JAMES CHILTON
James Chilton was born between 1556 and 1563, probably in Canterbury, Kent Co., England. He was the son of Lyonell "Chylton", son of Richard and Isabell Chilton. James was a
tailor and active in the affairs of the Merchant Adventurers. Though the family came from England, they were of French descent, being early settlers of England. He married before 1587, possibly to Susanna Furner, his step-mother's daughter. The baptisms of seven children of James is recorded in Canterbury. Three more children were baptized in Sandwich, including the youngest daughter, Mary.
The family moved at some time to Leyden, Holland. His
daughter, Ysabel, has her marriage recorded in Leyden in 1615. On April 28, 1619, James and his daughters were going to their home in Leyden when about 20 boys started throwing rocks at them. This was the occasion of an anti-Armenian riot. James was hit in the head with a large stone and required the
services of Jacob Hey, the town doctor.
James Chilton, along with some of the family members, probably boarded the Mayflower at Southampton. He was one of the forty-one Pilgrims who signed the Mayflower
Compact in the cabin of the "Mayflower" on November 21, 1620. He was the oldest member of the group that set sail for America.
It was recorded by Governor Bradford that James Chilton and his wife died in the "first infection." James Chilton died at Cape Cod, a month after signing the Mayflower Compact. Shortly after the others arrived at Plymouth, his wife followed him in death. Their youngest daughter, Mary, was left an orphan at the age of 13. It is said that Mary was the first female to step ashore at Plymouth.
Mary Chilton was given three acres of land in 1623 when the land was divided. She received one share for
herself and one share for each of her deceased
parents. By 1627, at the time of the cattle division, Mary had married John Winslow. John and Mary's daughter, Susanna, married Robert Latham. Their son, James, had a daughter, Ann Latham, who married Nicholas Wade. The Wade family would eventually marry into the Osborn family, from which Azuba Wade Pitts Osborn came.
Sources: Society of Mayflower Descendants in the District of Columbia
picture: Bee Bell Knapp in rye field,
10th great grandson