He was also said to have been born 15 Dec 1571. 363, 291

per Mayflower records was Mayflower passenger was on third discovery. probably on first and second as well.
!came from Chilthorne Domer, Somersetshire, Eng. on Mary and John to Dorchester
Ref: MAYFLOWER INCREASINGS by Susan Roser died between 11 Jan-10 Apr 1621
Sources: Banks, Charles Edward, THE ENGLISH ANCESTRY AND HOMES OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS, 1965 Benn, Bertha L., THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST AND NEW HAVEN GENEALOGICAL MAGAZINE, "White-Leggatt-Tilley-Howland" vol 23-4 pp 118-119 Holmes, Frank R. DIRECTORY OF THE ANCESTRAL HEADS OF NEW ENGLAND FAMILIES 1620-1700, 1964 p 198-208 MAYFLOWER QUARTERLY Aug 1961 p 3-5

From Caleb’s Web page

John Tilley

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BAPTIZED: 19 December 1571, Henlow, Bedford, England, son of Robert and
Elizabeth (---) Tilley.

DIED: the first winter, between January and March, 1620/1, Plymouth

MARRIED: Joan (Hurst) Rogers, 20 September 1596, Henlow, Bedford, England,
widow of Thomas Rogers (no relation to Thomas Rogers of the Mayflower), and
daughter of William and Rose (---) Hurst.

*Note. Joan (Hurst) Rogers had a daughter Joan Rogers by her first
marriage, bp. 26 May 1594, Henlow, Bedford, England. No further record of
Joan has been found, however.

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CHILDREN:
NAME BAPTISM DEATH MARRIAGE
23 October 1597,
Rose Henlow, Bedford, died young unmarried
England

John 26 August 1599, Henlow, unknown unknown
Bedford, England
28 February 1601/2,
Rose Henlow, Bedford, unknown unknown
England
25 November 1604,
Robert Henlow, Bedford, unknown unknown
England

Elizabeth 30 August 1607, Henlow, 21 December 1687, John Howland, cir
Bedford, England Swansea, MA 1625, Plymouth

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ANCESTRAL SUMMARY:

John Tilley, his wife Joan (Hurst) Rogers, and daughter Elizabeth came on
the Mayflower. John and Joan died the first winter, but Elizabeth lived,
married John Howland, and had eleven children. John's brother Edward Tilley
came with wife Ann Cooper on the Mayflower as well.

John Tilley did not marry Prijntgen (Elizabeth) van der Velde in Holland.
That was easily disproved in Mayflower Descendant 10:66-67, and by the
subsequent identification of Joan (Hurst) Rogers. Also note that the
article in the Mayflower Quarterly 49:16+ entitled "John Tilley Jr,
1599-1636" presents a theory as to what happened to John Tilley's son John,
but the article has been criticized as presenting no proof but just
speculations (Wakefield in MD 43:76; Stratton p. 362).

John's wife Joan is the daughter of William Hurst and Rose (---). William
was born c1530, and died before 1571. He lived in Henlow, Bedford, England.
Joan Hurst was baptized in Henlow, Bedford, England on 13 March 1567/8. She
married first Thomas Rogers (no known relation to Thomas Rogers of the
Mayflower), and second John Tilley.

The known ancestry of John Tilley is as follows (from The American
Genealogist 52:198-208):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry Tilley, b. c1465, d. 1520 === Johan (---)
|
Thomas Tilley, b. c1490, d. 1556 === Margaret (---)
|
William Tilley, b. c1515, d. Jan. 1578/9 === Agnes (---)
|
Robert Tilley, b. c1540, d. Feb. 1612/3 === Elizabeth (---)
|
John Tilley, Mayflower passenger

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY:

[Image] John Tilley came on the Mayflower with his wife Joan and daughter
Elizabeth. John's brother Edward Tilley also came on the Mayflower.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCES:

1. The American Genealogist 52:198-208, "English Ancestry of Seven
Mayflower Passengers: Tilley, Sampson, and Cooper", by Robert Leigh Ward

