Indestructible Women: Jane (Yates) (Clarke) Collier, wife of John Clarke and William Collier, and Her Mother Alice

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m writing about two of my incredibly strong female ancestors.

My female ancestors born in the 16th and 17th centuries are sometimes entirely invisible. So when there is a bit of information available on a woman, I’m pleased. When there is so much information available that I actually create in my mind a picture of her as a person, well then I rejoice! The latter is the case with my 10th great-grandmother Jane Yates as well as her mother Alice, whom I descend from through my grandmother Milly Booth Rollins as well as my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis. These women were nearly indestructible—they survived four plagues (1592-3, 1603, 1610, and 1625) and gave birth to 26 children between them! Jane and Alice lived in Southwark on the River Thames, a walk across London Bridge from London. It was then in Surrey, but is now a borough of London.

The bubonic plague is a grim backdrop to the lives of Alice and Jane. It was often called the black death because of the black spots on the bodies of its victims. People often died within a week of getting sick and it was an agonizing week. Symptoms included painful swelling of the lymph nodes (buboes), high fevers, headaches, vomiting, sensitivity to light, pain in the back and limbs, and mental disorientation. It was typically carried by fleas from infected rats. [Roberts]

Many factors in London and Southwark contributed to the disease repeatedly reaching pandemic levels: lack of proper sanitation/hygiene/ventilation practices, sewerage flowing directly into the streets and the Thames, ships arriving from infected areas, and of course a lack of medical knowledge and modern medicines. Rats thrived in these conditions.[Brittanica] The expansion of the entertainment industry in Southwark meant that the area was always crowded, unsafe, and unhealthy.

Alice ( —?—) (Yates) Arnold

Alice, whose maiden name is frustratingly unrecorded, married Henry Yates sometime about 1582 and they lived in Southwark. Alice was born perhaps circa 1564 and Henry circa 1560. Henry had a cloth dying business. They were financially comfortable, and Henry left substantial bequests in his will. Yates is spelled/indexed in a variety of ways including Gates, Yates, Gattes, Gatter, Yater. [Cole article]

Alice and Henry had nine children [baptisms of no. 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and burials of no. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are recorded St. Olave’s Registers]:

1. John born about 1583; died October 1592 at age 9
2. Nathaniel baptized 24 Nov 1583; died August 1593 at age 9
3. Henry baptized 8 Nov 1584; died before 1626
4. Jane baptized 5 Feb 1586/7
5. Thomas born say about 1587; died August 1593 at about age 6
6. Ursula baptized 2 March 1588/9; died May 1589 age 2 months
7. Alice born about 1591; died August 1593 at about age 2
8. Samuel likely was stillborn or died a newborn as no baptism record found; buried 15 April 1592
9. Margaret baptized 14 October 1593; died July 1603

St. Olave's demolished in 1926; engraving by Benjamin Cole

Alice somehow found time to help her husband with record keeping in his business, indicating she could read, write and had a command of at least basic math. The family was prospering and even added a servant to their household.

Tragedy struck when their daughter Ursula died in 1589 at just two months of age. She was buried May 30 at St. Olave’s.  Their son Samuel was buried St. Olave’s 15 April 1592, likely as a stillborn or newborn as there is no baptism record. 

In 1592 to 1593 the plague hit Southwark hard. Alice and Henry’s nine-year old son John was buried on 10 October 1592. Alice lost her namesake daughter Alice who was about 2 years old; she was buried 5 August 1593. Her husband Henry was buried on August 8, followed by their sons Nathaniel (age 9) on August 9 and Thomas (about 6) on August 24. They were all buried at St. Olave’s. Their servant William died during this time as well. In August Alice was seven months pregnant, caring for her family as they suffered indescribable pain, trying to keep the healthy children safe, and withstanding incredible grief as she buried her husband and three children in just three weeks. 

Henry Yates of Southwark wrote his will on 5 August 1593, the day of his death. He named his wife Alice executrix. He left bequests to his children, including £13 6 shillings 8 pence to Jane. [Cole book]

Alice gave birth to Margaret who was baptized 14 October 1593. [St. Olave’s Registers]

As a 16th century woman with still three children to raise, Alice would have needed to re-marry quickly. On 15 January 1594/5 she married John Arnold, a recently widowed  Southwark dyer. Alice helped her husband with the administrative aspects of his business, as she had done for Henry, and they prospered. 

