Mayflower pilgrim Elizabeth Tilley (1607-1687), along with her parents John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley, came over on the Mayflower. Elizabeth was one of five children, but was the only one of her siblings to accompany her parents onboard the Mayflower.
She was born this summer 410 years ago.
According to MayflowerHistory.com:
“Elizabeth Tilley came on the Mayflower, at the age of about thirteen, with her parents John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley. Her parents, and her aunt and uncle Edward and Agnes Tilley, all died the first winter, leaving her orphaned in the New World. She soon married, about 1624 or 1625, to fellow Mayflower passenger John Howland, who had come as a manservant, or apprentice, to Governor John Carver who died in April 1621.”
A survivor in her own right, Elizabeth became the mother of 10 children, and many Americans (me included) can trace their family lines back to this strong woman. Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland is my 10th great-mother.
So, her descendants have at least four Mayflower passenger ancestors: herself, her parents and her husband John Howland.
It is painful to see this 1920s spin in the Omaha World-Herald stating that “since his [John Tilley’s] sole survivor was his daughter, Elizabeth, his descendants generally reckon the line as headed by her husband, John Howland.”
Brutal.
She was a strong woman.
According to FamilySearch, Elizabeth died at her daughter’s home in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, on 31 December 1687, but her story doesn’t end there. Her legacy is carried on by many notable descendants, including U.S. President George H.W. Bush and his son President George W. Bush, and poets Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The inscription on her tombstone reads:
“Here ends the pilgrimage of Elizabeth Tilley Howland who died Wednesday 31 December 1687 at home of her daughter Lydia & husband James Brown in Swansea. Elizabeth married Pilgrim John Howland who came with her in the Mayflower December 1620. From them are descended a numerous posterity.”
In Elizabeth’s will she gave this inspiring counsel to her children and descendants:
“It is my will and charge to all my Children that they walk in the fear of the Lord and in Love and Peace toward each other.”
Powerful.
Honored to have her as one of my Mayflower ancestors.
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