2. Mayflower Descendant 10:66-67, "Jan Tellij of Leyden was Not John Tilley
of the Mayflower", by George E. Bowman.

3. Elizabeth Pearson White, John Howland of the Mayflower through Desire
Howland for Five Generations, vol. 1

4. The American Genealogist 60:171+, "Further Traces of John Tilley", by
Robert Leigh Ward

5. Plymouth Colony: Its History and Its People, 1620-1691, by Eugene Aubrey
Stratton, 1986.

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Mayflower Web Pages. Caleb Johnson © 1997 286


“John Tilley and Joan Rogers were m. in Henlow Co., Bdford, ENG on 20 Sep 1596, in St. Mary the Virgin Church, where John Tilley and his ancestors had been members for generations.”360

“JOHN TILLEY
Origin: Leiden, Holland
Migration: 1620 on the Mayflower.
First Residence: Plymouth
Birth: Baptized Henlow, Bedfordshire, 19 December 1571, son of Robert and Elizabeth (____) tilley [TAG 52:203].
Death: Lae 1620 or early 1621 [Bradford 446].
Marriage: Henlow 20 September 1596 Joan ((Hurst) Rogers. She had married (1) Thomas Rogers. She died in late 1620 or early 1621 [Bradford 446]. . . .
Associations: John Tilley was the elder brother of EDWARD TILLEY [PM 461], who also died in the first sickness.
Comments: ‘John Tilley and his wife, and Elizabeth their daughter ,’ were passengers on the Mayflower [Bradford 442]. ‘John Tilley and his wife both died a little after they came ashore. And their daughter Elizabeth married with John Howland and hath issue as is before noted’ [Bradford 446].
John Tilley joined the expedition of 6 December 1620 along the coast with nine others, under the leadership of Miles Standish. [Young’s Pilgrim FAthers 149].”362, 509

“Bibliographic Note: In addition to the items noted in the sketch of Edward Tilley, Robert Leigh Ward in 1985 published some additional biogaphical information on John Tilley [TAG 60:171-73].” 509

Photo of monument on Cole’s Hill taken by Barbara Fleming, August, 1997 (on file):
“OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR PASSENGERS
THESE DIED IN PLYMOUTH DURING THE FIRST YEAR
. . .
JOHN TILLEY AND
HIS WIFE” 260

“This bronze tablet on a boulder, overlooking the bay shore [at First Encounter Beach] reads:
‘On This Spot
Hostile Indians
Had Their
First Encounter
December 8, 1620
Old Style
With
Myles Standish, John Carver, William Bradford, John Tilley, Edward Winslow, John Howland, Edward Tilley, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Dotey, John Allerton, Thomas English, Master Mate Clark, Master Gunner Chopin and Three Sailors of the Mayflower Company
Provincetown Tercentenary Commission 1620-1920.’ “374

George Ernest Bowman demonstrates that Jan Tellij of Leyden with wife Pryntgen Van den Velde were not the parents of Elizabeth Tilley. “The accompanying illustration presents the record of the betrothal at Leyden, on 13 February, 1615, of ‘Jan Tellij’ and ‘Prijntgen Van den Velde.’ This record is found in the ‘Kerkelicke Huwelycke Proclamatie Boeck,’ folio 48 verso, with other betrothals of the same date. The marriage took place on 3 March, 1615. The betrothal record reads as follows: . . .[The English Translation]
‘John Telly, say weaver, single man, of Leyden, accompanied by Paul Telly his father,
with
Pryntgen Van den Velde, sincle woman, also of Layden, accompanied by Maeychen Tay her mother.’
The use of the terms ‘Jongman,’ meaning single man, or bachelor, and ‘Jonge dochter,’ meaning single woman, proves that neither ‘Jan Tellij’ nor ‘Prijntgen Van den Velde’ had ever been married before.” 510

“Elizabeth Tilley came in the Mayflower, with her father, John Tilley, and later married John Howland. The date of her marriage is unknown, but her son John (2) Howland, born 24 February, 1626/7, and her daughter Desire (2) Howland, whose birth date is unknown, were both living on 22 May, 1627. Unless these children were twins, which seems unlikely from the meager data obtainable, Desire (2) must have been born as early as February, 1625/6. Whether or not they were twins, it is certain that on 24 February, 1626/7, Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland was the mother of two children, In her will, dated 17 December, 1686, she called herself ‘Seventy nine yeares of Age but of good & perfect memory,’ thus fixing her own birth date as about 1607 or 1608. As the statement of the will is supported by the known facts regarding her children, and nothing has been found which casts any doubt upon it, we must accept it as correct. But even if we did not have the statement of the will by which to fix the age of Elizabeth Tilley, it is evident that she must have been born before 3 March, 1615, otherwise she would have bbecome the mother of two children efore she was twelve years of age. Since Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland was born before 3 March, 1615, she could not have been a daughter either of ‘Jan Tellij’ or of ‘Prijntgen Van den Velde’ who were married on that date, neither having been married before.” 510

“The only known contemporary references to the parentage of Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland are found in Bradford’s History. In the list of the Mayflower Passengers he mentions her three times, as follows:
‘John tillie, and his wife; and Eelizabeth their doughter’
‘John Howland maried the doughter of John Tillie, Elizabeth, and they are both now living;’
‘John Tillie, and his wife both dyed, a little after they came ashore; and their daughter Elizabeth maried with John Howland’
These statements were written by Governor Bradford while John Howland and his wife were still living in Plymouth, where all three had lived for more than thirty years, and Bradford mush then have had his own manuscript ‘register . . . recording some of the first deaths, marriages and punishments,’ which Rev. Thomas Prince obtained from the Governor’s grandson, Major John Bradford, and referred to so frequently in his New England Chronology, published in 1736. governor Bradford was in a position to know the facts. Therefore, as no evidence has yet been produced to controvert his statements, we must accept them as they have come down to us in his own handwriting. It has been shown that Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland was not the daughter of ‘Jan Tellij,’ the Leyden bridegroom of 1615; and on the other hand it has been shown that she was the daughter of John Tilley of the Mayflower. It is evident, therefore, that ‘Jan Tellij’ and John Tilley were not identical, but were two entirely distinct individuals.” 510

?Mayflower John Tilley was still in Henlow in 1607, as is revealed by the abstract of a will proved at Lambeth Palace:
‘George Clarke of Henlow, co. Beds., Clothworker, 22 Sept. 1607. . .he gives to his mother the use of £8 during her life, due to be paid to him by John Reysh gentleman at Michaelmasnext, desiring Mr. Resh to pay the same to his [testator’s] brother without any trouble or vexation. . . Thomas Kirke, dwelling with John Tilee, owes him 9s. 9d. due at Michs. . . Proved 28 April 1608 by Anne Clarke, mother of deceased. Inventory sworn under £16 6s. 11d. (Bancroft, 243a) (‘ Bedfordsire Wills and Administrations Proved at Lambeth Palace and in the Archdeaconry of Huntington,’ Pubs. Bed. Hist. Record Soc., 2 (1914): 50-51. . . . Mr. John Reysh (or Resh) was surely John Rush, probable step-father of Joan (Hurst) (Rogers) Tiley (wife of John Tilley). John Rush married 4 Feb. 1571[/2], widow Rose Hurst. . . . Thomas Kircke of Henlow ‘Servant’ married Henlow 11 Oct. 1607 Joan Beckett of Camtpon. . . Apparently Thomas Kirke was a servant of John Tilley. This might indicate a blood relationship to the Tilleys, possibly through John Tiley’s mother Elizabeth (____) Tilley, or through his mother-in-law rose (____) (Hurst) Rush, neither of whom has been identified so far.” 511

“Now we come to a more conjectural reference. Col. Charles Edward Banks says that one John Tilley, yeoman, was living in Wootton, co. Bedford, in 1613, aged 40 years, quoting Chanc. Deps. T5/16 as his source (The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers [New York 1929] p. 88). In the Public Record Office in London the current reference is c21/T5/16, which records depositions of witnesses taken at Bedford 7 April[1613] 11 James [I], in a Chancery case between Humfrey Totnam or tottenham, clerk, complainant, and Henry Bedles, Bedells, or Beadells, William Archer, and William Bedles, defendants, concerning land in Wootton and Marston, bedfordshire. A transcript of the deposition of John Tilley, which was graciously provided by Robert S. Wakefield, FASG, reads in part:
‘John Tylley of Wootton in the County of Bedford, yeoman, aged 40 years of thereabouts, sworn on behalf of Humfrie Totnam, complainant, deposeth: (1) He has known the plaintiff 12 years and above, and the defendant above 3 years. . . ‘
Is this our Mayflower passenger? We cannot be sure. the age is about right since the deponent was ‘40 years of thereabouts,’ and the Mayflower man was 38. It is clear from this record that for the twelve years during which John Wylley of Wootton knew Humphrey totnam, the latter was a continuous resident of Wootton, which lied about 12 miles west northwest of Henlow. Mayflower John Tileymaintained continuous residence at Henlow through 1607. the Wootton parish register shows no trace of any Tilley family from 1561 through 1812, so how John Tylley of Wootton know Humphrey Totnam is not apparent (Emmison, 43:Wootton 1561-1812 [Bedford 1952]. . .. An intriguing possibility is that Mayflower John Tilley of Henlowmay have come to know Humphrey Totnam while the latter was Vicar of Shillington, a parish which adjoins Henlow on the southwest. If so, Tilley had known Totnam for at least 14 years, which is technically included in ‘12 years and above.’ The parish of Felmersham, of which Totnam was vicar in 1599, is some eight miles north of Wootton and about 16 miles northwest of Henlow (John Venn and J.A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigiensis [Cambridge 1927], hereafter Venn, Part I, 4:255). . . In conclusion, we can be certain that the John Tilley of Henlow mentioned in the will of George Clarke is identical with the Mayflower passenger; that the John Tylley of the deposition was the same person remains only a possibility.” 511

“The third section of Bradford’s passenger list includes the remaining members of the Leiden congregation: Edward Tilley, John Tilley, Francis Cooke, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Rigsdale, James Chilton, Edward Fuller, John Turner, Francis Eaton, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Thomas Williams, and Degory Priest. . . . Of those whose names fall within the Leiden church members group of Bradford’s list, almost all are known to appear in at least one Leiden record. The notable exceptions are John Rigsdale and Francis Eaton.” 512

“John and Joan Tilley, from Henlow, Bedfordshire, England, died the first winter after their arrival on the Mayflower in 1620. they left Elizabeth, age 13, an orphan. . . . Until recently all the Tilley descendants and the Howland name is the most known and researched of the two. . . John and Joan Tilley had at least three children that did not come on the Mayflower: John, baptized August 26, 1599; Rose, Baptized February 28, 1602/3; and Robert, baptized November 25, 1604, all in Henlow.” 363

“Elizabeth had other relatives on the Mayflower - Uncle Edward and Aunt Agnes/Ann (Cooper) Tilley along with their cousins Henry Samson and Humility Cooper. Humility was born in Leiden, Holland and Dr. Jeremy Bangs seems to have proven that Edward Tilley was in Leiden in 1616. There were also Hursts living in Leiden. While it has not been proven that John Tilley was in Leiden, the relationship between families that were there such as Hursts, Sampsons and Coopers suggest the possibility. Edward Tilley married Agnes Cooper on June 20, 1614 in Henlow, so it would have been after that date.” 363

“The Mayflower landed on November 11, 1620 and on that day John and Edward Tilley and John Howland all signed the Mayflower Compact. . . . On the third major exploration, december 6, 1620, we find Edward and John Tilley and John Howland among the explorers. This was the exploration that lead to the discovery of Plymouth Bay.” 363

