James Chilton "Mayflower 1620"

James Chilton, a member of Barbara’s family and her 12th great-grandfather, was an English Separatist who traveled with his wife and youngest daughter, Mary, on the Mayflower in 1620. He died aboard the ship during its first winter in New England; Mary survived.

James Chilton was born about 1556, probably in Canterbury, Kent, England. He is identified in the supplied family-tree notes as a son of Lyonell and Edith Chilton. He married about 1583. His wife’s name has not been found in surviving records. A long-published identification of her as Susanna Furner was later rejected by research published by Michael Paulick in 1999 and 2007.

James and his wife had eight children born in Canterbury. Their first child, Joel, was baptized at St. Paul’s, Canterbury, in August 1584. About 1600, the family moved to Sandwich, Kent, where their last three children were baptized.

In 1609, James’s wife, recorded only as “___ Chilton wife of James Chilton,” was charged in the Archdeaconry Court with attending the secret burial of a child. The supplied notes state that the family opposed what they regarded as the “popish” burial ceremonies of the Church of England. The family presumably left for Holland not long afterward.

In 1619, while living in Leiden, James, then said to be 63, and his eldest daughter Isabella were caught in an anti-Arminian riot. James was struck on the head by a stone and was treated by the town surgeon, Jacob Hey.

In 1620, James, his wife, and their youngest daughter Mary sailed for New England on the Mayflower. The supplied notes describe him, at age 64, as the oldest person known to have made the voyage. He died aboard the Mayflower while it was anchored off Provincetown Harbor, during December 1620. His wife also died during the first winter, while their daughter Mary survived.

James Chilton is in Barbara’s family line through his daughter Isabella Chilton, followed by Sarah Chandler, Solomon Leonard, Martha Leonard, Timothy Perkins, Zepporah Perkins, Sarah Fuller, Elisabeth Newell Porter, Celestia D. Plummer, Phebe Celeste Tuthill, Nora Leslie Fox, Floyd Nelson Sherrell, and Doris Helen Sherrell.

Historical context

The family’s move from England to Holland followed religious tensions reflected in the 1609 court charge against James Chilton’s wife. In Leiden, James and Isabella experienced an anti-Arminian riot in 1619. The Mayflower voyage of 1620 brought James, his wife, and Mary to New England, but both parents died during the first winter.

Sources & research

Original Family Tree Maker notes supplied by the user.
Michael Paulick research, published in 1999 and 2007, concerning the rejected identification of James Chilton’s wife as Susanna Furner.