James Chilton and his wife Susanna Furner were Separtists or Pilgrims -- a religious group who were dissenters from the Church of England. With their three daughters, they fled to Holland. In 1620, James Chilton, his wife, and youngest daughter, Mary, set sail for America on the Mayflower, along with William Bradford and 40 members of the Leiden congregation (there were 102 total passengers ). At about 64 years old, James Chilton was probably the oldest passenger on the ship. Chilton's other two known surviving children, 21 year old Ingle, and married 33 year old Isabella, remained behind in Leiden. Isabella came to Plymouth Colony around 1630, with her children and her husband, Roger Chandler.
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| The signers of the Mayflower Compact |
When the Mayflower Compact was drawn up on Nov. 11, 1620, James Chilton was one of the signers.
James died on Dec. 8, 1620, while the Mayflower lay anchored in Provincetown Harbor. He evidently died of disease, as William Bradford reported that he "dyed in the first infection." There is no record as to whether he was buried at land or sea. His wife also died during the first winter, "in the first infection."
Chilton's daughter Mary (our childrens' 10th great grandmother), who was left an orphan at Plymouth, survived and later married John Winslow, brother of Edward Winslow. According to tradition, Mary Chilton raced John Alden to the front of the launch that was bringing the Mayflower passengers ashore. She stepped off the boat and was the first woman to set foot on Plymouth Rock.
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| A memorial to the Pilgrims who passed away while the Mayflower was harbored in Provincetown. |
1620...In Memory of the five Mayflower passengers who died at sea
And while the ship lay in Cape Cod Harbour
William Butten Nov. 16th 1620
Edward Thomson Dec. 14th 1620
Jasper Moore Dec. 16th 1620
Dorothy Bradford Dec. 17th 1620
James Chilton Dec. 18th 1620
James Chilton was the only signer of the Mayflower Compact
Who died at Cape Cod
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