ALDEN, John

Other Events and Attributes:

• Differentiator: Accused of witchcraft in Salem, escaped from jail to the home of a friend in Duxbury where he remained until the trials had ended
• Differentiator: Author of first-hand narrative of witch trials published by Robert Calef in More Wonders of the Invisible World
• Occupation: Sea Captain and Boston Merchant
• Religion: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; Charter member of Rev. Samuel Willard's Old South Meeting House and Third Church
• Residence: 1632, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
• _MILT: 1691; Military Command during King William's War and involved in Naval battle off St. John
• Witch Trials Connection: 1692, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, USA; Accused of witchcraft in Salem, escaped from jail to the home of a friend in Duxbury where he remained until the trials had ended

Notes:

The most picturesque career of any of the children of the Pilgrim was that of Captain John Alden of Boston.
Born in Plymouth about 1626, he passed his earlier years in Duxbury where the records show that he was admitted freeman in 1646. Three years later he removed to Boston, which was thenceforth to be his home, his dwelling being situated on a passage leading from Cambridge Street to Sudburv Street, and called after him "Alden's Lane," today known as Alden Street.
In his youth he became a mariner and in later years rose to eminence in his profession and acquired by means of it what was in his day something of a fortune. He was for some years master of a merchantman owned by John Hull, and later for many years commander of the armed vessel belonging to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay which supplied the Maine posts with provisions and stores. He also saw service in the French and Indian wars, and in 1691 a vessel in his charge was taken by a French frigate, and he and his son were made prisoners, not, however, for a long captivity.
But by far the most interesting episode in Captain Alden's career was his arrest and trial as a witch, and as of all those so accused he is the only one who has left us a written account of his experiences, his case is of exceptional interest. The narrative is given in Upham's "History of Witchcraft," as follows:
"John Alden, Sr., of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, mariner, on the twenty-eighth day of May, 1692, was sent for by the magistrates of Salem, in the county of Essex, upon the accusation of a company of poor distracted or possessed creatures or witches; and being sent by Mr. Stoughton, arrived there on the thirty-first of May, and appeared at Salem Village, before Mr. Gedney, Mr. Hawthorne and Mr. Corwin.
" Those wenches being present who played their juggling tricks, falling down, crying out, and staring in people's faces, the magistrates demanded of them several times who it was of all the people in the room that hurt them. One of these accusers pointed several times at one Captain Hill, there present, but spake nothing. The same accuser had a man standing at her back to hold her up. He stooped down to her ear; then she cried out, 'Alden, Alden afflicted her.' One of the magistrates asked her if she had ever seen Alden. She answered ' No.' He asked her how she knew it was Alden. She said the man told her so.
" Then all were ordered to go down in the street,where a ring was made; and the same accuser cried out, ' There stands Alden, a bold fellow, with his hat on before the judges ; he sells powder and shot to the Indians and French. . . . ' Then was Alden committed to the marshal's custody, and his sword taken from him; for they said he afflicted them with his sword. After some hours Alden was sent for to the meeting-house in the village, before the magistrates, who required Alden to stand upon a chair, to the open view of all the people.
" The accusers cried out that Alden pinched them then, when he stood upon the chair, in the sight of all the people, a good way distant from them. One of the magistrates bid the marshal to hold open Alden's hands, that he might not pinch those creatures. , Alden asked them why they should think that he should come to that village to afflict those persons that he never knew or saw before. Mr. Gedney bid Alden confess and give glory to God.
" Alden said he hoped he should give glory to God and hoped he should never gratify the devil:but appealed to all that ever knew him, if they ever suspected him to be such a person; and challenged any one that could bring in anything on their own knowledge, that might give suspicion of his being such an one. Mr. Gedney said he had known Alden many years, and had been at sea with him, and always looked upon him to be an honest man; but now he saw cause to alter his judgment. Alden answered, he was sorry for that, but he hoped God would clear up his innocency, that he would recall that judgment again; and added that he hoped that he should, with Job, maintain his integrity till he died.
" They bid Alden look upon his accusers, which he did, and then they fell down. Alden asked Mr. Gedney what reason there could be given why Alden's looking upon him did not strike him down as well, but no reason was given that I heard. But the accusers were brought to Alden to touch them; and this touch, they said, made them well. Alden began to speak of the Providence of God in suffering these creatures to accuse innocent persons.
" Mr. Noyes asked Alden why he should offer to speak of the Providence of God: God, by his Providence (said Mr. Noyes), governs the world, and keeps it in peace; and so went on with discourse, and stopped Alden's mouth as to that, Alden told Gedney that he could assure him that there was a lying spirit in them ; for I can assure you that there is not a word of truth in all these say of me. But Alden was again committed to the marshal, and his mittimus written.
" To Boston Alden was carried by a constable: no bail would be taken for him, but was delivered to the prison-keeper, where he remained fifteen weeks; and then, observing the manner of trials, and evidence then taken, was at length prevailed with to make his escape."
From the prison Captain Alden made his way to Duxbury, where he aroused his relatives in the middle of the night with the information that " he was flying from the devil and the devil was after him." He remained there for several months, until the witchery scare had subsided, when he gave himself up to the authorities at Boston and no one appearing against him, he was discharged, but with a temper forever after soured against any mention of witchcraft.
Captain Alden was married twice, each time to an Elizabeth. The first wife died before 1660, for this was the year in which he marriedElizabeth Everill, widow, who remained to share his home until 1695 or 96. He himself lived until 1702, when he died at the age of seventy-five. According to Ebenezer Alden's Memorial he was the father of fourteen children, at least four of whom died in early infancy. At the present day there are no descendants of Captain Alden bearing the name.
When he first came to Boston Captain Alden united by letter with the "First Church" of that city, but later joined the secession from that church which resulted in the organization of the " Third Church," afterward the Old South Church, of which he was thus a charter member. Today his gravestone is one of three preserved under the portico of the New Old South Church building at the corner of Copley Square in that city. The story of its recovery is given in the Boston Transcript for April thirty, 1870, as follows:
" Mr. Samuel Jennison, the owner of property on and about Carlton Place, has recently, on account of the widening ot Eliot Street, begun operations for the purpose of building there a new block. As the excavations have been going on some relics of the past have been dug up, including a lot of bones and quite a number of gravestones, some of them nearly whole. These are small slate stone tablets, such as may be seen in the King's Chapel, Granary, and other ancient buryinggrounds in the vicinity, and most of them have the old-fashioned death's head cut over their inscriptions."
The inscription upon Captain Alden's stone reads,
" Here lyeth the body of John Alden, Senior, aged seventy-five years. Deceased March fourteen, 1702." The stone was consecrated, in its present position, in 1884, Hamilton A. Hill delivering upon that occasion a memorial address.

