Mayflower Ancestors Pt. 10: Isaac Allerton

I never know quite what to think of Isaac Allerton. He certainly was a successful businessman, but how many people did he hurt or take advantage of on his way to making so much money?

Isaac was the son of Bartholomew and Mary (____) Allerton, likely born East Bergholt, Suffolk, about 1587. He was of the Pilgrim contingent that lived in Leiden, Holland and was about 34 years of age when he came to Plymouth on the Mayflower.

Forefathers' Monument at Plymouth

Isaac married first Mary Norris at Leiden, who died at Plymouth on 25 February 1620/21, during that first winter when so many colonists died. They had children Bartholomew, Remember and Mary born in Leiden. All of them were on the Mayflower with Isaac and Mary. They also had an unnamed baby they buried in February 1620 in Leiden and another stillborn on the Mayflower when anchored at Plymouth (source: Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Vol 17). 

He married second Fear Brewster, daughter of William Brewster, between 1623 and 1627. They had children Sarah and Isaac. Fear died before 12 December 1634. 

He married third Joanna Swinnerton, possibly at New Haven, CT, between 1634 and 1644. 

Allerton Cushman Cup, Pilgrim Hall Museum

Inscription on the Allerton Cushman Cup, which has the year 1608 carved on the bottom:

  Lord help thy people that are in Destresse:
teach all true Christians for to help each other:
turne + the hard hart's that Doth the poore opresse:
teach them to know their needy Christian Brother:
Think on+the ritch mans flourishing estate:
Which cried out in hell+Blessed are the mercyfull+Wh-t was to late.

Isaac was a tailor at Leiden, listed as being from London. He was called a merchant in Plymouth and became a very wealthy businessman. He served as Assistant Governor of the Colony, second in command only to William Bradford, for about 11 years. He acted as the agent for the group, traveling multiple times to England to negotiate a buyout from the Merchant Adventurers that had financially backed the Pilgrims. He eventually began using these trips to further his own personal gains, purchasing goods to sell in the colonies.  

Isaac also engaged the Colony in money making schemes without permission. When his business ventures failed, the Colony fell even further in debt. He negotiated the purchase of land at Machias, Maine, as a trading post for the colonists. He founded the Marblehead cod fishing industry and transported Separatists from Leiden to Plymouth.

Some of the trading he did included buying beaver pelts from Swedes and Finns along the Delaware, in turn supplying them with food and supplies in times of scarcity and shipping tobacco to Sweden. He was a diplomat as well, hosting a summit conference between officials of New Sweden and New Haven colonies to avert a war. 

The death of his wife Fear, combined with the anger some of his fellow colonists held against him, may have prompted him to relocate to New Haven, Connecticut. He remained an active trader and did regular business with the Dutch at New Amsterdam (modern-day New York), the Finns and Swedes at New Sweden (consisting of parts of present day Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania), Virginia, and Barbados. 

He purchased a house in New York City on Broadway, an East River warehouse, a Manhattan wharf, land in Virginia, and one of the finest homes in New Haven.

Isaac also had a sister Sarah on board the Mayflower who married Degory Priest. There was also a John Allerton on board, but his relationship to Isaac has not been learned. 

He died in January 1558/59 at New Haven Connecticut.  No death record is found for him, but his inventory was taken 12 Feb 1658. He had appeared at court in New Haven on 1 Feb 1658/9. His signature on a bond survives.

Isaac Allerton's signature from www.mayflowerhistory.com

The Massachusetts Historical Society owns Isaac Allerton’s bible, but it is not known whether it first belonged to Isaac Sr. or Jr. 

My line from Isaac Allerton, not yet submitted to the Mayflower Society:

1      Isaac Allerton 1586 - 1658/59

+Fear Brewster       1606 - 1634

2      Mary Allerton

+Thomas Cushman 1607/08 - 1691

3      Thomas Cushman  

+Ruth Howland      1646 -

4      Robert Cushman    

5      Ruth Cushman        1700 -

+Luke Perkins 1695 -

6      Ignatious Perkins    1720 -

+Keziah Davis 1724/25 -

7      Ruth Perkins   1752 - 1799

+Jesse Pierce   1747 - 1834

8      David Pierce   1773 - 1820

+Desire Nye     1771 - 1858

        9      Lucy Nye Pierce      1809 - 1896

+Rowland Sturtevant Bumpus        1804 - 1853

10    Mary Briggs Bumpus      1840 - 1916

+Seth Washburn     1828 - 1921

11    Charles Francis Washburn     1857 - 1941

+Hattie Maria Benson    1861 - 1914

12    Carrie Clyfton Washburn      1896 - 1974

+George Brewster Smith        1895 - 1913

13    Arthur Elmer Washburn Davis      1913 - 1976

+Mildred Louise Booth   1917 - 1999

14    My parents

15    Me

Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Zachary Taylor were Allerton descendants. 

