Holbrook line: John Jordan of Guilford, Connecticut, Immigrant

The only mysteries we have about John Jordan are these:  Who were his parents?  When and where was he born?  What did he do for a living?  Was he literate?  What happened to his will?  In other words, we don't know much. 

The first time we see John Jordan is on a ship heading from England to Guilford, Connecticut.  This was the first town in New England to be settled directly and entirely by immigrants, rather than being an overflow of colonists who for one reason or another wished to leave their original home in New England.  Henry Whitfield was the leader and pastor of this group.  Whitfield was a pastor who was not willing to comply with government requirements in support of the Church of England.  He and about 70 other people, including 25 men, signed an agreement while still on board ship regarding how the group would govern themselves.  Among the names on that list is John Jordan.  It is thought that his (probable) brother Thomas was also on board, but not yet of age to sign the compact. 

Many of the men on the ship were young farmers, and until I find something to the contrary, I will postulate that John fell into this class.  He and others like him were expected to grow crops to support the others, including Pastor Whitfield.  Apparently life in Guilford went well, because when Charles I was executed in 1649, there were requests for Puritans to come back "home"/  Henry Whitfield answered that request, as did Thomas Jordan and a few others who were early settlers. 

John, however, stayed in Guilford.  He had married Ann Bishop, daughter of John BIshop (who was also on the original ship and signed the original compact) in October of 1639, probably soon after arriving in Connecticut.  John and Ann had at least five children together.  John was early a trustee of the lands of Guilford, and also a justice of the peace, so perhaps he had at least some education. 

That is pretty much the end of his story, for John died in January of 1650.  Indications are that he was likely a young man, perhaps around the age of 40.  It's unknown whether it was an accident or an illness that killed him.  He left a will, but it's been lost.  His wife, Ann, married Thomas Clarke. 

Please don't write a thesis stating that John's wife was Ann Bishop, daughter of John.  Some think that she was his widowed daughter in law, which is possible, although I've seen no evidence for that.  If that's so, we don't know who Ann's parents were, either. 

I'm ending this blog post with one more mystery than I started with.  However, we do know that John came to Guilford and stayed in Guilford.  He helped get the new village started and so was important to the history of Connecticut, and to our family!

The line of descent is:

John Jordan-Ann Bishop
John Jordan-Katherine Chalker
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants