John Winslow (1597-1674) (52 Ancestors 2020 Week 11) Theme: "Luck"

The suggested theme this week is "Luck". The synonym "Fortune" happens to be the name of a ship that brought some of my ancestors to America from England in November of 1621. One of these was my 10X great grandfather John Winslow who had two brothers (Edward and Gilbert) who had arrived on the Mayflower the previous year and two other brothers (Josiah and Kenelm, my 8X great grandfather) who would follow a couple of years later.

The Winslow brothers were sons of salt merchant Edward Winslow and his wife Magdalene Ollyver of Droitwich, Worcestershire, England. Their home at Kerswell Green was still a beautiful thatch-roofed home when we last visited in 2004.

Old Winslow Home at Kerswell 1999

In the Plymouth Colony Division of Land in 1623, John Winslow was allocated his one acre of land described as "those lie to the sea, eastward". His future wife Mary Chilton, a Mayflower passenger, was granted land in the group "these lie on the north side of the town next adjoining to their gardens which came in the Fortune."

Young Mary Chilton had lost both her parents to the  General Sickness that claimed half the Mayflower passengers that first winter in Plymouth colony. Sometime between 1623 and 1627, she and John Winslow were married. They had ten children born between 1628 and 1653, one of whom was my 9X great grandmother Susannah Winslow who married Robert Latham (and who are reported in the colonial records for their horrific treatment of their young servant that had resulted in his death, showing that not all ancestors are the honourable upstanding citizens we might hope for).

John was one of the Purchasers in 1626; this was a group of prominent colony men involved in Plymouth investments. John and Mary were next mentioned in the Division of Cattle that was done in  1627, included in the group that received "the lesser of the black cows came in the Anne which they must keep the biggest of the two steers. And to this lot was two she goats".

John was declared a freeman in 1633 and became active in the government of the colony.  He served in many ways, including two years as Deputy from Plymouth to the general court. In 1638, he and brother Kenelm, another of my ancestors, were witnesses against a man named Stephen Hopkins for selling wine at excessive rates. Ancestors after my own heart!

Still, it seems he was more interested in advancing his business fortunes than in community service. As with other prosperous men, John had at least one indentured servant.

By the mid 1650s, he had sold some of his Plymouth property and moved to Boston where he was a wealthy merchant and shipowner. In September of 1671 he paid 500 pounds in silver for the mansion of the late Antipas Voice  in Boston, which was his home until his death in May of 1674 and then his wife's until her death five years later.

John's will of 1673 indicated a substantial estate for the time. In addition to giving a large amount of cash to his wife Mary (400 pounds) and significant sums to his children, grandchildren and extended family, he includes that "my Negro Girle Jane (after she hath served twenty yeares from the date hereof) shall be free, and that she shall serve my wife during her live/life and after my wifes decease she shall be disposed of according to the disscretion of my overseers." (spelling from the original will as set forth in Roser, below, p.35) (Ouch! With all my Colonial ancestors, I knew slavery would likely crop up sometime, but it's still difficult to actually see evidence of its association with a particular ancestor. Apparently certain forms of slavery were perfectly legal and seemingly acceptable in colonial New England. On its website (see below), the Medford [MA] Historical Society & Museum says that most prominent New England merchants had ties to the slave trade and made huge fortunes in this way. It is not only "The South" where the slave trade was closely tied to the economy and wealth.)

Stone Image from DPesave608 at Findagrave website

John was buried in 1674 in Kings Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, MA. where wife Mary joined him five years later.

John Winslow had arrived in 1621 aboard the Fortune, a ship aptly named for the financially successful future he would achieve in New England.

Some Resources:

Johnson, Caleb H., The Mayflower and Her Passengers, Xlibris Corporation, 2006.

Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Increasings 2nd Edition, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1997.

Medford Historical Society and Museum website at 

http://www.medfordhistorical.org/medford-history/africa-to-medford/slaves-in-new-england/