Plague struck Southwark again in 1603. Alice’s daughter Margaret died in July at 9 years of age; she was buried St. Olave’s on 25 July 1603. [St. Olave’s Registers] It was the day of King James’ Coronation. 

Of Alice’s nine children, tragically only Jane and Henry survived. I am uncertain when Henry died, but it was before 1626 as he is not mentioned in his mother’s will. 

John Arnold wrote his will on 16 March 1618, which was witnessed by William Collier, his step-daughter Jane’s second husband. John died in early November 1620—he was buried at St. Olave’s on November 5.

Alice was then living on Bermondsey Street, St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Southwark. For a time her daughter Jane and family moved in with her. Alice was affluent enough to keep a household servant, and she must have relished helping to raise her grandchildren. 

As a widow Alice became a business person in her own right. She managed housing tenements that she leased from St. Mary Magdalene College. She was clearly a force of nature!

In her 3 February 1625/6 will, Alice named daughter Jane, the wife of William Collier, sole executrix. [London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, reference number DW/PA/5/1626; will number 4]

Alice’s bequests:

• Granddaughter Joyce Clarke, £20, some jewelry and household items to be delivered when she turned 21 or married, as long as she married with her mother’s consent. 
• Grandson Thomas Clarke £20 “if he can behave himself and take good courses whereby to live.” 
• Her other grandchildren Mary Collyer, Sara Collyer, Rebeca Collyer, and Elizabeth Collyer, daughters of Jane, £10 to be paid at age 21 or marriage. 
• William Collier to manage profits for his children on the yearly rents of the premises situated in Bermondsey Street which Alice holds in lease from St. Mary Magdalene College in Oxford. After 15 years, the lease is to pass to Joyce Clarke. 
• Preacher Mr. Bramford, 20 shillings.
• Son-in-law William Collier, £10.
• 20 shillings to her sister Kathryn Brooke who was to live rent free for life [this is crossed out so perhaps she had died].
• Some small bequests to the poor. 

Alice signed each of the six pages of her will. For a woman born in the 16th century, it was uncommon to be able to read and write, and perhaps signing each page showed her pride of this skill.

I love that Alice’s personality comes through in her will! It shows how involved she was in her grandchildren’s lives and that she wanted to continue to guide them after she was gone, ensuring they would have good lives. 

Alice died a year later. She was buried at St. Olave’s on 29 March 1626/27. In her will she directed she should be buried next to her second husband John. Her first husband Henry was in an unmarked grave due to the pandemic. 

In addition to losing both of her husbands and eight of her children, Alice also experienced the deaths of eleven grandchildren and a great-grandchild. The magnitude of her losses is unfathomable to me. 

Jane (Yates) (Clarke) Collier

Jane Yates also survived an astonishing amount of loss in her life (siblings, father, children, first husband, grandchild), lived through plagues, witnessed religious and political turmoil, survived the births of 17 children, assisted both of her husbands with their businesses (like her mother she could read, write, do math), crossed the ocean to settle at Plymouth Colony, and likely lived into her 80s! Talk about strong!

Jane Yates was baptized 5 February 1586/7 at St. Olave’s, Southwark, to Henry and Alice Yates. [St. Olave’s Church Register 1583-1627] Her father was a dyer in the cloth manufacturing Industry. 

In 1592/3, when Jane was five or six years old, the plague hit London and nearby Southwark. Jane lost her father, her sister Alice, and her brothers John, Nathaniel, and Thomas. Her family’s servant William also died. Jane’s mother was pregnant at the time. Jane would have been helping with the sick and witnessed their horrific suffering. It must have been terrifying for her, and all the suffering must have robbed her of a normal childhood. 

After the death of her father and siblings, she likely helped her mother give birth to a baby who was named Margaret. In July 1603 Jane witnessed her nine-year-old sister Margaret die of the plague. 

On 27 September 1603, Jane married at just age 16, which was not unusual at the time, to Thomas Clarke at St. Benet Gracechurch in London. [Cole article] They likely married outside of their parish because the plague raged at home. Jane inherited the bequests from her father intended for her deceased siblings, bringing her dowry to £122. Thomas Clarke also had a cloth dying business. 

