Thomas Tinker (c. 1581 – 1620/21) and his family, comprising his wife and son, came in 1620 as
English Separatists
English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries.
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and ...
from
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
on the historic voyage of the
Pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
Ship ''
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
''. He was a signatory to the
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, an ...
but he and his family all perished in the winter of 1620/1621, described by
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
as having died in "the first sickness."
[Charles Edward Banks, ''The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers: who came to Plymouth on the ''Mayflower'' in 1620, the ''Fortune'' in 1621, and the ''Anne'' and the ''Little James'' in 1623'' (Baltimore, MD.:Genealogical Publishing Co., 2006) p. 89][Caleb H. Johnson, ''The Mayflower and her passengers'' (Indiana:Xlibris Corp., Caleb Johnson, 2006) p. 239][Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City:Ancestry Publishing 1986) pp. 362-363][''A genealogical profile of Thomas Tinker,'' (a collaboration of Plimoth Plantation and New England Historic Genealogical Society accessed 2013) ]
'
English origins
The English ancestry of Thomas Tinker is not certain – author Charles Banks believed that the most promising connection to Thomas Tinker of the ''Mayflower'' is a Thomas Tinker in the same field of work –
carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
, of
Neatishead
Neatishead ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the city of Norwich, within The Norfolk Broads and to the west of Barton Broad. Access to Neatishead from the broad is by w ...
, co. Norfolk, born in 1581 at
Thurne
Thurne is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located on the River Thurne in The Broads, some west of the town of Great Yarmouth and east of the city of Norwich.
The villages name means 'Thorn-bush'.
The ...
, co. Norfolk. Author Caleb Johnson reports this same Thomas Tinker married Jane White on June 25, 1609 in Thurne, co, Norfolk.
In Leiden
It is known that Thomas Tinker was an English Separatist residing in
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, Holland in the early 1600s. However, the only time that his name appears in Leiden records is on January 6, 1617, when he became a citizen of that city. His profession was listed as wood sawyer. His guarantors, per the record of that event, were Abraham Gray and John Keble.
[Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City:Ancestry Publishing 1986) p. 362]
On the ''Mayflower''
![The Mayflower Compact 1620 cph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/The_Mayflower_Compact_1620_cph.3g07155.jpg)
The Tinker family's embarkation on the ''
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...
'', per William Bradford states: "Thomas Tinker, and his wife, and a sone." The names of the wife and son are unknown.
[Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City:Ancestry Publishing 1986) p. 406]
The ''Mayflower'' departed
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on September 6/16, 1620. The small, 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of about 30-40 in extremely cramped conditions. By the second month out, the ship was being buffeted by strong westerly gales, causing the ship's timbers to be badly shaken with caulking failing to keep out sea water, and with passengers, even in their berths, lying wet and ill. 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. On the way there were two deaths, a crew member and a passenger, but the worst was yet to come after arriving at their destination when, in the space of several months, almost half the passengers perished in cold, harsh, unfamiliar New England winter.
[Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691,'' (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 413]
On November 9/19, 1620, after about three months at sea, including a month of delays in England, they spotted land, which was the Cape Cod Hook, now called
Provincetown Harbor
Provincetown Harbor is a large harbor#Natural harbors, natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly deep and stretches roughly from northwest to southeast and from northea ...
. After several days of trying to get south to their planned destination of the
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, where they anchored on November 11/21. Thomas Tinker was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact.
Family of Thomas Tinker
Per Johnson, this may be the same Thomas Tinker, carpenter, who married Jane White in Thurne, co. Norfolk, England on June 25, 1609
* ______ (son), possibly born sometime after 1609.
Death of Thomas Tinker and his family
The dates of death of Thomas Tinker, his wife and son are unknown. Bradford used the term "died in the first sickness" for the family so presumption is made they died possibly in December 1620 or January 1621 when illness had become rampant. Thomas Tinker was buried in
Cole's Hill
Cole's Hill is a National Historic Landmark containing the first cemetery used by the ''Mayflower'' Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620. The hill is located on Carver Street near the foot of Leyden Street and across the street from Plymo ...
Burial Ground in Plymouth, likely in an unmarked grave as with many passengers who died in the early days. His son is noted as being buried in Cole's Hill Burial Ground and the wife's burial is listed as unknown, but it is believed she also was buried at Cole's Hill. The family is memorialized on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb on Cole's Hill as "Thomas Tinker his wife and son."
The fate of the Thomas Tinker family as recollected by William Bradford in 1651:
"Thomas Tinker, and his wife and sone, all dyed in the first sicknes."
[Eugene Aubrey Stratton, ''Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691'' (Salt Lake City:Ancestry Publishing 1986) p. 409]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinker
1621 deaths
Mayflower passengers
Year of birth unknown
Burials at Cole's Hill Burial Ground (Plymouth)
Year of birth uncertain