“St. Mary the Virgin Church is probably best known to Americans as the parish church of Elizabeth Tilley Howland and the plaque to her memory there. Often overlooked is the fact that it was not only the parish church of her parents, ‘Mayflower’ passengers John and Joan Hurst Tilley . . .” 363

“In my earlier article, the English home of the Mayflower Tilley brothers John and Edward was revealed (‘English Ancestry of Seven Marflower Passengers: Tilley, Sampson and Cooper,’ TAG 52:198-208). They resided in Henlow, co. Bedford, before embarking for New England. Further information pertaining to John Tillwy has since come to light, and it is the purpose of this article to give that information and discuss its significance.
Mayflower John Tilley was still in Henlow in 1607, as is revealed by the abstract of a will proved at Lambeth Palace:
‘George Clarke of Henlow, co. Beds., Clothworker, 22 Sept. 1607 . . . Thomas Kirke, dwelling with John Tile, owes him 9s. 9d. due at Michs. . . Proved 28 April 1608 by Anne Clarke, mother of deceased. Inventory sworn under £16 6s. 11d. (Bancroft, 243a) ‘Bedfordshire Wills and Administrations Proved at Lambeth Palace and in the Archdeaconry of Huntington,’ Pubs. Beds. Hist. Record Soc., 2(1914):50-51.’ . . . Apparently Thomas Kirke was a servant of John Tilley. This might indicate a blood relationship to the Tilleys, possibly through John Tilley’s mother Elizabeth (____) Tilley, or through his mother-in-law Rose (____) (Hurst) Rush, neither of whome has been identified so far. “ 513

“Now we come to a more conjectural reference. Col. Charles Edward Banks say that one John Tilley, yeoman, was living in Wootton, co. Bedford, in 1613, aged 40 years, quoting Chanc. Deps. T.5/16 as his source (The English Ancestr and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers [New york 1929] p. 88). In the Public Record Office in London the current reference is c21/T5/16, which records depositions of witnesses taken at Bedford 7 April [1613] 11 James [I}, in a Chancery case between Humfrey Totnam or Tottenha, clerk, complainant, and Henry Bedles, Bedells, or Beadells, William Archer, and William Bedles, defendants, concerning land in Wootton and Marston Bedfordshire. A transcript of the deposition of John Tilley, which was graciously provided by Rovert S. Wakefield, FASG, reads in part:
‘John Tylley of Wootton in the County of Bedford, yeoman, aged 40 years of thereabouts, sworn on behalf of Humfrie Totnam, complainant, deposeth: (1) He has known the plaintiff 12 years and above, and the defendant above 3 years . . .’
The remainder of the deposition has little of genealogical value. Apparently the defendants had sold their land in Wootton field, about All Saints, under condition that certain debts of William Beadell be paid to Totnam.
Is this our Mayflower passenger? We cannot be sure. The age is about right since the deponent was ‘40 years or thereabouts,,’ and the Mayflwoer man was 38. It is clear from this record tht for the twelve years during which John Tylley of Wootton knew Humphrey Totnam, the latter was a continuous resident of Wootton, which lies about 12 miles west northwest of Henlow. Mayflower John Tilley maintained continuous residence at Henlow through 1607. The Wootton parish register shows no trace of any Tilley family from 1561 through 1812, so how John Tylley of Wootton knew Humphrey Totnam is not apparent (Emmison, 43: Wootton 1561-1812 [Bedford 1952]). (I have also searched the Wootton parish register for the families of the other six Mayflower passengers of my original aricle, and find no traces of the Hurst, Sampson or Wyne families; although there are many Cooper/Cowper entried, none of them seems to pertain to the Arlesey/Henlow Cooper family, but it is of course difficult to sort out the family members with such a common surname. An intriguing possibility is tha Mayflower John Tilley of Henlow may have come to know Hummphrey Totnam while the latter was vicar of Shilllington, a parish which adjoins Henlow on the southwest. If so, Tilley had known Totnam for at least 14 years, which is technically included in ‘12 years and above.’ The parish of Felmersham, of which Totnam was vicar in 1599, is some eight miles north of Wootton and about 16 miles northwest of Henlow (John Venn and J.A. Venn, Alumni Cantabrigiensis [Cambridge 1927], hereafter Venn, Part 1, 4:255). . . . In conclusion, we can be certain that the John Tilley of Henlow mentioned in the will of George Clarke is identical with the Mayflower passenger; that the John Tylley of the deposition was the same person remains only a possibility.” 513

