Server: Microsoft-IIS/3.0 Date: Thu, 18 Dec 1997 08:59:17 GMT Content-Type: text/html Accept-Ranges: bytes Last-Modified: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 17:59:06 GMT Content-Length: 3672 Who Was John Alden?

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Who Was John Alden?Picture of John and Priscilla Alden

John Alden sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 during its voyage from England to America. At age 20, John was the youngest man to sign the Mayflower Compact, which was drafted during the journey.

While aboard the Mayflower, John Alden met Priscilla Mullins. According to Longfellow’s poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish," Captain Miles Standish, John’s close friend, courted Priscilla through John. John was willing to do almost anything for his good friend, but there was one problem -- John Alden also loved Priscilla Mullins.

Longfellow describes the chain of events that led to his poem’s most famous line, "Speak for yourself, John." This was Priscilla’s response when John tried to push his own feelings aside to tell her Miles wanted her hand in marriage.

Picture of John and Priscilla's HomeAlthough the poem possibly mixes fact with fiction, John and Priscilla did marry in 1622. They settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where they prospered and had 11 children. John became a colony leader, serving as deputy governor, arbiter and a member of the governor’s council. He was assistant to the governor a majority of the time from 1631 until about 1687.

John and Priscilla remained happily married for 60 years, until Priscilla’s death at age 80. John, who lived longer than any other signer of the Mayflower Compact, died in 1687 at age 88.

Ironically, the Alden and Standish families were united through the marriage of John and Priscilla’s daughter Sarah to Miles’ son Alexander.

Members of the John Alden family lived in the Alden house until 1907. Today the house is a museum that has been restored and maintained by a group called the John Alden Kindred. The house is said to be the last remaining structure built by the Pilgrims.

For more historical information about John and Priscilla Alden, visit The Alden House Museum's web site.


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