Richard More (Mayflower passenger)
Encyclopedia
Richard More was a passenger on the Pilgrim Fathers's ship, the Mayflower
. Richard More was born in Corvedale, Shropshire
and baptised at Shipton
church on November 13, 1614. As a child, Richard More was at the centre of a seventeenth century controversy in England
. He lived until at least 1694, and died in Salem
, Massachusetts
.
and Katherine More
. Samuel More married his cousin Katherine More at Shipton, in Corvedale, on February 4, 1610 (old date style). Katherine’s father, Jasper More, was master of Larden, a 1000-acre estate between Much Wenlock
and Ludlow
. Both estates are in Shropshire
, England
. According to the marriage contract, the newly married couple were to live at Larden, with Katherine’s parents. Over the next four years she bore four children: Eleanor (May 1612), Jasper (August 1613), Richard (November 1614) and Mary (April 1616). All were baptised at Shipton church in Corvedale.
In 1616 Samuel More removed all four children to his father’s estate near Linley, about twenty miles distant from Larden. In a later statement, Samuel More wrote that the reason was the ‘apparent likeness & resemblance … to Jacob Blakeway’, a local man from Corvedale. The removal seems to have occurred in late April or May, because the youngest child had only just been baptised, on April 16 at Shipton. Katherine More and Jacob Blakeway
fought the decision through the courts, and final judgement in Samuel's favour was not obtained until July 1620. Immediately following the court action, the four More children were transferred to the Mayflower
. In Samuel More’s statement, he wrote that he took this action because of the:
“great grief of such a spurious brood,”
He wrote that the children were despatched to America in order to:
“provide for the educacon & maintenance of these children in a place remote from these parts where these great blotts and blemishes may fall upon them.”
The choice of the Mayflower may have been because of the connection between Samuel More and Lord Zouche
. From 1617 to 1625, when Zouche died, Samuel More acted as Zouche's secretary, and it's possible that his employment began earlier, possibly from shortly after the marriage. Zouche was an early supporter of the Virginia Company. The children were passed to a man called Philomen Powell in a transfer arranged by Richard More’s lawyer. Powell was a close associate of Thomas Weston, who was involved with the financing of the Mayflower voyage. At the time of the Mayflower sailing in September 1620 the children were aged between four and eight. A number of colonists travelled as paying passengers on the Mayflower. The children were amongst this group. Exactly what explanation was given for their presence is not known. Three of the Mayflower pilgrims took responsibility for the children:
, working the New England fishing grounds and he may have traded across the Atlantic, and as far south as the West Indies.
Richard and Christian had seven children, all baptised in Salem. His daughter Christian the younger married Joshua Conant of Salem, and it is through this match that Richard More's descendants can be traced. Christian More died in 1677, aged sixty. Richard married again (date unknown) to Jane Crumpton, who dies in October 1686, there were no further children.
In later life he suffered from some financial hardship. In his old age he was brought before the Salem church elders for ‘gross unchastity with another man’s wife’. Richard accepted the judgement and made a public repentance.
If the 1696 date is correct, Richard More was the last surviving male passenger of the Mayflower, which would have left Mary Allerton
as the last survivor altogether. His gravestone in the Charter Street cemetery in Salem is the only known gravestone of a Mayflower passenger.
'A Spurious Brood' (Ascribe Publishing 2011) - is a fiction based on fact novel based on the More children controversy.
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
. Richard More was born in Corvedale, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and baptised at Shipton
Shipton
Shipton may refer to:Places*Shipton, Gloucestershire*Shipton, North Yorkshire*Shipton, Shropshire*Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire*Shipton Brook, Buckinghamshire*Shipton Gorge, Dorset*Shipton Lee, Buckinghamshire*Shipton-on-Cherwell, Oxfordshire...
church on November 13, 1614. As a child, Richard More was at the centre of a seventeenth century controversy in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He lived until at least 1694, and died in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
The More children and the Mayflower
In the Shipton parish records Richard More's parents are given as Samuel MoreSamuel More
Samuel More was at the centre of two separate controversies in seventeenth century England.- The Mayflower controversy :Samuel More married his cousin Katherine More at Shipton in Corvedale on February 4, 1610 . Katherine’s father, Jasper More, was master of Larden, a 1000-acre estate between Much...
and Katherine More
Katherine More
Katherine More was the centre of a seventeenth century controversy in England.Katherine was the youngest daughter of an ancient Shropshire family...
. Samuel More married his cousin Katherine More at Shipton, in Corvedale, on February 4, 1610 (old date style). Katherine’s father, Jasper More, was master of Larden, a 1000-acre estate between Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
and Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
. Both estates are in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. According to the marriage contract, the newly married couple were to live at Larden, with Katherine’s parents. Over the next four years she bore four children: Eleanor (May 1612), Jasper (August 1613), Richard (November 1614) and Mary (April 1616). All were baptised at Shipton church in Corvedale.
