Henry Samson,"Mayflower" Passenger

Henry Samson was born in Henlow, Bedford, England, and came on the Mayflower at the age of about 17 with his uncle & aunt, Edward and Ann(Cooper) Tilley.

He married Ann Plummer in 1635/36 at Plymouth, became a freeman in Plymouth around that time, and volunteered for service in the Pequot War of 1637, but Plymouth's company was not called into service. By 1643 he had moved to Duxbury, where he became constable in 1661, and tax collector for 1667 and 1668. He was on a large number of juries and grand juries, and was appointed a surveyor on a couple of occasions. His wife died between 1668 and 1684: Henry died in 1684 at Duxbury.

Henry Samson married Ann Plummer at Plymouth on 6 February 1635. The couple moved to nearby Duxbury where he became a person of standing in the community. Henry died 24 December 1684 at Duxbury. His will and inventory of his estate are on record at Plymouth.

Henry Samson and Ann Plummer had nine children, but descent has been proven through only seven of them: Stephen, James, Caleb, Elizabeth, Hannah, Dorcas, and a daughter (name unknown) who married John Hanmer.

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Links

• http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/HenrySamson.php
• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~allfam/notes/henrysamson289...
• http://www.pilgrimhenrysamsonkindred.org/genealogy_children_samson_...
• The Giles Memorial.

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HENRY SAMPSON IN THE 17TH CENTURY RECORDS:

Henry Sampson: Mayflower passenger

The names of those which came over first, in the year 1620, and were by the blessing of God the first beginners and in a sort the foundation of all the Plantations and Colonies in New England: and their families....

"Edward Tilley and Ann his wife,and two children that were their cousins, Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper"

William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647.ed.

Samuel Eliot Morison(New York: Knopf, 1991). p.442

Henry Sampson & the 1623 Division of Land. Recorded in the handwriting of Governor William Bradford. The lands of " Henerie Samson" were among those designated as "their grounds which came first over in the May Floure, according as their lotes were case" and described this way "these lye one the north side of the towne nexte adjoyning to their gardens which came in the Fortune."---Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 12, p 5

--Henry Sampson: A 1626 "Purchaser"

Henry Sampson: 1650

"And seeing it hath pleased Him to give me(William Bradford) to see thirty years completed since these beginnings, and that the great works of His providence are to be observed, I have thought it not unworthy my pains to take a view of the decreasings and increasings of these persons and such changes as hath passed over them and theirs in the thirty years....

"Edward Tilley and his wife both died soon after their arrival, and the girl Humility, their cousin, was sent for into England and died there. But the youth Henry Sampson is still living and is married and hath seven children"

William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647,ed.

This is an"old style" date. According to the modern calandar, his date of death would be January 3, 1685

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In 1620 Henry Samson came to Massachusetts on the Mayflower with his relstives Edward and Anne Tilley and Humility Cooper.

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He came on the Mayflower at the age of about 17 with his uncle and aunt, Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley. He married Ann Plummer in 1635/6 at Plymouth, became a freeman in Plymouth around that time, and volunteered for service in the Pequot War of 1637, but Plymouth's company was not called into service. By 1643 he had moved to Duxbury, where he became constable in 1661, and tax collector for 1667 and 1668. He was on a large number of juries and grand juries, and was appointed a surveyor on a couple of occasions. His wife died sometime between 1668 and 1684; he died in 1684 at Duxbury.

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Henry Samson was born in Henlow, Bedford, England, and came on the Mayflower at the age of about 17 with his uncle and aunt, Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley. He married Ann Plummer in 1635/6 at Plymouth, became a freeman in Plymouth around that time, and volunteered for service in the Pequot War of 1637, but Plymouth's company was not called into service. By 1643 he had moved to Duxbury, where he became constable in 1661, and tax collector for 1667 and 1668. He was on a large number of juries and grand juries, and was appointed a surveyor on a couple of occasions. His wife died sometime between 1668 and 1684; he died in 1684 at Duxbury.

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Pilgrim

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Henry Samson came as a young sixteen year old boy on the Mayflower, under the care of his aunt and uncle Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley. Henry Samson volunteered and fought in the Pequot War of 1637, and during his life took on several civil positions including constable of Duxbury, property surveyor, and tax collector. Henry Samson married Ann Plummer, whose ancestry is unknown. However, Ann had a sister Mary Plummer, who married John Barnes in Plymouth on 12 September 1633.

