Capt. Myles Standish (c.1584 - 1656) - Genealogy Capt.

Myles Standish "Miles", "Captain Shrimp", "Captain Shrimpe" Birthdate: in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts Cause of death: Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA Immediate Family: Military Captain of the Mayflower that landed at Plymouth Rock Managed by: Added 2016-07-01 16:05:48 -0700 by Private User Collection: July 13 1584 - Ellanbane, Isle of Man, Lancashire, England Death: Added 2016-05-13 16:35:26 -0700 by Private User Collection: July 13 1584 - Ellanbane, Isle of Man, Lancashire, England Death: Added 2016-05-13 16:35:25 -0700 by Private User Collection: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Wife: Added 2016-04-12 11:57:57 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson

 Collection: 1585 - Ellanbane, Isle of Man, United Kingdom Death: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth, MA, USA Parents: John Standish Ii, Christian Standish (born Lace) Wife: Rose (Handley) Standish Children: Added 2016-05-13 16:35:28 -0700 by Private User Collection: Between 1583 and 1585 - Isle of Man Death: Added 2016-04-12 11:58:51 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson Collection: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Partner: Barbara Standish Children: Added 2016-04-12 11:57:47 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson Collection: Circa 1584 - Ellenbane, Isle of Man, Lancashire, England Death: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Parents: John Standish Ii, Christian Standish (born Lace)

 Siblings: Barbra Standish, 2nd wife Children: ...John Standish, Lora Standish, Myles Standish, Josiah Captain Standish, Josiah Standish, Charles Ii Standish, Martha Standish, Mary Standi...

Added 2016-04-12 12:03:32 -0700 by Debbie Collection: 1584 - Ellenbane,Isle of Man, England Death: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Ma. Wife: Added 2016-04-12 12:01:07 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson Collection: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury MA Parents: John Standish, Christian Standish (born Lace) Wife: Added 2016-04-12 12:01:01 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson Collection: July 13 1584 - Ellanbane, Lancashire, England Death: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Wife: Barbara (Mullins ?

Allen ?) Standish (born Unkown) Son: Added 2016-04-12 11:58:42 -0700 by Susan Elizabeth Thompson Collection: May 22 1593 - Lancashire, England Death: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, MA Parents: Capt.

Alexander John Standish Ii, Christian Katherine Standish (born Standish Lace) Siblings: John Standish Iii, William Standish Wife: Barbara Katherine Standish (born Mullins (Allen?)) Son: Added 2016-03-03 11:02:30 -0800 by Ryland Gaskins III Collection: Oct 3 1656 - Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Parents: John Standish Ii, Christian Standish (born Lace) Wife: Barbara Standish Children: mother About Capt Myles Standish, "Mayflower" Passenger Captain Myles Standish (c.1584 – 1656) was a Mayflower passenger who accompanied the Pilgrims as the commander of their militia, but was not a Pilgrim in the religious sense of the group. Born in Lancashire, England in 1584 to unidentified parents, he fought as a young man against the Spanish in the Netherlands, learning the military trade and developing leadership skills. The Pilgrims, realizing that none of them had any military ability, asked him to command and train their militia, and he sailed with the original colonists.

Short, stocky, with bright red hair and a florid complexion that would turn beet red when he was angry, he was "a little chimney too soon fired" as one of his detractors once stated. However, no one questioned his bravery, and his watchfulness over the colony probably saved it from destruction by Indians in its early years. In 1632, he moved a few miles north of Plymouth to Duxbury, Massachusetts, and helped found the town there. He died at the age of 72 at Duxbury, Massachusetts on 3 October 1656, and is buried at the Myles Standish Burying Ground, Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Cause of death is seen as "strangullion" From /straŋ"gʌljən/ n. Now rare or obs. LME. [OFr. (e)stranguillion (mod. étranguillon) f. It. stranguglione, f. L strangulare STRANGLE v.] A disease, esp. in horses, characterized by inflammation and swelling of the glands of the throat. Marriages and Children The maiden names of Myles Standish's wives Rose and Barbara are not known.

Rose Standish died on 29 January 1620/1 at Plymouth, and Barbara arrived on the ship Anne in July 1623. By the time of the 1623 Division of Land, Myles and Barbara were already married. This suggests a marriage arranged by Standish, to a Barbara he either knew from home or from his stay in Leyden. There is absolutely no evidence that either wife's maiden name was Mullens.

Rose Standish (____ – 1621) Barbara Standish (1588 - 1659), married 1623 Charles Standish (c1624 Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts – c1627) Alexander Standish (1625 Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts – 6 July 1702 Duxbury, Massachusetts); married (1) Sarah Alden, (2) Desire (Doty) Holmes as her third husband, circa 1688 John Standish (born c1626 Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts) - died unmarried before 1650 Lora Standish (born 22 May 1627 Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts) - died unmarried before 1651 Myles Standish, Jr.

(born 1629 Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts - 19 August 1661 lost at sea); married Sarah Winslow, daughter of John Winslow, on 19 July 1660 Josiah Standish (born 1633 – 19 March 1690/1 Preston, Connecticut); married (1) Mary Dingley, on 19 December 1654 Marshfield, Massachusetts (2) Sarah Allen, daughter of Samuel Allen, after 7 March 1655/6 Charles Standish (born c1634 Duxbury, Massachusetts - after 7 March 1655/6) - named in father's will but no further record Biographical Sketch Captain Myles Standish was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony. One of the Mayflower passengers, Standish played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony from its beginning. Standish started his military career as a drummer, and eventually worked his way into the Low Countries (Holland), where English troops under Horatio Vere had been stationed to help the Dutch in their war with Spain.

