Francis Eaton

Francis Eaton was born in Bristol, England, and died in the autumn of 1633 in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He, with his wife and son, were passengers on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower. His signature appears on the Mayflower Compact.

Early life in England

Francis Eaton was baptised on 11 September 1596 at St. Thomas' Church in Bristol, England.

Francis was a son of John Eaton and his wife Dorothy (Smith). He had younger siblings who were born after himincluding Jane in 1598 or 99, Samuel in 1600 and Welthian in 1602, but all siblings died of a possible devastating illness in March 1603 which may have spread through the whole family. He was the only child of this family known to survive until adulthood.

Eaton had become a house carpenter in Bristol by about age nineteen (c. 1615) and was living in a tenement in the parish of St. Phillips, Bristol. Bristol records after 1615 do not list Francis Eaton, who may have left England for Holland, as Bradford lists him on the Mayflower passenger list section for Leiden congregation members.

Francis Eaton was a carpenter by trade and Banks believes that he was the Mayflower ship's carpenter, being in the employ of the Merchant Adventurers, financial supporters of the Mayflower venture.

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on 6 or 16 September 1620. The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of about 30–40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out, the ship was being buffeted by strong westerly gales, causing the first ship's timbers to be badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water, and with passengers, even in their berths, lying wet and ill. This, combined with a lack of proper rations and unsanitary conditions for several months, attributed to what would be fatal for many, especially the majority of women and children. On the way, there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger, but the worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination when, in the space of several months, almost half the passengers perished in cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.

On 9 or 19 November 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called Provincetown Harbor. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on 11 or 21 November.

In Plymouth Colony

William Bradford's observation on this family in his later years: ""

In the 1623 Division of Land, Francis received four acres of landone acre for himself, one for his deceased first wife Sarah, one for his son Samuel and one for his second wife Dorothy.

In 1626 Francis Eaton was one of twenty-seven Purchasers involved with the colony joint-stock company which afterwards was turned over to the control of senior colony members. That group was called Undertakers, and was made up of such as William Bradford, Myles Standish and Isaac Allerton initially who were later joined by Edward Winslow, William Brewster, John Howland, John Alden, Thomas Prence and others from London, former Merchant Adventurers. His name appears as "Franc Eaton" on the agreement dated 26 October 1626.

In the 1627 division of cattle, Francis and Christian Eaton, with children Samuel and Rachel, received a cow and two goats.

In 1631, apparently due to some severe financial problems, Eaton began selling off much of his landholdings; he sold four acres of land north of town "between the land of Capt. Myles Standish on the south side and one acre due unto Henry Sampson on the north side." On 25 June 1631 records state he sold a cow calf to Edward Winslow and noted terms of interest on the sale. On 30 December 1631 Francis Eaton sold twenty acres of land to William Brewster and then sold another ten-acre parcel to Brewster in the same area. About a week later, on 8 January 1631 or 1632, he sold his home to Winslow relatives of Edward WinslowKenelm, a brother, and Josiah, possibly his son.

Family

Francis Eaton married:

Sarah Morton Day, who married Eaton in England c. 1618–1619. She died during the first winter in the "general sickness." Her burial place is unknown. She is memorialized as "Sarah, first wife of Francis Eaton" on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth. Dorothy ——, who is believed to have been the maidservant of Governor John Carver. They married c. 1621–1622. She died a year or two after the marriage in c. 1624. Bradford wrote of her: "married, and dyed a year or two after, here in this place." They had no children. Her burial place is unknown. Christian Penn, who arrived in Plymouth in the summer of 1623 on the Anne. She married Eaton in 1625 or early 1626 and had three children with him. She later married Francis Billington and had nine children by him. She died in Middleboro c. 1684; her burial place is at Nemasket Hill Cemetery.

On 26 November 1633, the Plymouth Court proclaimed "…Francis Eaton, carpenter, late of Plymouth, deceased, died indebted far more than the estate…" Thomas Prence and John Doane were involved in the estate process with the probate inventory being drawn up the same day by James Hurst, Francis Cooke and Phineas Pratt, revealing how meager his estate was due to Eaton's dire financial situation.

Beginning in 1631, Eaton had sold off all his lands and house, likely due to his shortage of finances. At his death, his estate comprised only his livestock, household goods and carpentry tools, the total of which only made up one-third of the value of his total debts. Christian, his widow, was not held liable for his debts by the Court, which proclaimed that "… the widow be freed and acquitted from any claim or demand of all or any his creditors whatsoever."

Burial of his wives

The burial place of his first wife Sarah is unknown, but she was most likely buried in an unmarked grave on Cole's Hill, the first Pilgrim burial location, as with so many others who died the first winter of 1621. She is memorialized on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb (Sarcophagus) on Cole's Hill in Plymouth with: "Sarah, first wife of Francis Eaton."

The burial places of his second wife, Dorothy is unknown. His third wife, Christian, died in 1684 and is buried at Nemasket Hill Cemetery in Middleboro, MA with her step-son, Samuel Eaton, Mayflower passenger who also died in 1684.