Richard More (1614 – c. 1694/1696) was born in Corvedale, Shropshire, England, and was baptised at St James parish church in Shipton, Shropshire, on 13 November 1614. Richard and his three siblings were at the centre of a mystery in early-17th-century England that caused early genealogists to wonder why the More children's father, believed to be Samuel More, would send his very young children away to the New World on the Mayflower in the care of others. It was in 1959 that the mystery was explained. Jasper More, a descendant of Samuel More, prompted by his genealogist friend, Sir Anthony Wagner, searched and found in his attic a 1622 document that detailed the legal disputes between Katherine More and Samuel More and what actually happened to the More children. It is clear from these events that Samuel did not believe the children to be his offspring. To rid himself of the children, he arranged for them to be sent to the Colony of Virginia. Due to bad weather, the Mayflower finally anchored in Cape Cod Harbor in November 1620, where one of the More children died soon after; another died in early December and yet another died later in the first winter. Only Richard survived, and even thrived, in the perilous environment of early colonial America, going on to lead a very full life.
Richard became a well-known sea captain who helped to deliver to various colonies the supplies that were vital to their survival, travelled over Atlantic and West Indies trade routes and fought in various early naval sea battles. He and other Mayflower survivors were referred to in their time as "First Comers", who lived in the perilous times of what was called "The Ancient Beginnings" of the New World adventure.
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More family
Much of what is known about Richard's early childhood is through legal documents, more specifically the aforementioned document written in 1622, in response to a petition of Richard More's mother Katherine More (sometimes spelled Katharine, hereafter spelled Katherine) to Lord Chief Justice Sir James Ley, at which time she demands to know what has become of her children. Katherine's father, Jasper More, was master of Larden, a 1000-acre estate between Much Wenlock and Ludlow in Shropshire. Samuel's father, Richard More, was master of Linley, an estate near Bishop's Castle, close to the Welsh border. Both estates are in Shropshire, England.
Jasper's sons died leaving no male heir. The estates were held in an entail whereby inheritance was restricted to male heirs and Samuel's father, but Richard, in the marriage settlement, paid £600 to Jasper More, so there must have been clear title. It was arranged that Katherine would marry her cousin and indeed, on 4 February 1610, (old date style) Katherine, 25, married her cousin, seventeen-year-old Samuel More.
At some point, Samuel began working in London as secretary to Edward, Lord Zouche, privy councillor, diplomat and courtier. Over the next four years, Katherine bore four children: Elinor, Jasper, Richard, Mary. All were baptised at St James parish church in Shipton, Shropshire, with Samuel More as their father.
Plan, court action, and removal of the children
In 1616, Samuel More accused his wife of adultery and, at the direction of his father, Richard, devised a plan to rid himself of Katherine and the children. The adultery was supposedly committed with Jacob Blakeway, a young man near in age to Katherine who lived close by and whose family had been More tenants for several generations. In 1608, Jacob Blakeway and his father Edward, a yeoman, had renewed a lease on a parcel of land owned by Katherine More's father, Jasper More of Larden Hall. The manor of Larden Hall was about half a mile from Brockton where the Blakeway family lived. By a deed dated 20 April 1616, Samuel cut the entail on the Larden estate to prevent any of the children from inheriting. During the long court battle, Samuel would deny that he was the father of the children borne by his wife, Katherine, and stated them to be children of the adulterous relationship. Katherine did not deny her relationship with Jacob Blakeway, stating there was a former betrothal contract with him, and therefore he was her true husband. This would have made her marriage to Samuel invalid. Samuel quotes her words in his declaration, "though she could not sufficiently prove by witnesses yet it was all one before god as she sayed". At that time any of the usual witnesses would likely have been dead.
In that same year, by his own account, Samuel went to his employer and a More family friend, Lord Zouche, Lord President of the Council of Wales, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Privy Counselor, to draw up a plan for the disposition of the children. Zouche had been a member of the Virginia Company and in 1617 he invested £100 in an expedition to the Colony of Virginia, which is where the Mayflower was supposed to have landed. It was his actions that were instrumental in putting the More children on the Mayflower. At that time, children were routinely rounded up from the streets of London or taken from poor families receiving church relief to be used as labourers in the colonies. Any legal objections to the involuntary transportation of the children were over-ridden by the Privy Council, namely, Lord Zouche. Most people thought it a death sentence and, indeed, many did not survive either the voyage or the harsh climate, disease, and scarcity of fresh food for which they were ill-prepared.