It was here that he made acquaintance with the Pilgrims at Leyden, and came into good standing with Pilgrim pastor John Robinson. Standish was eventually hired by them to be their military captain. After the Mayflower's New England landfall in late 1620, Captain Standish led most of the exploratory missions of wintry Cape Cod looking for a place to settle. He discovered an abandoned cache of corn in November 1620, which when planted the next spring may have saved the colony from extinction. As military officer, Standish designed the colony's defenses against the Indians, as well as the French, Spanish, and Dutch. He also played a role in the initial negotiations with the neighboring Wampanoags and various other Indian groups around Narragansett and Massachusetts Bay. He organized the band for training, watching, and patrolling early in 1621 when it appeared that relations with the Narragansetts might deteriorate into war. He was included in the informal council that first governed Plymouth Colony and then from 1624 he was formally elected to the colony's Court of Assistants (essentially a legislative upper house and judicial appellate court) virtually every year until his death.

Standish served as an agent of Plymouth Colony in England, as assistant governor, and as treasurer of Plymouth Colony. He was also one of the first settlers and founders of the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts. "The Strong Sword" Standish was about forty years old when he and his wife Rose arrived at Plymouth on the Mayflower. He was short, sturdy, and stout, and had a quick temper. The Indians called him the "little pot that soon boils over," but they also called him the "strong sword," which shows how much they respected his valor. Though one of the Pilgrims, he was no Puritan. He came of the old Roman Catholic family of Standish of Duxbury Hall, in the English county of Lancashire. As a young man he went across the sea to Holland, and enlisted in a Dutch regiment. He made friends in the Separatist colony at Leyden, became interested in their plans, agreed to act as military advisor to the company of Pilgrims, and embarked with them on their voyage to the New World. He signed the compact for mutual protection in the cabin of the Mayflower; he led the first exploring party at Cape Cod; and had headed the group who explored across the bay to Plymouth.

Before the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, he had seen and dealth with an Indian attack at Eastham, in memory of which this place for years retained the name the Pilgrims gave it, the "First Encounter." A defining characteristic of Standish's military leadership was his proclivity to preemptive action which resulted in at least two attacks (or small skirmishes) on different groups of Native Americans—the Nemasket raid and the Wessagusset massacre. During these actions, Standish exhibited considerable courage and skill as a soldier, but also demonstrated a brutality that angered Native Americans and disturbed more moderate members of the Colony. The First Winter After the Pilgrims had built the half-dozen log huts of their little settlement upon a street (now known as Leyden Street) starting from the rock and running up to the hill, Captain Miles Standish built a platform on the hill, upon which he mounted a cannons to protect the settlement. Their first winter was really not a terrible one, as New England winters go, but it was fatal to those English people unused to the climate, the changes, and the quick consumption and deadly pneumonia they led to. Standish was one of the few that did not get sick.

William Bradford wrote, "But that was most sad and lamentable was, that in two or three months’ time half of their company died, especially in January and February...So as their died some times two or three of a day in the foresaid time, that 100 and odd persons, scarce fifty remained. And of these, in the time of most distress, there was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendation, be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed their meat, made their beds, washed their clothes clothed and unclothed them…Two of these seven were Mr. William Brewster, their reverend Elder, and Myles Standish, their captain and military commander, unto whom myself and many others were much beholden in our low and sick condition." During that first winter, Rose Standish died, as did many of the original settlers. In 1624 he married Barbara (maiden name unknown), who had arrived the year before on the Anne. They had six children, four of whom survived infancy.

There is no foundation for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Courtship of Myles Standish" (the surrogate courting of Priscilla Mullins) in this sparse evidence of Standish's family life. Squantum, "The Mouth of the Englishmen" As soon as the ground could be worked in spring, the little remnant of fifty-two seasoned settlers set about planting and farming the plantation. They were greatly helped by Squantum, an Indian who had belonged to the tribe that owned and occupied the site of Plymouth; but a few years before he had been kidnapped by a roving party of English sailors, taken to Spain in captivity, rescued by a philanthropic Englishman, taken to London, where he had lived as a servant, and finally had come back to Plymouth. While he had been abroad a fearful epidemic had killed or scattered all his tribe; so Squantum became a wanderer, and eventually joined the Wampanoags, who lived in what is now the region of Taunton, New Bedford, and Bristol. Squantum proved a great help to these inexperienced Englishmen.

He told them what to plant and how to plant it; he explained to them all about Indian corn, which was a new cereal to the Pilgrims, but which became the mainstay and salvation of the colony. Squantum helped create friendly relations between the Pilgrims and Massasoit the Wampanoag. Captain Miles Standish and six musketeers followed Squantum along the town brook to the point where Massasoit and his bodyguard waited to be received. A salute was fired, and Massasoit went back with Standish and Squantum to the town, where the governor met the chieftain and agreed upon a treaty of peace and friendship. This treaty was faithfully kept for more than fifty years. It was finally broken by newcomers in the colony, and thus brought about a bloody war. Later, when Squantum was captured by some of Massasoit’s tribe who objected to his friendship with the white men, and proposed to kill Squantum, the "mouth of the Englishmen," as they called him, Captain Miles Standish led his soldiers against the rebels, and forced them to give up Squantum and obey Massasoit.

"We much damaged our trade" In the second year at Plymouth, Standish led a force to Wessagusett to save the settlement from a reported native attack. Although they found that that there had been no actual attack, there was evidence that one was planned. He therefore decided on a preemptive strike. Unfortunately, while Standish returned to Plymouth a hero after the raid, the impact of his attack had larger implications. Word quickly spread among the Native American tribes of Standish's attack; many Native Americans abandoned their villages and fled the area. Edward Winslow, in his 1624 memoirs "Good News from New England", reports that "they forsook their houses, running to and fro like men distracted, living in swamps and other desert places, and so brought manifold diseases amongst themselves, whereof very many are dead". Now lacking the trade in furs provided by the local tribes, the Pilgrims lost their main source of income for paying off their debts to the Merchant Adventurers.

