Biographical Information
Samuel Eaton was born probably in early 1620. He came on the
Mayflower with his parents Francis and Sarah, and was referred to as
a "sucking child". His mother died shortly after arrival, during
the first winter at Plymouth. His father died in 1633, when he was
just about 13 years old. A few years later at the age of 16 (in
1636), he was apprenticed to John Cooke for the period of 7 years.
John Cooke had come on the Mayflower in 1620, as a 13-year old
boy.
Around 1646 or sometime shortly before, he had married a woman named
Elizabeth and was residing in Duxbury. Surprisingly little is
known about this family: the identity of his wife Elizabeth has not been
established; and they had two children, both of whose names are unknown.
Elizabeth died at some time unknown, but obviously sometime before his
10 January 1660/1 marriage to Martha Billington. Martha was the
daughter of Francis Billington, who had come on the Mayflower as
a 14-year old boy. Together they had four children, Sarah, Samuel,
Mercy, and Bethiah. Sometime during the 1660s, he moved his family
from Duxbury to Middleboro. Samuel's probate estate inventory was
taken on 29 October 1684 at Middleboro. His wife Martha survived
him, and died sometime after 1704, probably in Connecticut.
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