Henry Sampson a Mayflower Ancestor of Sarah Palin
Descendants Include Female Revolutionary War Soldier
Jun 27, 2009
Henry Sampson was from Henlow in Bedfordshire, England, and came to America aboard the Mayflower with his uncle and aunt, Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley. He was the son of James and Martha (Cooper) Sampson.
Edward Tilley's older brother John is documented as a member of the Leiden English Separatist congregation. That may mean that Edward Tilley and his family, including Henry, were also members of that congregation, or at least had sympathetic religious beliefs.
The Tilleys died in Plymouth the first winter. We don't know where Henry lived after his aunt and uncle died but, in the 1627 Division of Cattle, he is listed with the Brewster family.
American Revolution Soldier Deborah Sampson
The first Sampsons don’t appear to have money or position, but as salt-of-the-earth people they left a powerful legacy. Among the most interesting family members is Deborah (Sampson) Gannett (1760-1827). Dressed as a man, this tall, strong woman took a man's name and in 1782 and 1783 fought in the Revolutionary War with the Continental Army. She later was the first American woman to go on a lecture tour. She did this to describe her Revolutionary War service.
The Henry Sampson Family
Sam(p)son married, on February 16, 1636 at Plymouth, Ann Plummer. Their 9 children were Stephen, John, Elizabeth, James, Hannah, an unnamed daughter, Mary, Dorcas and Caleb.
Henry was a farmer with land in Duxbury. He served on a large number of juries in the 1640s, 50s and 60s, which allowed him to interact with some of Plymouth Colony's leading citizens. He also served on committees charged with verifying land boundaries.
Henry died in 1684 at Duxbury, having almost reached the age of 81. His wife, Ann, predeceased him.
Sarah Palin’s Descent from Mayflower Pilgrim Henry Sampson
- Mayflower passenger Henry Sam(p)son, born 1602/4, Henlow, Bedfordshire, England and died Duxbury, MA, 1684; married Ann Plummer, 1635/6, Plymouth, MA
- Stephen Sam(p)son and his wife, Elizabeth
- Elizabeth Samson who married Dr. Jonathan Thayer (b. ca. 1701) in 1722
- Micah Thayer, probably born 1740 and died in 1779 at Ware, MA.; married in 1763 Lois Thayer, born in 1744. Both were great-grandchildren of Ferdinando Thayer of Mendon, MA, who in 1652 married Huldah Hayward
- Rhoda Thayer (1767-1839) who married Stephen Damon (1757-1842) in 1785; both were born in Ware, MA, and died at Hawley, MA.
- Rhoda Damon, b. 1795, Hawley, MA, married at Hawley in 1813, Justus Ruddock, born ca. 1792 at Buckland, MA, and died after 1850 in Wisconsin
- Thomas S. Ruddock, born 1818, Franklin Co., MA, and in 1847 married Maria Newell, born ca. 1828 in Massachusetts. Both were still living when the 1880 census was taken.
- May Belle Ruddock, born in 1867 in Wisconsin and died at Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1934; she married Henry Charles Brandt (1867-1939) from Minnesota in 1894 at Los Angeles, CA; they were divorced; he died in Los Angeles in 1939.
- Nellie “Marie” Brandt, b. 1900, Santa Monica, CA and died in 1988 at Sandpoint, ID; married in 1928 in Los Angeles Co., CA, Charles F. Heath, b. 1901, Chicago, IL, and died in 1980 at Hope, ID.
- Charles “Chuck” Richard Heath, born 1938 in Los Angeles Co., CA; m. Sarah “Sally” Sheeran, born 1940, Richland, WA. They are the parents of Alaska Gov. Sarah (Heath) Palin, born in 1964 at Sandpoint, ID.
Sources:
Presented by William Addams Reitwiesner, a Library of Congress staff member, from data primarily compiled by genealogists Robert Battle and Michael Hurdle; arranged in this form by the current author, who has also used information from her personal files.
Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA
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