Rather than strengthening their position, Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, a fact noted by William Bradford, who in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers noted "[W]e had much damaged our trade, for there where we had [the] most skins the Indians are run away from their habitations..." However, one positive effect of Standish's raid was the increased power of the Massasoit-led Wampanoag, the Pilgrims' closest ally in the region. Merry Mount The colony's survival assured by 1623, Standish was instrumental in defending Plymouth's authority against other Europeans, a role that remained important into the 1630s. In 1624 a dispute with John Oldham led Oldham to call Standish "a beggarly rascal" and threaten him with a knife. Standish disarmed him. Standish's most famous deed in enforcing order came in 1628 with the suppression of Thomas Morton's rollicking trading post at Merry Mount, an incident that became embedded in New England myth and lore largely through Morton's scathingly sarcastic account published in Amsterdam in 1637.

His last major effort was at Castine, Maine, in 1635 after a French party from Acadia seized a Plymouth trading post. Standish's expedition failed because of the incompetence of the captain of the vessel that the Plymouth authorities had hired to support the mission. Plymouth found itself unable to resolve this problem with the French Acadians without the concurrence of the recently founded Massachusetts Bay Colony. After 1635, in essence, Plymouth could not conduct foreign or Indian policy independent of its larger neighbor. Underwriting the Colony's Debt Standish garnered less fame but accomplished more of lasting significance from his role in the financial and economic development of Plymouth Colony. In 1625-1626, after Isaac Allerton and Edward Winslow had failed to renegotiate the Pilgrims' convoluted relationship with the parent companies, Standish returned to England. Standish also failed to negotiate a new agreement but successfully secured new loans and supplies. In 1627 he became one of the "Undertakers," eventually a dozen leading settlers, who personally assumed the colony's outstanding debts in exchange for local privileges in landholding and trading.

In 1630 he was vested with power of attorney from the Council of New England to oversee the transfer of that organization's land rights to Plymouth. Over the next several years he was elected treasurer six times in addition to his duties as assistant. Founding Duxbury Beginning in 1631 Standish and John Alden began the development of what in 1637 officially became Duxbury, the first official new town in the Old Colony. The Duxbury Church, the first congregation separate from that of Plymouth town, was formed between 1634 and 1636. Standish lived there the rest of his life, farming and raising cattle. This initial dispersal of the first, original settlement was highly controversial because it was seen as potentially diluting the religious and social solidarity of the colony. Standish and others, in response, sought ways during 1637 to merge the Plymouth and Duxbury settlers by moving both to better lands. Both churches, however, vetoed the proposal, which then spurred the settlers of Duxbury to officially incorporate as a town.

In 1638 Standish headed a committee of the General Court to lay out lands for Taunton, an act that confirmed the trend toward dispersal. The process of town formation on the Massachusetts Bay pattern continued to cause problems of social and political control, however. In October 1639 for instance, Standish and Thomas Prence, as assistants, heard and resolved disputes over the establishment of Sandwich, involving charges that liberal land grants had been made to reputed unsavory characters. The assistants insisted that legal inhabitants had to be approved by the minister and church of the new town. In 1645 Standish and others laid out Duxbury New Plantation, which became Bridgewater in 1656. Thus Standish played a prominent role, along with the leaders of the Bay Colony, in forming and developing New England's characteristic settlement pattern. He fell asleep in the Lord By the 1640s, Standish had relinquished his role as an active soldier and settled into a quieter life on his Duxbury farm. Although he was still nominally the commander of military forces in a growing Plymouth Colony, he seems to have preferred to act in an advisory capacity.

He died in his home in Duxbury in 1656 at age 72, survived by his wife and four sons. His estate was valued in excess of £350, including one of the best farms in the colony. Standish also left one of the largest and most diverse libraries in seventeenth-century English America. Although he supported and defended the Pilgrim colony for much of his life, there is no evidence to suggest that Standish ever subscribed to the Pilgrims' religious beliefs or joined their church. Nathaniel Morton wrote of his death, "This year [1656] Captain Myles Standish expired his mortal life. . . In his younger time he went over into the low countries, and was a soldier there, and came acquainted with the church at Leynden, and came over into New England, with such of them as at the first set out the plantation of New Plymouth, and bare a deep share of their first difficulties, and was always very faithful to their interest. He growing ancient, became sick of the stone, or stranguary, whereof, after his suffering of much dolorous pain, he fell asleep in the Lord, and was Honorably buried at Duxbury.

Standish’s last will and testament states even he had land in various parts of England. His will states: “I give unto my son & heir apparent Allexander Standish all my land as heire apparent by lawful Decent in Ormistick [Ormskirk], Borsconge [Burscough], Wrightington, Maudsley [Mawdesley], Newburrow [Newborough], Crawston [Croston] and the Ile of man [Isle of Man ] and given to me as right heire by lawful Decent but Surruptuously Detained from my great Grandfather being a second or younger brother from the house of Standosh [Standish] of Standish. March the 7th 1655 by me Standish.” These lands now make up the Lancashire towns of Chorley and Ormskirk. Discussion A lot of research has been done on the ancestry of Myles Standish, yet nothing conclusive on his parents has been found.

Those who believe he was from Lancashire point to the following evidence: Nathaniel Morton, writing in his 1669 book "New England's Memorial", states that Standish was from Lancashire; Myles Standish owned a book about the former head of the Rivington Grammar School in Lancashire; and Standish named his American residence "Duxbury," which may have been a reference to his ancestral home, Duxbury Hall, Lancashire. Those that believe he was from the Isle of Man point to the lands enumerated in his probate will that were "surreptitiously detained" from him (including lands on the Isle of Man itself); these lands all belonged at one time to Thomas Standish, of the branch of the Standish family from the Isle of Man. In September 2006, Jeremy D. Bangs supplied a very thorough and scholarly review of the evidence and controversy in "Myles Standish, Born Where?", Mayflower Quarterly 72:133-159. G.V.C. Young has suggested Myles Standish's great-grandfather was Huan Standish of the Isle of Man. However, more recent research has undermined this theory.

Thomas Morton of Merrymount, in his 1637 book "New England's Canaan", mentions that "Captain Shrimp" was bred a soldier in the Low Countries. The will of Myles Standish mentions numerous lands both in Lancashire and on the Isle of Man. The maiden names of Myles Standish's wives Rose and Barbara are not known. Rose died on 29 January 1620/1 at Plymouth, and wife Barbara arrived on the ship Anne in July 1623. There is absolutely no evidence at all to suggest Barbara's maiden name was Mullins, as is sometimes claimed, nor that either Rose or Barbara were his cousins as occasionally claimed. There is also no evidence to suggest Myles Standish pursued Priscilla Mullins, as depicted in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Courtship of Myles Standish". This poem was intentionally fictional and should be considered as such. Legacy Several towns and military installations have been named for Standish and monuments have been built in his memory. Chorley has a road and visitor centre in his honor.

The former Fort Standish, located on Lovell's Island, Massachusetts, was named in his honor, as well as the town of Standish, Maine. One of the best known depictions of Standish in popular culture was the 1858 book, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Highly fictionalized, the story presents Standish as a timid romantic. It was extremely popular in the 19th century and played a significant role in cementing the Pilgrim story in American culture. Sources and Further Reading Russell, L., Edna Waugh, and General Society. Mayflower families through five generations: descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass., December 1620 . Volume 14 Myles Standish. Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1997. Print. Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. and David Pulsifer, eds., "Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England" (12 vols., 1855-1861). Standish, Myles. The Standishes of America . Boston, MA: Priv. Print.

for the Author by S. Usher, 1895. Standish, Norman Weston. "Standish Lands in England," Mayflower Quarterly 52:109. Stratton, Eugene Aubrey. "Plymouth Colony: Its History & People, 1620-1691" (1986). Sumner, William Hyslop, "An Inquiry Into the Importance of the Militia to a Free Commonwealth: In a Letter from William H. Sumner ... to John Adams, Late President of the United States; with His Answer", Cummings and Hilliard, Boston, 1823 Wakefield, Robert S. "Mayflower Families for Five Generations: Myles Standish, volume 14" (Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1994). Winslow, Edward. "Good News From New England" (London: John Bellamie, 1624). Young, George V.C. "Myles Standish: First Manx American" (Isle of Man: Manx-Svenska, 1984). Young, George V.C.

"More on Pilgrim Myles Standish: First Manx American" (Isle of Man: Manx-Svenska, 1986). Young, George V.C. "Myles Standish was Born in Ellenbane" (Isle of Man: Manx-Svenska, 1988). Links Standish-Myles — MayflowerHistory.com Myles Standish BIRTH: Traditionally 1584, but something closer to 1587 seems more probable, probably in co. Lancashire, England. FIRST MARRIAGE: Rose, probably not long before 1619 or 1620, since they had no children yet. SECOND MARRIAGE: Barbara, sometime about 1623 at Plymouth. CHILDREN (by Barbara): Charles (died young), Alexander, John, Myles, Lora, Josias, and Charles. DEATH: 3 October 1656 at Duxbury. yDNA HAPLOGROUP: I-L38 This modern portrait of Myles Standish by Mike Haywood. It is based off a portrait that was purported to have been done in London in 1626.

Prints of this portrait can be obtained in the MayflowerHistory.com Store . Myles Standish's birthplace has been the subject of great debate. Those who believe he was from Lancashire point to the following evidence: Nathaniel Morton, writing in his 1669 book New England's Memorial, states that Standish was from Lancashire; Myles Standish owned a book about the former head of the Rivington Grammar School in Lancashire; and Standish named his American residence "Duxbury," which may have been a reference to his ancestral home, Duxbury Hall, Lancashire. Those that believe he was from the Isle of Man point to the lands enumerated in his probate will that were "surreptitiously detained" from him (including lands on the Isle of Man itself); these lands all belonged at one time to Thomas Standish, of the branch of the Standish family from the Isle of Man. In September 2006, Jeremy D. Bangs supplied a scholarly review of the evidence and controversy in "Myles Standish, Born Where?", Mayflower Quarterly 72:133-159.

Myles Standish is alleged to have joined Queen Elizabeth's army and attained the rank of Lieutenant, but the documentation for this claim was lost in the 1920s without having been published or transcribed, so may be suspect. In any case, Standish was certainly a part of Queen Elizabeth's army, and was stationed for a time in Holland where he eventually met and became well acquainted with John Robinson and the Pilgrims who were living in Leiden. Standish was hired by the Pilgrims to be their military captain, to establish and coordinate the Colony's defense against both foreign (French, Spanish, Dutch) and domestic (Native American) threats. This iron cooking pot is believed to have belonged to Myles Standish. It is on display at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth. Standish led or participated in all the early exploratory missions sent out to explore Cape Cod, and was heavily involved in selecting the site where the Pilgrims would settle. He was one of the few who did not get sick at all the first winter, and is recorded as having greatly helped and cared for those who were sick. He organized the deployment of the colony's cannons and the construction of the fort at Plymouth.

He led both trading expeditions and military expeditions to the various Indian groups in the region. He led the party that went in pursuit of the alleged killers of Squanto (who was later discovered to be safe). He led the revenge attacks on the Indians in the Massachusetts Bay after they were caught in a conspiracy planning to attack and destroy the Plymouth and Wessagussett colonies; several Indians were killed or executed, for which Standish received some criticism, even from his friends, for being too heavy-handed. Standish was heavily involved in numerous aspects of Plymouth Colony, from defense to keeping the law. He was on the receiving end of John Billington's verbal wrath in 1621 (Billington refused to follow the captain's orders), and was called a "silly boy" in a letter that was sent out during the Oldham-Lyford scandal of 1624, and was noted for his short stature and for his quick temper. He was sent to arrest Thomas Morton in 1628, for which he received the nickname "Captain Shrimp" from Morton. William Hubbard reported Standish's temper was like a "chimney soon fired". 17th century image of a man in armor with musket.

