Francis Eaton (Mayflower passenger)
Francis Eaton was born c. 1596 in Bristol, England, and died in the autumn of 1633 in Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
There is no record in Bristol of his first marriage or of the birth of his son Samuel there, indicating the family may have lived elsewhere in England prior to boarding the Mayflower.
"[1][2][4] Bradford noted this family at that time: "Francis Eaton, and Sarah, his wife, and Samuell, their son, a young child.
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.
After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on 11 or 21 November.
That group was called Undertakers, and was made up of such as William Bradford, Myles Standish and Isaac Allerton initially who were later joined by Edward Winslow, William Brewster, John Howland, John Alden, Thomas Prence and others from London, former Merchant Adventurers.
[15] In the 1627 division of cattle, Francis and Christian Eaton, with children Samuel and Rachel, received a cow and two goats.
On 25 June 1631 records state he sold a cow calf to Edward Winslow and noted terms of interest on the sale.
He married: Children of Francis and Christian Eaton: Francis Eaton died in the autumn of 1633, possibly as the result of an epidemic that spread through the colony that year and also claimed the lives of fellow Mayflower passengers Peter Browne and Samuel Fuller.
[5][14][19] On 26 November 1633, the Plymouth Court proclaimed "…Francis Eaton, carpenter, late of Plymouth, deceased, died indebted far more than the estate…" Thomas Prence and John Doane were involved in the estate process with the probate inventory being drawn up the same day by James Hurst, Francis Cooke and Phineas Pratt, revealing how meager his estate was due to Eaton's dire financial situation.
