada for a number of years, so it is probable that Abraham was knowledgeable in the French language as well. So a linguist? Probably. We also know that Abraham was employed as a clerk for Mr Oakes of Ermintinoex in the Indian territory as a fur trader just prior to the outbreak of the war.

Abraham was about 22 years old when his older brother, Col James Livingston, raised a regiment named the 1st Canadian Regiment in September 1775 to fight for the cause of freedom for a fledgling nation. Abraham was named a captain in his brother's regiment and fought alongside his 2 older brothers, Lt Col Richard Livingston and Col James Livingston in the Battle Of Quebec in 1775. This war was fought on December 31, 1775, between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of Quebec City early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came with heavy losses. General Richard Montgomery was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner. The city's garrison, a motley assortment of regular troops and militia led by Quebec's provincial governor, General Guy Carleton, suffered a small number of casualties.

American forces are shattered in fierce street fighting during the Battle of Quebec.

What a tragic engagement for Abraham to have been involved in to begin his military service in the war for Independence.
It must have been especially difficult as Abraham, Richard and James were all related to the fallen General Richard Montgomery through the marriage of Richard to the brother's cousin, Janet Livingston.
What did George Washington say of Richard Montgomery's passing?

Phillip Schuyler and General George Washington were devastated upon hearing of Montgomery's death. Schuyler believed that without Montgomery, victory in Canada was not possible. He wrote to Congress and Washington that "My amiable friend, the gallant Montgomery, is no more; the brave Arnold is wounded; and we have met a severe check, in an unsuccessful attempt on Quebec, May Heaven be graciously pleased that the misfortune may terminate here."Washington wrote to Schuyler, "In the death of this gentleman, America has sustained a heavy loss, as he had approved himself a steady friend to her rights and of ability to render her the most essential services." Congress reacted to Montgomery's death by trying to keep the loss as quiet as possible. They feared the news would lower the morale of the troops and civilians.

We next see the Livingston brothers in both The Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7, 1777) which marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. It was a major turning point for the American cause.
British General John Burgoyne led a large invasion army southward from Canada in the Champlain Valley, hoping to meet a similar British force marching northward from New York City and another British force marching eastward from Lake Ontario; the southern and western forces never arrived, and Burgoyne was surrounded by American forces in upstate New York. He fought two small battles to break out which took place 18 days apart on the same ground, 9 miles (14 km) south of Saratoga, New York. They both failed. He later served as Captain in the New York Levies.(only found one reference to this, needs more research)

I read that Abraham was involved in The Battle of Monmouth which was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. I will need to do further research to see what regiment he fought in, I found evidence that he served in the New York Levies as a captain and maybe that was his involvement. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court House (modern Freehold Borough). It is also known as the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse.

Next we see Abraham at The Battle of Rhode Island (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill and the Battle of Newport) took place on August 29, 1778. Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General John Sullivan were withdrawing to the northern part of Aquidneck Island after abandoning their siege of Newport, Rhode Island when the British forces in Newport sortied, supported by recently arrived Royal Navy ships, and attacked the retreating Americans. The battle ended inconclusively, but afterwards Continental forces withdrew to the mainland, leaving Aquidneck Island in British hands.

The battle was the first attempt at cooperation between French and American forces following France's entry into the war as an American ally. Operations against Newport were planned in conjunction with a French fleet and troops, but they were frustrated in part by difficult relations between the commanders, as well as by a storm that damaged both French and British fleets shortly before joint operations were to begin.

Abraham Livingston served in the army until right about the time the war ended 1781 for about 6  years. He must have witnessed horrible things and done things he might not have wanted to do that always accompany war, and for him to be involved in so many battles without serious injury or death also speaks to Abraham's strength and character.

I never see note or documentation from the government any compensation for Abraham's service, I do see Abraham's heirs petitioning for back pay. I'm not sure what the outcome of this action was. This is not to say he was never compensated, I just can not find evidence of it. I do however know that Abraham's brother, Col James Livingston , was given thousands of acres of land for his service to the cause.

additional documentation from Jane Vanderhayden of Abraham's involvement in the war date 2 March 1799

document showing Captain Abraham Livingston allegiance, service and actions in the Revolutionary war
dated February 1799.