Myles Standish would have worn similar armor, clothing and used similar weapons to those seen here. Despite the heavy criticism by his enemies, Standish was well respected within the Plymouth Colony, and held a number of positions of authority. He made several trips to England to bring trading goods back and to negotiate with the Merchant Adventurers who had financially sponsored the joint-stock company that funded the Pilgrims' voyage. In the mid-1630s, Standish moved his family and helped found the town of Duxbury, which may have been named after his ancestral home. Standish was an heir to a fairly sizeable estate in Lancashire, but his lands were lost during the English Civil War, and neither he nor his son Alexander were ever able to legally regain control of the estate. Myles Standish's first wife Rose came with him on the Mayflower, and died the first winter. His second wife, Barbara, arrived on the ship Anne in 1623, and they were apparently married before the year was out. Nothing is known about either of his wives: there is absolutely no indication they were his cousins, as has sometimes been claimed.

Standish lived out his later years in Duxbury, dying in 1656 "after his suffering of much dolorous pain," apparently from kidney stones. The Courtship of Miles Standish The Courtship of Miles Standish Note: the following was written as a flannel board. The numbers signify the pieces that were on the board. For a puppet play, just ignore the numbers. This is a little play taken from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The characters are: Miles Standish (1) . He is a captain and a soldier. He sometimes wears his golden helmet (2) when he has on his captainï¿½s uniform. This is John Alden (3). He usually wears his Pilgrim hat (4) with the shiny brass buckle. Finally, there is Priscilla (5). She is a Puritan who often wears a starched white bonnet while going to church meetings (6). This is their story. ACT ONE: Announcer: Long, long time ago when America was young, there was a town called Plymouth. It was the land of the Pilgrims. They came across the sea on the famous ship called ï¿½The Mayflower.ï¿½ MS.

(1 & 2) Hello, I am Miles Standish - Captain of the Mayflower and famous soldier. I bring the Pilgrims safely across the ocean to the shores of America. I have fought may battles to keep them safe. Let me introduce you to my good friend and household companion, John Alden. JA. (3&4) Hello, I am John Alden. I am the youngest man on board the Mayflower. I work for Miles Standish. Whenever he need letters written, I am there to help him. We have became good friends. MS. Well, John, it is good to see you. I have a special request. Since my wife, Rose died, I have been lonely. I wish to marry the lovely young Puritan maiden, Priscilla. But I am a man of war not words. Will you ask her for me? After all your words are so poetic and elegant. JA. Oh Captain! Remember what you always taught me - ï¿½You must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others.ï¿½ MS. I know, John, but this is different.

I fear not being shot by a bullet, but I greatly fear being rejected by the young and beautiful, Priscilla. But she will never turn me down with your elegant words speaking for me. I ask you in the name of friendship. JA. Since the name of friendship is sacred, Iï¿½ll do as you ask. ACT TWO: PR. (5&6) Hello, Iï¿½m Priscilla, a Pilgrim who came across the sea on the Mayflower. I am very busy here in Plymouth spinning and going to Church Meetings. But, alas, I am very lonely. My dearest wish is that John Alden, the handsome young poet and writer, will take notice of me. Oh look, here he comes. JA. (3 ) Hello, fair Priscilla. I picked some May-flowers for you. I am here to ask you an important question from the brave and honorable Miles Standish. PR. And what, pray tell, is that, John Alden? JA. He wants to know if you will marry him. PR. What? You mean he didnï¿½t even take the time to come here and ask me himself? JA. Well, he is very busy.

But he is a good man, a true man. He is Captain of the Mayflower. PR. I donï¿½t care if heï¿½s Captain Kidd. If he doesnï¿½t care enough to ask me himself, then I donï¿½t care to marry him. JA. Oh, Iï¿½m so sorry. I didnï¿½t ask in the proper way. My words were too blunt. PR. Donï¿½t be sorry. Why donï¿½t you speak for yourself, John? JA. What? Why? Do you mean you would accept my proposal? PR. Thatï¿½s exactly what I mean.) ACT THREE: Priscilla left and went back to her cottage to do some spinning while John went back to the ship to find Miles Standish. MS. (1&2) I do believe that John is coming aboard the Mayflower. He was gone a long time. I hope he has good news. Hello, John, (3&4) Good news, I hope. JA. I fear the news is not good.

When I asked Priscilla for her hand for you , she refused saying, ï¿½Why donï¿½t you speak for yourself!ï¿½ MS. This is terribleï¿½just terrible news! I thought you were my friend, but you tricked me. JA. It wasnï¿½t like that at all. You must understand. MS. I understand only one thing. I understand that I never want to see you again! ACT FOUR: So Miles Standish left on the Mayflower. He was gone for weeks and fought in many battles. In the meantime Priscilla and John prepared for their wedding. PR.(5&6) I am so happy to marry, John. Heï¿½s nice and kind and his words are so beautiful. JA. (3) Oh, Priscilla, this is the happiest day of my life. Only one thing could make me happier. And that is, if my old friend, Miles Standish, would give us his blessing. PR. Why look, John. Look who is coming to our wedding! MS. (1) Oh, Priscilla and John, I am so glad I made it here before you wed.

Iï¿½ve been gone a long time, and suffered through many battles. Iï¿½ve learned one thing - that friendship is very important. More important than hurt feelings. Forgive me for being angry. JA. Let all be forgotten - all save our friendship! As the poem ends John and Priscilla were married. And as for Miles Standish - he remained a true friend to them both. Standish line - Captain Miles/Myles Standish of the Mayflower Standish line - Captain Miles/Myles Standish of the Mayflower Oldest Homes in Massachusetts Top Surnames John Standish (c.1805 - 1871) Photo, Ref.: , Johnsonburg Cemetery, Wyoming County NY, John Standish. 1850 & 1860 U.S. Census's, Sheldon, Wyoming County, NY, identify John Standish's occupation as "FARMER". "History of Wyoming C... history There is controversy on the ancestry of Captain Myles Standish of the Mayflower-- but we can at least try to clean up what we do know. We do not have Myles' parentage OR the town of his birth.

