Richard Warren

Richard Warren, among 10 passengers in the landing party, when the Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod, November 11, 1620

On November 21, 1620, Richard Warren cosigned the Mayflower Compact, covenant of equal laws for the Colony

Richard Warren (c. 1580–1628) was a passenger on the Mayflower (old "May Floure") in 1620. He settled in Plymouth Colony and was among ten passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Myles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620.^[1][2][3] Warren co-signed the Mayflower Compact^[3] and was one of nineteen (of forty-one) signers who survived the first winter.

His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Walker, the daughter of Augustine Walker of Great Amwell, Hertford; she was baptised 1583 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, died October 2, 1673.^[3] She and his first five children, all daughters, came to America in the ship Anne in 1623. Once in America, they then had two sons before Richard's death in 1628.^[1][2]

Although the details are limited, Richard Warren and wife, Elizabeth, and children were mentioned in official records or books of the time period.^[3] All seven of their children survived and had families, with thousands of descendants, including: President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin,^[4] astronaut Alan Shepard, author Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie series), actor Richard Gere, Lavinia Warren, also known as Mrs. Tom Thumb,^[5] educator and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,^[6][7] and the Wright brothers.^[1]

His life

Warren is among the less documented of the Mayflower pioneers. Clearly a man of rank, Warren was accorded by Governor William Bradford the prefix "Mr.," pronounced Master, used in those times to distinguish someone because of birth or achievement. From his widow's subsequent land transactions, we can assume that he was among the wealthier of the original Plymouth settlers. And yet, Bradford did not mention him in his History of the Plimouth Plantation except in the List of Passengers.

In Mourt's Relation, published in 1622, we learn that Warren was chosen, when the Mayflower stopped at Cape Cod before reaching Plymouth, to be a member of the exploring party among 10 passengers (and 8 crew), and he was described as being "of London" among 3 men. Charles Edward Banks, in Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers writes: "Richard Warren came from London and was called a merchand of that city (by Mourt) Extensive research in every available source of information -- registers, chancery, and probate, in the London courts, proved fruitless in an attempt to identify him."

He was not of the Leiden, Holland, Pilgrims, but joined them in Southampton, England to sail on the Mayflower.

Richard Warren received his acres in the Division of Land in 1623.^[1] In the 1627 Division of Lands and Cattle, in May 1627, "RICHARD WARREN of the Mayflower" was given "one of the black heifers, 2 she-goats, and a grant of 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land" ^[2] at the Eel River (Plymouth, Massachusetts). The Warren house built in that year (1627) stood at the same location as the present house; it was re-built about 1700, at the head of Clifford Road, with its back to the sea, and later owned by Charles Strickland (in 1976).^[2]

Warren died a year after the division, in 1628, the only record of his death being found as a brief note in Nathaniel Morton's 1669 book New England's Memorial, in which Morton writes:

"This year [1628] died Mr. Richard Warren, who hath been mentioned before in this book, and was a useful instrument; and during his life bore a deep share in the difficulties and troubles of the first settlement of the plantation of New Plimouth."^[1][3]

-Nathaniel Morton, New England's Memorial (Boston : John Usher, 1669)^[3]

Research into the life of Richard Warren is still ongoing.^[3]

Descendants

Elizabeth and Richard Warren's seven children, with their spouses, were:^[8][9]

• Mary (c1610- 27 March 1683) married Robert Bartlett;
• Anna (c1612- aft 19 February 1676) married Thomas Little;
• Sarah (c1613- 15 July 1696) married John Cooke, who, along with his father, Francis Cooke were Mayflower passengers;
• Elizabeth (c1616- 9 March 1670) married Richard Church;
• Abigail (c1618- 3 January 1693) married Anthony Snow;
• Nathaniel (c1625-1667) married Sarah Walker; and
• Joseph (1627 - 4 May 1689) married Priscilla Faunce (1634- 15 May 1707).^[8]

All of Richard Warren's children survived to adulthood, married and had large families. It is claimed that Warren is the Mayflower passenger with most descendants, numbering over 14 million.^[10]

Ancestral summary

More information has been published about Richard Warren than any other Mayflower passenger, probably because he has so many descendants (note that all seven of his children grew up and married). Warren's ancestry is uncertain, although there are some published sources that indicate he was descended from Charlemagne,^[11] and the International Society of the Descendants of Charlemagne considers him to be an established descendant.^[12] There is also dispute over his wife's maiden surname, but in 2002, Edward Davies located the will of Augustine Walker, who seems likely to have been her father.^[1]

Relatively little has been uncovered about Richard Warren's life in America.^[1] He came alone on the Mayflower in 1620, leaving behind his wife and five daughters. His family traveled on the ship "Anne" to join him in 1623, and Richard and Elizabeth subsequently had two sons, Nathaniel and Joseph, at Plymouth.^[1]

See also

• Mayflower
• Mayflower Compact
• Of Plymouth Plantation
• Pilgrims
• Plymouth Colony
• Thanksgiving

Notes

References

• Edward J. Davies, "The Marriage of Richard¹ Warren of the Mayflower", The American Genealogist, 78 (2003), 81-86.
• Jones, Emma C. Brewster. The Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907: a Record of the Descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower," ruling elder of the Pilgrim church which founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. New York: Grafton Press. 1908
• Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie: Issue 40 of Sesame booklets; BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008. ISBN 0-554-47602-9.
• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 1: Richard Warren); edited by Robert S. Wakefield.
• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 2: Richard Warren—Fifth Generation Descendants of Mary2, Anna2 and Elizabeth2); edited by Robert S. Wakefield.
• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 3 Richard Warren) Fifth Generation Descendants of Abigail 2, Nathaniel 2, and Joseph 2; edited by Robert S. Wakefield.
• The Mount Vernon Street Warrens, Martin Green, Simon & Schuster, 1989 ISBN 0-684-19109-1
• Richard Warren of the Mayflower and some of his Descendents, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, by Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1901, Vol. 55:70-78.

External links

• MayflowerHistory.com page on Richard Warren