St. Benet Gracechurch London Destroyed in the Great London Fire of 1666 (George Shepherd)

Jane and Thomas had four children in quick succession, all baptized St. Olave’s [St. Olave’s Church Registers]:

1. Margaret Clarke baptized 27 September1605 named for Jane’s late sister; buried 24 July 1625 at St Olave’s, age 19.
2. Thomas Clarke baptized 17 February 1606/7; m. 1) Susannah Ring, 2) Alice Hallett; died Plymouth 24 March 1697/98 age 91.
3. Joyce Clarke baptized 30 August 1608; married John Wilder.
4. Henry Clarke baptized 22 July 1610; died a few days later and was buried 27 July 1610 at St. Olave’s.

Before the plague returned in 1610, the young couple must have felt blessed. Thomas’ business was doing well and the family now had a servant, Robert. At just 23 years of age, Jane had four children under age 5, and she was fortunate to have her mother, Alice, living nearby to offer her guidance and help with the children.

Jane’s newborn son Henry died at just a few days old, buried on 27 July 1610. Tragically her husband Thomas Clarke also died—he was buried 16 September 1610 at St. Olave’s. [St. Olave’s Registers]

Thomas Clarke wrote his will in 1610 before the July birth of his fourth child; it was proved on October 4. He left £20 to each of his three children and the rest of his assets to his wife Jane. Mr. Arnall [Jane’s stepfather John Arnold] and Jane were named executor and executrix. [Cole article]

Jane was in a very similar situation to her mother 17 years earlier. As a 23-year old widow with three young children, she had to re-marry quickly. On 16 May 1611 she married grocer William Collier at St. Olave’s. [TAG 49:215 & St Olave’s Registers] William was born abut 1585; his parents are not yet discovered. Collier is spelled in a variety of ways including Collyar and Colliar. I find it endearing that William married a woman with three young children. 

Jane and William had 13 children together; 5-11 and 11, 13, 15 & 16 baptized St. Olave’s.

5. Mary Collier baptized 18 February 1611[/12]

6. Hannah Collier baptized 14 Sept 1613; died August 1625 at age 11

7. Rebecca Collier baptized 10 Jan 1614[/15]

8. Sarah Collier baptized 30 April 1616

9. John Collier baptized 18 March 1616[/17]; died August 1618 at age 17 months

10. Elizabeth baptized 9 March 1618[/19]

11. John Collier baptized 21 March 1619[/20]; died August 1625

12. Catherine Collier buried St Olave’s 13 January 1621/22 [no baptism found]

13.  James Collier baptized 16 March 1622[/23] at St. Mary Magdalene Bermondsey; died August 1624 age 17 months

14. Martha Collier baptized 28 March 1623/24 at St. Mary Magdalene; died May 1625 age 14 months 

15. William Collier buried St. Olave’s August 1625 [no baptism found]

16. Lidia Collier baptized 8 March 1625/6; died a few days later

17. Ruth Collier baptized 5 August 1627 St. Saviour; her mother Jane was 40 years old

St. Saviour, Southwark, now Southwark Cathedral

St. Mary Magdelen, Bermondsey

Jane’s first son John died at age 17 months in August 1618 and was buried on August 24 at St. Olave’s. Her daughter Catherine as “Catheren” was buried at St. Olave’s in January 1621/22; perhaps she was a newborn as no baptism is found for her. 

A smaller plague outbreak occurred in 1624: Jane’s son James Collier, age 17 months, died and was buried St. Olave’s on 24 August 1624.

In 1625 there was a major plague outbreak and Southwark was its epicenter. It was referred to as “The Great Plague” until an even worse pandemic in 1665 eclipsed the carnage. The Colliers suffered devastating losses—seven deaths in three months. Jane’s 14-month old daughter Martha Collier was buried 30 May 1625; 5-year-old son John Collier was buried 7 August 1625; son William Collier, likely a newborn, was buried 12 August 1625; and 11-year-old daughter Hannah Collier was buried 31 August 1625. [St. Olave’s Registers]

Jane’s daughter from her first marriage, Margaret Clarke, had married Alexander Wilding in 1623 and they had a son John. Jane’s grandson John Wilding, died within a week of his birth and was buried 15 May 1625. Jane’s 19-year-old daughter Margaret died in July 1625 and was buried at St. Olave’s on July 24. [St. Olave’s Registers]

Jane was pregnant when she suffered these incredible losses. She gave birth to Lidia, who was baptized 8 March 1625/6, but she did not survive and was buried three days later. [St. Olave’s Registers] Two weeks later Jane lost her mother Alice with whom she had survived massive losses and who must have been her rock. How much can one person endure?

