View source for James Chilton

[[Image:Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor, by William Halsall.jpg|thumb|290px|''Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor'' by William Halsall (1882)]]
'''James Chilton''' ({{c.}} 1556{{spaced ndash}} 1620).  He was a [[passenger]] on ''[[Mayflower]]'' and was the oldest person on the [[ship]].<ref>Caleb H. Johnson, ''The Mayflower and her passengers'' (Indiana: Xlibris Corp., 2006), pp. 115-116</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/james_chilton.htm |title=Pilgrim Hall Museum |access-date=2013-05-17 |archive-date=2013-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101032120/http://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/james_chilton.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Chilton was probably in [[Canterbury]], [[England]]. ''Chilton'' is a very old family name in Canterbury.<ref name="Johnson p. 115">Caleb H. Johnson, ''The Mayflower and her passengers'' (Indiana:Xlibris Corp., 2006), p. 115</ref> Chilton married and had a total of ten children.  Unfortunately many of the [[children]] died young.  They moved to [[Sandwich]] where [[Moses Fletcher]] also lived.<ref name= "Stratton p. 262">Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 262</ref>

The Chiltons did not have the same religious beliefs as the [[Church of England]]. They were called [[Separatist (religion)|Separatists]].  This religion was not allowed in England.  He and his family left England and joined a religious group in Leiden, [[Holland]].<ref name="Johnson p. 116">Caleb H. Johnson, ''The Mayflower and her passengers,'' (Indiana:Xlibris Corp., 2006), p. 116</ref> 
 
The Chiltons were not welcome by some people in Leiden.  This may have been because of their religion.  James and his daughter were attacked by several boys who threw rocks at them.  When Chilton tried to speak to the crowd, he was struck in the head by a large cobblestone, and was knocked unconscious.<ref>Jeremy D. Bangs, ed. ''The Pilgrims in the Netherlands'', Recent Research Papers Presented at a Symposium held by The Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center and The Sir Thomas Browne Institute. Leiden Pilgrim Documents Center Leiden, The Netherlands</ref>
== On the ''Mayflower'' ==
[[File:The Mayflower Compact 1620 cph.3g07155.jpg|right|thumb|''Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620'', a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899]]
The Chilton family on the ''Mayflower'' consisted of James Chilton, the oldest Mayflower passenger, his wife, and their daughter Mary. Two of their daughters were married and stayed in Leiden. Isabella came over later in another ship.<ref name= "Stratton p. 262"/><ref name="Johnson p. 116"/>

The Mayflower left [[Plymouth, Devon|Plymouth]], England on 16 September 1620. There were 102 passengers and 30–40 crew. On 19 November 1620, the ''Mayflower'' reached land at [[Cape Cod]] hook. They landed on November 21. They wrote the [[Mayflower Compact]], which made rules on how they would live and treat each other.<ref name= "Stratton p. 413">Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691,'' (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 413</ref><ref>George Ernest Bowman, '' The Mayflower Compact and its signers'',  (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1920). Photocopies of the 1622, 1646 and 1669 versions of the document pp. 7–19.</ref> The ''Mayflower'' was supposed to land in [[Virginia Colony]], but the ship was damaged and they were forced to land at Cape Cod now called Provincetown [[Harbor]].<ref>Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691,'' (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), pp. 20, 411-413</ref>

[[William Bradford (Mayflower passenger)|William Bradford]] was also a Mayflower passenger and he kept a journal of life in Plymouth Colony.  The journal mentions the Chilton family.  He states the Chiltons had another daughter who was married and came to Plymouth Colony later in another ship.<ref>Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 406</ref>
== Death and Burial ==
Chilton died on December 18, 1620. His wife died about a month after him during the "first sickness" but his daughters lived a long life.<ref>William Bradford, ''History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, the second Governor of Plymouth''  (Boston: 1856), p. 10</ref> Chilton and his wife are named at the monument at [[Cole's Hill]] Burial Ground.<ref>Nathaniel Philbrick, ''Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War'' (New York: Viking 2006) p. 81</ref>
== References ==
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[[Category:1550s births]]
[[Category:1620 deaths]]
[[Category:Mayflower passengers]]