James Chilton

James Chilton (c. 1556 – 1620) was a Leiden Separatist passenger on the historic 1620 voyage of the ship Mayflower and was the oldest person on board. Upon arrival in the New World, he was a signer of the Mayflower Compact. James Chilton was one of the earliest to die that winter, perishing within the following month.

Life in England

Chilton was born about 1556 (age 63 in 1619) probably in Canterbury, Kent, England. The Chilton surname is an ancient one that appears in records from at least 1339, when his ancestor Robert Chilton was a Canterbury parliamentary representative.

His father was Lyonel Chilton.

James became a freeman in 1583 in Canterbury, and in a Canterbury Quarter Session in the next year, he was recorded as being a tailor.

James Chilton married about 1586 (date based on his first child's baptism date). Research has not revealed the name of his wife, which was at one time thought to have been his stepsister, Susanna Furner, but recent research has found this not to be true. As far back as 1840 Nahum Mitchell's History of Bridgewater provided the given name of James' wife as "Susanna," but there is no solid documentary evidence to this claim.

On the Mayflower

Not all members of the James Chilton family traveled on the Mayflower. The Chilton family on that ship consisted of James Chilton, age about sixty-four and the oldest Mayflower passenger, his wife and their daughter Mary, age about thirteen. Their daughters Isabella, married in 1615, and Ingle (Angel) stayed behind in Leiden. Isabella later came to Plymouth, but Ingle stayed in Leiden and married in 1622. She was still in Leiden in 1636, when she remarried. The records of their other children are not complete, although it is known that some died in infancy.

On November 9/19, 1620, after about three 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 and a damaged ship forced them to return to the Cape Cod Hook where they anchored on November 11/21. Since there were no established laws where they landed they wrote the Mayflower Compact, which made rules on how they would live and treat each other. James Chilton was one of the signers

From Bradford's recollection about the Chilton family on the Mayflower: ""

From Bradford's recollection about the Chilton family in later years: ""

Family

James Chilton married by 1586 and had ten children. Three of the daughters, Isabella, Ingel (Angel) and Mary survived to adulthood and married. Both Isabella, who came to Plymouth later, and Mary, who was a Mayflower passenger, are known to have descendants. and had four children. There is no record of Isabella's death. Bradford's statement that Chilton had another daughter is the only proof that Isabella came to Plymouth. The family probably came to Plymouth in either 1629 or 1630 when Bradford states that "the rest of the Leiden contingent arrived." There is also an earliest tax record showing Roger Chandler March 25, 1633. Chandler is also shown in a record of those men able to bear arms in 1643, and a land record in 1644. He is also listed as a Freeman in 1648. Chandler died in Duxbury between 1658 and 1665. In October 1665, the land in Plymouth Colony (150 acres) is granted to the three unnamed daughters of Roger Chandler, deceased.

2 Jane Chilton was baptized June 8, 1589.

3 Joel Chilton was born about 1591 and buried in 1593.

4 Mary Chilton (first with that name) was born and died in 1593.

5 Elizabeth Chilton was baptized July 14, 1594.

6 James Chilton (the first with that name) was baptized August 22, 1596.

7 Ingel (Ingell) (Angel) Chilton was baptized on April 29, 1599. She married Robert Nelson in Leiden, Holland on August 27, 1622. She also married to Daniel Pietersz in Leiden on 26-3-1636 and to Matthijs Tilligem on 27-6-1637, witness was her sister Christina and her brother-in-law to be, Dionys van Steenstraten.

8 Christian was baptized on July 26, 1601. She was married to Joris Abrahamsz in Leiden on 16-05-1635, witness to this marriage was Engeltgen her sister and after the death of Joris she was married to Dionys van Steenstraten in Leiden on 16-1-1636.

9 James Chilton (the second with that name) was baptized on September 11, 1603.

10 Mary (the second with that name) was baptized on May 30, 1607. Her parents died early at Plymouth Colony. She was an orphan at age 13. In the 1623 land division, a "Marie" Chilton received shares for her parents' land. Since it is listed between Alden and Standish, it has been suggested that she lived with either of those two families. There is no record which states with whom she lived after her parents' death. Between July 1623 and May 22, 1627, she married John Winslow in Plymouth. They had ten children. John is listed as having arrived at Plymouth in 1621 aboard the Fortune. John and Mary are part of the records of the 1627 division of cattle. John died before May 21, 1674, which is the date his will is proved. Mary died before July 11, 1679 which is the date her will was proved.

Death and memorial

Chilton died on December 8 (New Style 18), 1620. He was the only Mayflower Compact signer who died while the Mayflower was anchored at Cape Cod. There are three memorials to him in Provincetown. There is a small memorial plaque at Winthrop Street Cemetery, another in Pilgrims' First Landing Park (in the middle of the rotary at the extreme west end of Commercial Street), and the larger "Mayflower Passengers Who Died At Sea" memorial plaque at Bas Relief Park.