Individual Details
John Alden
(1599 - 12 Sep 1687)
John Alden, the pilgrim, came to America on the Mayflower December 1620. He was the youngest of the separatists and took a prominent part in the government of the colony. He became a proprietor of the Twenty-six Men's Purchase before King Philip's War and was one of the original proprietors of the town of Bridgewater (Weston 593).
American Colonial Figure. One of the charter members of the Plymouth Colony in America, he arrived on the first voyage of the "Mayflower". At the time of the sailing of the vessel in 1620 for America, he was about twenty-one years old. William Bradford, second governor of the colony, wrote that John Alden was "hired for a cooper, at South Hampton (England), where the ship victualed (brought on food for the voyage); 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." His trade of cooper (barrel maker) was one of the vital trades needed by the colonists. John married fellow Mayflower pilgrim Priscilla Mullins, about 1623, but the exact date has been lost to history. He became one of the Purchasers and Undertakers for the colony, serving also as Assistant in the Colony government, Deputy Governor, Colony Treasurer, and a member of the committee in charge of revising laws. He was one of the founders of Duxbury, Massachusetts, and owned several pieces of property. Although he died without a will, an inventory of his property at the time of his death was taken in November 1687. A legend of a rivalry between himself and pilgrim Miles Standish for Priscilla Mullins arose, and was first published in the book, "Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions" in 1814, by Timothy Alden. The story was popularized by the poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1858, however, there is no documentation of such a rivalry to have existed in any of the records of the Plymouth Colony. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
American Colonial Figure. One of the charter members of the Plymouth Colony in America, he arrived on the first voyage of the "Mayflower". At the time of the sailing of the vessel in 1620 for America, he was about twenty-one years old. William Bradford, second governor of the colony, wrote that John Alden was "hired for a cooper, at South Hampton (England), where the ship victualed (brought on food for the voyage); 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." His trade of cooper (barrel maker) was one of the vital trades needed by the colonists. John married fellow Mayflower pilgrim Priscilla Mullins, about 1623, but the exact date has been lost to history. He became one of the Purchasers and Undertakers for the colony, serving also as Assistant in the Colony government, Deputy Governor, Colony Treasurer, and a member of the committee in charge of revising laws. He was one of the founders of Duxbury, Massachusetts, and owned several pieces of property. Although he died without a will, an inventory of his property at the time of his death was taken in November 1687. A legend of a rivalry between himself and pilgrim Miles Standish for Priscilla Mullins arose, and was first published in the book, "Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions" in 1814, by Timothy Alden. The story was popularized by the poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1858, however, there is no documentation of such a rivalry to have existed in any of the records of the Plymouth Colony. (bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson)
Events
| Birth | 1599 | Harwich, Essex, England, United Kingdom |  | ||
| Marriage | 1622 | Massachusetts Bay, British America - Priscilla Mullins | | ||
| Death | 12 Sep 1687 | South Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, British America | | ||
| Burial | Myles Standish Burying Ground, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States |
Families
| Spouse | Priscilla Mullins (1602 - 1685) |
| Child | Ruth Alden (1634 - 1674) |
| Child | Joseph Alden (1627 - 1697) |
| Child | David Alden (1626 - 1719) |
Endnotes
1. Thomas Weston, History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906), 593; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 3 December 2009.
2. Cutter, William Richard, Genealogical and family history of western New York : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the building of a nation (New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1912, 1708 pgs. ).
3. Thomas Weston, History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906), 593; digital images, Google Books (http://books.google.com : accessed 3 December 2009.