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 families of brothers Edward & Samuel Fuller!
Edward Fuller was baptized in the Parish of Rodenhall, Co. Norfolk, England on September 4, 1575, to Robert and Sarah Dunthorne Fuller. He joined the Separatist Church in Leiden, Holland after his father’s death in 1614. He was married in England before 1605. His wife (name unknown) and son Samuel came with him on the Mayflower. Sadly, Edward and his wife died the first winter in Plymouth, ca. January 11, 1621.
The first generation of Edward Fuller descendants:
- Matthew, born ca. 1605, married Frances in England, died in Barnstable Co., MA in 1678.
- Samuel, born ca. 1608, married Jane Lothrop on April 8, 1635, died in Barnstable Co., MA ca. 1684. One of the last surviving Mayflower passengers.
Edward’s brother Samuel Fuller was born ca. 1580 in Redenhall, Co. Norfolk to Robert and Sarah Dunthorne Fuller. He was married three times; first to Alice Glascock ca. 1605, second to Agnes Carpenter in 1613 in Leiden, Holland; and third to Bridget Lee in 1617.
Samuel was a deacon of the Leiden Separatist church and studied medicine before his trip on the Mayflower. He became the colonists’ surgeon and physician, caring for the sick during the first winter and later epidemics. His wife arrived in 1623 aboard the Anne. Samuel went to Salem in 1629 to care for the sick and to help organize the local church. He was named an Assistant in the Governor’s Council in 1632. Unfortunately, Samuel Fuller died of smallpox in 1633.
The first generation of Samuel Fuller descendants:
- child, died in Leiden ca. 1624, died June 29, 1615.
- child, born in Leiden ca. 1618-1620.
- Mercy, born in Plymouth ca. 1627, died after 1650.
- Samuel, born in Plymouth ca. 1629, married between 1663-1667 to Elizabeth (Nichols) Bowen, died in Middleboro on August 24, 1695.
Want to learn more about Edward or Samuel’s descendants? Stop by the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center and browse through volumes 4 and 10 of Mayflower Families through five generations (SC 929.2 May)
- Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620, Vol. 4: Family of Edward Fuller. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 199.
- Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620, Vol. 10: Family of Samuel Fuller. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1996.
- MacGunnigle, Bruce Campbell, and David L. Greene. Mayflower Families in Progress: Edward Fuller of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1987.
Weblinks:
- Edward Fuller on American Ancestors
- Edward and Mrs. Fuller on Caleb’s Johnson’s Mayflower History
- Beyond the Pilgrim Story: Samuel Fuller
- How Mayflower passenger became the Pilgrims’ doctor in Plymouth Colony
- The Fuller Society
- Edward Fuller memorial on Find A Grave
(posted by Cristina)
