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James Chilton

James Chilton was born in 1556 in Canterbury, Kent, England. He was a tailor by trade and was approximately 64 years old when he sailed on the Mayflower, making him the oldest passenger on the ship.

James was the head of his group, 'the Chilton group'. They were members of the Leiden Congregation from Holland. He was a Separatist and a signer of the Mayflower Compact.

The Leiden Congregation

Group's entry in Bradford's Journal

James Chilton

Other people in this group: (Click one for more info)

The Voyage

The Mayflower Compact

James married and was the father of as many as ten children, including two daughters, Isabella and Mary.

  1. Isabella Chilton, baptized at St. Paul Canterbury, Kent, on 15 Jan 1586/7. She died in Duxbury in 1646. (She is the "other daughter" of James, mentioned in Bradford's notes). She married Roger Chandler in Leyden in 1615 and their daughter, Sarah, married Solomon Leonard of Duxbury.
  2. Mary Chilton, reportedly the first passenger to step onto "Plymouth Rock".

He died on the Mayflower in Provincetown Harbor on Dec. 6, 1620.

The First Winter

Plymouth Colony

James Chilton

Non-Separatist

James Chilton

Separatist

Birth:

1556

Canterbury, Kent, England

Marriage:

Mrs Chilton

Children:

  1. Isabella Chilton, baptized at St. Paul Canterbury, Kent, on 15 Jan 1586/7. She died in Duxbury in 1646. (She is the "other daughter" of James, mentioned in Bradford's notes). She married Roger Chandler in Leyden in 1615 and their daughter, Sarah, married Solomon Leonard of Duxbury.
  2. Mary Chilton, reportedly the first passenger to step onto "Plymouth Rock".

Death:

1620

Provincetown Harbor

James Chilton

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