Myles Standish (b. Bet. 1584 - 1587, d. 03 Oct 1656)
Myles Standish1 was born Bet. 1584 - 1587 in Lancashire, England, and died 03 Oct 1656 in Duxbury, MA.. He married (1) Barbara (?). He married (2) Rose (?) on Abt. 1623 in Plymouth Colony, MA. (Barbara).
Notes for Myles Standish: Myles Standish
Born: Traditionally 1584 or 1587, and probably in Lancashire, England. Mayflower Families: Myles Standish for Five Generations, contains the best, most thoroughly and completely researched genealogy on Myles Standish. It covers every descendant of Myles Standish for the first five generations, to the birth of the sixth generation. Packed full of genealogical research, more than 215 pages. Published by the Marriages: Rose, maiden name unknown, sometime before 1620. Barbara, maiden name unknown, about 1623, Plymouth.
Death: 3 October 1656, Duxbury. Children: Charles (died young), Alexander, John, Myles, Lora, Josias, and Charles.
Biographical Summary
Myles Standish was born probably in Lancashire, England, probably in the vicinity of Chorley and Duxbury. There have been several attempts, generally unsuccessful, to place his origins on the Isle of Man, but the weight of the historical evidence leans towards the more probable Lancashire origin.
Myles Standish is alleged to have joined Queen Elizabeth's army and attained the rank of Lieutenant, but the documentation for this claim was lost in the 1920s without having been published or transcribed, so may be suspect. In any case, Standish was certainly a part of Queen Elizabeth's army, and was stationed for a time in Holland where he eventually met and became well acquainted with John Robinson and the Pilgrims who were living in Leiden. Standish was hired by the Pilgrims to be their military captain, to establish and coordinate the Colony's defense against both foreign (French, Spanish, Dutch) and domestic (Native American) threats.
Standish led or participated in all the early exploratory missions sent out to explore Cape Cod, and was heavily involved in selecting the site where the Pilgrims would settle. He was one of the few who did not get sick at all the first winter, and is recorded as having greatly helped and cared for those who were sick. He organized the deployment of the colony's cannons and the construction of the fort at Plymouth. He led both trading expeditions and military expeditions to the various Indian groups in the region. He led the party that went in pursuit of the alleged killers of Squanto (who was later discovered to be safe). He led the revenge attacks on the Indians in the Massachusetts Bay after they were caught in a conspiracy planning to attack and destroy the Plymouth and Wessagussett colonies; several Indians were killed or executed, for which Standish received some criticism, even from his friends, for being too heavy-handed.
Standish was heavily involved in numerous aspects of Plymouth Colony, from defense to keeping the law. He was on the receiving end of John Billington's verbal wrath in 1621 (Billington refused to follow the captain's orders), and was called a "silly boy" in a letter that was sent out during the Oldham-Lyford scandal of 1624, and was noted for his short stature and for his quick temper. He was sent to arrest Thomas Morton in 1628, for which he received the nickname "Captain Shrimp" from Morton. William Hubbard reported Standish's temper was like a "chimney soon fired".
Despite the heavy criticism by his enemies, Standish was well respected within the Plymouth Colony, and held a number of positions of authority. He made several trips to England to bring trading goods back and to negotiate with the Merchant Adventurers who had financially sponsored the joint-stock company that funded the Pilgrims' voyage. In the mid-1630s, Standish moved his family and helped found the town of Duxbury, which may have been named after his ancestral home. Standish was an heir to a fairly sizeable estate in Lancashire, but his lands were lost during the English Civil War, and neither he nor his son Alexander were ever able to legally regain control of the estate.
Myles Standish's first wife Rose came with him on the Mayflower, and died the first winter. His second wife, Barbara, arrived on the ship Anne in 1623, and they were apparently married before the year was out. Nothing is known about either of his wives: there is absolutely no indication they were his cousins, as has sometimes been claimed.
Standish lived out his later years in Duxbury, dying in 1656 "after his suffering of much dolorous pain," apparently from kidney stones.
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Captain Myles Standish M. first Rose ______ who died during the first winter and 2nd Barbara _______ who survived her husband and was among the executors of his estate. Standish, among the more well known of the Mayflower passengers -- perhaps due to Longfellow's fictitious poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish -- was by some accounts of short stature and of feisty temperament. Nonetheless, he served the fledgling colony with great fidelity and was consistently called upon for service.
He was called by Thomas Morton, the man who Standish arrested, "Captain Shrimp." In a combative encounter with the natives, Wittuwamet, Peksuot and others over a plot to eliminate the Weston colony, Winslow recounts that prior to the death fight, Pecksuot earlier had told Standish: "though he were a great captain, yet he was but a little man; and said he, though I be no sachem, yet I am a man of great strength and courage." Both Wittuwamet and Peksuot were killed in hand-to-hand combat by Standish and his men.
Bradford's Passenger List: "Captain Standish his wife dyed in the first sickness; and he maried againe, .4. and hath .4. sones liveing, and some are dead."
[MD 3:153]Captain Myles Standish died at Duxbury, on Friday, 3 October, 1656. His will was made 7 March, 1655/6. It was probated 4 May, 1657, as is shown by the record of the inventory and by the following court order, of that date: "Mr Allexander Standish and Mr Josias Standish Doe accept of beeing exequitors with Mis Barbery Standish theire mother on the estate of Captaine Myles Standish Deceased; "
[MD 1:150 The Division of Cattle in 1627. ] The third lot fell to Capt Standish & his companie Joyned to him his wife 2 Barbara Standish 3 Charles Standish 4 Allexander Standish 5 John Standish
Children by Barbara:
Charles, died young, unmarried
Alexander, M. 1st Sarah Alden, M. 2nd Desire (Doty) (Sherman) Holmes as her 3rd husband.
John - b. by 1627 no further record
Myles, M. Sarah Winslow dau. of John Winslow
Lora, died unmarried
Josias, M. 1st Mary Dingley, m. 2nd Sarah Allen, dau. of Samuel Allen.
Charles, again, named in father's will, but no further record.
More About Myles Standish and Rose (?): Marriage: Abt. 1623, Plymouth Colony, MA. (Barbara).
Myles Standish (b. Bet. 1584 - 1587, d. 03 Oct 1656)
Notes for Myles Standish: