Nathaniel Tilden "Plymouth Immigrant 1634"

Nathaniel Tilden, a yeoman of Tenterden, Kent, emigrated to New England with his wife Lydia, seven children, and seven servants aboard the Hercules of Sandwich. He was born 28 July 1583 and died 31 July 1641 at Scituate in Plymouth Colony.

Nathaniel Tilden was born on 28 July 1583 at Tenterden, Kent, England. He was described in the Hercules passenger register as a yeoman of Tenterden. A current family-tree fact also states that he was mayor of Tenterden, although no supporting citation was supplied with that statement.

Nathaniel married Lydia Huckstep. In material concerning the family’s migration, she is called Lydia or Lidia. Her cousin, William Hatch, was also associated with the Hercules voyage and traveled with his wife Jane, five children, and six servants.

The register of passengers embarking at Sandwich records “Nathanial Tilden of Tenterden, yeoman,” with Lydia, his wife, seven children, and seven servants. The children named in the supplied account are Joseph, Thomas, Stephen, Marie, Sarah, Judeth, and Lidia. The account identifies Thomas Lapham and George Sutton, who later became sons-in-law, among the servants traveling with the family.

The ship was the Hercules of Sandwich, a vessel of 200 tons commanded by John Witherley. The supplied account says that Witherley, Nathaniel Tilden, Dr. Comfort Starr, William Hatch, and Mr. Osborne purchased a Flemish-built ship at Dunkirk, formerly called the St. Peter, and renamed it the Hercules. Dr. Starr was also aboard with his family.

Records quoted in the supplied material place certificates for Hercules passengers in February and March 1634 and describe an order allowing the vessel and other ships to depart for New England after their masters agreed to specified requirements. Another supplied account states that Nathaniel, Lydia, their children, and servants arrived in New England in April 1635. Because the supplied material gives differing dates for the voyage, its exact sailing and arrival chronology requires further verification.

Nathaniel Tilden died on 31 July 1641 at Scituate, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America.

Historical context

The Hercules passenger register stated that those transported from Sandwich to New England had certificates from ministers concerning their conduct and conformity to church discipline, and that they had taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy. The supplied Order in Council required ships’ masters to enforce penalties for blasphemy or profaning God’s name, hold daily morning and evening prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, transport only persons certified as having taken the required oaths, and report the names of transported persons and their compliance upon return to the kingdom.

Sources & research

History of Sandwich, by W. Boys, 1792, pp. 750–751. Passenger list and register for the Hercules of Sandwich.

The Complete Book of Emigrants 1607–1776, by Peter Coldham. Cited in the supplied material for the claimed April 1635 arrival of Nathaniel Tilden and family.

“New England—At Whitehall the Last of February 1633.” Order in Council quoted in the supplied material concerning the departure requirements for the Hercules and other ships.

Deposition of Dr. Comfort Starr, dated 11 February 1634, as quoted in the supplied material, concerning the purchase and renaming of the ship formerly called the St. Peter.