Richard Warren
Richard Warren (c.1580 - 1628) a passenger on the Mayflower (old "May Floure") in 1620, settled in Plymouth Colony and was among 10 passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Miles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. [1] [2] [3] Richard Warren co-signed the Mayflower Compact[3] and was one of 19 (among 41) signers that survived the first winter.
His wife Elizabeth (nee Walker), baptised 1583 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, died October 2, 1673.[3] She and his first five children, all daughters, came to America in the ship "Anne" in 1623. Once in America, they then had two sons before Richard's untimely death in 1628.[1][2]
Although the details are limited, Richard Warren and wife, Elizabeth (Walker) Warren, and children were mentioned in official records or books of the time period.[3] All their 7 children survived and had families, with thousands of descendants, including: President Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, astronaut Alan Shepard, author Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House series), actress Lucille Ball, actor Richard Gere, and the Wright brothers (more below).[1]
His life
Richard Warren is among the less documented of the Mayflower pioneers: records examined in 1998 did not even reveal his birthdate, circa 1580[3] or 1575. [4] The parents of Richard Warren are reported as: father, Christopher Warren (of England) and mother, Alice Webb (daughter of Thomas Webb from Sidnom, Devonshire, England). [Chrisman 2004[4]].
Clearly a man of rank, Richard Warren was accorded by Governor William Bradford the prefix "Mr.", pronounced Master, used in those times to distinguish someone because of birth or achievement. From his widow's subsequent land transactions, we can assume that he was among the wealthier of the original Plymouth Settlers." And yet, Bradford did not mention him in his History of the Plimouth Plantation except in the List of Passengers.
In Mourt's Relation, published in 1622, we learn that Warren was chosen, when the Mayflower stopped at Cape Cod before reaching Plymouth, to be a member of the exploring party among 10 passengers (and 8 crew), and he was described as being "of London" among 3 men. Charles Edward Banks, in Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers writes: "Richard Warren came from London and was called a merchand of that city (by Mourt) Extensive research in every available source of information -- registers, chancery, and probate, in the London courts, proved fruitless in an attempt to identify him."
He was not of the Leyden, Holland, Pilgrims, but joined them in Southampton, England to sail on the Mayflower.
Richard Warren received his acres in the Division of Land in 1623.[1] In the 1627 Division of Lands and Cattle, in May of 1627, "RICHARD WARREN of the Mayflower" was given "one of the black heifers, 2 she-goats, and a grant of 400 acres of land" [2] at the Eel River (Plymouth, Massachusetts). The Warren house built in that year (1627) stood at the same location as the present house; it was re-built about 1700, at the head of Clifford Road, with its back to the sea, and later owned by Charles Strickland (in 1976).[2]
However, Richard Warren died a year after the division, in 1628, the only record of his death being found as a brief note in Nathaniel Morton's 1669 book New England's Memorial, in which Morton writes (archaic grammar):
- "This year [1628] died Mr. Richard Warren, who hath been mentioned before in this book, and was an useful instrument ; and during his life bore a deep share in the difficulties and troubles of the first settlement of the plantation of New Plimouth."[3][1]
- -Nathaniel Morton, New England's Memorial (Boston : John Usher, 1669)[3]
Research into the life of Richard Warren is still ongoing.[3]
Descendants
Elizabeth and Richard Warren's seven children, with their spouses, were: [5] [6]
- Mary (c1610- 27 March 1683) married Robert Bartlett;
- Anna (c1612- aft 19 February 1676) married Thomas Little;
- Sarah (c1614- 15 July 1696) married John Cooke;
- Elizabeth (c1616- 9 March 1670) married Richard Church;
- Abigail (c1618- 3 January 1693) married Anthony Snow;
- Nathaniel (c1625-1667) married Sarah Walker; and
- Joseph (1627 - 4 May 1689) married Priscilla Faunce (1634- 15 May 1707).[5]
All of Richard Warren's children survived to adulthood, married, and also had large families. It is claimed that Warren has the largest posterity of any Pilgram, numbering 14 million, the Mayflower passenger with more descendants than any other passenger.[7]
Among his descendants are: Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt,[1] Alan Shepard the first American in space and the fifth person to walk on the moon,[1] author Laura Ingalls Wilder, actress Lucille Ball, actor Richard Gere, actress Joanne Woodward, writers Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lavinia Warren the wife of "General Tom Thumb", and many more. A detailed genealogy of just the first five generations takes up three volumes (see References below).
