James Chilton Mayflower Passenger (ca 1556-1620) Part 2

James Chilton was a Mayflower passenger who sadly did not survive to see Plymouth—he died on board the ship as it was anchored in Provincetown Harbor. He is my 12th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family. I have learned more about James since I wrote an earlier post, primarily from Sue Allan’s book In Search Of Mayflower Pilgrim James Chilton of Canterbury and a series of articles by Michael Paulick.

James Chilton was born about 1556 likely in St. Paul Without Walls, Canterbury, Kent, England, where he was raised. His parents were Lionel and Edith Chilton; Edith’s maiden name is not known. [Anderson] He had siblings John, Alice, Ann, and Margaret.  The church register of baptisms does not cover the period of James’ birth, but he is shown to be Lionel’s son in a variety of records including Lionel’s will. James’ grandfather Richard Chilton was also from St. Paul’s so the family had been in the parish for at least three generations.

St. Paul's Church outside the Canterbury walls

Lionel appears to have been a prosperous man but not of the gentry class. He was a bricklayer, a respectable profession at the time, and owned multiple properties and many acres of land. He owned The Swan and The Wool Sack, presumably ale houses. He grew grain, owned a mill house to process it, and brewed ale. He was a churchwarden which was an elected, unpaid position filled by trustworthy men of good pubic standing. His inventory shows he lived in a large home that included a good deal of furniture, decorative painted cloths, silver, books, helmets, and guns. Buildings on his property included a brew house, well house, mill house, milk house, bake house, and corn lofts. A stable was mentioned later in arbitration between his sons. [Allan]

James became a Merchant Tailor and Freeman by Gift of Canterbury in 1583. The mayor was allowed to nominate one freeman by gift within a year of taking office and James was his choice. James purchased a place in the company of Woolen Drapers and Tailors. As a freeman, he could operate his business without restraint within the walls of Canterbury and could employ apprentices. [NEHGR 153:408-412]

James married by 1584 a woman whose name is not recorded.

Children of James and his wife had ten children [baptisms from Sherman]:

1. Joel baptized St. Paul’s Canterbury 16 August 1584 (no father’s name given); buried 2 Nov 1593 as son of James Chilton
2. Isabella bp St. Paul’s 15 January 1586/7; m. Leiden 21 July 1615 Roger Chandler [MD 11:129]
3. Jane bp St. Paul’s 8 June 1589; no further record
4. Mary buried St. Martin’s 23 Nov 1593 
5. Elizabeth bp St Martin’s, 14 July 1594; no further record
6. James bp St. Martin’s, 22 August 1596; died by September 1603 
7. Ingle bp St. Paul’s, Canterbury, 29 April 1599; believed to be Engeltgen Gilten who m. Robert Nelson at Leiden 27 August 1622; no further record 
8. Christian, daughter bp St. Peter’s, Sandwich, Kent, 26 July 1601; no further record
9. James bp St. Peter’s Sandwich, 11 Sept 1603 [MF 2:5]; no further record
10. Mary bp St. Peter’s Sandwich, 30 May 1607 [MF 2:5]; m. Plymouth John Winslow by 22 May 1627

I descend from their youngest child, Mary. I wrote about her here.

James lived in tumultuous times: [Allan]

• Under the reign of Catholic Queen Mary over 300 Protestants deemed heretics were executed by burning. 
• When Queen Elizabeth came to power, the country returned to the Protestant faith, and in 1588 three Catholic priests were executed in a nearby town. 
• James lived through a major earthquake in April 1580. A resulting tsunami caused 165 ships to capsize and a number of people drowned. It occurred during Easter week and many viewed it as a sign from God. 
• The war between England and Spain was also backdrop to James’ life. 
• There were droughts, floods, and a plague that caused food shortages. The lack of grain to make ale and disposable income for new clothing would have greatly impacted James’ livelihood. 

James appeared in court multiple times, often acting as bondsman for marriages. In 1584 he was ordered to appear in court and "to keep the peace;” no details given. Later that year he and another man posted bail of ten pounds each for Alexander Stonnard. In April 1586 he was presented for "chiding and brawling” [did not refer to physically fighting at the time] in the chancel floor of Church. In 1593 he and two other men, including his brother-in-law, were "bound over" for the large sum of more than £66; crime was not specified. In 1594 he was in trouble for beating a man with a stick. In 1598 he and another person guaranteed to the court the good behavior of Richard Allen, who kept an alehouse. In 1600 he was fined six shillings and eight pence for "victualling" (selling food and/or drink) without a license. The fine was canceled when he agreed to cease after Christmas. [New England Ancestors, Spring 2007] It could be James was a hothead or perhaps he was a man who stood up for his beliefs. In the case of the “brawling” at church, he came to the defense of a blacksmith who was arguing with a wealthy alderman. [Allan]

Interior of St. Paul's

By July 1601 James moved his family to the port town of Sandwich, about 12 miles from Canterbury. It was a big deal to relocate, especially with James’ deep roots at Canterbury, his business connections, and his freeman status. Exactly why James moved is not known—perhaps he was in debt due to all of the conditions  previously mentioned or his religious beliefs meant he could no longer honor his freeman’s oath. The parish of St. Peter’s in Sandwich was home to many non-conformists, so that could have been a factor. Some of these non-conformists would later go to Leiden including Roger Wilson, Thomas and Mary Shingleton, Richard and John Masterson, and Moyses Fletcher. [Allan] 

St. Peter's, Sandwich

Lionel Chilton died in January 1582 and wording in his will indicates that he anticipated discord amongst his heirs. James was bequeathed his father’s property called The Wool Sack, which included a house, land, and presumably a tavern. His father also directed for James to take care of his step-mother Isabel (Wilson) (Furner) Chilton who married, 3rd, Nicholas Graunt, but perhaps after his death returned to live with James at Sandwich as she died there in 1607. This leads to conjecture that Isabel was James’ mother-in-law. [Allan]

Sue Allan believes the location of James’ property, The Wool Sack in St. Paul’s, was Barton Court, a farm property which was originally the mansion house or court of the Abbot of St. Augustine’s. Her book includes a photograph of a surviving building on the property.

In October 1584 James and his brother John sought arbitration in a dispute about building a drain in the ground between their properties and a few other issues, so it appears their father was correct in thinking there would be disharmony with his estate. [Allan]

James seems to have had some education, perhaps at Kings Grammar School. To dress the gentry as a tailor, James would have been well dressed, neat and clean in appearance. [Allan]

James and his wife were religious dissenters, eventually becoming Separatists. Canterbury and East Kent had a strong Puritan presence and a number of Protestant refugees from Europe, including displaced Walloons. In May 1593 two Separatist leaders were executed at London; it must have been shocking to hear of Protestant vs. Protestant violence. In April 1598 “the wife of James Chilton” was part of a group that secretly buried a child to avoid the Church of England burial services, and excommunication proceedings against her began.  [NEHGR 153:408] 

Likely because England was becoming increasingly unsafe for dissenters, in about 1609 James and his wife and children left their homeland to live at Leiden, Holland. They joined John Robinson’s group of Separatists, then called the Christian Reformed Religion, many of whom became the Pilgrims who founded Plymouth, Massachusetts. The city was thriving mostly due to the cloth trade, which would have been a fit for James. Pay however was meager, which made it a challenge to survive. The Chiltons lived on Vollersgracht [voller meaning fuller/wool workers and gracht meaning canal) which is now called Langebrug. Their house was in a little gated courtyard at corner of Diefsteeg and Langebrug. [Allan] That James acted as a bondsman for marriages suggests he may have been more financially secure than many other Pilgrims and that he gave up much for his religious beliefs. [NEHGR Vol 174]

The year 1619 was a time of great unrest in the city with clashes between the established Dutch Church and Remonstrants, followers of Arminianism which placed emphasis on man’s responsibility and his own free will. There were armed military and cannons stationed across the city. Soon after James returned from church on 28 April 1619, he was accused by 20 youths of allowing Remonstrants to gather at his home, an untruth. The young men threw rocks and bricks at him and his injuries were life threatening. He and his daughter Ingle gave statements to the police in presence of surgeon Jacob Hey. James stated he was about 63 years of age. [Bangs] It is noteworthy that Ingle was literate, not typical for English-born females.

James was about 64, considered quite elderly as the average life expectancy in the Tudor era was 35, when he boarded the Mayflower for the dangerous crossing with his wife and their youngest child Mary. They left behind their two adult daughters in Leiden; it seems they had no surviving sons by this time. What was their motivation to take such a voyage? Was Leiden no longer tolerable to them after the attack on James? They bought no servants with them to do hard labor, so perhaps they agreed with one or more of the men traveling alone to be help mates to each other. 

After a long and difficult crossing, the Mayflower was anchored in Provincetown Harbor at Cape Cod on 11 November 1620 when James was one of the men who signed the historic Mayflower Compact. He died less than a month later, on 8 December, a bitterly cold day with wind driven rain and snow and a growing sea swell. [Anderson] His likely cause of death was scurvy.

