John Alden^[1]

1599 - 1687  (88 years)

• Name	John Alden
  Born	1599	Of, Southampton, Hampshire, England
  Christened	(83-1682)
  Gender	Male
  _UID	18689C64BC573349A38487FB943D0EBE55F6
  Died	12 Sep 1687	Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts
  Buried	12 Sep 1687	Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts
  Person ID	I5012	Crandall Pember Legacy
  Last Modified	7 Jun 2021

  
  

  Father	George Joseph Alden,   b. 1575, Southampton, Hampshire, England ,   d. 1619/1620, Southampton, Hampshire, England  (Age 45 years)
  Mother	Jane,   b. 1575, Of, Southampton, Hampshire, England
  Married	Southampton, Hampshire, England
  _UID	0D29C259EB24E64F953273634D272FDCB135
  Family ID	F2353	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Priscilla Mullins,   b. 1601, Of, Dorking, Surrey, England ,   d. 5 Feb 1688, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts  (Age 87 years)
  Married	12 May 1622	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts
  _UID	380B2554BC78C44D87A7470836B8FFE14C3E
  Children	1. John Alden,   b. 22 May 1622, Plymouth, Plymouth, Ma, England ,   d. 14 Mar 1702, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, 75 Yrs  (Age 79 years)   2. Elizabeth Alden,   b. 1625, Age 3-1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts ,   d. 31 May 1717, Little Compton, Bristol, Ri  (Age 92 years)   3. Joseph Alden,   b. Aft 22 May 1627, Of, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA ,   d. 8 Feb 1696, Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA  (Age < 68 years)   4. Jonathan Alden,   b. 1627/1633, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States ,   d. 14 Feb 1697, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA  (Age 64 years)   5. Sarah Alden,   b. 1628/1629, Plymouth, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts ,   d. 12 Aug 1674, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts  (Age 45 years)   6. Ruth Alden,   b. 1634/1635, Of, Duxbury, Plymouth, Ma ,   d. 12 Oct 1674, Braintree, Norfolk, MA  (Age 39 years)   7. Priscilla Alden,   b. 1639, Duxbury, Plymouth, Ma, Mass ,   d. 13 Jun 1688, Mass  (Age 49 years)   8. Zachariah Alden,   b. 1638/1642, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Mass ,   d. 13 Jan 1688, MA  (Age 46 years)   9. Mary Alden,   b. 1642/1643, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA ,   d. 3 Feb 1687, Duxbury, , Massachusetts  (Age 44 years)   10. Rebecca Alden,   b. 1643, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA ,   d. 12 Sep 1688, Duxbury, , Ma  (Age 45 years)   11. David Alden,   b. 1645/1646, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts ,   d. 1 Apr 1719, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts  (Age 73 years)   12. Lydia Mullins,   b. 3 Apr 1652, Of Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusets, Mass
  Last Modified	25 Aug 2021 16:45:14
  Family ID	F2351	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  !http://hometown.aol.com/calebj/alden.html Ancestral Summary: 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 is the 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 may be the son of John Alden and Elizabeth Daye, but this is not fully proven either. Two commemorative broadsides (elegy poems) survive from John Alden's 1687 death. The first broadside is by an unknown author, and the second broadside was written by John Cotton. Biographical Summary: William Bradford wrote, in his history Of Plymouth Plantation: "John Alden was hired for a cooper [barrel maker] at Southampton where the ship [Mayflower] victualed, and being a hopeful young man was much desired but left to his own liking to go or stay when he came here; but he stayed and married here." and later wrote "John Alden married Priscilla, Mr. Mullin's daughter, and had issue by her as is before related." John Alden was an assistant for the Plymouth colony for many years, and was deputy governor for two years. His marriage to Priscilla Mullins was the subject of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, "The Courtship of Myles Standish", which although a classic has little factual basis. John and Priscilla were among the founders of the town of Duxbury. In 1634, John Alden was on the Kennebec River assisting in the forceful removal of John Hocking who was illegally fishing and trading on land that had been granted to the Pilgrims. Hockings refused to leave, and when the party arrived at his ship by canoe to board and remove him, he shot and killed Moses Talbot. In return, Hockings was shot and killed. The Massachusetts Bay Colony took matters into its own hands, and arrested John Alden (even though he was not the one who fired the shot). Myles Standish was sent by Governor Bradford to obtain Alden's release, which he successfully did. In his later years, John Alden was on many juries, including even a witch trial--though in Plymouth's case, the jury found the accuser guilty of libel and the alleged witch was allowed to go free. Plymouth Colony only had two witch trials during its history, and in both cases the accuser was found guilty and punished. John and Priscilla Alden probably have the largest number of descendants of any Mayflower passenger, but with stiff competition from Richard Warren and John Howland. They are ancestors to Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Vice President Dan Quayle. John Alden's House built in 1653 still stands, and tours are given by the Alden Kindred of America. For more information, click on the picture of the house and you will go to the Alden Kindred web page. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: 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. MYTH: Mayflower passengers were Puritans. ANSWER: Puritans wanted to purify the Church of England, while Separatis t s took a more extreme approach--desiring to separate entirely from it. Mayflowe r p assengers (at least those passengers belonging to the Pilgrim's church in Leyden) ar e p roperly classified as Separatists.

  
  

• Sources

  [S669] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) (Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998).