After Abraham's service in the war, he married 13 Feb 1782 in Rensselear, New York to Mara Bradt Peebles, the daughter of Thomas Peebles and Elizabeth Bradt. After the war he removed and settled at Stillwater, near the siege of Fort Erie. Abraham and Maria would go on to have 8 children, 6 daughters and 2 sons. Of the 2 sons, Thomas died young from drowning and John Peebles married but did not have any children. We see then that the Livingston name, for this line, going forward dies with his sons and daughters. Abraham and Maria had the following children:

1) Elizabeth Livingston Hubbard (1782-1807)
2) Angelica Livingston (abt 1785-____) died young
3) Catharine Livingston Mather (1787-1855)
4) Rosanna Livingston Schuyler (1790-1857)
5) John Peebles Livingston (1792-1852)
6) Maria Livingston O'Donnell (1795-1867)
7) Jane Livingston Williams (1797-1844)
8) Thomas Livingston (1800-1809) drowned at the age of 9

 Abraham died relatively young at the age of 49 on  03 July 1802, New York, United States and his grave stone is located in the Stillwater Union Cemetery, in Stillwater, Saratoga, New York. He left a large family with the youngest only 2 years old at his passing.

.Although the Livingston name disappears going forward from my family tree with this great man, I still feel the Livingston blood in me and feel pride for the part they played in gaining our Nation's freedom.

Thank you Abraham for what you did for our country and for our family.

Mary Dyer, Social Reformer, Quaker Prophetess and Religious Martyr, my ancestor

I am a 12th great grand daughter of Mary Dyer, the Quaker prophetess, preacher and martyr.

Convinced that the intolerant law of Massachusetts Colony banishing Quakers violated God’s law, Mary Dyer would not stay quiet or stay away. Mary was a Quaker, and Quakers believed that God could communicate directly to us and that salvation could be assured. This was considered heresy by the Puritans in Massachusetts, so they banished her from the colony. She was brought before the Court of Magistrates, which sentenced her to death and publicly hanged on June 1, 1660.

Mary Dyer (born Marie Barrett; c. 1611 – 1 June 1660) was an English and colonial American Puritan turned Quaker who was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, for repeatedly defying a Puritan law banning Quakers from the colony. She is one of the four executed Quakers known as the Boston martyrs.
While the place of her birth is not known, she was married in London in 1633 to the milliner William Dyer. Mary and William were Puritans who were interested in reforming the Anglican Church from within, without separating from it. As the English king increased pressure on the Puritans, they left England by the thousands to go to New England in the early 1630s. Mary and William arrived in Boston by 1635, joining the Boston Church in December of that year. Like most members of Boston's church, they soon became involved in the Antinomian Controversy, a theological crisis lasting from 1636 to 1638. Mary and William were strong advocates of Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelwright in the controversy, and as a result Mary's husband was disenfranchised and disarmed for supporting these "heretics" and also for harboring his own heretical views. Subsequently, they left Massachusetts with many others to establish a new colony on Aquidneck Island (later Rhode Island) in Narraganset Bay.

Before leaving Boston, Mary had given birth to a severely deformed infant that was stillborn. Because of the theological implications of such a birth, the baby was buried secretly. When the Massachusetts authorities learned of this birth, the ordeal became public, and in the minds of the colony's ministers and magistrates, the monstrous birth was clearly a result of Mary's "monstrous" religious opinions. More than a decade later, in late 1651, Mary Dyer boarded a ship for England, and stayed there for over five years, becoming an avid follower of the Quaker religion that had been established by George Fox several years earlier. Because Quakers were considered among the most heinous of heretics by the Puritans, Massachusetts enacted several laws against them. When Dyer returned to Boston from England, she was immediately imprisoned, and then banished. Defying her order of banishment, she was again banished, this time upon pain of death. Deciding that she would die as a martyr if the anti-Quaker laws were not repealed, Dyer once again returned to Boston and was sent to the gallows in 1659, having the rope around her neck when a reprieve was announced. Not accepting the reprieve, she again returned to Boston the following year, and was then hanged to become the third of four Quaker martyrs.

Dyer returned to Boston on 21 May 1660 and ten days later she was once again brought before the governor. The exchange of words between Dyer and Governor Endicott was recorded as follows:

Endicott: Are you the same Mary Dyer that was here before?