Ancestral Summary
More erroneous information has been published about Richard Warren than any other Mayflower passenger, probably because he has so many descendants (note that all seven of his children grew up and married). Some of the mistakes that have been published over the past hundred years include:
Common mistake #1: Richard Warren's wife is not Elizabeth (Jewett/Jonatt/Juett) Marsh. This is easily disproven. Elizabeth (Jewett) Marsh was born in 1614, which makes her not only younger than Richard Warren's two oldest children, but also makes her only fourteen years old when Richard Warren died. [Mayflower Descendant 2:63].
Common mistake #2: Richard Warren is not a proven descendant of any royalty, whether it be Sir John de Warrene or Charlemagne. Richard Warren's parents have not even been identified, despite extensive searches in the records of England (see the Mayflower Quarterly, 51:109-112 for a summary of one such search).
One concrete thing known about Richard Warren's ancestry is that he was a merchant of London: whether he was born there, or not, is an entirely different question. Also, his wife was named "Elizabeth" (first name).
There was a Richard Warren who married an Elizabeth Evans on 1 January 1592/3 in St. Leonards, and a Richard Warren who married an Elizabeth Doucke on 1 November 1596 in Sidmouth, Devon. However, since Richard's first child was born about 1610, a marriage in 1592 or 1596 seemed most unlikely.
Richard Warren's English origins and ancestry have been subject to speculation, and many different ancestries have been published about him, without much evidence to support them. However, in December 2002, Edward Davies found the missing piece of the puzzle, in a personal will.[1] Researchers had known of the marriage of Richard Warren to Elizabeth Walker on 14 April 1610 at Great Amwell, Hertfordshire, England.[1] Since records show the Mayflower passenger had a wife named "Elizabeth" and a first child born about 1610, this was a promising record.[1] Yet, no children were found for this couple in the parish registers, and no further evidence beyond the names and timing, until the will of Augustine Walker was discovered. In the will of Augustine Walker, dated April 1613, he mentions "my daughter Elizabeth Warren wife of Richard Warren," and "her three children Mary, Ann and Sarah."[1] The record shows that the Mayflower passenger's first three children were named Mary, Ann, and Sarah (in that birth order). Also, the will of the father Augustine Walker states, "my daughter Elizabeth Warren wife..." hence, the maiden name "Walker" is confirmed for "Elizabeth (Walker) Warren" as the wife of Richard Warren.
Relatively little has been uncovered about Richard Warren's life in America.[1] He came alone on the Mayflower in 1620, leaving behind his wife and five daughters. His family sold the shop in England, then traveled on the ship "Anne" to join him in 1623, and Richard and Elizabeth subsequently had two sons, Nathaniel and Joseph, at Plymouth.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Richard Warren" (research since 2002), 2006, MayflowerHistory.com webpage: MayflowerHistory-RWarren.
- ^ a b c d "EEL RIVER VALLEY" (of 1627 land grants, 400 acres to Warren), by Victoria B. Engstrom, Pilgrim Society Notes, Series One, Number 23, 1976, PilgrimHall.org webpage: PilgrimHall-EelRiverValley-RWarren-1976.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Richard & Elizabeth Warren in the records of the 17th century" (with wife), Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA, 1998-07-14, PilgrimHall.org webpage: PilgrimHall-WarrenRecords-1998: 1628 death of Richard at middle (Morton book); 1673 death of Elizabeth at bottom.
- ^ a b "Individuals from Chrisman Pedigree, page 19" (genealogy), Lonnie Chrisman, San Jose, CA, 2004-08-30, Chrisman.org/Pedigree webpage: Chrisman-pedigree-out19: (accessed 2006-11-20).
- ^ a b "Individuals from Chrisman Pedigree, page 25" (genealogy), Source: NGSQ 74:87, and "Faunce Family" by James Freer Faunce, in NEHGR 114:115 (1960), 2004-08-30, Chrisman.org/Pedigree webpage (accessed 2006-11-20): Chrisman-pedigree-out25.
- ^ "Family Tree: Richard Warren" (genealogy), AOL Research & Learn, 2006, Ancestry.Families.AOL.com webpage: AOL-Tree-RWarren.
- ^ "Mormon Pioneer Genealogy Library Acquired by NEHGS". New England Historical Genealogical Society. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
References
- Edward Davies, "The Marriage of Richard Warren of the Mayflower" (research), The American Genealogist 78 (April 2003), pages 81-86.
- Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 1: Richard Warren); edited by Robert S. Wakefield.
- Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 2: Richard Warren--Fifth Generation Descendants of Mary2, Anna2 and Elizabeth2); edited by Robert S. Wakefield.
- Mayflower Families Through Five Generations (Vol. 18, Pt. 3 Richard Warren) Fifth Generation Descendants of Abigail 2, Nathaniel 2, and Joseph 2; edited by Robert S. Wakefield.