Buried:
Stone preserved at the portico of the present Old South Church in Boston (original grave removed, stone found during excavation)

John married PHILLIPS, Elizabeth on 1 Apr 1660 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA. Elizabeth was born in 1632 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; died on 7 Feb 1695 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Differentiator: Mayflower passenger
• Great Migration: https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/rd/12107/21/235171134
• Mayflower: Yes
• Web Address: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Alden
• Web Address: https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/rd/12107/21/235171134
• Web Address: https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/john-alden-priscilla-mullin
• Web Address: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/who-were-the-pilgrims/2019/october/heartwarming-story-of-the-mayflowers-most-famous-love-story/
• Possessions: Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; www.alden.org/our_house/househistory.htm
• _ORIG: Southampton, Hampshire, England
• Residence: 1599, England; I am saving this record as a source of names associated with Alden in England. Ailwan and Aylwin were family Alden names. These families were well known to be in all eastern counties of England during the Norman invasion of 1066.
• Residence: Between 1600 and 1890, USA
• Arrival: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA
• Misc: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Mayflower Pilgrim
• Residence: 1632, Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA
• Residence: 1633, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Listed are John Alden's parents, possible grandparents, his wife, Priscilla, his children, and assorted Plymouth work he performed, generally associated with government
• Residence: 1638, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; A sampling of what life was like during this time period for John Alden and his pilgrim friends.
• Residence: 1640, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Alden homestead was built here
• Record Date: 1687, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Notes:

The youngest of the Pilgrims who became involved in government at the start of Plymouth Colony; when they arrived he was 21. Alden was at first assigned to live with the family of Captain Standish and he lived with this family until he was married. There is a story that after the death of Mrs. Standish, the Captain asked John to ask for the hand of Priscilla Mullins on his behalf. John is said to have been qite handsome, and Priscilla responded to him "Prithee, John, why do you not speak for yourself?" Later, John and Priscilla married and it is fabled that Captain Standish never forgave John. However, history doesn't really support this as John and Captain Standish spent the rest of their lives working together in the government, worshiping in the same church, and their children intermarried.