Dyer: I am the same Mary Dyer that was here the last General Court.

Endicott: You will own yourself a Quaker, will you not?

Dyer: I own myself to be reproachfully so called.

Endicott: Sentence was passed upon you the last General Court; and now likewise--You must return to the prison, and there remain till to-morrow at nine o'clock; then thence you must go to the gallows and there be hanged till you are dead.

Dyer: This is no more than what thou saidst before.
Endicott: But now it is to be executed. Therefore prepare yourself to-morrow at nine o'clock.

Dyer: I came in obedience to the will of God the last General Court, desiring you to repeal your unrighteous laws of banishment on pain of death; and that same is my work now, and earnest request, although I told you that if you refused to repeal them, the Lord would send others of his servants to witness against them.

Following this exchange, the governor asked if she was a prophetess, and she answered that she spoke the words that the Lord spoke to her. When she began to speak again, the governor called, "Away with her! Away with her!" She was returned to jail. Though her husband had written a letter to Endicott requesting his wife's freedom, another reprieve was not granted.

On 1 June 1660, at nine in the morning, Mary Dyer once again departed the jail and was escorted to the gallows. Once she was on the ladder under the elm tree she was given the opportunity to save her life. Her response was, "Nay, I cannot; for in obedience to the will of the Lord God I came, and in his will I abide faithful to the death." The military commander, Captain John Webb, recited the charges against her and said she "was guilty of her own blood." Dyer's response was:

Nay, I came to keep bloodguiltiness from you, desiring you to repeal the unrighteous and unjust law of banishment upon pain of death, made against the innocent servants of the Lord, therefore my blood will be required at your hands who willfully do it; but for those that do is in the simplicity of their hearts, I do desire the Lord to forgive them. I came to do the will of my Father, and in obedience to his will I stand even to the death.

— Dyer's words as she prepared to hang

Her former pastor, John Wilson, urged her to repent and to not be "so deluded and carried away by the deceit of the devil." To this she answered, "Nay, man, I am not now to repent." Asked if she would have the elders pray for her, she replied, "I know never an Elder here." Another short exchange followed, and then, in the words of her biographer, Horatio Rogers, "she was swung off, and the crown of martyrdom descended upon her head.

My Mayflower connection to 9 passengers

Mayflower

So exciting to learn I am connected to 9 original Mayflower passengers. On my father's side, I have direct ancestry to John Tilley and his wife Joan Hurst, their daughter Elizabeth Tilley and her husband John Howland and also to Degory Priest. On my mother's side directly come from Isaac Allerton and his wife Mary Norris and to their daughter Mary Allerton the wife of Thomas Cushman (Thomas Cushman was not a Mayflower passenger, he came to America in 1621 on the ship Fortune) and to Richard Warren (his wife Elizabeth Walker and their daughter Elizabeth Warren later came on the Anne in 1623-the wife of Richard Church).
On September 6, 1620 the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, and headed for America. By the time the Pilgrims had left England, they had already been living onboard the ships for nearly a month and a half. The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620. The first half of the voyage went fairly smoothly, the only major problem was sea-sickness. But by October, they began encountering a number of Atlantic storms that made the voyage treacherous. Several times, the wind was so strong they had to just drift where the weather took them, it was not safe to use the ship's sails. The Pilgrims intended to land in Northern Virginia, which at the time included the region as far north as the Hudson River in the modern State of New York. The Hudson River, in fact, was their originally intended destination. They had received good reports on this region while in the Netherlands. All things considered, the Mayflower was almost right on target, missing the Hudson River by just a few degrees.
As the Mayflower approached land, the crew spotted Cape Cod just as the sun rose on November 9. The Pilgrims decided to head south, to the mouth of the Hudson River in New York, where they intended to make their plantation. However, as the Mayflower headed south, it encountered some very rough seas, and nearly shipwrecked. The Pilgrims then decided, rather than risk another attempt to go south, they would just stay and explore Cape Cod. They turned back north, rounded the tip, and anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor. The Pilgrims would spend the next month and a half exploring Cape Cod, trying to decide where they would build their plantation. On December 25, 1620, they had finally decided upon Plymouth, and began construction of their first buildings.





