John Alden

Capt. John Alden Jr. (ca. 1626 or 1627 – ) was an American soldier, politician, merchant, and sailor. He was a well-known public figure in his time but is now chiefly remembered as a survivor of the Salem witch trials, of which he wrote a much quoted and studied account. Personal life John Alden Jr. was the first son of John Alden and Priscilla Alden (née Mullins), who settled in Plymouth Colony (present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts) in 1620, arriving on the Pilgrim ship Mayflower. He was born in Plymouth in about 1626 or 1627. He and his older sister Elizabeth are listed in the records of the division of cattle among the residents of Plymouth, which occurred on . The family later moved across the harbor to form Duxbury when John was very small, as the terms of settlement set by the financial backers of Plymouth Colony in London had changed and the settlers were free to spread out as they wished. (Of these, Duxbury was one of the very first settlements after Plymouth.) He was a sea captain, a merchant in Boston, and a charter member of Rev. Samuel Willard's Old South Meeting House and Third Church in Boston; over time he became a prominent member of society within early Boston as evidenced by the many documents in the state archives recording his activities, as well as information on the large house he occupied. There is evidence that he may have participated in King Philip's War as a young man and as the son of John Alden, a major commander in the war and a prominent member of society in both Plymouth and Duxbury. He later in life held a military command during King William's War and was involved in the Naval battle off St. John (1691). He married Elizabeth Phillips Everill in 1660 and they had twelve children, some from a prior marriage: John Alden III, born 20 November 1660, died young Elizabeth Alden, born 9 May 1662, died 14 July 1662 John Alden IV, born 12 March 1663, had issue, became a sailor like his father William Alden I, born 10 March 1664, died young Elizabeth Alden, born 9 April 1665, had issue William Alden II, born 5 March 1666, died young Zachariah Alden, born 8 March 1667, died young William Alden III, born 10 September 1669, had issue Nathaniel Alden, born 1670, had issue Zachariah Alden, born 18 February 1673, had issue Nathan Alden, born 17 October 1677, died young Sarah Alden, born 27 September 1681, died young