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From The Giles Memorial. Genealogical Memoirs of the Families Bearing the Names of Giles, Gould, Holmes ... Also Genealogical Sketches of the Pool, Very ... and Other Families, with a History of Pemaquid, Ancient and Modern; Some Account of Early Settlements in Maine, and Some Details of Indian Warfare (Google eBook) John Adams VINTON 1864.  Page 374-5

HENRY SAMPSON was one of the company of Pilgrims who came in the world-renowned MAYFLOWER to Plymouth in 1620. He was a member of the family of his uncle, Edward Tilley, and was too young to sign the immortal compact of November 11, in the cabin of that vessel, while at anchor in the harbor of Provincetown. He was, however, enumerated in the assignment of land, 1623, and in the division of cattle, 1627, and was admitted a freeman of Plymouth Colony in 1637.  

He early removed to Duxbury—probably with the first settlers of that town; and married ANN PLUMMER, Feb. 6, 1635-61 He was one of the original grantees of Bridgewater, 1645, but did not remove thither. He was constable of Duxbury, 1661. 

“This,” says Winsor, “was an office of high trust and responsibility, and none were elected to it but men of good standing."

He died Dec. 24, 1684. 

In his will, bearing date the same day, he mentions no wife, but to his sons Stephen, John, and James, gives a tract of land he had purchased in Dartmouth; to each of them a third part. To his son Caleb he gives one shilling. He also gives one shilling each to dau. Elizabeth, wife of Robert Sproat; to dau. Hannah, wife of Josiah Holmes; to his dau. [name not given] “now wife of John Hammond ;" to dau. Mary, wife of John Summers; to dau. Dorcas, wife of Thomas Boney. 

Mr. Wiswall [Rem Ichabod Wiswall, pastor of Duxbury from 1676 to 1700] was to be overseer of the will. Thomas Delano and Joseph Chandler were witnesses. The will was exhibited before the [General] Court of Plymouth, March 5, 1684—5: and may be found in the Old Colony Records, Wills, Vol. 4, p. 94.

The will thus indicates that the property of the testator, all but the Dartmouth purchase, had already been distributed among the heirs.

Guided by the will, we make out the children of Henry Sampson, at the time of his death, to have been as follows:

• 2. Elizabeth,2 m. Robert Sproat, who was of Scituate, 1660, and died at Middleborough, in 1712.
• 3. Hannah.  m. Josiah Holmes2 of Duxbury, March 20. 1665-6. For all account of her descendants, see p. 185, and sequel, of this volume.
• 4. A daughter, whose name is not given; m. John Hammond.§ See above.
• 5. John, b. about 1645; m. Mary Pease.
• 6. Mary,2 m. John Summers!
• 7. Dorcas,2 m. Thomas Bonney of Duxbury. In the will, and in the early records, the name is Boneg. Thomas Boney was a shoemaker; had land in Duxbury, 1640; constable, 1643-4; d. about 1693. The husband of Dorcas was probably his son.
• 8. tJames, m. —.
• 9. fStephen, m. Elizabeth —-.
• 10. tCaleh,2 at. Mercy Standish.

Footnotes

• 1. We learn this fact from Governor Bradford’s List of passengers in the Mayflovver, at the end of his longllost and lately-recovered History, published bytho Massachusetts Historical Society in 1856, Bradford, in 1650, says—“the youth Henery Samson is still liveing, and is maried, and bath 7. children." From this we inter that all the children of Henry Samson in the above list were born before 1650, except Stephen and Caleb, who must have been born after that date.
• tThe will of John Barnes of Plymouth, dated March 6, 1667-8, names his “cousen” the wife of Henry Sampson.
• The only John Hammond known to me, who could be the husband of this daughter of Henry Sampson, was born in England, 1627, son of William and Elizabeth Hammond, who settled in Watcrtown as early as 1642. Assuming this to be a son-in-lnw of Henry Sampson, the name of the daughter was Sarah, I). 1643, d. Jan. 14, 1688, a. 45. See Bond’s Watertown, p. 270.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Birth: Jan. 15, 1604 Bedfordshire, England Death: Dec. 24, 1684 Massachusetts, USA

Henry SAMSON was baptized 15d 1m 1603/04 in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England and emigrated to Massachusetts at age 16 coming on the Mayflower with his maternal uncle & aunt Edward & Agnes (COOPER) TILLEY who had no children of their own and both of whom did not survive the first winter at Plymouth (1620/21). He married Ann PLUMMER 6d 2m 1635/36 at Duxbury, Massachusetts and wrote his will 24d 12m 1684 at Duxbury, Plymouth Co, Massachusetts.

For Henry's parents, sibilings and maternal ancestry see: Leigh, Robert Ward. "English Ancestry of Seven Mayflower Passengers: Tilley, Sampson and Cooper," The American Genealogist Vol 52 #4 (10m 1976), p 198-209.

