Edward Fuller

Other Events:

• Immigration: 1620, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Mayflower

Notes:

Lived in Leiden Holland, the Netherlands, with second wife.
Edward and his wife came to the U.S.A. on the Mayflower in 1620 alongwith their son Samuel. Edward and his wife died during the first winterinPlymouth. Their son Samuel was raised by his uncle Dr. Samuel Fuller.
Francis H. Fuller, "Early New England Fullers," New England Historicaland Genealogical Register 55(1901):192-196.

Edward was born about 1575 and his baptism took place on September 4th, 1575 in Redenhall, Norfolk, England. Edward's father was Robert Fuller and his mother was Sarah Dunkhorn. He had a brother named Samuel. He was the older of the two children. He had a half-sister named Susannah. He died in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

* General Notes
o Edward Fuller, his wife, and his son Samuel came to America on the Mayflower. They had lived in Leyden, Holland for a short period of time, but originally came from Redenhall, Norfolk, England. Edward Fuller's father was a butcher by trade, and his brother Samuel was a doctor and deacon. Edward's occupation, however, remains unknown. He and his wife both died the first winter.

Edward Fuller's name appears on the "Mayflower Compact" which was drawn up just previous to the landing at Cape Cod on November, 1620. He died at Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, the next spring between Jan and April, 1621. His wife, whose name may have been Ann, died about the same time, leaving their young son Samuel (and Matthew?), who came with them, an orphan.

Edward Fuller has been generally identified as the son of Robert and Sara (Dunkhorn) Fuller, baptized on 4 September 1575 at Redenhall, Norfolk. However, a number of genealogical scholars and Mayflower researchers, including Robert S. Wakefield, Robert Sherman, Robert Leigh Ward, Robert C. Anderson, Eugene Stratton, Leslie Mahler, and others, have all questioned the identification over the past couple of decades. The current identification is based upon circumstantial evidence only: the fact that the names Samuel, Edward, and Ann occur within the same family; and the fact the father is identified as a butcher. Thomas Morton, writing in 1637, says that Samuel Fuller was the son of a butcher. The name Matthew also occurs in this Redenhall Fuller family. The counter-evidence is primarily that the ages for the Fullers appear to be too old, when compared to their marriage dates, the ages of their spouses, and with the births of their children.

The name of Edward Fuller's wife has not been discovered. In James Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (1860-1862), Edward Fuller's wife was given as "Ann". However, there are no American or English records which give her name. I suspect James Savage may have made a simple typographical error: Mayflower passenger Edward Tilley had a wife Ann; or perhaps he was thinking of their sister Ann Fuller. None-the-less, numerous sources published after 1860 have utilized Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, and so the identification of Ann can be found in numerous other books and online resources.
So, in truth, very little is known about Edward Fuller. His English origins and the name of his wife are widely disputed. What is known is that he, his wife, and his son Samuel came on the Mayflower in 1620 to Plymouth. A single Leiden judicial document mentions Edward Fuller, and proves that he, like brother Samuel Fuller, were living in Leiden. Both Edward and his wife died the first winter, but son Samuel (who would have been about 12), survived. An older brother, Matthew, had stayed behind, and came to America later.

Children:
1. Matthew FULLER b: in England
2. Samuel FULLER b: ABT 1608 in England

Family/Spouse: Anne Hopkins. Anne was born in 1577; died in 1620 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Matthew Fuller was born in Oct 1603 in Harleston, Redenhall Parish, Norfolk, England; died on 22 Aug 1678 in Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
2. Samuel Fuller was born on 08 Apr 1612 in Egerton, Kent County, England; died on 31 Oct 1683 in Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.

Other Events:

• Occupation: Butcher
• Occupation: 1613; Yeoman
• Will: 19 May 1613, Redenhall Parish, Norfolk, England
• Will Probated: 31 May 1614, Redenhall Parish, