Pilgrim Ancestors

Descendants of Mercy Hutchinson Jones Collins are related to numerous passengers on the Mayflower voyage of 1620 -- among them, Myles Standish, John Alden, James Chilton, Stephen Hopkins, and William Mullins, all signors of the Mayflower Compact.

Myles Standish (c. 1584-1656) was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony. Standish played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony. He led at least two attacks on different groups of Native Americans -- the Nemasket raid and the Wessagusset massacre.

John Alden (c. 1599-1689) was a ship-carpenter and a barrelmaker for the Mayflower. He became the Governor's Assistant, a member under arms of Capt. Myles Standish's Company, Treasurer of Plymouth Colony, and other positions.

James Chilton (c. 1556-1620) was a Leiden Separatist and was the oldest person on board. He was one of the earliest to die that winter, perishing within a month of signing the Mayflower Compact. His wife died a month after him.

Stephen Hopkins (1581-1644) worked as a tanner and merchant and was recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide the governance for the colony. He was an assistant to the governor of Plymouth Colony. Recent scholarship believes that this is the same Stephen Hopkins who had previously been to the New World, and that Hopkins had adventures that included surviving a shipwreck in Bermuda and working from 1610-14 in Jamestown as well as possibly knowing the legendary Pocahontas. He had a son born on the Mayflower during its voyage, named Oceanus.

William Mullins (c.1572-1621) perished in the first winter, with his wife and son dying soon after.

Priscilla Mullins (c. 1602-c. 1685), daughter of William, was 18 years old during the voyage. She married John Alden in 1623. She is known to literary history as the unrequited love of the newly widowed Captain Standish in Longfellow's poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish".

There are numerous books about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.