The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-03-13
THE SONS OF JOHN ALDEN.
PLANS FoR a MUSEUM IN THE OLD
HOMESTEAD AT DUIBURr.

The Real Eneae ef the Fnmtiy-Preseut state OF
sehn Alden's H~ene-said e No the Oldest
Wasitsbie 1ense In the Unitea states-The
Livins Alden sEest like 1,snereilev's Here.
The fact that the old Alden homestead at
Duxbury, Mass, where John Alden and his
Puritan wife, Priscilla, settled in 1881. has re-
Gently passed into the hands of another branch
of the family lends renewed interest to II. This
IL especially so because the present owner an
nounces his intention Of rescuins the place
from its somewhat dilapidated condition, and
establishing in It q collection Of articles direct
1y associated with tho Alden family, some Of
them reaching back to the time of John Alden
and Priscilla Mullins.
Standing on the summit Of Captains Hill-so
named because IL formed part Of an early
grant to Capt. Miles Standish-in the south'
eastern part of Duxbury, ono may sec spread
out in picturesque panorama the pleasant land.
scape where. more than 275 years ago. the
Pilgrims laid out the colony OF Plymouth.
Duxbury was the second town Incorporated In
the colony. It was laid out in 1887, but pre-
vious to that date several families had set
tied there. Ten years before John Alden had
como to Duxbury to live, and there, on his
grant Of 169 acres, had built his house near
| Eagle Tree Pond, so called from the old
oak trees in the neighborhood, which were
a favorlte resort for eagles. To this
day some OF these old trees may yet
be seen there. From that timo the old
homestead at Duxbury has remained in the
Alden family, descending regularly from father
to son. During a period Of 266 years only two
different houses have stood: there-the one
built by the Pilgrim himself. and the one now
standing, which is said to be the Oldest habitable
house in the United States. The latter was built
In 1853 by Capt. Jonathan Alden. who was the
third son of John Alden. and was born about
1927. In this house John Alden himself dwelt.
The present occupant is John W. Alden, a direct
descendant Of the seventh generation from Capt.
Jonathan Alden. He was born at the old home
stead, as were his father and GRANDPA ther, and,
indeed, all his pnternal ancestors before him.
Up to a few months ago he believed himself to
be the head Of the Alden family in this country.
Owing to reverses of fortune. he and his broth
or, who owned the place jointly, were COM
PEELED to part with 1t, and there was q prospect
that the old place would pass into the hands Of
strangers. Just as matters had reached this
crisis IL happened that Mr.. Alden received a
letter from a cousin in st. Louis whom he had
never seen-John Tolman Alden, a successful
manufacturer and a student as we'll, having
been educated at Yale for the ministry. The
st. Louis Alden has written several books, and
in his letter to his Duxbury cousin he asked
permission to dedicate to him a forthcoming
yolume. Permission was given, and this opened
q correspondence When the wealthy manu-.
~facturer learned the condition of affairs he
bought the old place to prevent Its passing into
strangers hands.
Up to the time Of purchasing the property at
Duxbury, John Tolman Alden had no accurate
knowledge Of his genealogy, except the mere
fact that he was a descendant Of John Alden Of
Puritan fame. Upon acquiring the old home
stead his interest in the matter was aroused
and he set the genealogists at work. After
| naiJor h1a raoaa r,h a. yrae found that 10 o~l
not the former owner Of the place is the head Of
the Alden family in the United States, being of
the eighth generation from John Alden. and the
only living descendant In a direct lire from
father to eldest son Of Joseph Alden, the Sec
ond son Of the Puritan, the descendants In q cor
responding direct line from John Alden's eld-
est son having all died out. This discovery was
a surprise to Mr.. Alden and his DuSbury kins.
men, who. when the facts were made known,
gracefully rellnquished his place as head Of
the family and wrote his st. Louis cousin:
Il am moro than gratifcd to receive your
genealogy, which is correct in every instance.
I congratulate you on being the head ot.ou- il
l%ustrious family and trust you may live to en-
joy the honor for indefinite years. When I
look at all the facts as they exist and tie ro-
mantle way In which you came to secure the
homestead. and by which your own identity
was discovered and proved. then 1 say 1 thank
heaven that things should have happened so
The present owner Of the Du;Xbury homestead
continues to reside there. One of the interest
ing members Of this family Is little Priscilla
Molines Alden, aged . years, who represents the
ninth generation.
The construction of the old house is very pic
cabin which John Alden himself built, and
which stood about one-oishth Of a mile from
the present homestead at a spot marked b. a
marble slab bearing the Inscription. John AL
den House, 1927" In four OF the rooms i'm
mense beams run through the centre, and there
is a general air Of substantially about the
whole structure. Owing to sales by different
members Of the family, who encountered hard
times and found IL necessary TO dispose Of the
land, less than two acres of the original grant
now remains, merely, that. surrounding the
owner to round off the property by a addRitionai
purchases, and create.there a beauty spot which
W. have a tradition in our family" says
John Tolman Alden. that when John Alden
Mayfower to Plymouth Rock, he held his Bible
in. one hand and his coopcr's hammer in the
f Ssne several saS t esnef ss%s nf IN fSs f %ns gFfSs st al
trace OF 1t has now been lost. In that tradi-
t Porjta how n e n lies t the wS central 4s thought aS u nj Of ,fd that t
intellectual and great in the history of this
Iy by the Rev. MI. Grifis Of Ithaca. y. Y. for
mmoriy pastor Of the south Congregations
III, there ever were any Irish :Aldens. they
certainly are, and always were, buried in tho
boys of that country. for they have never
come to light. There are no Irish Aldens In
this country. and never were. All the AldenB
in the United States are descendants from one
original stock. 1t is no libel upon a family to
PIE. but it is not right to try to fasten upon an
old American family any nationality to which
they on;S,n have emo no claim lain 81 A ,ssd matter q Of fact, the
fordshire stock, in England, and belonged to
the same family as John Alden Of the Middle
Temple, to whom a coat-of-arms was given in
1907. Our John Alden was born in 1899. He
was apprenticed to a matter COOPER in south.
a member Of the Pilgrim colony only after
the arrival of the Speedwell and Mayfower at
Alden was mover in Holland. lie was not OF
the original Pilgrim band. styled Piritans be-
cause they sought a purer life, and so named In de-
rlslon.. These Puritans fed from the persecu-
ton of England In 1910. and sought refuge in
Leyden, Holland. Disappointed, they again
sought a new life In a new world. They left
Delft Haven July 20. 1920. on the Speedwell