Mary (Norris) Allerton

BIRTH:  Probably about 1590, perhaps from Newbury, co. Berks, England.
MARRIAGE:  Isaac Allerton on 4 November 1611 at Leiden, Holland.
CHILDREN:  Bartholomew, Remember, Mary, an unnamed child buried in Leiden, and a stillborn son born in Plymouth Harbor.
DEATH:  25 February 1620/1 at Plymouth.
mtDNA HAPLOGROUP: W5a2

Mary (Norris) Allerton was about thirty when she came on the Mayflower with her husband Isaac and three children Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary.  Her marriage record in Leiden indicates she was from Newbury, which is presumably Newbury, co. Berks, England.  Searches of this area for her baptism record and other Norris family records have not yet turned up anything conclusive.  They buried a child at St. Peters, Leiden, on 5 February 1620, and she gave birth to a stillborn son in Plymouth Harbor on 22 December 1620.  She herself died during the height of the first winter, on 25 February 1620/1, though her husband and three children all survived.

The Allerton Family - General Society of Mayflower Descendants

Name: Allerton, Mary (Norris) Dates: (____ 25 February 1620/21) Colonial Society: MA Date added to ROA: July 5, 2024 Service: Historic Founder: Mayflower passenger, 1620 Authority: Bradford, William, Bradford's History “Of Plimoth Plantation” (Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1898), 531. Biography: Mary (Norris) Allerton came to New England on the Mayflower in 1620. This was not the first time she left home in search of religious freedom. She was one of the Pilgrims whose desire to separate from the Church of England led them to emigrate to Leiden, in South Holland, around 1609. Mary married Isaac Allerton in Leiden on November 4, 1611. The Dutch marriage record says she was from “Nubure in Engelant” – presumably Newbury, Berkshire, England. Mary and Isaac had four children in Leiden: Bartholomew (born about 1612), Remember (born about 1614), Mary (born about 1617), and an unnamed child buried February 5, 1619/20. The Pilgrims remained in Leiden for more than a decade. However, economic challenges and the fear that their children would adopt Dutch ways prompted them to seek a new place to live and to practice their religion. In July 1620, they traveled to Southampton, England and sailed on the Mayflower in September. Mary was one of 18 adult women on the ship. The Mayflower passengers sighted Cape Cod on November 9, 1620. After exploring the area for several weeks, they arrived in Plymouth harbor on December 21. The following day, Mary gave birth to a stillborn son on board the ship. The Pilgrims were unable to build sufficient homes before cold weather set in, so most of the passengers remained on board the Mayflower during the first winter. Afflicted with what was probably “a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia, and tuberculosis,” fewer than half of the Mayflower passengers survived that winter. Mary died on February 25, 1620/21. Her husband and three children survived her. All three of the children lived to adulthood, married, and had children of their own.