“Henlow was also the hometown of the Pilgrim brothers Edward and John Tilley” 514

On file is photo of “St. Mary’s Church, Henow, Bedfordshire, England
Henlow was the home of Edward and Agnes (Cooper) Tillley, John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley, Elizabeth Tilley (who later married John Howland), and Henry Samson - all of whom were passengers ont he Mayflower in 1620.” 514

“John Tilley has been identified as an older brother of the preceding Edward as baptized, 24 February, 1571, and perhaps the son of Lawrence and Bridget Tilley of Shipton, co. Salop, and the same remarks apply to him as to the correctness of this conclusion. Both John and his wife died in the first winter int he ‘general sickness’ leaving but one known child, Elizabeth, who married John Howland. The compiler found a marriage of a John Tilley to Elizabeth Comyngs, 2 February, 1605, in the parish of St. Andrew Undershaft, where an Allerton family resided, and close to the Pilgrim center there. As Elizabeth, daughter of the Pilgrim, was born in 1607 this record may be the marriage of the Mayflower passengers.
The compiler is obliged to reject the identification of thse two brothers announced a quarter of a century ago (N.Y. Gen. & Biog. Rec. XXXV, 213 291) by writer who adopted the Shipton record as evidence satisfactory to himself. A Chancery deposition, found by the compiler, in the Public Record office, N. 7/14, was made by John Tylly of Shipton, Salop, yeoman, in 1631, aged 60 years, hence born in 1571 and therefore identical with the John baptized as above stated. It shows that the Shipton John supposed to have emigrated on the Mayflower and dead in 1621, was still alive ten years later living in his native parish. This automatically eliminates his brother Edward. A John Tilley, yeoman, was living in Wootton, bedfordshire, in 1613, aged 40 years, hence born 1573, and this may be the emigrant. (Chanc. Deps, T. 5/16).” 367

“The fifteenth family group . . .
64. John Tilley, brother of Edward, a member of the early exploring parties, died in Plymouth in winter of 1621.
65. Bridget Tilley, John’s wife, died int he winter of 1621.
66. Elizabeth Tilley, daughter of John, married John Howland, died Plymouth 1687.” 389

“6 December . . .
A ten-man party set out on what was to be a seven-day trip (their sixth land expedition since arriving). This time they headed south alongside the Cape Cod peninsula opposite Truro, aiming for Bilingsgate Point. Winslow described how the party was led by Captain Standish, and included William Bradford as official recorder, Master Carver, himself (also keeping notes), John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Doty. . . . Unfortunately for this party the extreme cold almost immobilized some of them, including the Tilley brother, who ‘swooned’, while the Master Gunner was also very sick. . . . “389

Full text of the Mayflower Compact and the list of signers to be entered.390

“Wednesday, the 6th of December, it was resolved our discoverers should set forth, for the day before was too foul weather, - and so they did, though it was well o’er the day ere all things could be ready. So ten of our men were appointed who were of themselves willing to undertake it, to wit, Captain Standish, Master Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Houland, and three of London, Richard Warren, Steeven Hopkins, and Edward Dotte, and two of our seamen, John Alderton and Thomas English.” 390

“John tilley, who was also one of this exploring party [Dec. 6th], was probably a brother of Edward. He also brought his wife and one other person, most likely a child, and died before the end of March. The name does not appear in the division of the cattle in 1627.” 390