For information on the Isaac Allerton Colony in Florida: http://flmayflower.com/colonyfiles/Isaac%20Allerton%20Colony.pdf

Update 22 October 2023:

Caleb Johnson, Sue Allan, Simon Neal, NEHGS Register, “The Origin and Parentage of Mayflower Passenger Isaac Allerton in East Bergholt, Suffolk,” Vol 173 (Summer 2019):197-205, shares the discovery of the identification of Isaac’s parents: Bartholomew and Mary (____) Allerton, sometimes spelled Alderton, of East Bergholt, Suffolk, where Isaac was likely born about 1587. Unfortunately parish registers for East Bergholt do not exist prior to 1653. Bartholomew and Mary were recusants who followed their Brownist beliefs, so they likely would not have been married or had children baptized in the Church of England. 

There is also a Ralph Allerton of Great Bentley, Essex, possibly Isaac’s grandfather or great-uncle, who was burned at the stake as a heretic on 17 Sept 1555. No direct evidence is found for this relationship, but the surname is rare in Essex and Suffolk and that combined with he history of religious non-conformity, means they are likely closely related. 

Mayflower Ancestors Pt. 9: Samuel Fuller

I’m so fortunate to share common ancestors with Paul Bumpus, the Historian General of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. I’ve been corresponding with him since well before he worked for the Mayflower Society and he was so helpful to me in my Bumpus and allied families research. Paul found evidence that Mary/Molly Fuller was the daughter of Samuel 5 Fuller and Ann Tinkham, opening up multiple Mayflower lines. I’ve heard people say how snooty people involved in the Mayflower Society are, but my personal experience has never found that to be true, and in fact just the opposite. 

Samuel Fuller has generally been identified as the son of Robert Fuller, a butcher, and baptized on 20 January 1580 at St. Mary Church, Redenhall, Norfolk.  There isn’t strong evidence that he is this Samuel, other than naming patterns and that his father was a butcher, as was the Robert Fuller of Redenhall.  

St. Mary Church Redenhall source: www.norfolkchurches.co.uk

 He married first Alice Glasscock, second Agnes Carpenter, and third Bridget Lee. Nothing is known of Alice. He had two children at Leiden, Holland, by Agnes but neither survived. Agnes died in Leiden as well. Samuel married Bridget Lee in Leiden on 27 May 1617, but came on the Mayflower without her. She arrived in 1623 on the Anne. They had children Mercy and Samuel born in Plymouth.  Samuel was a signer of the Mayflower Compact.

Samuel was the Colony's doctor, a surgeon and a church deacon.  His wife Bridget may have been a deaconess and is said to have been a midwife and involved in teaching.  She gave the church a garden plot in 1664. 

Fuller Family Salt, Pilgrim Hall Museum

He owned at least 30 books and signed documents with his signature.   

Samuel's signature from mayflowerhistory.com

Where he learned to be a physician isn’t known, but he was trained in Leiden to be a serge (wool) weaver so one would imagine it took place in Leiden and not England. He may have observed public dissections at the University of Leiden and studied medicinal herbs in the school’s botanical garden. He served as an assistant to the Governor in Plymouth. 

Fuller cradle from Pilgrim Hall Museum

His will states he lived at Smelt River. At the time of his will, his wife was also very ill and he made arrangements for the care of his daughter Mercy, and the other children in his care named Sarah Converse and William Ring. Bridget did recover, however. He mentions providing for Mercy and Samuel’s education. He also states that George Foster, who seems to have been indentured to Samuel, be returned to his mother. He mentions two servants and a "cousin" Samuel, but perhaps this is actually his nephew. He had a large estate, as he made bequests to many family and friends, including William Brewster, as well as to the church. 

Site of Samuel Fuller's house, Leyden Street, Plymouth

Samuel’s brother Edward Fuller came over on the Mayflower as well, but died during the first winter. Samuel took in Edward’s son Samuel, then about 12 years of age, so all the Samuels do get confusing!

He spent time helping the sick at Neumkeag (now Salem) in 1629 as there was an outbreak of illness amongst the new arrivals. He himself became sick in the autumn of 1633 and died, as did a number of other Plymouth residents. He was about 53 years of age. There was a smallpox epidemic at the time, but it is not known if that is definitely how he died. 

