Edward Tilley (Mayflower passenger)

Edward Tilley (c.1588-c. winter of 1620/1621) traveled in 1620 on the historic voyage of the ship Mayflower as a Separatist member of the Leiden, Holland contingent. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact, and died with his wife in the first Pilgrim winter in the New World.

Edward Tilley was baptized in Henlow, co. Bedford, England on May 27, 1588. He was the son Robert and Elizabeth Tilley.

Edward Tilley and Ann (or Agnes) Cooper married on June 20, 1614 in Henlow, co. Bedford, she having been baptized there on November 7, 1585. As with his brother John, Edward married a woman a few years his senior, which was unusual for the time. Their pastor in Leiden, John Robinson, spoke against such marriages, stating it was best for men not to marry older women.

Edward Tilley and his wife likely resided in Henlow, Bedfordshire until they emigrated to Holland a few years after their marriage.

Shortly after their marriage Edward and his wife went to live in Leiden, Holland. They appeared in a 1616 Leiden record where he was reported to be a weaver as with a number of other Leiden Separatists, and future Mayflower passengers. There is an indication that Edward’s brother John Tilley was also in Leiden along with Edward’s ward Henry Samson.

Edward and Ann Tilley came aboard the Mayflower without any children but oddly in company with two young relatives of Ann’s – her sixteen-year-old nephew Henry Samson and her one-year-old niece Humility Cooper. The reason those two children were with them has not been fully explained.

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.”

The Mayflower departed Plymouth, England on September 6/16, 1620. 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.

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