His first wife, Rose, doesn't have a maiden name -- some say she is the sister of his second wife, Barbara. Barbara's parentage is also unknown. Myles Standish (born circa 1584- 31 October 1656) married Rose married Barbara (NOT Mullens/Mullins. This error is discussed in her profile) had children: # Alexander Standish m. Sarah Alden AND m. Desire (Doty) Holmes # John # Myles m. Sarah Winslow # Lora (not married! died before her father; she is the one who made the crosstitch sampler) # Josiah (Captain) m. Mary Dingley AND m. Sarah Allen # Charles (who lived to adulthood) General Note For more information about Geni Projects, see the Geni Wiki Projects Page. If you would like to contribute to this page, please feel free to edit it. Click here for instructions about using Wiki markup language. Send a message to the Project Manager to join us and collaborate. The Geni Master Profile See Naming Conventions for notes on historical periods that may be within scope but not covered below.

Names Make sure the name fields of the Master Profiles include first name, middle name, last name, maiden name if known, otherwise blank, suffix for Sr., Jr., etc. In the display name field only add titles such as Gov. or Dr. preceding. For example FN Reuben MN (blank) LN Coffin MN (blank) Display name is Captain Reuben Coffin Media tab - Future releases of the Geni Project module will create a dynamic library of downloadable media for profiles associated with the Project. -- The media tab of the MP should be used for documentation files. Websites, biographies, census reports, image files -- the richer we make the profile, the more historically and genealogically accurate and meaningful it will be. Sources tab -- Adding a source validates the MP, and creates a "timeline" for each life represented by a profile. The more information we add, the more detailed and accurate. -- Original source data includes: birth certificates, census reports, immigration records, ship rosters, obituaries, marriage licenses .... Works Cited For more about sources, please see: Sources - Citation data (MLA format is good) should be noted for each source. If someone else can't replicate research, it's not acceptable.

- Instant citation makers on line: Longfellow: The Courtship of Miles Standish, The Courtship of Miles Standish The Courtship of Miles Standish The Courtship of Miles Standish 1858 In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims, To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling, Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather, Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain. Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and pausing Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare, Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber,-- Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus, Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence, While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and matchlock. Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic, Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron; Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.

Near him was seated John Alden, his friend, and household companion, Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window; Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion, Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the captives Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels." Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower. Suddenly breaking the silence, the diligent scribe interrupting, Spake, in the pride of his heart, Miles Standish the Captain of Plymouth. "Look at these arms," he said, "the warlike weapons that hang here Burnished and bright and clean, as if for parade or inspection! This is the sword of Damascus I fought with in Flanders; this breastplate, Well I remember the day! once saved my life in a skirmish; Here in front you can see the very dint of the bullet Fired point-blank at my heart by a Spanish arcabucero.

Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles Standish Would at this moment be mould, in their grave in the Flemish morasses." Thereupon answered John Alden, but looked not up from his writing: "Truly the breath of the Lord hath slackened the speed of the bullet; He in his mercy preserved you, to be our shield and our weapon!" Still the Captain continued, unheeding the words of the stripling: "See, how bright they are burnished, as if in an arsenal hanging; That is because I have done it myself, and not left it to others. Serve yourself, would you be well served, is an excellent adage; So I take care of my arms, as you of your pens and your inkhorn. Then, too, there are my soldiers, my great, invincible army, Twelve men, all equipped, having each his rest and his matchlock, Eighteen shillings a month, together with diet and pillage, And, like Caesar, I know the name of each of my soldiers!" This he said with a smile, that danced in his eyes, as the sunbeams Dance on the waves of the sea, and vanish again in a moment.

Alden laughed as he wrote, and still the Captain continued: "Look! you can see from this window my brazen howitzer planted High on the roof of the church, a preacher who speaks to the purpose, Steady, straight-forward, and strong, with irresistible logic, Orthodox, flashing conviction right into the hearts of the heathen. Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the Indians; Let them come, if they like, and the sooner they try it the better,-- Let them come if they like, be it sagamore, sachem, or pow-wow, Aspinet, Samoset, Corbitant, Squanto, or Tokamahamon!" Long at the window he stood, and wistfully gazed on the landscape, Washed with a cold gray mist, the vapory breath of the east-wind, Forest and meadow and hill, and the steel-blue rim of the ocean, Lying silent and sad, in the afternoon shadows and sunshine.

Over his countenance flitted a shadow like those on the landscape, Gloom intermingled with light; and his voice was subdued with emotion, Tenderness, pity, regret, as after a pause he proceeded: "Yonder there, on the hill by the sea, lies buried Rose Standish; Beautiful rose of love, that bloomed for me by the wayside! She was the first to die of all who came in the Mayflower! Green above her is growing the field of wheat we have sown there, Better to hide from the Indian scouts the graves of our people, Lest they should count them and see how many already have perished!" Sadly his face he averted, and strode up and down, and was thoughtful. Fixed to the opposite wall was a shelf of books, and among them Prominent three, distinguished alike for bulk and for binding; Bariffe's Artillery Guide, and the Commentaries of Caesar, Out of the Latin translated by Arthur Goldinge of London, And, as if guarded by these, between them was standing the Bible.

