Richard More (Mayflower passenger)
Samuel's father, Richard More, was master of Linley, an estate near Bishop's Castle, close to the Welsh border.
[7] 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.
[9][10] At some point, Samuel began working in London as secretary to Edward, Lord Zouche, privy councillor, diplomat and courtier.
[12] 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.
[16][17][18] 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.
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.
[25][26] The statement details that, soon after the denial of the appeal on 8 July 1620, the children were transported from Shipton to London by a cousin of Samuel More and given into the care of Thomas Weston, "…and delivered to Philemon Powell who was intreated to deliver them to John Carver and Robert Cushman undertakers for the associats [sic] of John Peers [Pierce][21][27] for the plantacon [sic] of Virginia"[28] in whose home they would be staying while awaiting ship boarding.
[31] As the agent of the Merchant Adventurer investment group that was funding the Puritan voyage, Bradford states that Weston caused them many financial and agreement contract problems, both before and after the Mayflower sailed.
Weston's Puritan contacts for the voyage were John Carver and Robert Cushman who jointly agreed to find the children guardians among the Mayflower passengers.
of Deeping Gate (in Maxey) in Northamptonshire and cousin to Lord Zouche's second wife,[35] although he was only separated not divorced from Katherine More and neither party was allowed to remarry during the lifetime of the other.
[37] 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).
[38] The More children were assigned as servants and wards of three adult passengers, as follows: Richard was six years old when the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Colony.
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.
[48] On 20 April 1636 Richard More married Christian Hunter who had been a passenger with him on the Blessing[49] They lived at Duxbury for a time before moving to Salem.
[52] 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.
[55] Beginning in 1654, for two consecutive years, he took part in two attacks by sea against the French, who were threatening New England's fishing and maritime trade in the lower Hudson River region.
Captain More was at Port Royal, Nova Scotia, when the French fort was reduced to English Obedience in 1654, and from thence a bell was later brought to Salem in Capt.
[57] The Navigation Acts, along with the continued taxation of the colonies into the next century, brought about the growth of isolationism, which eventually resulted in the American Revolution.
The ship that was supposed to bring supplies failed to arrive and, consequently, the people were dying of starvation and the lack of adequate protection against the weather.
It was an extremely hazardous area for ships but, upon learning of the situation, Richard brought a shipment of food and supplies to aid the desperate colonists.
[62] The elders had spoken to him privately on several occasions as Richard represented a member of the Ancient Days and they wanted to maintain a special place in their history.
[73] Richard More and his siblings are the only Mayflower passengers with proven, extensive and well-documented royal ancestry from ancient Britain.
[17][78] This document revealed the tragic family circumstances that caused Samuel More to take the children from their home at Larden Hall in Shipton, and send them away to America on the Mayflower without their mother's knowledge or consent.
[80] Centuries later, while excavating just outside a place where the Plymouth barricades stood, a metal spoon was found with Richard's initials carved into it.