A happy event occurred in 1626 when Jane’s daughter Joyce Clarke married John Walker at St. Peter Westcheap Parish in London. [Cole book] 

Despite the devastation caused by plague, Southwark was booming. In addition to the already successful cloth-making industry, there were multiple theaters including the Globe Theatre made famous by William Shakespeare, and a thriving albeit distasteful blood sport business (bear baiting and the like). This led to inns and taverns popping up to serve the large crowds. William Collier branched out into brewing ale and he and his partner James Monger opened a brewhouse, the Globe Tavern, on Globe Alley near the Globe Theatre, a great location. [Cole book] The family home was a few doors down from the tavern.

I do wonder if William and Jane crossed paths with the bard himself!

Reproduction of the Globe Theatre (wikipedia)

Several indications that the Colliers were of the comfortable middle class is that they kept servants and William’s rent was the highest of at least 14 tenants. [Cole book] William Collier also had multiple apprentices for his business enterprises. 

Jane’s son, 16-year-old son Thomas Clarke, migrated to Plymouth Colony on the ship Anne in 1623. When he came of age he married, first, Susanna Ring with whom he had six children, and second, Alice (Hallett) Nichols. [Anderson] Thomas Clarke’s origins were unknown before the work of William Cole. 

The Colliers were very familiar with Plymouth Colony as William was one of the Merchant Adventurers, the men who funded the Pilgrims’ settlement. It was a frustrating experience as they were not seeing a return on investment as the Pilgrims struggled to meet their obligations. They lost a large number of the original Pilgrims to illness and were struggling to survive. Two shipments the Pilgrims did supply to the Adventurers were captured—one by the French and one by Barbary pirates. 

In April 1633 Jane and William Collier, with their five surviving daughters, left for Plymouth Colony, on the Mary and Jane. [Willison; a 24 June 1633 letter from Adventurer James Sherley mentions the ship the Collier’s sailed on.] At least two of William’s men, Job and John Cole, came with them; their brother Daniel would come later. During the voyage, Jane and William celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary. There are multiple motivations to make such a drastic move: there was no plague in Plymouth, there were many business opportunities in the young colony, merchants were against and some refused to pay King Charles’ forced loan levy on taxpayers, political uncertainty including the King clashing with parliament, and the imprisonment of minister John Lothrop who held Puritan beliefs. 1633 was also the year of a destructive fire in London, uncomfortably close to Southwark. Puritans would have viewed events like fires and the plague as God’s wrath. I wonder too if the Colliers yearned for a better moral environment in which to raise their children—Southwark had blood sports, prostitution, pickpockets, rough-living watermen roaming the streets and visiting the taverns. 

What a reunion Jane must have had with her son Thomas after a ten-year absence!

The Colliers settled first at Plymouth and then nearby Duxbury where they lived near Morton’s Hole on Kingston Bay. [Healy] Three of their daughters married into the most influential families in the Colony and two married men who were practically family. [Anderson]

• Mary married Thomas Prence, as his second wife, and had two children. Thomas later became Governor. She died at Eastham on Cape Cod probably by 1644. I also descend from Thomas Prence and his first wife Patience Brewster.
• Rebecca married Job Cole, her father’s apprentice who was from Weedon Bec in Northamptonshire, and had five children. She died 29 December 1698, age 83, probably at Eastham.
• Sarah married 1st Love Brewster, son of Pilgrim William Brewster and a Mayflower passenger, and had four children. Married 2nd Richard Parke. She died Plymouth 26 April 1691 at age 75.
• Elizabeth married Constant Southworth, the colony treasurer and step-son of Governor William Bradford, and had nine children. I have not found her death record but it was after 27 Feb 1678/9 when she is named in her husband’s will. 
• Ruth married Daniel Cole, brother of Job Cole, and had 11 children. She died Eastham 15 December 1694 at age 67. [Not all researchers identify Daniel Cole’s wife as Ruth Collier but there is ample evidence.]

Incredibly I have direct lines of descent from Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Ruth. I wrote about Ruth and her husband Daniel Cole here. Thomas Prence and Mary here. Sarah and Love Brewster here. Elizabeth and Constant Southworth here.

