Ellen Newton, Plymouth Landowner 1623 (52 Ancestors #8) Theme: "Good Deeds"

If I could sit down to interview just one long-dead ancestor from my family tree, it would probably be my 8th great grandmother Ellen Newton (sometimes Eleanor or Elinor Newton) who lived from 1598 to 1681. She arrived in Plymouth Colony from England aboard the ship Anne in the summer of 1623, less than three years after the Mayflower. She seems to have come on her own, with no parents, siblings or husband. Was there some tragedy or scandal that she was escaping? Was she simply an adventurous young woman with an urge to expand her horizons? The mystery surrounding her reasons for making this 3 month voyage to an unknown new land is one that I would love to be able to discuss with her.

Although Ellen did not arrive on the Mayflower,
the Anne would have been smaller but similar in appearance to this replica Mayflower II in Plymouth Harbor

Ellen was one of the 27 women arriving aboard the Anne. William Bradford, one of the prominent Mayflower passengers, is quoted by Willison as having written that the company was "about 60 persons for ye generall, some of them being very usefull persons . . . and some were so bad as they were faine to be at charge to send them home againe ye next year." Undoubtedly Ellen was among the useful group!

Shortly after her arrival, Plymouth Colony made a division of lands among the colonists living there at the time. Each person was allotted one acre. Ellen Newton is listed by name for her acre "this goeth in with a corner by ye pond". Although not a "deed" in our usual sense of the word, this allotment was legally binding and indeed a "good deed" for this single woman. Her decision to come to America may not have been such a bad one - she probably would not have had title to any land had she remained in England.

Her English background remains unknown. Her single status upon arrival has caused much speculation over the years since it would have been very uncommon for a single woman to make such a trip on her own. Some say she was a relative of one of the other passengers on the Anne, in particular Bridget Lee Fuller, but the reason for this is simply because their acres of land were adjoining. Some say she was a young widow when she arrived, but this has never been proved either.

Memorial Plaque to those who, like Ellen, came aboard the ship Anne in 1623

Although she was not previously engaged to marry anyone, there were many unmarried men in Plymouth and available young women were in short supply. In 1625 Ellen married John Adams who had arrived in Plymouth in 1621 aboard the ship Fortune. Both Ellen and John were classified as "Strangers", a name given to those who arrived without having been part of the religious separatist group of Puritans (sometimes called "Saints") who had spent time at Leiden, Holland to avoid religious persecution in England. The Strangers were motivated more by a desire for land and improved economic prospects than for obtaining religious freedom. No doubt there was also a sense of adventure calling them across the sea.

John and Ellen had three children prior to his death in 1633: James, John and Susan Adams. In the 27 March 1634 tax list, "Widow Adams" is taxed for 9 shillings. Citizenship granted rights to land but also the obligation to pay taxes!

Memorial to the Pilgrim Maiden, Plymouth, MA
Statue sculpted in 1924 by H H Kitson in honour of the English women, like Ellen, who came to Plymouth Colony

In June of 1634, Ellen married again, this time to Kenelm Winslow, my 8th great grandfather. Kenelm was one of several prominent Winslow brothers who were living in Plymouth Colony. Two of them had arrived in Plymouth aboard the Mayflower in 1620 and eldest brother Edward was one of the leading men of the colony, acting as its Governor for a period of time. Others had arrived aboard the Fortune in 1621.  Kenelm didn't come on the Mayflower in 1620, although it is generally said that he arrived on the Mayflower when it returned in 1629. Ellen and Kenelm made their home in the new town of Marshfield from 1641; this was one of the earliest towns to be established after Plymouth.

Kenelm and Ellen are the 4th and 5th people listed on this memorial to the early Marshfield settlers

Unlike his brothers, Kenelm was not a Saint but a Stranger. He was a maker of fine furniture and coffins. I often wonder if Ellen was the envy of the community by virtue of having a house full of wonderful furniture, or if she was like the proverbial shoemaker's children who went barefoot.

Ellen must have had a merry ride during her marriage to Kenelm. He was a very litigious man and was always either suing or being sued and generally getting into scrapes of one sort or another. No Saint he! Ellen would have stood by her husband through the following situations:

• In 1638, Kenelm and his brother John were witnesses against Stephen Hopkins for selling wine at excessive prices.
• While Kenelm was the surveyor of the town, he was fined 10 shillings in 1640 for neglecting highways.
• He complained of injustice in a suit against John Maynard on 4 June 1645, but the committee found the judge and jury to have been without fault and ordered Kenelm to be imprisoned and fined 10 pounds. On his petition that same day in which he acknowledged his offence and apologized, he was released and given a suspended sentence. If he then showed good behavior, the sentence would be remitted completely.
• On 5 May 1646 he was sued by Roger Chandler. Roger said that Kenelm had detained Chandler's daughter's clothes for the reason that she owed him further service. (It was common in Plymouth Colony for children to work for other families as servants.)  The court ordered Kenelm to return her clothes.
• Kenelm was jailed for 6 weeks in 1646 for "approbrious words against the church of Marshfield, saying they were all lyars" according to Willison. When he refused to find sureties for his good behavior, he was put into prison until the next court date.
• On 7 March 1653/4 he complained against John Soule for speaking scandalously of Winslow's daughter and carrying reports between her and Josiah Standish.

Notwithstanding all of this, on 1 June 1647 he was chosen constable for Marshfield. From 1649 onward, he was frequently a deputy from Marshfield. Perhaps his good family connections caused some of his irascibility to be overlooked.

Kenelm was not only busy in community life, but he also fathered four children by Ellen: Kenelm (my 7th great grandfather) in 1635, Eleanor in 1637, Nathaniel in 1639 and Job in 1641.

Kenelm died 12 September 1672, but his widow Ellen lived until 5 December 1681, dying at the age of 83. She is buried at Marshfield, Massachusetts. Ellen Newton Adams Winslow was among the first of my ancestors to be a landowner in America - a "good deed" indeed!

Old Burying Ground in Marshfield no doubt contains Ellen's remains

Sources:

• Willison, George F., "Saints and Strangers", New York: Reynal & Hitchcock 1945
• Johnson, Caleb H., "The Mayflower and Her Passengers", Xlibris Corporation 2006
• "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2012), Ancestry.com
• "Mayflower Source Records: Marriages, Deaths and Burials" from the Early Records of Marshfield, MA
• Banks, Charles , "The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers" 1929 reprinted 2006
• Massachusetts General Court, "Records of the Colony of New Plymouth" Volume XII 1861
• Stratton, Eugene A., "Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691" 1986