Rev. John Robinson: Pastor to the Pilgrims
He Died Before He Could Join His Mayflower Flock
Rev. Robinson missed the boat, staying behind as shepherd to Puritans remaining in Holland, and dying before he could follow his flock. Robinson’s widow and at least two sons reached Plymouth Colony in the following decade, as did relatives of the Mayflower pilgrims and Gov. William Bradford’s second wife.
Chosen Pastor by Puritans in 1606
Rev. Robinson, born in 1576, was a Cambridge University graduate chosen in 1606 as pastor when a group of puritans gathered at William Brewster’s home at Scrooby in England’s Nottingham County. He moved with his new congregation to Amsterdam the winter of 1607-1608; they resettled at Leyden in 1610.
Rev. Robinson died in 1625. Thirty-five members of his Leyden congregation arrived at Plymouth Colony in 1629; another group of followers arrived in 1630. Robinson's family came with one of those groups.
Rev. Robinson's descendants can tap a variety of old records for material on their illustrious ancestor. Some historians concluded he was son of the Rev. John Robinson, Archdeacon of Lincoln Cathedral, but cite no supporting evidence. Alumni Cantabrigienses states he was son of the John Robinson who died at Sturston, Notts. in1614.
Married Bridget White
Rev. Robinson was curate of St. Andrews Church, Norwich, when married there in 1603 to “Mistress Bridget White.” In his 1920 book, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, Walter Burgess identifies her as daughter of Alexander White of Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire, and sister of pilgrim John Carver's wife Catherine. He does not mention any connection to the White family which arrived on the Mayflower.
Because Rev. Robinson is constantly referred to in contemporary documents as “Mr.”, some writers—including Francis R. Stoddard in The Truth About the Pilgrims—assume he belonged to the gentry. His letters show him to be a gentleman of education, character and ability.
Praised by Gov. Bradford
Nathaniel Morton called Robinson “that famous and worthy man” (Plymouth Church Records). Plymouth Colony Gov. Bradford described him as “a man learned and of solid judgment, and of a quick and sharp wit. So was he also of a tender conscience and very sincere in all his ways; a hater of hypocrisy and dissimulation, and would be very plain with his best friends,” Bradford wrote.
Ironically, the pastor’s son, Isaac, who settled at Scituate, MA, was disenfranchised in 1659 by Gov. Prince for being sympathetic to the Quakers. (His rights and privileges were reinstated by Gov. Winslow in 1673.)
Isaac Robinson married Margaret Hanford June 27, 1636. He moved to Barnstable and later became one of 13 persons purchasing Indian land to begin settlement of Falmouth in 1660. He may have moved there because he was persecuted for his Quaker principles. Falmouth was home to many early Quakers.
Isaac’s brother, John Robinson, settled in the Cape Ann area.
A companion article gives resources for tracing Robinson ancestry.
SOURCES: Chief source is a manuscript prepared by a Bourne family member. It was in the possession of Mrs. Gail Howard of Machiasport, ME in 1980. This manuscript was the basis of an article titled “Guess Who Missed the Boat” by Rosemary E. Bachelor. It appeared in the May, 1980 issue of The Second Boat, a genealogical magazine specializing in colonial era families.
