John Billington (abt. 1580 - 1630)

Born about 1580 in Spalding, Lincolnshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Elinor (Unknown) Armstrong — married about 1604 (to 1630) in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died Sep 1630 at about age 50 in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, New England

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John Billington was a passenger on the Mayflower. Join: Mayflower Project Discuss: mayflower

Biography

John Billington was perhaps the most infamous of the Mayflower passengers. He was among the "strangers" who joined the Mayflower in London,^[1] and Bradford professed complete ignorance as to how such a "vile" man came to be aboard the Mayflower. Bradford said of Billington that "he and some of his had often been punished for miscarriages, being one of the profanest families amongst them. They came from London and I know not by what friends they shuffled into their company."^[2]

His claim to fame is as the first Englishman to be convicted and hanged for murder. To be fair, most of what is known comes from the writings of William Bradford who had a personal animosity towards John Billington. We have at least one account of John Billington that suggests he was not the "knave" that Bradford makes him out to be. Thomas Morton of Merrymount wrote in 1637, "[Billington] that was choaked at Plimmouth after hee had played the unhappy Markes man when hee was purfued by a carelesse fellow that was new come into the Land ... Hee was beloved of many."^[3]

Beginnings

Name: John Billington of Plymouth, Plymouth Colony. Mayflower passenger.^[4]

Origins:His exact parentage and English origins are unknown though, as a Mayflower passenger, it is still under much active research. It is likely they came from around Cowbit and Spaulding, in Lincolnshire, England where a Francis Longland named young Francis Billington son of John Billington, and Francis Newton son of Robert Newton as his heirs. In 1650, a survey indicated that Francis Billington was then in New England. Preliminary research by Leslie Mahler seems to indicate that Francis Newton is a nephew of Francis Longland. It is speculated that Francis Billington is also a nephew (and his mother Eleanor a sister) of Francis Longland.^[5] This is, however, still very much unproven. For more detail see Clues to English Origins.

Born: About 1580.^[6] The date is a rough estimate based on his estimated marriage date of about 1603. Anderson uses a slightly later date, but this is because he also for unknown reasons chose a later marriage date.

Marriage and Children

Married: Elinor Unknown about 1603.^[6] The maiden name of his wife Eleanor is not known with certainty. As was common at the time, her name is found in the Plymouth records as Elin, Ellen, Helen, Hellen, Elinor and Eleanor. There is good reason to believe that she could be Elinor Longland, sister of Francis Longland of Welby, Lincolnshire, but this is not accepted as proven.^[5]

Children of John and Elinor Billington:^[6]

1. John Billington. Born about 1604 (based on younger brother's birth date). He died between 22 May 1627 and September 1630.
2. Francis Billington. Born about 1606 (aged 68 in 1674). He married Christian Penn, widow of Francis Eaton, in July 1634 in Plymouth, and had nine children. He died 3 December 1684 in Middleborough, Plymouth Colony.

Mayflower Passenger

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall, 1882.

After a couple of false starts the Mayflower left Plymouth, England on 6 September 1620 for what was originally planned to be a journey to Virginia. Onboard were 102 passengers, including John Billington a "stranger" to the Leiden puritans. He boarded the ship in London. The historic voyage took 66 days, and on 9 November 1620, the Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod (well off-course). A decision was made, however, to remain at Cape Cod for safety rather than attempt to sail south to the area they were supposed to settle by the terms of their patent.

Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1899.

Immediately upon arrival some dissension broke out among the colonists. Since they were not settling in the area specified by their patent, some colonists felt they were no longer bound by the laws of England and the terms of the patent. An agreement was drawn up to help establish law, government and social order. The Mayflower Compact was signed while the Mayflower was anchored at Cape Cod (Provincetown Harbor) on 11 November 1620. It was signed by all free adult males and some, but not all, of the servants. John Billington was among the 41 signers of the compact.^[7][8] For more on the trip across the Atlantic, see the WikiTree space The Voyage of the Mayflower.

Plymouth

John Billington received three acres of land in the 1623 land inventory. Since each passenger recieved an acre apiece, this implies that one of the sons was living in a different family unit and received his acre as part of that group. In the 1627 cattle division, John Billington Sr, Hellen Billington and Francis Billington were part of the seventh company, John Billington Jr. was part of the Richard Warren and George Soule group^[9]

Problems with Authority

John Billington and his family were considered troublemakers by the leaders of the Plymouth Colony. The first incident of note was in December 1620 when his son fired a gun near an open barrel of gunpowder and starting a fire on board the Mayflower. This put the entire ship in danger, “and yet, by God's mercy, no harm done."^[10] Plymouth records then record, "the first offence since our arrival is of John Billington who came on board at London, and is this month [March 1621] convented before the whole company for his contempt of the captain's lawful command with opprobrious speeches, for which he is adjudged to have his neck and heels tied together; but upon humbling himself and craving pardon, and it being the first offence, he is forgiven."^[11] In 1624, he was implicated in the Oldham-Lyford revolt, though he was able to avoid punishment by pleading ignorance. Governor William Bradford writing to Mr. Cushman in June 1625 said about him, "Billington still rails against you, and threatens to arrest you, I know not wherefore; he is a knave, and so will live and die."^[12]

The Lyford and Oldham Revolt

In 1624, John Billington was implicated in the Oldham-Lyford revolt against the Plymouth church and its leadership. Lyford was a preacher who disagreed with the religious teachings of Plymouth's leadership. Lyford and Oldham began having secret meetings and sent letters to England trying to undermine the leadership of the colonies. The plot was undone when these letters were intercepted by William Bradford. At his trial, Lyford tried to gain the open support of those who were with him and named among many others John Billington. However, Billington denied all involvement and pleaded ignorance and so escaped punishment for any involvement he may have had.^[13]

Execution

In 1630, John Billington shot and killed John Newcomen in a dispute perhaps over hunting rights. He “was arraigned, and both by grand and petty jury found guilty of wilful murder, by plain and notorious evidence.” In September 1630, John Billington was hanged for murder and so became the first Englishman executed in America.^[14]

Clues to English Origins

John Billington almost certainly originated from the area around Cowbit and Spaulding, in Lincolnshire, England. The evidence for this is that his son Francis was likely a nephew of Francis Longland of Welby, with his wife possibly being a sister of Francis Longland.

In 1612, Francis Longland was granted a "three-life lease" for land in the manor of Spalding in Lincolnshire. The other two individuals named in the lease were Francis Billington son of John Billington, and Francis Newton son of Robert Newton.^[15] In a 1650 survey of the manor, it was noted that Francis Billington was living in New England and was aged about 40 years old.^[16] So it is certain that the Francis Billington named in the lease was the Mayflower passenger. The question then is, how is Francis Billington related to Francis Longland?

Francis Longland has been shown to be a son of John and Mary Longland of Welby. Mary Longland in a will dated August 20, 1613 names her son Francis Longland and a daughter Katherine Newton. It seems likely then that the Francis Newton named in the lease was a son of Katherine Newton and a nephew of Francis Longland. It is also likely then that Francis Billington was another nephew of Francis Longland, and that Francis Billington's mother was another sister of Francis Longland. However, despite extensive searching of parish records and wills in Lincolnshire, these relationships have not been confirmed.

Research Notes

DNA

Y-DNA results R1b-BY14737^[17]

Previous Testing The Mayflower DNA Project lists two patrilineal (all male line) descendants of John Billington. Neither of these individuals currently have any Y-SNP results. One individual has tested 111 Y-STRs. FTDNA has only predicted where the family falls under the R-M269 Haplogroup. Plugging in the 111 Y-STRs in the Nevgen Y-DNA Haplogroup Predictor gives a prediction falling somewhere below R1b-U106>>Z381>>L48>>Z8>>Z12>Z8175>CTS10742. Next Generation Sequence/Whole Genome Sequence testing NGS/WGS testing of patrilineal (all male-line) descendants of Francis (& John) Billington would further refine the haplogroup assignment for this family. As of May 21, 2021 one Big Y-700 test result has been posted to the Mayflower DNA web site. This result came back with a subclade of CTS10742, BY14508>BY145737. Further testing of Billington patrilineal descendants would possibly define subclade branches of the Billington family.