Bridget’s death date is not known but she died after 2 May 1677.

My line from Samuel Fuller, not yet submitted to the Mayflower Society:

1      Samuel Fuller  1579/80 - 1633

+Bridget Lee   - 1677

2      Samuel Fuller  1629 - 1695

+Name Unknown   

3      Samuel Fuller  1658 - 1728    

+Mercy Eaton 1665 - 1703/04

4      Benjamin Fuller      1695/96 -

+Mary Samson       

5      Samuel Fuller  1724 - 1758

+Ann Tinkham        1726 - 1758

6      Mary Fuller    1748 - 1802

+Jabez Nye     1749 - 1802

7      Desire Nye       1771 - 1858

+David Pierce 1773 – 1820

8      Lucy Nye Pierce      1809 - 1896

+Rowland Sturtevant Bumpus        1804 - 1853

9      Mary Briggs Bumpus      1840 – 1916

+Seth Washburn     1828 - 1921

10    Charles Francis Washburn     1857 - 1941

+Hattie Maria Benson    1861 - 1914

11    Carrie Clyfton Washburn      1896 - 1974

+George Brewster Smith        1895 - 1913

12    Arthur Elmer Washburn Davis      1913 - 1976

+Mildred Louise Booth   1917 – 1999

13    my parents

14    me

Richard Gere is a descendant of Samuel Fuller (source Notable Kin, by Gary Boyd Roberts). 

For information on the Fuller Society, see http://www.fullersociety.com/.

Mayflower Ancestors Pt. 8: Richard Warren

Richard Warren came on the Mayflower without his family, but his wife Elizabeth and daughters Abigail, Anna, Elizabeth, Mary, and Sarah came over in 1623 on the Anne. He was not of the Leiden contingent of Pilgrims. Gov. Bradford gives Richard the honorific of “Mr.” in his History of the Plimouth Plantation, but does not give many details of the man.  He does write that Mr. Richard Warren lived some four or five years and had his wife come over to him, by whom he had two sons before (he) died, and one of them is married and hath two children. So his increase is four. But he had five daughters more came over with his wife, who are all married and living, and have many children." All seven of the Warren children grew up, married and had children. 

Richard was born about 1590, probably at Hertfordshire, and his parents are unknown. He was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact and the family appears to have been one of the wealthier ones at Plymouth. Nathaniel Morton's 1669 book New England's Memorial states he was one of the three from London, including Stephen Hopkins and Edward Doty.

Warren linen napkin that came on the Mayflower 

 

Tradition says that he brought with him a particularly treasured and very portable family possession--a large linen damask napkin, woven in the Netherlands ca 1600, now on display at Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth. As the napkin passed through the family it was signed by family members, beginning with Richard's great-great- granddaughter Abigail Billings Foster, who was born in 1714. The Museum also owns the Warren’s joint stool and porringer in its collection. 

Warren Porringer from the Pilgrim Hall Museum

Richard died in 1628, leaving Elizabeth with seven children ranging in age from under 5 to teens and probably early 20s.

After Richard’s death, the Court took the unusual step of unanimously voting for his widow Elizabeth the Purchaser status her husband held. Elizabeth She died at Plymouth 2 Oct 1673 (sic: should be 22 October), aged above 90 years, "having lived a godly life, came to her grave as a shoke of corn fully ripe" (Plymouth Colony Records, 8:35).

Mayflower Quarterly, Vol 69, No. 2, June 2003, page 214-219, has an article "A Woman of Valor: Elizabeth Warren of Plymouth Colony," by Peggy M. Baker which writes about Elizabeth breaking conventions by living her long widowhood of 45 years as a very independent woman. Elizabeth's activities were documented to an unusual extent in the Plymouth Colony records. In the late 1630s she appears in the records deeding land from the Warren holdings in Plymouth's Eel River Valley to her sons-in-law. Her daughters had grown and married: Mary to fellow Anne passenger Robert Bartlett, Anna to Thomas Little, Sarah to Mayflower passenger John Cooke, Elizabeth to Richard Church and Abigail to Anthony Snow. 

Relations in the large family seemed amicable until trouble loomed in 1652. Elizabeth's deeds to her sons-in-law, were challenged by her son Nathaniel and his wife’s grandmother Jane Collier. The court decided in Elizabeth's favor, finding that she had the power to give the land since she was recognized as a Purchaser in 1637 by the Court. 