For further information on Henry's paternal ancestry see: Leigh, Robert Ward. "Henry Sampson's Paternal Grandfather," The American Genealogist Vol 56 #3 (7m 1980) p 141-143.

Note that the proper spelling of Henry's surname is SAMSON without the "P" thus just as the Scriptural name. Later descendants did add the "P" to the name so when searching for members of the SAMSON family be sure to use both spellings.

Family links:

Parents:

 James Samson (1574 - 1639)

 Martha Cooper Samson (1578 - 1654)

Spouse:

 Ann Plummer Samson*

Children:

 Caleb Samson (1658 - 1746)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Coles Hill Burial Ground Plymouth Plymouth County Massachusetts, USA

Maintained by: treerpgmo Originally Created by: Mary Harrell-Sesniak Record added: May 09, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 36890825

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Passenger on the Mayflower

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Henry Samson came to America on the Mayflower.

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Mayflower Passanger

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Mayflower passenger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Samson

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HENRY SAMPSON IN THE 17TH CENTURY RECORDS: Henry Sampson:Mayflower passenger The names of those which came over first, in the year 1620, and were by the blessing of God the first beginners and in a sort the foundation of all the Plantations and Colonies in New England: and their families.... "Edward Tilley and Ann his wife,and two children that were their cousins, Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper" William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647.ed. Samuel Eliot Morison(New York: Knopf, 1991). p.442 Henry Sampson & the 1623 Division of Land. Recorded in the handwriting of Governor William Bradford. The lands of " Henerie Samson" were among those designated as "their grounds which came first over in the May Floure, according as their lotes were case" and described this way "these lye one the north side of the towne nexte adjoyning to their gardens which came in the Fortune."---Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 12, p 5 ---Henry Sampson: A 1626 "Purchaser" Henry Sampson: 1650 "And seeing it hath pleased Him to give me(William Bradford) to see thirty years completed since these beginnings, and that the great works of His providence are to be observed, I have thought it not unworthy my pains to take a view of the decreasings and increasings of these persons and such changes as hath passed over them and theirs in the thirty years.... "Edward Tilley and his wife both died soon after their arrival, and the girl Humility, their cousin, was sent for into England and died there. But the youth Henry Sampson is still living and is married and hath seven children" William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647,ed. This is an"old style" date. According to the modern calandar, his date of death would be January 3, 1685 Henry Samson, age about sixteen, boarded the ship Mayflower as a nephew of the Edward Tilley family, along with his cousin, one year old Humility Cooper. Why Henry was in the custody of the Tilleys is unknown – it is possible he may have been apprenticed out to his uncle Edward Tilley. The reason that Humility and Henry were given over to the care of the Tilleys, apparently in Leiden, has never been fully explained. Henry's parents and siblings remained in Henlow, Bedfordshire.[9][10][11][1][3] Per William Bradford’s later recollection of this family: “Edward Tillie, and Ann, his wife; and *2* children that were their cossens, Henery Samson and Humility Coper.”[12] The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of about 30−40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out, the ship was being buffeted by strong westerly gales, causing the ship‘s timbers to be badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water, and with passengers, even in their berths, lying wet and ill. This, combined with a lack of proper rations and unsanitary conditions for several months, attributed to what would be fatal for many, especially the majority of women and children. On the way there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger, but the worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination when, in the space of several months, almost half the passengers perished in cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.[13] On November 9/19, 1620, after about 3 months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called Provincetown Harbor. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on November 11/21. The Mayflower Compact was signed that day.[13][14] Life in Plymouth Colony[edit]

At the death of the Edward Tilleys in the winter of 1620/1621, Henry Samson and Humility Cooper were given over to the care of others – it being uncertain what family that was. Records do show Henry’s name with that of the Edward Winslow family in the 1623 Division of Land, adjoining land of Humility Cooper, and with the William Brewster family in the 1627 Division of Cattle.[5][15][16] In 1626 Henry Samson was a member of the Purchasers, which were a Plymouth Colony investment group in company with former members of the “Merchant Adventurers” London organization. In that agreement, he was listed as “Henry Sampson.”[17] Over the years, Henry Samson received generous land grants becoming a Freeman before March 7, 1636/7.[18] Henry was a volunteer in the Pequot War of 1637, but the war ended before the Colony could get is troops organized.[5] On January 1, 1637/38, Henry and Ann were granted land in Duxbury next to Henry Howland.[5] In April 1640, Henry was granted additional land that had formerly been a common.[5] Starting in the 1640s, Samson began many years of public-service duties. He served on six juries between 1641 and 1663 and twelve petty juries between 1644 and 1670.[5] In 1648 he was an arbiter, a surveyor in 1649 and in 1661, a constable for Duxbury.[5] Johnson 204 Between 1638 and 1654 Samson and his wife had nine children and in 1665 and 1667 he was allowed by the Plymouth Court to seek out land for his children.[5] Sometime after 1668, Henry and his wife sold some of their land in Nemasket and would also sell of some of his Dartmouth properties in 1682 and 1684.[19] In 1669 he served on a coroner’s jury assembled by John Alden.[20][21][22][23][24][25] Family[edit]

