Moses Fletcher

• Maria Evans, 30 October 1589, Sandwich, Kent, England.
• Sarah Denby (widow), 21 December 1613, Leiden.

Biographical Summary

Moses Fletcher was born probably in Canterbury, Kent, England.  In Sandwich, Kent, he married Mary Evans on 30 October 1589.  This suggests he was born around 1565, making him one of the oldest Mayflower passengers, along with James Chilton who was also from Canterbury/Sandwich.  He and wife Mary had ten children baptized and/or buried at St. Peters in Sandwich, Kent.  Moses Fletcher, along with James Chilton's wife, were accused of having attended the burial of a child performed outside of the Church of England, and so excommunication proceedings were commenced.  Shortly thereafter he and others from the Sandwich congregation removed to Leiden and took up residence with the Pilgrims.  In Leiden, following the death of his wife Mary, he remarried to the widow Sarah Denby in 1613.  Moses Fletcher came alone on the Mayflower in 1620; perhaps his wife had died by that time.  His children were nearing adulthood, and some had even married into Dutch families by the time of his departure (and some would marry a few years thereafter).  He died sometime the first winter at Plymouth.  None of his children are known to have come to America--his children remained in Holland, and so his descendants today are Dutch.

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