Sources

1. ↑ Johnson, Caleb. "New Light on William Bradford's Passenger List of the Mayflower." The American Genealogist 80:94- (2005) Link at AmericanAncestors ($)
2. ↑ Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856) p. 277
3. ↑ Thomas Morton, The New English Canaan of Thomas Morton. (Boston: Prince Society, 1883), p. 216. Read also footnote #1 on page 217.
4. ↑ Anderson. The Great Migration Begins, vol. 1: A - F. (1995): pages 173-176, bio. of John Billington.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Whiston, R. N. "Francis Billington and Lincolnshire." New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 124 no. 2 (April 1970): pages 116-118. AmericanAncestors.org link.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Arthaud, John Bradley. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations. Volume Twenty-one. Family of John Billington. Harriet W. Hodge (original compiler), Robert S. Wakefield (Revised 2001). (Boston: General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2014.) pp 1-6
7. ↑ Prince, Thomas. A Chronological History of New England in the form of annals ... (Cummings, Hilliard and Co., 1736) Vol 1 pp 83-86, list pp 85-86
8. ↑ https://archive.org/details/newenglandsmemor00m/page/26/mode/1up
9. ↑ Pulsifer, David (editor). Records of the colony of New Plymouth, in New England; printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by New Plymouth Colony. Vol. 12 (1861) Deeds, &c. Vol. 1 1620-1651 & Book of Indian Records for their lands. (Boston: Press of William White 1861) 1623 land division p. 4 p. 11 p. 12
10. ↑ Cheever, George Barrell [Mourt, G., pseud.]; . The journal of the pilgrims at Plymouth, in New England, in 1620; reprinted from the original volume, with historical and local illustrations of providences, principles and persons. Original Volume published 1622. (New York: Wiley, 1848) p. 41
11. ↑ Cheever: Journal p. 331
12. ↑ Bowman. Governor William Bradford's Letter Book. (1906): page 13.
13. ↑ Bradford: History of Plymouth Plantation. Covered on pages 157-196. Mention of Billington is on p. 181
14. ↑ Bradford: History of Plymouth Plantation. p. 276
15. ↑ The term of a three-life lease lasted until all three of the named lessees died. Typically, the primary lease holder would name two of his children or other young relatives with the hope that the lease would remain in effect for many years.
16. ↑ NEHGR, vol. 124 (1970): pages 116-118. "Francis Billington and Lincolnshire,"
17. ↑ MayflowerDNA.org wiki for John Billington

See also:

• Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, vol. 1: A - F. (Boston: NEHGS, 1995): pages 173-176, biography of John Billington. AmericanAncestors.org link. See also Pilgrim Migration.
• Anderson, Robert Charles. The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004). Free at AmericanAncestors
• Arthaud, John Bradley. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations. Volume Twenty-one. Family of John Billington. Harriet W. Hodge (original compiler), Robert S. Wakefield (Revised 2001). (Boston: General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2014.)
• Bowman, George Ernest ed. Governor William Bradford's Letter Book. (Boston, 1906; rpt. from Mayflower Descendant, 1904-1906). Archive.org link.
• Bradford, William and Samuel Eliot Morison ed. Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647. (New York, 1952).
• Bradford, William and Worthington Chauncey Ford. History of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647. (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1912). Archive.org link.
• Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856) p. 449 "John Billinton, and Elen, his wife; and 2. Sones, John & Francis." p. 453 "John Billinton, after he had bene here 10. yers, was executed for killing a man; and his eldest sone dyed before him; but his 2. Sone is alive, and maried, & hath 8. children."
• Bradford, William, 1590-1657. Of Plimoth Plantation: manuscript, 1630-1650. State Library of Massachusetts "List of Mayflower Passengers." In Bradford's Hand.
• Hodge, Harriet W. and Robert S. Wakefield. Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, vol. 21: John Billington. (2001). AmericanAncestors.org link.
• Johnson, Caleb. The American Genealogist, vol. 80 (2005): pages 94-99. "New Light on William¹ Bradford's Passenger List of the Mayflower," AmericanAncestors.org link.
• Johnson, Caleb H. The Mayflower and Her Passengers. (Caleb H. Johnson, 2006) pp 73-79.
• Caleb Johnson's MayflowerHistory.com website, biography of John Billington.
• McGuyre, Ruth C., Robert McGuyre, Robert S. Wakefield, and Harriet W. Hodge, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, vol. 5: Edward Winslow and John Billington. (1997).
• Morton, Thomas. The New English Canaan of Thomas Morton. (Boston: Prince Society, 1883), p. 216.
• Whiston, R. N. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 124 no. 2 (April 1970): pages 116-118. "Francis Billington and Lincolnshire,". AmericanAncestors.org link.
• MayflowerDNA.org wiki and Billington family

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