Musing a moment before them, Miles Standish paused, as if doubtful Which of the three he should choose for his consolation and comfort, Whether the wars of the Hebrews, the famous campaigns of the Romans, Or the Artillery practice, designed for belligerent Christians. Finally down from its shelf he dragged the ponderous Roman, Seated himself at the window, and opened the book, and in silence Turned o'er the well-worn leaves, where thumb-marks thick on the margin, Like the trample of feet, proclaimed the battle was hottest. Nothing was heard in the room but the hurrying pen of the stripling, Busily writing epistles important, to go by the Mayflower, Ready to sail on the morrow, or next day at latest, God willing! Homeward bound with the tidings of all that terrible winter, Letters written by Alden, and full of the name of Priscilla, Full of the name and the fame of the Puritan maiden Priscilla!

Myles Standish (c1584-1656) | Familypedia | Fandom powered by Wikia [ show ] Myles Standish (aka: Miles Standish) was an English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony . One of the Mayflower passengers, Standish played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony from its inception. On February 17, 1621, the Plymouth Colony militia elected him as its first commander and continued to re-elect him to that position for the remainder of his life. Standish served as an agent of Plymouth Colony in England, as assistant governor, and as treasurer of Plymouth Colony. He was also one of the first settlers and founders of the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts . Standish is often remembered for his bravery in battle and his reputation as the military captain of the Pilgrims, as well as a character in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's fictitious poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish".

Vital Statistics 1641 (?) Move to Duxbury MA 1656-Oct-3 : Died at Duxbury, MA Biography An English military officer hired by the Pilgrims as military advisor for Plymouth Colony. Arriving on the Mayflower, he worked on colonial defense. On February 17, 1621, he was appointed the first commander of Plymouth Colony. Later, he served as Plymouth's representative in England, and served as assistant governor and as the colony's treasurer. He was also one of the founders of the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts (named after his ancestral seat at Duxbury Woods, Chorley) in 1632. Voyage of the Mayflower Mayflower at Provincetown Harbor The Mayflower , originating from London with a group of Adventurers bound for the New World rendezvoused on 22 July with the Speedwell just arriving from Holland with a group of religious refugees from Leiden . Originally intended to sail jointly to the English Colony in Virginia it soon became evident that Speedwell was not seaworthy. Passengers and cargo were combined onto Mayflower (with many left behind) for the journey, finally departing on September 9.

During the voyage fierce storms blew the ship off course, arriving at Cape Cod on the Eastern Massachusetts coastline on November 9th. For two days they attempted to sail south to Virginia but exhausting supplies and fierce storms caused them to abort this effort and drop anchor at what is now Provincetown Harbor . On November 11th, the group decided to settle here and start their own colony. They wrote a governmental contract called the Mayflower Compact , Myles was the 6th of the 41 signers on this document. Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899 About the middle of December 1620, the ship moved and dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor. All the while the pilgrims were conducting several exploring missions of the area and negotiations with the local natives. Almost half of the passengers died, suffering from an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. In the spring, they built huts ashore, and on March 21, 1621, the surviving passengers disembarked from the Mayflower into their new settlement at Plymouth, Massachusetts .

Plymouth Colony After the disembarkation at Plymouth, Standish was elected military commander of the colony by the leadership of the Pilgrims, with Lieutenant William Holmes as his second in command, both to be paid 20 pounds sterling in corn or beaver pelts Soon after their arrival at Plymouth, illness struck the Pilgrims. This epidemic took the life of Standish's wife Rose, on January 29, 1621. In 1623, a woman named Barbara came to Plymouth on the ship Anne; Standish married her that same year. Myles and Barbara had seven children: Charles (died young), Alexander (who married Sarah Alden, daughter of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins), John, Myles, Loara, Josiah, and Charles During the winter epidemic of 1620-21, Standish was one of seven who did not become ill. William Bradford quoted: But that was most sad and lamentable was, that in two or three months’ time half of their company died, especially in January and February....

So as their death, some times two or three of a day in the foresaid time, that 100 and odd persons, scarce fifty remained. And of these, in the time of most distress, there was but six or seven sound persons who to their great commendation, be it spoken, spared no pains night or day, but with abundance of toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood, made them fires, dressed their meat, made their beds, washed their clothes clothed and unclothed them… Two of these seven were Mr. William Brewster, their reverend Elder, and Myles Standish, their captain and military commander, unto whom myself and many others were much beholden in our low and sick condition. Standish was quick to make friends with the natives, including one named Hobomok. In the second year at Plymouth, Standish led a force to Wessagusett to save the settlement from native attack. Responding to reports of a military threat to the colony, Myles Standish organized a militia to defend Wessagussett. However, while he found that there had been no attack, he did find evidence that one was planned. He therefore decided on a preemptive strike.

Unfortunately, while Standish returned to Plymouth a hero after the raid, the impact of his attack had larger implications. Edward Winslow quoted in Good News From New England about this incident: Also Pecksuot, being a man of great stature than the Captain, told him, though he were a great Captain, yet he was but a little man; and said he, thought I be no sachem, yet I am a man of great strength and courage. These things the Captain observed, yet bare with patience for the present. . . On the next day he began himself with Pecksuot, and snatching his [Pecksuot's] knife from his neck, though with much struggling, killed him therewith. . . Hmobbamock stood by all this as a spectator, and meddled not observing how our men demeaned themselves in this action. All being here ended, smiling, he brake forth into these speeches to the Captain: Yesterday Pecksuot, bragging of his own strength and stature, said, though you were a great captain, yet you were but a little man; but today I see you are big enough to lay him on the ground.

Word quickly spread among the Native American tribes of Standish's attack; many Native Americans abandoned their villages and fled the area. Edward Winslow, in his 1624 memoirs Good News from New England, reports that "they forsook their houses, running to and fro like men distracted, living in swamps and other desert places, and so brought manifold diseases amongst themselves, whereof very many are dead". Now lacking the trade in furs provided by the local tribes, the Pilgrims lost their main source of income for paying off their debts to the Merchant Adventurers. Rather than strengthening their position, Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, a fact noted by William Bradford, who in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers noted "[W]e had much damaged our trade, for there where we had [the] most skins the Indians are run away from their habitations..." However, one positive effect of Standish's raid was the increased power of the Massasoit-led Wampanoag, the Pilgrims' closest ally in the region.

