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John ALDEN

John ALDEN

Male Abt 1598 - 1687  (89 years)

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  • Name John ALDEN  [1] 
    Birth Abt 1598  ENGLAND Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Gender Male 
    Note
    • Biographical Sketch from mayflowerhistory.com
      John Alden appears to have originated from an Alden family residing in Harwich, Essex, England, that was related by marriage to the Mayflower's master Christopher Jones. He was about 21 years old when he was hired to be the cooper, or barrel-maker, for the Mayflower's voyage to America. He was given the option to stay in America, or return to England; he decided to stay.
      At Plymouth, he quickly rose up from his common seaman status to a prominent member of the Colony. About 1622 or 1623, he married Priscilla, the orphaned daughter of William and Alice Mullins. They had their first child, Elizabeth, around 1624, and would have nine more children over the next twenty years. John Alden was one of the earliest freemen in the Colony, and was elected an assistant to the governor and Plymouth Court as early as 1631, and was regularly re-elected throughout the 1630s. He also became involved in administering the trading activities of the Colony on the Kennebec River, and in 1634 witnessed a trading dispute escalate into a double-killing, as Moses Talbot of Plymouth Colony was shot at point-blank range by trespasser John Hocking, who was then shot and killed when other Plymouth men returned fire. John Alden was held in custody by the neighboring Massachusetts Bay Colony for a few days while the two colonies debated who had jurisdiction to investigate the murders. Myles Standish eventually came to the Bay Colony to provide Plymouth's answer in the matter.
      Alden, and several other families, including the Standish family, founded the town of Duxbury in the 1630s and took up residence there. Alden served as Duxbury's deputy to the Plymouth Court throughout the 1640s, and served on several committees, including the Committee on Kennebec Trade, and sat on several Councils of War. He also served as colony treasurer. In the 1650s, he build the house at left, in Duxbury, which still stands today. By the 1660s, Alden's frequent public service, combined with his large family of wife and ten children, began to cause his estate to languish, so the Plymouth Court provided him a number of land grants and cash grants to better provide for his family. Throughout the 1670s, Alden began distributing his land holdings to his surviving sons. He died in 1687 at the age of 89, one of the last surviving Mayflower passengers.
    Death 22 Sep 1687  Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1] 
    Burial Myles Standish Burying Ground, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location  [3] 
    Person ID I17732  MM
    Last Modified 10 Jun 2022 

    Family Priscilla MULLINS,   b. Abt 1602, Dorking, Surrey, ENGLAND Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1685 (Age 83 years) 
    Marriage Abt 1621  Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Elizabeth ALDEN,   b. 1624, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 31 May 1717, Little Compton, Newport, RI Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 93 years)
     2. Joseph ALDEN,   b. Abt 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 8 Feb 1696/97, Bridgewater, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 70 years)
     3. Captain Captain John ALDEN,   b. 22 May 1627, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Mar 1701/02, Boston, Suffolk, MA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years)
     4. Priscilla ALDEN,   b. Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aft 13 Jun 1688, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Jonathan ALDEN,   b. Abt 1633, Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 14 Feb 1697, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 64 years)
     6. Sarah ALDEN,   b. Between 1630 and 1640, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 13 Jun 1688 (Age < 58 years)
     7. Ruth ALDEN,   b. Abt 1637, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 12 Oct 1674, Braintree, Norfolk, MA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 37 years)
     8. Mary ALDEN,   b. Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aft 13 Jun 1688
     9. Rebecca ALDEN,   b. Bef 1649, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aft 13 Jun 1689 (Age > 41 years)
     10. David ALDEN,   b. Between 1645 and 1650, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1 Apr 1719, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 74 years)
    Family ID F4005  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 23 Jul 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - Abt 1598 - ENGLAND Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - Abt 1621 - Plymouth, Plymouth, MA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 22 Sep 1687 - Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Myles Standish Burying Ground, Duxbury, Plymouth, MA Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S476] Alden Family, 476.

    2. [S238] Mayflower History, 238.

    3. [S500] Find A Grave, 500.