In 1626, John worked with Standish, Brewster, Howland and others to pay the debts, contracted in England, and to prevent the ruin of the colony's credit.

In 1631, John moved to Duxbury and settled on the land that had been granted hin there on the South side of the Bluefish river. He bult his house near Eagletree Pond. The original grant gave him 169 acres.

In 1633 he was appointed as a member of the Board of Assistants to the Governor, a position he continued in almost continually until his death. He often served as Deputy Governor and served as Governor in his absence. He was often on the council of war, many times an arbitrator, a surveyor of lands for the government and for individuals, and several times was authorized to serve as an agent or attorney for the colony. He was chosen treasurer in 1656 and held that office for 3 years. There was little pay for all these years of public service and while John Alden began with assets, these dwindled over time as he had little time to devote to his own affairs. When he died, he left an estate of only 50 pounds sterling. He is described as "He was possessed of sound judgment, and of talents, which though not brilliant, were by no means ordinary and disputable. The writers who mention him, bear ample testimony to his industry, integrity, and exemplary piety, and he has represented as a worthy and useful man, of great humility, and eminent for the sanctity of life. He was decided, ardent, resolute and persevering, indifferent of danger, a bold and hardy man stern and austere and unyielding, of incorruptible integrity, an iron-nerved puritan who could hew down forests and live on crumbs"

He died in Duxbury at age 87 on 12 Sep 1686. He was the last surviving signer of the Mayflower Compact.

The Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States. The compact was drafted to prevent dissent amongst Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who had landed at Plymouth a few days earlier. The Mayflower Compact was the first democratic document to be drafted in the New World, and became a model for later documents, such as the Constitution. Basically, the Mayflower Compact was the first governing document in America. The Mayflower Compact is the first document in American history demonstrating the attempt to form a government based of the concept that government should derive its power from the “consent of the governed.” The Mayflower Compact specified basic laws and social rules for the new colony and served as a foundation for the democratic structure of the settlers. The significance of the Mayflower Compact is that it contains extremely important concepts that helped to shape the History of America.

Fact 1: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated as it was based on the concept of majority rule
Fact 2: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated as it was the first known document that provided self-government in America
Fact 3: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated as it was the first democratic government to be established in the colonies - The colonists agreed to choose their leaders and make their own laws which they agreed to follow
Fact 4: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated because it stated that the adult males, not including servants, who settled at Plymouth, would have the right to vote on issues
Fact 5: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated by its democratic concept of law made by and for the people
Fact 6: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is illustrated as it expressed mutual regard for one another as equals in the sight of God
Fact 7: The significance of the Mayflower Compact is because it is often cited as one of the foundations of the US Constitution setting a precedent as the foundational document for the Plymouth Colony

The Mayflower Compact set a precedent and was an influential document for the Founding Fathers as they created the US Constitution. The Mayflower Compact made a significant contribution to the creation of a new democratic nation which would become the United States of America.

Immediately after agreeing to the Mayflower Compact, the signers elected John Carver (one of the Pilgrim leaders) as governor of their colony. They called it Plymouth Plantation. When Governor Carver died in less than a year, William Bradford, age 31, replaced him. Each year thereafter the "Civil Body Politic," consisting of all adult males except indentured servants, assembled to elect the governor and a small number of assistants. Bradford was re-elected 30 times between 1621 and 1656.

In the early years Governor Bradford pretty much decided how the colony should be run. Few objected to his one-man rule. As the colony's population grew due to immigration, several new towns came into existence. The roving and increasingly scattered population found it difficult to attend the General Court, as the governing meetings at Plymouth came to be called. By 1639, deputies were sent to represent each town at the other General Court sessions. Not only self-rule, but representative government had taken root on American soil.

The English Magna Carta, written more than 400 years before the Mayflower Compact, established the principle of the rule of law. In England this still mostly meant the king's law. The Mayflower Compact continued the idea of law made by the people. This idea lies at the heart of democracy.

From its crude beginning in Plymouth, self-government evolved into the town meetings of New England and larger local governments in colonial America. By the time of the Constitutional Convention, the Mayflower Compact had been nearly forgotten, but the powerful idea of self-government had not. Born out of necessity on the Mayflower, the Compact made a significant contribution to the creation of a new democratic nation.