“The honor of first stepping upon the rock is claimed by the descendants of Mary Chilton, in her behalf, and also by those of John Alden, in his favor - resting upon tradition in both families. It is evident that neither of them had the honor of first landing upon it. This occurred on the 11th of december, 1620, old style, corresponding to December 21st, new style, when the shallop of the Mayflower, having left on the 6th of December the harbor of Cape Cod, coasted along the shore, and was finally driven by storm into Plymouth, and found shelter at Clark’s Island. The shallop at this time had on board ten of the pilgrims, who had signed the compact, whose names were as follows: Capt. Standish, Master Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Dotey, from which it appears that John Alden was not among the number who first stepped on the rock.” 395

“Cole’s Hill is an open green spot fronting the harbor, a short distance abouve Forefather’s Rock, commanding a beautiful view of the ocean and highlands by which the bay is encircled . . . About fifty of those who came in the Mayflower were buried on this spot, near the foot of Middle-street. Among Them were Gov. Carber, William White, Rose Standish, the wife of Captain Standish; Elizabeth, the wife of Edward Winslow, Christopher Martin, William Mullins, John and Edward Tilley, Thomas Rogers, Mary, the wife of Isaac Allerton.
On the twenty-third day of May, 1855, some workmen, while excavating a tranch for the pipes of the water-works, exhumed parts of five skeletons. The exact spot of their discovery was the space in the middle of the road upon Cole’s Hill lying between the two points, five rods south, and two rods north, of the foot of Middle-street. . . One of the skulls was placed in the hands of Professor Oliver W. Holmes, of Boston, for examination, who, after a critical comparison with specimens in the cabinet of the Massachusetts Medical College, pronounced it a Caucasian skull, and thus, without doubt, the skull of one of the earliest settlers of Plymouth. History informs us that the place of interment was sown and carefully levelled, in order to conceal their bones from the knowledge of the natives.” 395

“Pilgrim Fabric Workers and Merchants: . . .
John Tilley - silk weaver” 515

“Before proceeding from Cape Cod the pilgrms sent out three exploring expeditions in their small boat. On the third of these trips, undertaken with doubt and fear, Richard Warren was a participant. They set out on the 16th of December (which was the 6th in the old calendar) . . . Morton wrote: . . . so ten of our men were appointed who were of themselves willing to undertake it, to wit, Captaine Standish, Maister Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winsloe, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Houland, and three of London, Richard Warren, Steeven Hopkins, and Edward Dotte.’ “ 405

“Wednesday, the 6th of December, it was resolved our discoverers should set forth, for the day before was too foul weather, and so they did, though it was well o’er the day ere all things could be ready. So ten our our men were appointed who were of themselves willing to undertake it, to wit, Captain Standish, Master Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, and three of London, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Dotte, and two of our seamen, John Allerton and Thomas English.” 412

“Also on the Mayflower were Edward Tilley’s brother and sister-in-law, John and Joan Tilley and their teen-age daughter Elizabeth.” 413

“The documented names of people who can be considered members of the Leiden church are listed below . . .
Tilley, Elizabeth
Tilley, John . . . “ 415

“John Tilley and his wife brought their daughter Elizabeth.” 415

“The English origins of Mayflower passengers John and Edward Tilley, their respective wives Joan Hurst and Agnes Cooper, along with henry Samson and Humility Cooper, were thoroughly examined by Robert Leigh Ward in a series of articles from the 1970s that ran in The American Genealogist and The Genealogist. He showed that the Samson, Tilley, Hurst and Cooper families originated from Henlow, co Bedford, England. The families were well-represented there, and several of the lineages even trace as far back as Wido de Reinbudcourt, the Doomsday Lord of Chipping Warden, born in the early eleventh century. Ward’s groundbreaking discoveries came primarily from analysis of the probate and parish register records in the parishes of Arlesey and Henlow. It recently occurred to me, however, that a significant source of Henlow records has been heretofore overlooked: manorial records. The parish of Henlow, Bedfordshire, contained a manor called Henlow Grey. A manor was basically the administrative unit of a landed estate and typically consisted, more of less, of the lands within a given parish. Within the estate, numerous activities took place. Rents were paid, leases were bought and sold, services were performed for the lord, frank pledges were organized and maintained, and court sessions were held to adjudicate various misdemeanors and review property transactions. These activities were recorded in what are known today as manorial records, typically written on rolls of parchment, and - at least for the tim periods we are interested in - often in Latin. It turns out that the Cooper, Tilley, and Hurst families are referenced regularly throughout the manorial records of Henlow Grey. This article is an attempt to summarize and make sense of these records.” 516

