2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage and the founding of Plymouth Colony. Commemorative publications, programs, and tours are planned in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands by various organizations, including the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Plymouth 400, Inc.
In preparation for the festivities, we will be blogging about our resources for different Mayflower families throughout the year. This month we’ll explore the family of the Mayflower’s military captain, Myles Standish!
Myles Standish was born ca. 1584 in Lancashire, UK. He was stationed in Holland as part of Queen Elizabeth’s army and was hired by the pilgrims to be their military captain.
Myles and his wife Rose were passengers of the Mayflower. The couple did not have any children and sadly, Rose did not survive the first winter at Plymouth colony. Myles then married Barbara (last name unknown) who arrived on the Anne in 1623.
Standish helped care for the sick and dying during that first winter in the colony. He organized the deployment of cannons and construction of the first fort in Plymouth colony. He led trading and military expeditions with the Native-American tribes.
Standish was one of the founders of the town of Duxbury. He was deputy governor from 1624-1633 and was colony treasurer from 1644-1656.
Myles Standish died on October 3, 1656, in Duxbury.
The first generation of Myles Standish descendants:
- Charles, born in Plymouth ca. 1624, died ca. 1634.
- Alexander, born in Plymouth ca. 1626, married Sarah Alden ca. 1660, then married Desire Doty Sherman Holmes ca. 1688, died July 6, 1702, in Duxbury.
- John, born in Plymouth ca. 1627, died ca. 1650, unmarried.
- Myles, born in Plymouth ca. 1629, married Sarah Winslow on July 19, 1660, in Boston, died at sea after 1661.
- Lora, born in Plymouth ca. 1631, died ca. 1655, unmarried.
- Josiah, born in Plymouth ca. 1633, married Mary Dingley on December 19, 1654, in Mansfield, then married Sarah Allen after 1655, died in Connecticut on March 19, 1690.
- Charles, born in Plymouth ca. 1635, died ca. 1655, unmarried.
Want to learn more about Myles Standish’s descendants? Stop by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center and browse through volume 14 of Mayflower Families through five generations (SC 929.2 May)
- Wakefield, Robert S. Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620, Vol. 14: Family of Myles Standish. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1997.
- Warner, Russel L. Myles Standish of the Mayflower and his descendants for five generations. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1996.
- Warner, Russel L. Myles Standish of the Mayflower and his descendants for four generations. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1988.
Weblinks:
- American Ancestors: Myles Standish
- Pilgrim Hall Museum: Myles Standish
- Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History: Myles Standish
- Society of Myles Standish Descendants
- Find A Grave: Myles Standish
(posted by Cristina)