Died:
Age: 87

John married MULLINS, Priscilla Sarah on 12 May 1622 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. Priscilla (daughter of MULLINS, William and UNKNOWN, Alice) was born on 5 Feb 1602 in Dorking, Surrey, England; died before 1687 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Differentiator: Mayflower passenger
• Mayflower: Yes
• Web Address: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priscilla_Alden
• Web Address: https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/john-alden-priscilla-mullin
• Name: Priscilla Sara MULLINS
• Possessions: Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; www.alden.org/our_house/househistory.htm
• Residence: USA
• Arrival: 1620, Massachusetts, USA
• Misc: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Mayflower Pilgrim
• Residence: 1640, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; The Alden home was built here
• Death: 5 Feb 1688, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Age at Death: 83

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: Between 1587 and 1620, All Saints South Elmham, Suffolk, England; Only All Saints is mentioned. But it was recorded in the Court Leet Books of Southampton between 1587 and 1620. His widow was Jane Alden. George was an arrow maker.

Notes:

Birth:
Scrooby, Hertfordshire, England

George married FOWLK, Jane in 1598 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. Jane was born in 1584 in Southampton, Hampshire, England; died on 10 Mar 1664 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 1580, Windsor, Berkshire, England

Other Events and Attributes:

• Differentiator: Mayflower passenger
• Great Migration: https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/rd/12107/1315/235189380
• Mayflower: Yes
• Web Address: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mullins_(Mayflower_passenger)
• Web Address: https://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/mole_valley/dorking/dorking_william_mullins_house/
• Web Address: https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/who-were-the-pilgrims/2020/february/william-mullins/
• Occupation: 1612; Shoemaker
• Residence: 28 Dec 1612, 58-61 West Street, Dorking, Surrey, England; Purchased this home. Believed to be the only home of a Pilgrim Father to have survived intact
• Residence: May 1619, Dorking, Surrey, England; William Mullins sold his Dorking Manor holdings to Ephraim Bothell/Bothall for 280 pounds, apparently in preparation for his voyage on the Mayflower.
• Misc: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Mayflower Pilgrim

William married UNKNOWN, Alice in 1595 in Dorking, Surrey, England. Alice (daughter of ATWOOD, Nicholas and HARMAN, Olive) was born in Jan 1573; died on 15 Mar 1621 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Differentiator: Mayflower passenger
• Mayflower: Yes
• Misc: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; Mayflower Pilgrim

Notes:

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mullins_(Mayflower_passenger)

In the March 2012 Mayflower Quarterly, noted Mayflower researcher and biographer, Caleb Johnson, presented a hypothesis that William Mullins first married Elizabeth Wood who gave birth to his first four children, and died sometime prior to 1604; whereupon, he married Alice_____ who gave birth to his youngest child, Joseph. In that article, he stated, “I here put together this very speculative hypothesis, and leave it up to future research to determine if there is any further evidence to support, or disprove, this possibility. It should be emphasized that this is a speculative hypothesis based on limited concrete data....”[21] Unfortunately, some have interpreted his hypothesis as factual rather than speculative. It has been nearly ten years since Mr. Johnson wrote that article in the Mayflower Quarterly and in his own words “no additional evidence, supporting or disproving that hypothesis, has been published since that time.”[22]

In October 2021, Mr. Johnson added a second paragraph to the profile of Alice Mullins in his website, Mayflowerhistory.com. The profile of Alice Mullins, as it is currently written follows in its entirety:

“Little is known about Alice, the wife of William Mullins. She is named only once: in the 1621 will of her husband William Mullins. It is not known if she is the mother of all his children, some of his children, or none of them. There is no evidence she had the Atwood or Poretiers surnames claimed by some 19th and early 20th century authors.

“Recent research into her origins, undertaken by Caleb Johnson and Simon Neal, has focused on the Browne, Dendy, Gardinar, Hammon, and Wood families of Dorking and Holy Trinity, Guildford. In 2012 (Mayflower Quarterly, 78:44-57),

Caleb Johnson published a speculative hypothesis that William Mullins may have married twice, first Elizabeth Wood, and second Alice, perhaps widow of either William or Thomas Browne (possibly making Alice the mother or aunt of Mayflower passenger Peter Browne). While the speculative hypothesis matches all the known facts, it is by no means proven. No additional evidence, supporting or disproving that hypothesis, has been published since that time.”[22]

Accordingly, this section has been revised to remove Elizabeth Wood as his first wife and conform the family to the presentation in Volume 16, Part I of Mayflower Families through Five Generations, commonly referred to as the Silver Books.[23]

Birth:
St Martin in The Field, London, England