Christopher Martin (abt. 1582 - 1621)

Born about 1582 in Billerica, Essex, England [uncertain]

Husband of Marie (Unknown) Martin — married 26 Feb 1607 in Billerica, Essex, England

Died 8 Jan 1621 at about age 39 in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony

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Biography

Christopher Martin^[1] was born about 1582, based on date of marriage, probably in Billerica (Great Burstead), Essex, England.

He married in Great Burstead, Essex, 26 Feb 1606/7 Mary (____) Prowe[r], widow of _____ Prowe[r].^{[2][3] [4]}

He refused to kneel at holy communion at Easter, 1612 [Martin Bio 10]. On 3 March 1619/20 Christopher Martin of Billericay was cited for "suffering his son to answer me... that his father gave him his name." [NEHGR 21:77, citing Archdeaconry Court at Chelmsford [England]]

He was a merchant, and travelled to New England in 1620 on the Mayflower.

"As a stranger to the Leiden company, Christopher Martin, stated by Bradford to be 'from Billerica in Essex,' was chosen as the 'treasurer agent' for the Mayflower and Speedwell and proided suppliesin a very overbearing and brash manner. [See Bradford 44]

Christopher signed the Mayflower Compact 11 Nov 1620.^[5]

He died at Plymouth 8 January 1620/21 ("Saturday the 6th of January [1620/1] Master Marten as very sick, and, to our judgment, no hope of life. So Master Carver was sent for to come aboard to speak with him about his accounts; who came the next morning." [Mourt 43-44] "January 8 this day dies Mr. Christopher Martin" [Prince 182]. Marie also died in Plymouth the first winter.

Child

1. Nathaniel, bp Great Burstead 26 Feb 1609/10; apparently alive at Great Burstead in 1620.

Mayflower, First Sickness and Cole's Hill Burial Ground

Research notes

• Unsourced Parents removed Simon Martin and Phoebe Matson
• Unsourced Birth: removed. 11 Aug 1575 Billerica, Essex, England

Sources

1. ↑ unless otherwise notice, facts in the biography are from Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins..., Boston, MA: NEHGS (1995), pp 1224-1225
2. ↑ Caleb Johnson's Mayflower History.com "Christopher Martyn singlm and Marie Prowe wid ware maryed the 26th day." Contains image of marriage record.
3. ↑ Johnson, Caleb H. "Solomon Prower: New Information on a Little-Known Mayflower Passenger" The Mayflower Quarterly 76:242, 243 Sep 2010. Cites the parish registers of Great Burstead.
4. ↑ By subscription Great Burstead parish register image 37 D/P 139/1/0 (image att)
5. ↑ Morton, Nathaniel. New England's memorial. (Boston: Congregational board of publication, 1855) Originally published 1669.p. 26 Note: The original compact is gone. Morton furnished the earliest known list 1669 facsimile

See also:

• His signature was found on the will of Henry Weeler, weaver of Billericay, probate 7 July 1608, Commissary of the Bishop of London, Essex Records Office reference D/ABW 41/104. Copy published in the Mayflower Quarterly Sept 2010 p 209 Essex Records Office
• Wikipedia's article on Christopher Martin
• Caleb Johnson's page on Christopher Martin
• R.J. Carpenter, "Christopher Martin, Great Burstead and the Mayflower," (pamphlet) Chelmsford, Essex (1982)
• Banks, Charles Edward, 1854-1931. The English Ancestry And Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers Who Came to Plymouth On the "Mayflower" In 1620, the "Fortune" In 1621, And the "Anne" And the "Little James" In 1623. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1962. p. 70
• Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856) p. 448 "Mr. Christopher Martin, and his wife, and 2 servants, Salomon Prower and John Langemore." p. 452 "Mr. Martin, he & all his, dyed in the first infection not long after the arivall."
• Bradford, William, 1590-1657. Of Plimoth Plantation: manuscript, 1630-1650. State Library of Massachusetts "List of Mayflower Passengers." In Bradford's Hand.
• Mayflower Society - Passengers Who Died With No Known Descent