Birth: Robert Bartlett was born in England probably around
1604.
Death: He died in Plymouth between September 19, 1676,
the date of his will, and October 29, 1676, when the will was probated.
Ship: Anne or Little James, 1623
Life in England: Robert Bartlett’s place of origin is
unknown, although it has been proposed that he was the Robert, son of
Robert and Alice (Barker) Bartlett, baptized in Puddletown, Dorset on
May 27, 1603. He was described as a cooper (barrelmaker) in many
colonial documents, and therefore may have trained as a cooper in
England.
Life in New England: Robert Bartlett arrived in Plymouth
as a single man in the summer of 1623. He was a freeman of Plymouth in
1633. He served on a number of juries, and on committees to lay out
highways and land. Although he owned land elsewhere in Plymouth Colony,
including Dartmouth and Punckateesett on the Rhode Island border, he
lived on a farm near Eel River, which now runs next to Plimoth
Plantation.
Family: Robert Bartlett married Mary Warren, daughter of Mayflower
passengers Richard Elizabeth (Walker) Warren, about1629. They had
eight children, although the birth order and birth dates are unclear.
Mary Bartlett died in Plymouth March 27, 1683 in her 73rd year.
Children of Robert and Mary Bartlett:
- Benjamin was born about 1629. He married (1) Susannah Jenney before
April 4, 1654; (2) Sarah Brewster after April 4, 1654, and (3) Sissilla
_____ before January 21, 1678. He had six children and died in Duxbury
in August 1691.
- Rebecca was born about 1631. She married William Harlow on December
20, 1649, and had four children. She died in Plymouth between June 2,
1657, and July 16, 1658.
- Mary was born about 1633. She married (1) Richard Foster on
September 10, 1651, and had two children. She married (2) Jonathan
Morey, on July 8, 1659, and had three children. She died in Plymouth on
September 26, 1692.
- Sarah was born about 1636. She married Samuel Rider on December 23,
1656, and had three children. She died before June 14, 1680.
- Joseph was born about 1639. He married Hannah Pope about 1662 and
had eight children. He died in Plymouth February 18, 1711/2, in his 73rd
year.
- Elizabeth was born about 1641. She married Anthony Sprague on
December 26, 1661, and had eleven children. She died in Hingham on
February 17, 1712/3.
- Lydia was born on June 8, 1648. She married (1) James Barnaby before
June 14, 1670, and had two children. She married (2) John Nelson, after
October 30, 1677, and had three children. She died on September 11,
1691.
- Mercy was born on March 10, 1650/1. She married John Joy on December
25, 1668, and had one son.