James Chilton's signature

Memorial at Provincetown honoring the passengers who died there

Mrs. Chilton died during the first winter. Her remains would likely be buried on what is now Cole’s Hill in Plymouth. Their daughter Mary was now an orphan at just 13 years of age. She may have been raised in the household of Captain Myles Standish. She did, however, see her sister Isabella again as she came to New England with her husband Roger Chandler. What a happy reunion that must have been.

Sarcophagus on Cole's Hill containing unidentified Pilgrim remains

It’s sad to me when women’s identifies are unknown, especially when there are multiple opportunities to at least identify her Christian name in records instead of just “wife of.” Being a dissenter she was clearly a brave and strong woman. She gave birth to at least ten children and likely buried seven of them. She left a comfortable life in Kent to move to Leiden, Holland, where she would not have spoken the language initially. And then as an older woman, she crossed the ocean to Plymouth to help build a community from scratch, arriving at the onset of winter. Some people believe her name was Mary, others Susannah Furner (this is not possible as Susannah would have been 10 years old at her marriage!). Sue Allan wrote that perhaps she was Mildred Furner, James step-sister, but states this is speculation. 

Sources:

Sue Allan, In Search Of Mayflower Pilgrim James Chilton of Canterbury, 2024

Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs, Strangers and Pilgrims, Travelers and Sojourners, Leiden and the Foundations of Plymouth Plantation, GSMD, 2009

Robert M. Sherman, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol 15: James Chilton and Richard More, 1997

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1995

Michael R. Paulick, NEHGS Register, ”The 1609-1610 Excommunications of Mayflower Pilgrims Mrs. Chilton and Moses Fletcher," vol 153:408-412, October 1999

Michael R. Paulick, New England Ancestors, "The Mayflower Chiltons in Canterbury, 1556-1600, ” Spring 2007

Michael R. Paulick, NEHGS Register, “Mayflower and Other Pilgrims from Kent in Leiden in the Early 1600s,” Volume 174, Spring 2020

Michael R. Paulick, The Mayflower Quarterly, “From Dissenters to Pilgrims, 1608-1613 St. Peter’s, Sandwich, Kent,”   Vol. 87, No. 3, Fall 2021

Peter Browne 1595-1633 of Surrey and Plymouth

Peter Browne was baptized 26 January 1595 at Dorking, Surrey, son of William Browne.  I need to confirm, but I would think he was baptized at St. Martin's Church, an Anglican parish church in Dorking, Surrey. Surviving parts of the structure date back to the Middle Ages. It is in the archdeaconry of Dorking, in the Diocese of Guildford. His last name is also spelled Brown. He is my 11^th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Davis’ side of the family, although I have not submitted my line to the Mayflower Society.

St. Martin's, Dorking, Surrey

He was a young man of 25, one of the “strangers,” when he boarded the Mayflower. He brought along his English Mastiff dog.

The Browne family appears to have had several associations with the Mullins family of Dorking, who also came on the Mayflower. 

The Pilgrims were unsettled by the far off presence of Indians when they first landed at Plymouth. They would see smoke from Indians' fires in the distance. Work was interrupted for several days when Peter Browne and John Goodman went missing one noontime while gathering thatch for the common house roof. A party searched the woods until dark but didn't find them and they were afraid the Indians had killed them. Peter and John were near a pond when their dogs, a large Mastiff (Browne's) and a small Spaniel, raised a big buck which went bounding into the woods. The men tried to follow but were soon winded and lost. They wandered around in a cold drizzle that turned to snow. They lay on the cold ground to sleep and were awoken by two lions roaring, so they dashed for the nearest tree, intending to climb if attacked. The Mastiff kept trying to go after the lions. The next day they climbed a hill and saw the bay, which gave them their bearings. They stumbled into camp after dark. Goodman's shoes, which were worth their weight in gold, had to be cut from his swollen, frost -bitten feet. They soon learned the “lions” were actually wolves!

In a partial list of the house locations of the Pilgrims made out in 1620, John Goodman and Peter Browne appear to have been neighbors on the south side of the Street and the ocean side of the Highway.  Peter Browne was apparently still living there during the 1623 Division of Land.

 

Abt. 1626 he married the widow Martha Ford whose maiden name is unknown.  She came in 1621 on the Fortune, giving birth soon after landing. Peter and Martha had two children: Mary and Priscilla. The latter perhaps named after Mayflower passenger Priscilla Mullins who was also from Dorking. Martha would die soon after giving birth, I descend from Mary.