The major finding of the panel must have come as a shock to Nathaniel as the expected outcome by law and by custom would certainly have favored Elizabeth's son. The panel issued a stunning confirmation of Elizabeth’s status as head of household and her authority to act on her own and ordered Nathaniel to cease his claims. Nathaniel did receive some land and additional land after the death of his mother. 

When she died in 1673, she received an unprecedented tribute in the Records of Plymouth Colony: "Mistress Elizabeth Warren, an aged widow, aged above 90 years, deceased on the second of October, 1673. Who, having lived a godly life, came to her grave as a shock of corn fully ripe." Read more about Elizabeth on Pilgrim Hall's "Women of Valor" page: http://www.pilgrimhall.org/womanofvalor.htm.

Caleb Johnson has information on the most recent research that has shown Elizabeth’s maiden name to be Walker (www.mayflowerhistory.com): 

"Richard Warren's English origins and ancestry have been the subject of much speculation, and countless different ancestries have been published for him, without a shred of evidence to support them.  Luckily in December 2002, Edward Davies discovered the missing piece of the puzzle.  Researchers had long known of the marriage of Richard Warren to Elizabeth Walker on 14 April 1610 at Great Amwell, Hertford.  Since we know the Mayflower passenger had a wife named Elizabeth, and a first child born about 1610, this was a promising record.  But no children were found for this couple in the parish registers, and no further evidence beyond the names and timing, until the will of Augustine Walker was discovered in December 2002 by Edward Davies.  In the will of Augustine Walker, dated April 1613, he mentions "my daughter Elizabeth Warren wife of Richard Warren", and "her three children Mary, Ann and Sarah."  We know that the Mayflower passenger's first three children were named Mary, Ann, and Sarah (in that birth order), and that they were born c1610, c1612, and c1614, so this put the nail in the coffin and we can say with near certainty that Richard Warren of the Mayflower married in Great Amwell, Hertford to Elizabeth Walker, daughter of Augustine Walker. "

For more information on Elizabeth’s identity, see Edward J. Davies, "The Marriage of Richard^1 Warren of the _Mayflower_," TAG; vol 78 no 2 (April 2003), pp 81 - 86.

Richard’s grandson Benjamin Church had a large role in King Philip’s War. He lived in an area populated by Indians and made efforts to get to know them.

My two lines from Richard Warren that have not been submitted to the Mayflower Society:

               

1      Richard Warren     1590 - 1628

+Elizabeth Walker  1583 - 1673

2      Nathaniel Warren   1624 - 1667

+Sarah Walker       1622 - 1700

3      Richard Warren     1646 - 1696/97

+Sarah Torrey        1660/61 - 1722

4      Joanna Warren      - 1734

+Samuel Bumpus     1684/85 -

5      Thomas Bumpus      1722/23 - 1778

+Mercy Stewart      1727 - 1784

6      Jonathan Bumpus   1769 - 1847

+Martha Chubbuck        1764 - 1845

7      Rowland Sturtevant Bumpus  1804 - 1853

+Lucy Nye Pierce    1809 - 1896

8       Mary Briggs Bumpus     1840 – 1916

+ Seth Washburn    1828 - 1921

9      Charles Francis Washburn     1857 - 1941

+Hattie Maria Benson    1861 – 1914

10    Carrie Clyfton Washburn      1896 - 1974

+George Brewster Smith        1895 - 1913

11    Arthur Elmer Washburn Davis      1913 - 1976

+Mildred Louise Booth   1917 - 1999

 12  my parents

13    me

2      Joseph Warren       1626 - 1689

+Priscilla Faunce    1633 - 1707

3      Patience Warren     1659/60 - 1718/19

+Samuel Lucas        1661 - 1715/16

4      Joseph Lucas   1689 - 1742

+Melethiah Carey   1685 - 1745/46

5      Barnabas Lucas      1729 - 1778

+Joanna Pierce       1735 - 1799

6      Ephraim Lucas        1763 - 1834

+Azubah Pratt        1769 - 1853

7      Mary Lucas     1792 - 1860

+Ephraim Washburn      1794 - 1870

8       Seth Washburn      1828 - 1921

+Mary Briggs Bumpus    1840 – 1916

9-13 same as above

Famous Descendants: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, Alan Shepard, Richard Gere, Sarah Palin, Grandma Moses, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,  and the Wright Brothers. (Source: Notable Kin, Gary Boyd Roberts).

There is a family society for Richard Warren called Warren Cousins. The group doesn’t appear to have a website, but are on Facebook.