Richard More the reluctant pilgrim
Around 20 miles from Tettenhall is the small Shropshire village of Shipton, in the beautiful Corvedale, the setting for one of the most incredible – and tragic – stories of any of the passengers that sailed on the Mayflower nearly 400 years ago.
It concerns four small children, born into the More family – one of the wealthiest in South Shropshire.
Ellen aged 8, Jasper, 7, Richard, 5, and Mary, 4, were found by the courts to be the product of an adulterous relationship between their mother Katherine and her childhood sweetheart, Jacob Blakeway, the son of a tenant farmer.
Katherine's much younger husband, Samuel, had been making a name for himself working for the Government in London, and it took him some time to realise what had been going on behind his back.
He eventually won a four year battle to be separated from Katherine and gain custody of the children.
Samuel wanted them as far away as possible and bought them places as servants to some of the principal Pilgrims about to sail to America to escape persecution.
Tragically, Richard was the only child to survive the harsh first winter that decimated half of the Mayflower's passengers, but he went on to live into his 80s, albeit a life that had little bearing on his strict Puritan upbringing.
Richard was involved in a string of doubtful business deals, had three marriages (one as a bigamist), and eight children, including an illegitimate one.
When he was in his 70s Richard was thrown out of Salem church for his adulterous affairs with a number of women – eventually being readmitted shortly before his death.
This month marks the 400th anniversary of Richard's birth. Today he lies in the Old Burial Ground in Salem, Massachusetts, flanked by his two 'official' wives.
The scandal that surrounded his life was only matched by the century of scandal that also marked his father's life back in Shropshire.
The amazing, yet little known story, is told in a new book: Richard More The Reluctant Pilgrim.
It has been written by John Davies, a former Wolverhampton Express & Star, and Beacon Radio journalist, who later went on to work in communications for both Tarmac and later Carillion.
You can get further information about the book and where to buy it from www.RichardMore.com
See the original post at Tettenhall.co.uk.