(My connection to Isaac Allerton, Mary Norris and Mary Allerton: Sarah Cushman, Ebenezer Hawkes Sr, Ebenezer Hawkes Jr, Benjamin Hawkes, Joshua Hawkes, Joseph Bryant Hawkes, Amos Hawks, Joshua White Hawks, Illa L C Hawks, Carroll Denon Williams..)

1) ISAAC ALLERTON

Isaac Allerton: Isaac Allerton may have come from the vicinity of Ipswich, co. Suffolk, England. He first appears in Leiden, Holland records on 4 November 1611, when he married Mary Norris. Isaac had a sister named Sarah who also resided in Leiden, and who married future Mayflower passenger Degory Priest. He was probably also related, perhaps a brother, to Mayflower passenger John Allerton.
Isaac Allerton is one of the most complex figures in early Plymouth Colony. He was elected assistant to Governor Bradford in 1621, and continued in that capacity well into the 1630s. He was the individual sent to handle most of the buyout negotiations with the London investors that commenced in 1627, and continued through the early 1630s. Allerton soon began to take advantage of his position by engaging in some personal trading deals, and engaging the Pilgrims' joint-stock company in business ventures they had not authorized. After driving the colony deeper into debt with ill-advised business opportunities, he was eventually removed and replaced by Edward Winslow. After the death of his wife Fear in 1634, he retreated to the New Haven Colony and married there to Joanna Swinnerton. Allerton became an active merchant trader, engaging in transactions and trade with many neighboring colonies including the Dutch at New Netherlands; New Sweden; Virginia; Massachusetts Bay; and Barbados.

2) MARY NORRIS ALLERTON

Mary Norris: Mary (Norris) Allerton was about thirty when she came on the Mayflower with her husband Isaac and three children Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary. Her marriage record in Leiden indicates she was from Newbury, which is presumably Newbury, co. Berks, England. Searches of this area for her baptism record and other Norris family records have not yet turned up anything conclusive. They buried a child at St. Peters, Leiden, on 5 February 1620, and she gave birth to a stillborn son in Plymouth Harbor on 22 December 1620. She herself died during the height of the first winter, on 25 February 1621, though her husband and three children all survived.

3) MARY ALLERTON CUSHMAN

Mary Allerton Cushman: Mary Allerton born 1616 in  Leiden, The Netherlands and came on the Mayflower at the age of four with her parents Isaac and Mary (Norris) Allerton. Her mother Mary died during the height of the first winter in Plymouth 1621. Mary Allerton was married about 1636 to Thomas Cushman, who had been brought to Plymouth by his father Robert Cushman in 1621 onboard the ship Fortune. Thomas and Mary (Allerton) Cushman had a prosperous family, with seven of their eight children surviving to adulthood and marrying--and providing at least fifty grandchildren. Thomas came to America with his father, Robert Cushman,  on the ship FORTUNE in 1621, Robert Cushman returned to England alone, leaving Thomas as a ward of Governor William Bradford. In 1649 Thomas succeeded William Brewster as Ruling Elder and held that position for over 40 years until his death. Over his long life Cushman became a person of note in the colony being involved in numerous important activities. Both lived to very old age, with Thomas dying at the age of 85, and Mary living until age 83. In fact, prior to her death on 28 November 1699, Mary (Allerton) Cushman was the last surviving Mayflower passenger.




(My connection to Richard Warren and Elizabeth Walker: Lois Keele, Joanna Patten, Clara I. Billings, George P Billings, Titus Billings, Edward Billing, Hannah Church, Edward Church, Elizabeth Warren)

