Birth: John Alden was born in England around 1599.
Death: He died in Duxbury on September 12, 1687.
Ship: Mayflower, 1620
Life in England: John Alden was hired in Southampton,
Hampshire to be the cooper (barrel-maker) aboard the Mayflower during
her 1620 voyage.While many towns have been proposed as his place of
origin, none have been proved.
Life in New England: John Alden lived in Plymouth until
1632, when he moved to Duxbury. He served the colony in many capacities,
including Governor’s Assistant, Deputy Governor and treasurer. He
actively participated in Plymouth’s trade on the Kennebec River in
Maine, and in 1634 he and John Howland became involved in a dispute
there which left two men dead. Alden was arrested in Boston while the
controversy was investigated, and later released. John Alden received
many land grants during his life but gave most of this land to his sons.
By 1660, he was “low in his estate” and received “a small gratuity, the
sum of ten pounds” from the Plymouth Court. His inventory totaled only
£49 17s 6d. in movable goods. Family: About 1623 John Alden married
Priscilla Mullins, the only survivor of the Mullins family on the
Mayflower, and had ten children. Priscilla died in Duxbury between 1651
and Alden’s death in 1687.
Children of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins:
- Elizabeth was born about 1624. She married William Peabody on
December 26, 1644, and had thirteen children. She died in Little Compton
on May 31, 1717.Their graves are in the Old Commons Cemetery there.
- John was born about 1626. He married Elizabeth (Phillips) Everill on
April 1, 1660, and had fourteen children. He died in Boston on March
14, 1701/2.
- Joseph was born about 1628. He married Mary Simmons about 1660 and
had seven children. He died in Bridgewater on February 8, 1696/7.
- Priscilla was born about 1630. She was still alive and unmarried in
1688.
- Jonathan was born about 1632. He married Abigail Hallett on December
10, 1672, and had six children. He died in Duxbury on February 14,
1697, and was buried in the Old Cemetery in South Duxbury.
- Sarah was born about 1634. She married Alexander Standish about 1660
and had eight children. She died before the settlement of her father’s
estate in 1688.
- Ruth was born about 1636. She married John Bass in Braintree on
February 3, 1657/8, and had seven children. She died in Braintree on
October 12, 1674.
- Mary was born about 1638. She was still alive and unmarried in 1688.
- Rebecca was born about 1640. She married Thomas Delano in 1667 and
had nine children. She died between June 12, 1696, and October 5, 1722.
- David was born about 1642. He married Mary Southworth by 1674 and
had six children. He died in Duxbury between July 2, 1718, and April 1,
1719.