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Birth:

James Chilton was born about 1556, probably in Canterbury, Kent, the son of Lionel and _____ Chilton.

Death:

He died on December 8, 1620, aboard the Mayflower off

Cape Cod. His wife also died in the winter of 1620/1.

Ship:

Mayflower, 1620

Life in England:

James Chilton lived in Canterbury for most of his life, was a tailor there and was admitted as a citizen in 1583. He moved to Sandwich, Kent probably around 1600. In 1609, the wife of James Chilton with some others was presented to the church court in Sandwich for burying Andrew Sharpe’s child privately.The accused parishioners justified their actions by attacking the church’s burial ceremony as “popish.” In June, three of them, including Mrs. Chilton, were excommunicated. There are no further records, and the Chiltons may have left for Holland soon after.

Life in Holland:

There are very few references to Chiltons in Leiden, and for years James Chilton was placed among the colonists coming from England rather than Holland. A deposition surviving in Leiden records not only documents James Chilton’s presence there, but sheds some light on why so many of the English left in 1620.The Leiden government in 1619 was attempting to suppress the Remonstrants, a controversial religious group. Legislation aimed at prohibiting their activities, however, could also have been used to stop the English separatists from meeting as a congregation. James Chilton and his daughter, Angel, were victims of this controversy on the night of April 28, 1619.While walking home, they were attacked by a group of twenty boys who identified them as Remonstrants. James Chilton was hit in the head by a stone and knocked to the ground.While the attack was not directed at the English, the growing religious unrest probably contributed to their desire to leave.

Life in New England:

James Chilton, his wife and their

daughter Mary came to Plymouth aboard the Mayflower in 1620. James died before they reached New Plymouth, and his wife died later that winter. Mary survived and married John Winslow a few years later. Another daughter, Isabella, came to Plymouth Colony with her husband, Roger Chandler, in 1632.

Family:

James Chilton married _____ _____ by 1586. They

had ten children, three of whom survived to adulthood and

married.

• Isabella was baptized in Canterbury on January 15, 1586/7.  She married Roger Chandler in Leiden on July 21, 1615, and had four children. Her death date is unknown. He died in Duxbury between 1658 and October 3, 1665.

• Jane was baptized in Canterbury on June 8, 1589.There is no further information and she probably died young.

• Joel was born in Canterbury probably around 1591. He was buried there on November 2, 1593.

• Mary Chilton was born in Canterbury probably around 1593. She was buried there on November 23, 1593.

• Elizabeth was baptized in Canterbury on July 14, 1594.There is no further information and she probably died young.

• James was baptized in Canterbury on August 22, 1596.There is no further information and he probably died young.

• Ingell [Angel] was baptized in Canterbury on April 29, 1599. She married Robert Nelson in Leiden on August 27, 1622. There is no further information.

• Christian was baptized in Sandwich on July 26, 1601.There is no further information and she probably died young.

• James was baptized in Sandwich on September 11, 1603. There is no further information and he probably died young.

• Mary was baptized in Sandwich on May 30, 1607. She married John Winslow in Plymouth between 1623 and May 22,1627 and had ten children. He died in Boston before May 21,

  1674, and she died there before May 1, 1679.