Richard Warren (c. 1580 - 1628) a passenger on the Mayflower (old "May Floure") in 1620, 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 (among forty-one) signers who survived the first winter.
Most sources agree that his wife's name was Elizabeth, however there is some dispute as to what Elizabeth's maiden surname was. One reference indicates her maiden name was Elizabeth Walker, and that 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 untimely 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, astronaut Alan Shepard, author Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie series), actor Richard Gere, and the Wright brothers (more below).[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 of 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]
However, Richard 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 (archaic grammar):
- "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."[3][1]
-
-
- -Nathaniel Morton, New England's Memorial (Boston : John Usher, 1669)[3]
Research into the life of Richard Warren is still ongoing.[3] Some sources indicate that Richard Warren is a direct descendant of Charlemagne, but others dispute this claim.[1]
Descendants
Elizabeth and Richard Warren's seven children, with their spouses, were: [4] [5]
-
All of Richard Warren's children survived to adulthood, married, and also had large families. It is claimed that Warren has the largest posterity of any pilgrim, numbering 14 million, the Mayflower passenger with more descendants than any other passenger.[6]
Among his descendants are: Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt,[1] astronaut Alan Shepard,[1] author Laura Ingalls Wilder, actor Richard Gere, actress Joanne Woodward, writers Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lavinia Warren (the wife of "General Tom Thumb"), aviator Amelia Earhart, actor Orson Welles, United States Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, the Wright Brothers, Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, chef Julia Child, Irish President Erskine Hamilton Childers, inventor Lee DeForest, and many more. A detailed genealogy of just the first five generations takes up three volumes (see References below).
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 unknown, despite some published sources suggesting that he was a descendant of royalty. 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 travelled 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
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Richard Warren" (research since 2002), 2006, MayflowerHistory.com webpage: MayflowerHistory-RWarren.
- ^ a b c d "EEL RIVER VALLEY" (of 1627 land grants, 400 acres (1.6 km2) to Warren), by Victoria B. Engstrom, Pilgrim Society Notes, Series One, Number 23, 1976, PilgrimHall.org webpage: PilgrimHall-EelRiverValley-RWarren-1976.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Richard & Elizabeth Warren in the records of the 17th century" (with wife), Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA, 1998-07-14, PilgrimHall.org webpage: PilgrimHall-WarrenRecords-1998: 1628 death of Richard at middle (Morton book); 1673 death of Elizabeth at bottom.
- ^ a b "Individuals from Chrisman Pedigree, page 25" (genealogy), Source: NGSQ 74:87, and "Faunce Family" by James Freer Faunce, in NEHGR 114:115 (1960), 2004-08-30, Chrisman.org/Pedigree webpage (accessed 2006-11-20): Chrisman-pedigree-out25.
- ^ "Family Tree: Richard Warren" (genealogy), AOL Research & Learn, 2006, Ancestry. Families.AOL.com webpage: AOL-Tree-RWarren.
- ^ "Mormon Pioneer Genealogy Library Acquired by NEHGS". New England Historical Genealogical Society. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
References
- Edward Davies, "The Marriage of Richard Warren of the Mayflower" (research), The American Genealogist 78 (April 2003), pages 81-86.
- 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 0684191091
External links
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