Mary, born about 1626, married Ephraim Tinkham, had 8 children and remained in Plymouth. Priscilla, born about 1628, married William Allen and moved to Sandwich.

 

Peter Browne's Tankard, at Pilgrim Hall Museum

In 1623 Plymouth land division "Peter Browen" received one acre as a passenger on the Mayflower (PCR 12:4). In 1627 Plymouth cattle division Peter Brown, Martha Brown and Mary Brown were the fourth, fifth and sixth persons in the eighth company (PCR 12:11).

In the 1627 Division of Cattle he, Peter, his wife Martha, his daughter Mary Browne, and his stepchildren John and Martha Ford were included with the Samuel Fuller and Anthony Annable families.  About a year later, Peter and Martha would have daughter Priscilla but wife Martha would die shortly thereafter. 

Peter Brown was on the 1633 Plymouth list of freemen ahead of those made free on 1 Jan 1632/33 (PCR 1:4). He was assessed 18 s. in Plymouth tax list of 25 March 1633 (PCR 1:10); Widow Brown assessed 9 s. in list of 27 March 1634 (PCR 1:28).

Peter married, second, Mary whose maiden name is also unknown and had two more children: Rebecca born about 1631 and a child born about 1633. name unknown, who did not live to adulthood. 

Rebecca married William Snow and lived in Bridgewater.

The evidence for the marriages of Peter Brown's three daughters is largely from deeds in which his land was sold by his sons-in-law, with the consent of his daughters.

Peter Browne's brother John Browne came to America about 1632 and settled in Duxbury, just to the north of Plymouth.  John Browne was baptized in Dorking on 29 June 1600.

Gov. Bradford wrote that "Peter Browne married twice. By his first wife he had two children who are living and both of them married, and the one of them hath two children. By his second wife he had two more. He died about sixteen years since."

Peter died between 25 March and 10 October 1633 at Plymouth, likely in the fall when there was a general sickness in town. He was just 38 years old. Mayflower passengers Samuel Fuller (Peter’s neighbor) and Francis Eaton, both my ancestors, and several other Plymouth residents died at that time.

His estate inventory taken 10 October 1633 shows that he owned 130 bushels of corn, six melch goats, one cow, eight sheep, and a number of pigs, and a Bible, among other things. The Bible indicates he could read. His widow Mary Browne was granted administration. He died without a will leaving “diverse children by diverse wives,” his estate amount to 100 pounds.

In his estate records, Peter’s daughter Mary is mentioned as having been placed with John Doane of Plymouth for the past nine years and was to stay with him until age 17. Widow was to pay down 15 pounds to Doane for “the use of Mary Browne, daughter of said Peter.” She was also to pay down 15 pounds to Mr. William Gilson for the use of Priscilla Browne, another daughter of Peter.  It mentions the widow having two children by the said Peter together with her own third, so she must have been married before Peter. Sadly, I appears placed her step-daughters with other families when Peter died.

                                                                                                                      

Peter Browne and his family bring home to me the danger of living in Plymouth in the 17^th century—illness, lack of comforts of home and the cold winter climate. He died as a young man in his 30s and he had already buried two wives and possibly one of his children. I wonder though if he regretted coming to Plymouth. He owned land, which likely wouldn’t have happened back in England and experienced a lot more freedom in Plymouth. After his death his children by his first wife were put out to other families, something I find very sad.   

My line from Peter Browne:

Peter Browne and Mary (____) (Ford)

Mary Browne and Ephraim Tinkham

Helkiah Tinkham and Ruth (_____)

 John Tinkham and Anne Gray

Ann Tinkham and Samuel Fuller

Mary Fuller and Jabez Nye

Desire Nye and David Pierce

Lucy Nye Pierce and Rowland Sturtevant Bumpus

Mary Briggs Washburn and Seth Washburn

Charles F. Washburn and Hattie Benson

Carrie C. Washburn and George Brewster Smith (unmarried)

Arthur Washburn Davis (changed his surname from Washburn to Davis)

My parents

Me

Famous descendants of Peter Browne: Dick Van Dyke, the Beach Boys (Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson).

Sources Not Listed Above:

Caleb Johnson, The Probable English Origin of Mayflower Passenger Peter Browne, And His Association with Mayflower Passenger William Mullins, The American Genealogist vol. 79 (July 2004)

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol, 1, 1995

Mrs. John E. Barclay, The Widow Martha Ford, The American Genealogist, vol. 42, 1965

William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation

Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations. Volume Seven, Vol. 7: Peter Brown, 1992

George F. Willison, Saints and Strangers, 1945