In 1616 Samuel More removed all four children to his father’s estate near Linley, about twenty miles distant from Larden. In a later statement, Samuel More wrote that the reason was the ‘apparent likeness & resemblance … to Jacob Blakeway’, a local man from Corvedale. The removal seems to have occurred in late April or May, because the youngest child had only just been baptised, on April 16 at Shipton. Katherine More and Jacob Blakeway
Jacob Blakeway
- Background :Jacob Blakeway was born in July 1583 and baptised at Stanton Long in Corvedale, Shropshire. His father was a yeoman, and farmed approximately thirty acres of land as a leaseholder, though it is possible that the Blakeways held other land. Blakeway was, and is, a common name in...
fought the decision through the courts, and final judgement in Samuel's favour was not obtained until July 1620. Immediately following the court action, the four More children were transferred to the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
. In Samuel More’s statement, he wrote that he took this action because of the:
“great grief of such a spurious brood,”
He wrote that the children were despatched to America in order to:
“provide for the educacon & maintenance of these children in a place remote from these parts where these great blotts and blemishes may fall upon them.”
The choice of the Mayflower may have been because of the connection between Samuel More and Lord Zouche
Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche
Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, 12th Baron St Maur was an English diplomat.-Early Life:Zouche was the son of George la Zouche, 10th Baron Zouche and his wife Margaret, née Welby....
. From 1617 to 1625, when Zouche died, Samuel More acted as Zouche's secretary, and it's possible that his employment began earlier, possibly from shortly after the marriage. Zouche was an early supporter of the Virginia Company. The children were passed to a man called Philomen Powell in a transfer arranged by Richard More’s lawyer. Powell was a close associate of Thomas Weston, who was involved with the financing of the Mayflower voyage. At the time of the Mayflower sailing in September 1620 the children were aged between four and eight. A number of colonists travelled as paying passengers on the Mayflower. The children were amongst this group. Exactly what explanation was given for their presence is not known. Three of the Mayflower pilgrims took responsibility for the children:
- Ellen More was under the care of Edward Winslow. She died in the winter of 1621
- Jasper More was under the care of John Carver and died in the winter of 1621
- Mary More was under the care of William Brewster and died in the winter of 1621
- Richard More was also under the care of William Brewster and lived a long life in the New World
Later life
Richard is recorded as living at New Plymouth at the age of 14, but in 1635 he is listed as arriving from England, on the Blessing, which had sailed from London to Boston. Nothing is known of the intervening period, but Richard More went on to make his living as a sailor and sea captain, and it is possible that he worked his late teens as crew on the ships that supplied the new American colonies. In 1636 Richard More married Christian Hunter, who had been a passenger on the Blessing. They lived at Duxbury for a time before moving to Salem. Richard worked as a 'retainer and labourer' for Christine Hunter's guardian, Richard Hollingsworth, another passenger from the Blessing. By the 1650s Richard More was the owner of a ketchKetch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
, working the New England fishing grounds and he may have traded across the Atlantic, and as far south as the West Indies.
Richard and Christian had seven children, all baptised in Salem. His daughter Christian the younger married Joshua Conant of Salem, and it is through this match that Richard More's descendants can be traced. Christian More died in 1677, aged sixty. Richard married again (date unknown) to Jane Crumpton, who dies in October 1686, there were no further children.
In later life he suffered from some financial hardship. In his old age he was brought before the Salem church elders for ‘gross unchastity with another man’s wife’. Richard accepted the judgement and made a public repentance.
Death and Burial
Richard More is buried in Salem. There is documentary evidence that he was alive in 1694 and dead in 1696. His gravestone gives an age of 84, but it is more likely that Richard was unsure of his birth date, for simple arithmetic suggests that he was eighty-one when he died, possibly in late 1695 or early 1696. The gravestone in the old Salem burial ground gives a date of 1692. But the date, and additional words ’a Mayflower pilgrim’, were added at some point between 1901 and 1919, and provoked some outraged reaction in the local press.If the 1696 date is correct, Richard More was the last surviving male passenger of the Mayflower, which would have left Mary Allerton
Mary Allerton
Mary Allerton Cushman was the last surviving passenger of the Mayflower. She arrived at Plymouth on the Mayflower when she was about four years old and lived there her entire life; she died aged 83....
as the last survivor altogether. His gravestone in the Charter Street cemetery in Salem is the only known gravestone of a Mayflower passenger.
Books
'Mayflower Bastard' by David Lindsay, (Thomas Dunne Books 2002).'A Spurious Brood' (Ascribe Publishing 2011) - is a fiction based on fact novel based on the More children controversy.
External links
- Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants
- 'A Spurious Brood' - the History, sets out a factual account of the events surrounding the More children controversy.