“In Robert Tilley’s [his father’s] will, dated 31 December 1612 and proved 6 April 1612 [sic 1613], he mentions ‘my free house wherein I dwell, with the back side, orchards, and garden, with the appurtenances thereunto belonging with a little stripe or plat of ground, whereon sometimes did stand a barn, which William Tilley purchased of one Richard Huckle as by a deed thereof made between them appeareth.’ He bequeathed this land to son John Tilley, upon the death of his widow Elizabeth ‘my now wife’ (suggesting she was not the mother of his children), on the condition that John paid his brother Edward Tilley ‘the sum of thirty pounds lawful English money.’ If he did not, then Edward was to receive the house and property.” 516

“It is possible, but not proven, that John Tilley was an older brother of Edward Tilley, who, with his wife Ann, also came to Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620. John Tilley’s wife was not Catherine Leggatt [Benn].
John Tilley, born no doubt in England about 1580, died in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, during the winter of 1620-1621.
He is probably the John Tilley who married at St. Andrews Undershaft, London, England, 2 Feb. 1605, Elizabeth Comyngs.
Apparently a silk worker in London, he came to Plymouth with his wife, whose name was not mentioned in the Plymouth records, and daughter Elizabeth on the Mayflower in 1620. Willison [Saints and Strangers, 90] suggests that the wife accompanying him was Bridget van der Velde of Leyden, whom he married (if so, secondly) in Leyden, Holland, in 1615, and that she was a native of that city who converted to Brownism, the doctrine of the Separatist Church there. However, George Ernest Bowman has stated that ‘Jan Tellij and Prijntgen van den Velde’ were not Mayflower passengers [MD, 23:75-76].
He was one of the ten men in the first encounter with the Indians on 8 dec. 1620, and was sixteenth of the forty-one signers of the Mayflower Compact. More than half of the 101 passengers died during the first winter from a disease perhaps similar to scurvy, and he and his wife were among the dead. Their only child was taken into the home of Governor John Carver.” 355

“On December 6, after a busy day of preparing the shallop and its equipment, twenty men - Separatists Carver, Bradford, Winslow, John Tilley, his brother Edward, and John Howland; their security man Standish; Strangers Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Doty . . . . set off for Thievish Harbor. . . . “ 417

“February may also have killed Edward and Anne (Cooper) Tilley, leaving their niece, Humility Cooper, 1, alone, her father already dead back in Europe, her impoverished mother back there, too. Humility may have been passed to Edward’s brother, John, and his wife, Joan, if they were still alive. But if the cold hadn’t taken them, it soon would.” 417

1620
Mayflower of London, two hundred tons, Christopher Jones, Master. Left Southampton August 5, and arrived at Cape Cod December 11, with one hundred and one passengers. The ship was detained at Dartmouth and Plymouth, England, about two weeks for repairs to her consort, the Speedwell. The entire company settled at Plymouth [Bradford: History of Plimmoth Plantation; Banks: English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrims]. . . .
John Tilley of Saint Andrews Undershaft, London
Mrs. Elizabeth Tilley
Elizabeth Tilley . . . “418

“Wednesday, at the 6th of December . . . So ten of our men were appointed who were of themselves willing to undertake it, to wit, Captain Standish, Master Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, and three of London, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, and Edward Dotte, and two of our seamen, John Allerton and thomas English.” 412