4) RICHARD WARREN

He participated in some of the early explorations of Cape Cod, when a suitable settlement location was being searched for.
One such extensive exploration began on Wednesday, 6 December 1620 in freezing weather using the ship’s shallop, a light, shallow-water boat with oars and sails which was navigated by two pilots, with a master gunner and three sailors. Pilgrims on board, in addition to Richard Warren, were senior members (Governor) Carver, Bradford, Standish and Winslow along with John and Edward Tilley, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins and Hopkins servant, Edward Doty. These persons were less than half the number of the previous exploration due to many having been felled by illness, the English exploring in freezing temperatures wearing unsuitable clothing due to not planning for the severity of the New England winter weather. This exploration would result in their first encounter with Indians and did not turn out well, as they learned that slow-firing muskets were no match for rapid-fire arrows. This Indian challenge to the Pilgrims was later known as the First Encounter.
In 1623 Warren felt that conditions were right to bring his family over from England, and they arrived that year on the Anne.
In the 1623 Division of Land, Warren received two “akers” (acres) of land in one area – “these lye one the north side of the towne nexte adjoyning to their gardens which came in Fortune” and five acres in another – “these following lye on the other side of the towne towards the eele-riuer (Eel River)” (as Richard “Waren”).
In Plymouth two more children were added to their family – in 1624 his wife Elizabeth gave birth to a son Nathaniel and in 1626 another son, Joseph.”
In 1626 twenty seven Plymouth settlers , called Purchasers, were involved with the colony joint-stock company which afterwards was turned over to the control of senior colony members. That group was called Undertakers, and were made up of such as Bradford, Standish and Allerton initially who were later joined by Winslow, Brewster, Howland, Alden, Prence and others from London, former Merchant Adventurers. The agreement was dated 26 October 1626 and was finalised sometime in 1627. Richard Warren may have originally been a party to the agreement, but due to his death, which may have been sometime in 1628, his name on the charter was replaced by that of his wife, recorded as “Elizabeth Warren, widow.”[11] Elizabeth Warren, as a widow, was named in a law passed by the Plymouth Court specifically to give her the Purchaser status that her husband had – “hee dying before he had performed the bargaine, the said Elizabeth performed the same after his decease, …"
In the 1627 Division of Cattle, Richard, his wife and their seven children, in the ninth lot, received several animals that had arrived on the ship Jacob, apparently in 1625. The ninth lot also listed John Billington and the Soule (spelled Sowle) family.
In his “Increasings and Decreasings”, Bradford assigns Richard Warren the title of “Mr.” which indicates someone of status, but does not mention him at all in his recording of Plymouth history. And except for a few mentions elsewhere, not very much is known about him in Plymouth, but the Warren family does seem to have been among those with wealth. His wife, ELIZABETH WALKER WARREN did not come on the Mayflower. Elizabeth Walker, was born in 1583. She was baptized September 1583 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. She and his first five children, all daughters, came to America in the ship Anne in 1623. Once in America, they then had two sons before Richard's untimely death in 1628. Richard Warren died in 1628. His wife Elizabeth outlived him by 45 years, dying at Plymouth in 1673. Her death was noted in the Records of Plymouth Colony (PCR 8:35) : "Mistris Elizabeth Warren, an aged widdow, aged above 90 yeares, deceased on the second of October, 1673, whoe, haveing lived a godly life, came to her grave as a shocke of corn fully ripe."[1] During the long period of her widowhood, Elizabeth Warren’s name appears in the records of Plymouth Colony. She appears first as executor of her husband’s estate, next paying taxes owed by a head of household, and finally as an independent agent in her own right.During her widowhood, Elizabeth Warren’s name is noted in Plymouth Colony records. She was listed as the executor of her husband’s estate, paying taxes as head of household and as an independent agent in her own right.

5) DEGORY PRIEST

Degory Priest (c.1579 - c.1621) was a member of the Leiden contingent on the historic 1620 voyage of the ship Mayflower. He was a hat maker from London who married Sarah, sister of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton in Leiden. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact in November 1620 and died less than two months later.
In some documents of the time, his name was also written as Digory Priest.
Degory Priest came alone of the Mayflower, with his family remaining in Leiden. He intended to send for his wife Sarah and daughters Mary and Sarah once the colony was established, that did not happen as Degory died in 1621.
Degory Priest married Sarah (Allerton) Vincent on November 4, 1611. She was the widow of John Vincent and sister of Mayflower passenger Isaac Allerton. They had two daughters, Mary and Sarah.
Sarah Priest (his widow) married 2nd in Leiden on or shortly after November 13, 1621 Godbert Godbertson, whose name, per Banks, was also written as Cuthbert Cuthbertson. He was a hat-maker from Leiden, as was Priest, and had been in communion with the Pilgrims before their emigration. He had previously been married to Elizabeth Kendall in 1617, who presumably was deceased by the time of his second marriage. They came to Plymouth on the ship Anne in 1623 with their son and her two daughters. Both Sarah and her second husband Godbert Godbertson died in 1633 in the epidemic that was rampant at that time. Their burial places are unknown.
I descend from their daughter, Mary Priest, who was born about 1612 and died in Charlestown in 1689. She married Phineas Pratt by 1633 and had eight children. The family moved to Charlestown about 1646. Mary Priest Pratt was a person of note in Plymouth history, coming on the ship Sparrow in 1622, being one of Thomas Weston's settlers at the failed Weymouth settlement, and coming to Plymouth in 1623.