Duxbury, Massachussetts Standish was also, from 1644 to 1649, the treasurer of the town of Duxbury, which was named after the original Standish estate in Chorley, England. Standish had never joined the Plymouth church (though he attended every Sunday), and to his death supposedly never did. This was possibly because of the constant conflict over religious beliefs in his family. Standish died in Duxbury, Massachusetts on October 3, 1656. Nathaniel Morton wrote of his death: This year [1656] Captain Myles Standish expired his mortal life. . . .In his younger time he went over into the low countries, and was a soldier there, and came acquainted with the church at Leynden, and came over into New England, with such of them as at the first set out the plantation of New Plymouth, and bare a deep share of their first difficulties, and was always very faithful to their interest. He growing ancient, became sick of the stone, or stranguary, whereof, after his suffering of much dolorous pain, he fell asleep in the Lord, and was Honorably buried at Duxbury.

Honorably Buried references military honors given for a prominent citizen. Standish’s last will and testimony states even though leaving his family in England that he had land in various parts of England. His will states: “9 I give unto my son & heir apparent Allexander Standish all my land as heire apparent by lawful Decent in Ormistick [Ormskirk], Borsconge [Burscough], Wrightington, Maudsley [Mawdesley], Newburrow [Newborough], Crawston [Croston] and the Ile of man [ Isle of Man ] and given to me as right heire by lawful Decent but Surruptuously Detained from my great Grandfather being a second or younger brother from the house of Standosh [Standish] of Standish. March the 7th 1655 by me Standish.” These lands now make up the Lancashire towns of Chorley and Ormskirk. Myles Standish was the deputy governor. He was likely buried in Miles Standish Burial Ground.

Ancestry of Miles Standish A lot of research has been done on the ancestry of Myles Standish, yet nothing conclusive on his parents have been found. G.V.C. Young has suggested Myles Standish's great-grandfather was Huan Standish of the Isle of Man. However, recent research has tended to undermine this conclusion, and new discoveries are currently being made which could very well disprove the Isle of Man origins altogether. Thomas Morton of Merrymount, in his 1637 book New England's Canaan, mentions that "Captain Shrimp" was bred a soldier in the Low Countries, and Nathaniel Morton wrote in 1669 that Standish was from Lancashire. The will of Myles Standish mentions numerous lands both in Lancashire and on the Isle of Man. The maiden names of Myles Standish's wives Rose and Barbara are not known. Rose died on 29 January 1620/1 at Plymouth, and wife Barbara arrived on the ship Anne in July 1623. By the time of the 1623 Division of Land, Myles and Barbara were already married.

This probably suggests a marriage arranged by Standish, to a Barbara he either knew from home or from his stay in Leyden. There is absolutely no evidence at all to suggest Barbara's maiden name was Mullins, as is sometimes claimed, nor that either Rose or Barbara were his cousins as occasionally claimed. Marriages & Family Courtship of Myles Standish The Courtship of Miles Standish The story of their courtship has been romanticized for all time in the story of The Courtship of Miles Standish written in poem by their descendant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) . The colony's military leader, Myles Standish (c1584-1656), desired the hand of Priscilla in marriage, but being to shy to speak himself, employed John as a go-between. However, Priscilla fell in love with John.

Set against the backdrop of a fierce Indian war, the tale focuses on a love triangle among three Pilgrims: Myles Standish (c1584-1656), Priscilla Mullins (1602-1680) , and John Alden (c1599-1687) . Longfellow claimed the story was true, but the historical evidence is inconclusive. Nevertheless, the ballad was very popular in nineteenth-century America, immortalizing the Mayflower Pilgrims. 1st Marriage: Rose Handley Rose Handley by about 1618. She died on January 29, 1621. She was buried in an unmarked grave at Coles Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth as were many others who died the first winter. She is named on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb on Cole's Hill as "Rose, first wife of Myles Standish". The epidemic of 1620/1621 took the life of Standish's wife Rose, on January 29, 1621. 2nd Marriage: Barbara Handley? Barbara _______ by about 1624.

Per Banks, she had come to Plymouth in 1623 on either the 'Anne' or 'Little James', and they were married the following spring. In the past, historians have suggested that she may have been a sister of Standish's first wife, Rose, and that he specifically sent for her. They had seven children. She died after October 6, 1659 and her burial place is unknown. In 1623, a woman named Barbara came to Plymouth on the ship Anne; Standish married her that same year. Myles and Barbara had seven children: Charles Standish (1624-bef1635) - was born in 1624. He died between May 22, 1627 and 1635. Alexander Standish (1627-1702) - He was buried in Myles Standish Burying Ground in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Alexander married first: Sarah Alden (1627-1674) by about 1660 and had eight children. She died before June 13, 1688.

Her parents were Mayflower passengers John Alden (c1599-1687) and Priscilla Mullins (1602-1680) , subjects of the famous Longfellow courtship poem. Second, he married Desire (Doty) (Sherman) Holmes by 1689 and had three children. She died in Marshfield on January 22, 1731. Her father was Mayflower passenger Edward Doty (1685-1717) . John Standish (1627-) - born about 1627. No further record. Myles Standish (1629-1661) - was born about 1629 and died at sea after March 20, 1661. His body was lost at sea. Myles married Sarah Winslow in Boston on July 19, 1660, but there is no record of children. Lora Standish (1631-1655) - Loara (Lora) was born about 1631 and died by March 7, 1655/6.

Unmarried. Josiah Standish (1633-1690) - was born about 1633 and died in Preston CT on March 19, 1690. He was historically known as Capt. Josiah Standish, leader of the Plymouth Colony militia during King James War. Charles Standish (1635-aft1656) - was born by about 1635. He was still living on March 7, 1655/6. No further record Children

Question: Miles Standish was the captain of which famous ship?
Answer: Mayflower