The Minor Family of Somerset

Biography: JOHN ALDEN AND PRISCILLA MULLINS Alicia Crane William
s, Editor. Mayflower Families through five generations: John Al
den, Esther Littleford Woodworth-Barnes, Prime Researchers for t
he Alden Family.
John Alden was hiredfor a cooper, at Southhampton, where the sh
ip victuled; and being a hopefullyoung man, was much desired, bu
t left to his owne lliking to go or stay when he came here; bu
t he stayed and maryed here. (Bradfor'd zhistory, p 443, TheMa
yflower Decendant vol 1:228)
On 11 November 1620 John Alden joined with the other free adul
t male passengers of the Mayflower to sign the Compact whereby t
hey agreed to make and abide by their o wn laws. (Bradford's Hi
story,75; New Englands Memorial p 15-16
That is all that is known a;bout the originsof John Alden. Eff
orts to locate his birthplace and parentage have so far been inc
onclusive. although he joined the Mayflower at Southampton,Hamp
shire, England, no records have been found of John in Southampto
n, and he was notnecessarily a native of that place.
Several theories regarding the origins ofJohn Alden were discus
sed in "The Mayflower Descendant, vol 39:111-121 and vol. 40: 13
3o-136. Of these theories, the one with the most prospects is t
hat of the Harwich Alden family. A John Alden of Harwich marrie
d the daughterof William Russell, a merchant of that town. Whe
n William Russell wrote hiswill on 1 August 1586, he mentione
d his son-in-law John Alden who was at that time in captivity i
n Spaint (these were the years just before the Spanish Armada wh
en English and Spanish ships competed for rule of the seas). H
e also mentions a number of children of John Alden. Interpretat
ion of Russell'swill seems to indicated that the captured Joh
n Alden had two sons jamed John.John "the elder" was prbably t
he child of an earlier, , first wife;and John "the young
er" was the child of William Russell's daughters. Other childre
n of the captured John Alden were Peter, William and Thomas. An
yu ofthese sons could have been the father of John Alden of th
e Mayflower.
The most appealing facet of the Harwich theory is that William R
ussell's son Robert, brother of the Elizabeth Russell who marrie
d the captured John Alden, married the widowed mmother of Captai
n Chrisopher Jones of the Mayflower. Thus,if this theory is co
rrect, Capt Jones would have been this step-son of our John Alde
n's great uncle! Certainly, this theory offers ample opportunit
y for John Alden to have learned about Captain Jones's trip to N
ew England and togain the job of cooper-Carpenter for the voyag
e. Unfortunately, no recordshave been found in Harwich or th
e county of Essex of a John Alden who could be ours. If Captai
n Jones was related to John Alden, William Bradford did notkni
w of it when he wrote his history or he almost cetainly would ha
ve mentioned the connection.
John, himself, left us no information about his past. We estima
te the year of his birth as 1598 using John's own deposition an
d broadside published upon his death. In the deposition made o
n 6 Jul 1682 Johnstated he was "aged 83 yeers or thereabouts" (
Plymouth Colony Records, Judicial Acts, Part 2 p 32: The Mayflo
wer Descendant vol. 3:120-121, which would inidcate he was bor
n between 6 july 1598 and 6 jul 1599. When John died on 12Sept
ember 1687, a broadside published to commemorate the occasion st
ated he was "about eighty nine years of age", indicating he wa
s born between 12 September 1687 and 12 September 1598. (The May
flower Descendant, vol 9:129) Combining the two ranges result
s in an estimated birth date between 6 july and 12 Sep 1598 or t
hereabouts.
Thus John was about twenty-two years old in 1620and very likel
y had just finished an apprenticeship in cooperage or carpentry
. No letters, no family Bible, no journal, no writings surviv
e for eitherJohn or Priscilla. All tht survives is the story