(My connection to John Tilley his wife Joan Hurst Tilley and their daughter Elizabeth Tilley Howland: Elizabeth Tilley, Hannah Howland, Hannah Bosworth, Elizabeth Jenckes, Elizabeth Scott, Elizabeth M Cook, Sarah Scott, Benjamin F. Stewart, Lucinda Stewart, Ammon Curtis, Samuel F Curtis, Alton Craig Curtis...)

6) JOHN TILLEY

John Tilley: Surprisingly little is known about John Tilley. He was born in 1571 at Henlow, co. Bedford, England, a son of Robert and Elizabeth Tilley and his brother Edward Tilley and wife Agnes (along with their niece and nephew Humility Cooper and Henry Samson) also came on the Mayflower. Brother Edward is known to have lived in Leiden, but there is no record of John Tilley there (though it is certainly possible he was present there and just didn't get named in any record). John and Joan Tilley came on the Mayflower with their youngest child, Elizabeth, then about thirteen years old. Both John Tilley and wife Joan died the first winter at Plymouth, but their daughter Elizabeth survived and later married fellow Mayflower passenger John Howland.

7) JOAN HURST ROGERS TILLEY

Joan Hurst Rogers Tilley: Joan Hurst was born in 1567/8 in Henlow, Bedford, England, the daughter of William and Rose Hurst. She married first to Thomas Rogers in 1593 (not related to the Mayflower passenger Thomas Rogers). With her husband Thomas, she had a daughter Joan, baptized on 26 May 1594 in Henlow. Attempts to determine what happened to Joan have so far been unsuccessful. She may have died young. When her first husband Thomas died, likely around 1594 or 1595, she remarried to John Tilly.

John and Joan (Hurst)(Rogers) Tilley came on the Mayflower in 1620, bringing with them daughter Elizabeth. Joan, along with her husband, died the first winter at Plymouth, orphaning their 13-year old daughter Elizabeth in the New World. Elizabeth would later marry to Mayflower passenger John Howland.

8) ELIZABETH TILLEY HOWLAND

Elizabeth Tilley: Elizabeth Tilley came on the Mayflower, at the age of about thirteen, with her parents John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley. Her parents, and her aunt and uncle Edward and Agnes Tilley, all died the first winter, leaving her orphaned in the New World. She soon married, about 1624 or 1625, to fellow Mayflower passenger John Howland, who had come as a manservant, or apprentice, to Governor John Carver who died in April 1621.
John and Elizabeth Howland raised a large family with ten children, all of whom lived to adulthood and married. As a result, they likely have more descendants living today than any other Mayflower passengers. Some of their descendants include Franklin D. Roosevelt; both President Bush's; actors Alec and Stephen Baldwin, Humphrey Bogart, Christopher Lloyd; Mormon church founder Joseph Smith; poet Ralph Waldo Emerson; and Doctor Benjamin Spock.

9) JOHN HOWLAND

John Howland: John Howland was born about 1599, probably in Fenstanton, Huntington. He came on the Mayflower in 1620 as a manservant of Governor John Carver. During the Mayflower's voyage, Howland fell overboard during a storm, and was almost lost at sea--but luckily for his millions of descendants living today (including Presidents George Bush and George W. Bush, and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt) he managed to grab hold of the topsail halyards, giving the crew enough time to rescue him with a boat-hook.



