Richard Warren (c1580-1628)

Passenger on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth Colony. He was among ten passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Myles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620. Warren co-signed the Mayflower Compact and was one of nineteen (among forty-one) signers who survived the first winter.

Although most sources agree that his wife's name was Elizabeth, there is some dispute as to what her maiden surname was. One reference indicates her maiden name was Elizabeth Walker, and that she was baptised 1583 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, died October 2, 1673. She and his first five children, all daughters, came to America in the ship Anne in 1623. Once in America, they then had two sons before Richard's untimely death in 1628.

Biography
Clearly a man of rank, Warren was accorded by Governor William Bradford the prefix "Mr.", pronounced Master, used in those times to distinguish someone because of birth or achievement. From his widow's subsequent land transactions, we can assume that he was among the wealthier of the original Plymouth Settlers." And yet, Bradford did not mention him in his History of the Plimouth Plantation except in the List of Passengers.

In Mourt's Relation, published in 1622, we learn that Warren was chosen, when the Mayflower stopped at Cape Cod before reaching Plymouth, to be a member of the exploring party among 10 passengers (and 8 crew), and he was described as being "of London" among 3 men. Charles Edward Banks, in Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers writes: "Richard Warren came from London and was called a merchand of that city (by Mourt) Extensive research in every available source of information -- registers, chancery, and probate, in the London courts, proved fruitless in an attempt to identify him."

He was not of the Leiden, Holland, Pilgrims, but joined them in Southampton, England to sail on the Mayflower.

Richard Warren received his acres in the Division of Land in 1623. In the 1627 Division of Lands and Cattle, in May of 1627, "RICHARD WARREN of the Mayflower" was given "one of the black heifers, 2 she-goats, and a grant of 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land" [2] at the Eel River (Plymouth, Massachusetts). The Warren house built in that year (1627) stood at the same location as the present house; it was re-built about 1700, at the head of Clifford Road, with its back to the sea, and later owned by Charles Strickland (in 1976).

Ancestry of Richard Warren
Warren's ancestry is unknown, despite some published sources suggesting that he was a descendant of royalty. There is also dispute over his wife's maiden surname, but in 2002, Edward Davies located the will of Augustine Walker, who seems likely to have been her father.

Children of Richard and Elizabeth
Although most sources agree that his wife's name was Elizabeth, there is some dispute as to what her maiden surname was. One reference indicates her maiden name was Elizabeth Walker, and that she was baptised 1583 in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England, died October 2, 1673. She and his first five children, all daughters, came to America in the ship Anne in 1623. Once in America, they then had two sons before Richard's untimely death in 1628.

All of Richard Warren's children survived to adulthood, married, and also had large families. It is claimed that Warren has the largest posterity of any pilgrim, numbering 14 million, the Mayflower passenger with more descendants than any other passenger.

Sarah (c1613- 15 July 1696) married John Cooke, who, along with his father, Francis Cooke were Mayflower passengers;
 * Mary Warren(c1610- 27 March 1683) married Robert Bartlett;
 * Anna Warren(c1612- aft 19 February 1676) married Thomas Little;
 * Elizabeth Warren (c1616- 9 March 1670) married Richard Church;
 * Abigail Warren (c1618- 3 January 1693) married Anthony Snow;
 * Nathaniel Warren (c1625-1667) married Sarah Walker; and
 * Joseph Warren(1627 - 4 May 1689) married Priscilla Faunce (1634- 15 May 1707).

Famous Descendants
Among his descendants are: Civil War general and U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, astronaut Alan Shepard, author Laura Ingalls Wilder, actor Richard Gere, actress Joanne Woodward, writers Henry David Thoreau and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lavinia Warren (the wife of "General Tom Thumb"), aviator Amelia Earhart, actor Orson Welles, United States Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, the Wright Brothers, Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, chef Julia Child, Irish President Erskine Hamilton Childers, inventor Lee DeForest, and many more.