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John Tilley (Pilgrim)
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
and signed the Mayflower Compact
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower...
. Tilley died shortly after arrival in New England.
Overview
Tilley was christened in HenlowHenlow
Henlow is a village and civil parish in the district of Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England.RAF Henlow, is located nearby, but is in fact nearer to the village of Stondon...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 19 December 1571. He was the eldest child of Robert and Elizabeth Tilley. He had four sisters (Rose, Agnes, Elizabeth, and Alice) and three brothers (George, William, and Edward or Edmund). Research done by Robert Leigh Ward, using probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
records, show that Tilley's paternal grandparents were William and Agnes Tylle, his great-grandparents were Thomas and Margaret Tylle, and great-great-grandparents were Henry and Johann[a]? Tilly, all of Henlow.
On 20 September 1596 in Henlow, John married Joan Hurst Rogers, the daughter of William and Rose Hurst and the widow of Thomas Rogers of Henlow. Joan had had one daughter from her previous marriage. John and Joan had five children between 1597 and 1607. At least one child died young. Research by George Ernest Bowman shows that John was not the Jan Tellij that married Prijntgen Van den Velde in Leyden.
In September 1620, John and Joan embarked on the Mayflower along with their teenage daughter Elizabeth and John's brother Edward Tilley
Edward Tilley
Edward Tilley was one of the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower. Tilley was also a signer of the Mayflower Compact, which has been called the world's first written constitution....
and his wife Ann or Agnes (Cooper) Tilley. Edward and Ann brought along Ann's relatives Henry Samson
Henry Samson
Henry Samson was one of the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower.He was 16 years old when he made the voyage. He came with his cousins, Edward and Ann Tilley, who also brought Humility Cooper, who was their niece . Of the 102 Mayflower passengers, 52 of them died in the first winter at...
and Humility Cooper
Humility Cooper
Humility Cooper was one of the Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower. She was the youngest girl - only about one year old.Cooper, who was probably an orphan, came with her aunt and uncle, Edward Tilley and Ann Cooper Tilley...
. They left behind their older children, who were married by this time. They arrived at what would become Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in November. John and brother Edward were amongst the men who signed the Mayflower Compact.
Unfortunately, the first winter after their arrival was extremely difficult and a number of the settlers died. Amongst these were John, wife Joan, brother Edward, and sister-in-law Ann. William Bradford
William Bradford (1590-1657)
William Bradford was an English leader of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, and served as governor for over 30 years after John Carver died. His journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation...
reported, "...Edward Tillie, and his wife both dyed soon after their arrivall; and the girle Humility their cousen, was sent for unto Ento England, and dyed ther But the youth Henery Sampson, is still liveing, and is married, & hath .7. children. John Tilley and his wife both dyed, a litle after they came ashore..." This left daughter Elizabeth the only surviving member of the Tilley family in America. The orphan was taken in by John Carver
John Carver
John Carver was a Pilgrim leader. He was the first governor of Plymouth Colony and his is the first signature on the Mayflower Compact.-Mayflower:...
but he and his wife both died that spring. Elizabeth later married John Howland
John Howland
John Howland was a passenger on the Mayflower. He was an indentured servant who accompanied the separatists, also called the Pilgrims, when they left England to settle in Plymouth, Massachusetts...
, Carver's former servant
Indentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
, and left many descendants.