Henry Samson married Anne Plummer in February 6, 1635/6 in Plymouth and between about 1638 and about 1654 he and his wife had nine children. Children of Henry and Anne Samson: Stephen was born about 1638 and died before January 31, 1714/5 in Duxbury. He married Elizabeth ______ by 1686 and had eight children. John was born about 1640 and died unmarried between 1702 and 1712. Elizabeth was born about 1642 and died after November 23, 1711. She married Robert Sprout by 1662 and had eight children. James was born about 1644 and died between January 10, 1715/6 and July 7, 1718. He married Hannah (_____) Wait by 1679 and had seven children. Hannah was born about 1646 and was still living on January 23, 1681. She married Josiah Holmes on March 20, 1665/6 in Duxbury and had six children. ______ (daughter) was born about 1648. She married John Hanmore by 1682 and had two sons. Her name has never been discovered. Mary was born about 1650 and died before 1686. She married John Summers by 1684 but had no recorded children. Dorcas was born about 1652 and died before July 29, 1695. She married Thomas Bonney by 1684 and had three children. Caleb was born about 1654 and died after July 9, 1744. He was buried at Myles Standish Burial Ground in Duxbury, Mass.He married:1. Mercy Standish by 1686 and had nine children. She died between May 17, 1722 and January 30, 1728/9. She was a grand-daughter of Mayflower passengers Myles Standish and John Alden.2. Rebecca (Bartlett) (Bradford) Stanford on January 30, 1728/9 in Duxbury. She died in 1741.[1][20][21][24][25][26]Will of Henry Samson[edit]

Henry Samson made his will December 24, 1684, which was sworn March 5, 1684/85. In the will he named his sons Stephen, John, James and Caleb, dividing his remaining Dartmouth land holdings between Stephen, John and James. Small sums were given to son Caleb and daughter Elizabeth, wife of Robert Sprout; Hannah, wife of Josias Holmes; (unknown) the wife of John Hanmore; Mary, wife of John Summers; and Dorcas, wife of Thomas Bonney. The name of the daughter who was married to John Hanmore has not been found in any record.[1][25][27] Death and burial of Henry Samson and his wife[edit]

Henry Samson died on December 24, 1684 in Duxbury. His wife Ann had predeceased him, dying between December 24, 1668 and December 24, 1684. Both were buried in Cole's Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony.[1][3][28]

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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36890825/henry-samson

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https://ancestorsbeta.familysearch.org/en/9HPT-BRC/henry-samson-160...

Henry Samson 15 January 1603–24 December 1684

Birth • 3 Sources 15 January 1603 Henlow, Bedfordshire, England

Age 81 Death • 4 Sources 24 December 1684 Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America

Henry Samson, "Find A Grave Index"

SPOUSES AND CHILDREN

Henry Samson 1603-1684

Marriage: 16 February 1636 Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

Ann Plummer 1604-1684

Children (9)

James Sampson 1637-1718

Stephen Samson 1638-1714

Elizabeth Samson 1639-1711

Hannah Sampson 1641-1715

Sarah Samson 1643-1688

John Sampson 1645-1712

Mary Sampson 1647-1750

Dorcas Samson 1652-1695

Caleb Samson 1660-1745

PARENTS AND SIBLINGS

James Sampson 1575-1638

Marriage: 20 May 1599 Henlow, Bedfordshire, England

Martha Cooper 1578-1654

Children (13)

Elizabeth Sampson 1597-1648

Major Richard Sampson 1598-1652

Joseph Sampson 1602-1651

Henry Samson 1603-1684

James Sampson 1603-1664

John Sampsone 1606-1667

Mary Sampson 1607-1607

Dorothy Sampson 1609-1638

Humpfrey Sampson 1611-1684

Elizabeth Sampson 1612-1642

Miriell Sampson 1614-1615

Abraham Sampson 1615-1686

John Sampson 1616-1638

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Henry was a passenger on The Mayflower!