William was the wealthiest man in the colony as he was taxed at the highest rate. He clearly was educated and well-respected. He was an Assistant to the Governor, Court Magistrate, Commissioner to United Colonies, on the Council of War, and served on many committees including one on the letting of trade and another to review laws. [Anderson]

On 11 June 1653 Mrs. Jane Collyare, on behalf of her grandchild, Sarah, the wife of Nathaniel Warren, sued Nathaniel’s mother, Elizabeth Warren, about some land. Since William Collier did not join in the petition it suggests that Sarah was Jane’s grandchild, but not his. [Wakefield article] I think it is impressive that Jane was filing lawsuits on her own like this! Nathaniel’s mother Elizabeth Warren was also in incredibly strong woman, so it took some guts to go up against her; Elizabeth and her husband Richard Warren are my 10th great-grandparents. Richard was a Mayflower passenger.

Nathaniel Warren married Sarah Walker on 19 Nov 1645 at Plymouth. [Wakefield article] So Sarah was Joyce Clarke Walker’s daughter—Jane’s daughter Joyce married John Walker at St. Peter Westcheap Parish in London in 1626.

It is not known yet under what circumstances Sarah Walker came to Plymouth or whether her parents emigrated as well. One theory is that she came with her grandmother Jane Collier in 1633. She is not the Sarah Walker born St. Olave’s in 1622 the daughter of William Walker, as Joyce was clearly single at the time of her grandmother Alice Arnold’s 1626 will. Her baptism likely occurred during a gap in the church registers. [Cole & Waddington]

I have not found a death record for Jane, but her incredible life came to an end sometime after 28 June 1666 when she consented to a deed made by her husband. [PCLR 3:152] 

I can only imagine how much Jane savored seeing her six children thrive in the clean air of Plymouth Colony, growing up to have children of their own, living comfortably in the young colony. 17th century life in the colony was by no means easy, but Jane was married to the richest man in the colony who held important positions in government, so she would have been well respected as his wife. Only one of her children that came to Plymouth died as a young adult. By my count she had at least 38 grandchildren! And at least 12 great-grandchildren by her granddaughter Sarah (Walker) Warren. By leaving England her daughters were spared the experience of the devastating 1665 “Great Plague,” so horrific it eclipsed in memory the century’s earlier pandemics.

William died before 5 July 1671 when the court appointed Gov. Prence, Mr. Constant Southworth, Mr. Thomas Clark, and "Benjamine Barlett," or any three of them to administer the estate of "mr. William Collyare," deceased [PCR 5:68] Unfortunately he didn’t leave a will. He was likely in his mid-80s.

I am so appreciative of the work done by William Cole on this family—including identifying Jane’s maiden name, her first marriage and Clarke children. I highly recommend reading his articles and book (see sources) as they offer a treasure trove of details and provide insight into the lives of these women. He enlisted the help of Nicola Waddington and Simon Neal in his work. 

Sources:

William E. Cole article, The Mayflower Descendant, “Jane Clarke: A Strong Woman The English Origins of William Collier’s Wife,” 69:60 (2021)

William E. Cole book, Puritans, Plagues, Promises: Cole, Clarke and Collier in England to America, 2023

Robert S. Wakefield, The American Genealogist, "The Children of William Collier, ” 49:215-16 (Jan 1973)

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1995

Nathaniel Morton, New Englands Memoriall, 1669

Eugene Stratton, Plymouth Colony, Its History and People 1620-1691, 1986

Susan E. Roser, Early Descendants of Daniel Cole of Eastham, Massachusetts, Friends of the Pilgrim Series Vol. 2, 2010

John G. Hunt, The American Genealogist, “Origin of Three Early Plymouth Families Cole, Collier and Clarke,” Vol 42 (1966)

Justin Winsor, History of the Town of Duxbury, Massachusetts, with Genealogical Registers, Crosby & Nichols, 1849

Anne Roberts, History Today, “The Plague in England,” vol 30, issue 4 (4 April 1980)

Robert S. Wakefield, The American Genealogist, "The Children of William Collier, ” 49:215-16 (Jan 1973)

Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol. 18, Richard Warren," 1999

William E. Cole and Nicola Waddington, NEHGS Register, “Who is Sarah Walker? New Findings of the Wife of Plymouth Colony’s Nathaniel Warren,” 71: 27 (2023)

Lamont “Monty” Healy, Duxbury Clipper, “Elder William Brewster and the Nook,” 3-part series, June 26, July 24 and August 28, 2013, includes a map indicating 1637 Duxbuy homesteads

George Willison, The Pilgrim Reader, 1953