"Howland Overboard," a painting by maritime artist Mike Haywood. Giclee canvas prints are available from the MayflowerHistory.com Store.
It has been traditionally reported that John Howland was born about 1592, based on his reported age at death in the Plymouth Church Records. However, ages at death were often overstated, and that is clearly the case here. John Howland came as a servant for John Carver, which means he was under 25 years old at the time (i.e. he was born after 1595). William Bradford, in the falling-overboard incident, refers to Howland as a "lusty young man," a term that would not likely have applied to a 28-year old given that Bradford himself was only 30. Bradford did call 21-year old John Alden a "young man" though. Howland's wife Elizabeth was born in 1607: a 32-year old marrying a 17-year old is a relatively unlikely circumstance. Howland's last child was born in 1649: a 57-year old Howland would be an unlikely father. All these taken together demonstrate that Howland's age was likely overstated by at least 5 years. Since he signed the "Mayflower Compact", we can assume he was probably at least 18 to 21 years old in 1620.
John Howland had several brothers who also came to New England, namely Henry Howland (an ancestor to both Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford) and Arthur Howland (an ancestor to Winston Churchill).



Journey and Colony Timeline:
Beginnings & Proceedings 1620-1621
February 2, 1619/20 • Another patent, this time to “John Peirce and associates” is secured.

July 31, 1620 • The colonists leave Leiden for Delftshaven and from there to Southampton, aboard the Speedwell. At Southampton they meet the rest of the settlers and the Mayflower.

August 5, 1620 • The Speedwell and Mayflower set sail for the “northern parts of Virginia.”

August 13, 1620 • The Speedwell proves leaky and the two ships put into Dartmouth.

August 23, 1620 • After repairing the Speedwell, the two ships set sail. The ship continues leaking, and they both put back into Plymouth.

September 6, 1620 • The Speedwell and some of the passengers are left in Plymouth, and the Mayflower sails on alone.

November 9, 1620 • They spot the tip of Cape Cod, north of the land authorized in their patent. They attempt to sail south, but are defeated by treacherous shoals.

November 11, 1620 • The Mayflower anchors in Provincetown Harbor. The document now known as the Mayflower Compact is drawn up and signed by most of the men. This establishes a provisional governmental structure until a new patent can be obtained from the New England Company.

November 15 to December 7, 1620 • Parties of men go exploring in search of a good site for settlement.

December 8, 1620 • A party of explorers encounter Wampanoag for the first time on Cape Cod. Although shots are exchanged, no one is hurt in this “first encounter.” In the evening the men arrive in Plymouth Harbor.

December 11, 1620 • The shallop party lands in Plymouth and explores the coast.

December 16, 1620 • The Mayflower drops anchor in Plymouth Harbor.

December 20, 1620 • The colonists choose an abandoned Wampanoag village called Patuxet for their new home. The former inhabitants had died or been scattered in an outbreak of European disease four years before.

December 23, 1620 • Men go ashore and begin gathering building materials. Work continues as weather and health permit. During the winter, about half of the colonists die of scurvy and other diseases.

March 16, 1620/1 • Samoset, a Monhegan (Maine) Native, arrives in the colony and greets them in English.

March 17, 1620/1 • Samoset returns, bringing Tisquantum (Squanto) and announces the imminent arrival of the Wampanoag leader, Massasoit. Governor Carver and Massasoit conclude a treaty of peace. Squanto stays with the colonists.

April 5, 1621 • The Mayflower returns to England.

Mid-April, 1621 • Governor Carver sickens and dies. William Bradford is elected governor.

Late September/early October, 1621 • The colonists hold a harvest celebration. Massasoit and a number of Natives participate. Initial Growth, 1621-1627

November 9, 1621 • The ship Fortune arrives, bringing 35 new colonists, mostly men.

July/August, 1623 • Two more ships, Anne and Little James, arrive bringing almost 100 more colonists. Together with the passengers of the Mayflower and Fortune, they comprise the “Old Comers.” These early colonists often received preferential treatment in later colony transactions. 1623 • The colonists receive their own land on which to plant crops. November,

1623 • A fire destroys several buildings in Plymouth. An unknown number of colonists, having lost the homes and possessions, return to England.

1624 • A religious controversy centering around the Reverend John Lyford results in many leaving Plymouth for England or other areas of New England.

1626 • Plymouth builds its first trading house at Aptucxet on the southwestern side of Cape Cod. There they trade with the Natives of both Cape Cod and Narragansett Bay.

May 22, 1627 • The colony begins to divide its major assets, beginning with livestock. The resultant document lists most of the Plymouth inhabitants by name.