Additionally, in 1616, Samuel More, under his father Richard's direction, removed all four children from Larden and placed them in the care of some of his father's tenants near Linley. The removal was shortly after the youngest child had been baptised, which was on 16 April. According to Samuel's statement, the reason he sent the children away was "as the apparent likeness & resemblance … to Jacob Blakeway", quoting from: "A true declaracon of the disposing of the fower children of Katherine More sett downe by Samuell More her husband" together with the "reasons movinge him thereunto accasioned by a peticon" of hers to the Lord Chief Justice of England and it is endorsed, "Katherine Mores Petition to the Lord Chief Justice ...the disposing of her children to Virginia dated 1622". Samuel goes on to state that, during the time the children were with the tenants, Katherine went there and engaged in a struggle to take her children back: "Katharine went to the tenants dwelling where her children had been sequestered, and in a hail of murderous oaths, did teare the cloathes from their backes". There were at least twelve actions recorded between December 1619 and 8 July 1620, when it was finally dismissed.
Samuel in the aftermath
Samuel More continued to act as secretary to Edward la Zouche and on 11 June 1625, he married Elizabeth Worsley, daughter of Richard Worsley, Esq. of Deeping Gate (in Maxey) in Northamptonshire and cousin to Lord Zouche's second wife, although he was only separated not divorced from Katherine More and neither party was allowed to remarry during the lifetime of the other. In February 1626, Samuel More obtained a royal pardon, possibly to protect himself against accusations of adultery. It is not known if Katherine was still alive at the time of his second marriage.
Mayflower voyage
Richard More and his siblings departed Plymouth, England on the Mayflower 6 September 1620 (Old Style), dangerously late in the season. They endured a rough three months at sea in cramped and unsanitary conditions, eventually landing at Cape Cod Hook (Provincetown Harbor) on 11 November 1620 (Old Style). A number of colonists travelled as indentured servants on the Mayflower. Exactly what explanation was given for the More children's presence is not known, but many homeless waifs from the streets of London were sent to the New World as labourers. The More children were assigned as servants and wards of three adult passengers, as follows:
Elinor More, Ellen More, age 8, assigned as a servant of Edward Winslow. She died in November 1620 soon after the arrival of the Mayflower at Cape Cod Harbor. Her burial place is unknown and may have been ashore on Cape Cod similarly to her brother Jasper several weeks later. With many others who died that winter, her name appears on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Jasper More, age 7, servant of John Carver. He died of a 'common infection' in Dec. 1620 while the Mayflower was in Cape Cod Harbor. He was buried ashore in what is now the Provincetown area. Provincetown has a memorial plaque with his name and that of four others 'who died at sea while the ship lay at Cape Cod Harbor' in Nov./Dec. 1620.
Mary More, age 4, assigned as a servant of William Brewster. She died sometime in the winter of 1620/1621. Her burial place is unknown, but may have been on Cole's Hill in Plymouth in an unmarked grave as with many others buried there that winter. She is mentioned on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb in Plymouth, misidentified after Ellen's name as "and a brother (children)" – the statement coming from William Bradford's failing memory years after the event of her death.
Richard More, age 6, servant of William Brewster. He resided with the Brewster family until about mid-1627 when his term of indentureship expired. This is about the time that his name appears, at age 14, in a census as a member of the Brewster family, in what was called then 'New Plimouth'. By 1628, Richard was in the employ of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton, who was engaged in trans-Atlantic trading.
Richard's life in the New World
Richard was six years old when the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Colony. Immediately upon setting foot on land, he would have worked with all of the others to help gather supplies for food and shelter as well as to bury the dead after the epidemic, which would ultimately leave half of the original passengers dead. In the spring of 1621, he would have attended what has now become known as the first Thanksgiving. In 1627, at the age of 14, Richard is recorded as living at Plymouth Colony.
Nothing is known of Richard during his years living with the Brewster family from 1620 to 1627, except that his name is on a document concerning the division of cattle and other livestock, and that he lived in Salem. In 1635 he is listed as arriving from England on the Blessing, which had sailed from London to Massachusetts Bay. The purpose of this journey to London is unknown. At some point, Richard went to work for Allerton as an apprentice. Under Allerton's apprenticeship, he fished in various locations around Plymouth and Maine, working as crew, and at some point he would become captain of the ships that supplied the new American colonies. On 20 April 1636 Richard More married Christian Hunter who had been a passenger with him on the Blessing They lived at Duxbury for a time before moving to Salem. Richard worked as a retainer and a labourer for Richard Hollingsworth, another passenger from the Blessing who was Christian's guardian and step-father.
By early 1642, Richard joined the Salem church. As a member, he would be allowed a voice and a vote in Salem affairs.
Richard had his first two sons, Samuel and Thomas More, baptised.
By about 1640s, and by the age of twenty-four, Richard would have been addressed as Captain of his own ketch and is known to have traded with the colonies, the West Indies, and England. He had sold his twenty acres in Duxbury and moved himself and his family to Salem Neck. He applied for a permit and set up his own fishing stand. Since drinking water was scarce, Richard dug a well on common ground for himself and others to use. He traded tobacco and other merchandise and supplies with Virginia and the West Indies, and made voyages to England. In 1653, he served with his ship in an unsuccessful expedition against the Dutch settlement on the Hudson (later to become New York). In 1653, Captain More was paid for ye Dutch expedition.
Marriages
Richard More married three times:
Christian Hunter on 20 October 1636 in Plymouth Colony. She was born ca. 1615 in possibly Southwold, Suffolk, England, and was baptised there on 13 August 1615 at (possibly) St Edmund's Church. She died on 18 March 1676 in Salem, Massachusetts. Her parents were Thomas Hunter (d.1623/7) and Susan Gentleman. She came to America in 1635 on the ship Blessing with her mother and step-father Richard Hollingsworth.
Elizabeth Woolnough on 23 October 1645 in St Dunstan's, Stepney, London. The record of that event notes that "Richard Moore of Salem, Mariner" married Elizabeth Woolnough of Limehouse district, London. The Stepney parish register states that Elizabeth was the daughter of Benjamin Woolnough, having been baptised in St Dunstan's on 21 December 1623. Benjamin Woolnough was a trans-Atlantic ship captain, sailing to Virginia. The last time that Elizabeth's name appears on documents is on 7 April 1646, the day after Richard More failed to appear at the Kings Session for Peace, when she identified herself to the High Court of Admiralty as "Elizabeth, wife of Richard Moore of Stepney." Her appearance in court was to answer a charge against More, who had probably fled the country, for being intoxicated in the company of a woman of easy virtue as well as a child of about eight years, thought to have been his daughter Elizabeth. There is no evidence that Elizabeth Woolnough ever came to America. No further record.
Jane Hollingsworth Crumpton. Born c. 1631. Died 5/8 October 1686 in Salem, Massachusetts. Married before 23 May 1678 in Salem, Massachusetts. Daughter of Richard L. Hollingsworth, Sr. and Susan Gentleman Woodbury Hunter Hollingsworth. She was the widow of Samuel Crumpton, who was killed by Indians in 1675.
Children
Richard More and Christian Hunter had seven children:
Samuel More, baptised 6 March 1642 in Salem, Mass. Died after March 1677. Married Sarah ____.
Thomas More, baptised 6 March 1642 in Salem, Mass. Died after 25 November 1692.
Caleb More, baptised 31 March 1643/4 in Salem, Mass. Died 4 January 1678/9 in Salem, Mass.
Richard More (jr.), baptised 2 January 1647/8 in Salem, Mass. Died 1 May 1696. Married Sarah ______. 6 children – 3 sons, 2 daughters and 1 unknown.
Joshua More, baptised 3 March 1646 in Salem, Mass. Died between 1660–1675.
Susanna More, baptised 12 May 1650 in Salem, Mass. Died after 30 October 1728 in Salem, Mass. Married (1) c.1675 Samuel Dutch, (2) c.1694 Richard Hutton (3) 1714 John Knowlton. She had 4 daughters with Samuel Dutch.
Christian More, baptised 5 September 1652 in Salem, Mass. Died 30 May 1680 in Salem, Mass. Married 31 Aug 1676 Joshua Conant. 1 son.
Richard More and Elizabeth Woolnough had one daughter:
Elizabeth More, born ca. 1638 in probably London, about 7–8 years prior to her parents' marriage in 1645. She was baptised at St Dunstan's Church, Stepney, London on 2 March 1646, five months after her parents' marriage in 1645. Nothing more is known about her other than a record of an "Elizabeth More", of about her age, appearing briefly in Salem about 1660, and marrying a local shipwright named Richard Clarke. They soon after moved to Long Island where they appeared at Southampton, Long Island in 1661, as husband and wife.
A recently discovered document suggests that Elizabeth left posterity a trail of breadcrumbs for her identity in the names of her children. The "Pennsylvania and New Jersey, U.S., Church and Town Records, 1669–2013" for Elizabeth Clark reads "RICHARD CLARK, shipwright, living in Southold LI in 1675; removed with wife and children to ET ca 1678; d 1697 m. Elizabeth letters of adm Feb 16 1725 Essex Liber A/238 issues: Elizabeth, Richard, John, Joshua, Samuel, Ephraim, Thomas and Benjamin.
Death and burial
According to the Mayflower Society records, he died in Salem after 19 March 1693/4, but before 20 April 1696. There is documentary evidence that he was alive in 1694 and dead in 1696. His gravestone gives an age of 84, but it is more likely that Richard was unsure of his birth date. The gravestone in the old Salem burial ground gives a date of 1692. But the date, and additional words 'a Mayflower pilgrim', were added at some point between 1901 and 1919, and provoked some outraged reaction in the local press.
Richard More is buried in what was known as the Charter Street Burial Ground but is now the Burying Point/Charter Street Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts. He is the only Mayflower passenger to have his gravestone still where it was originally placed sometime in the mid-1690s.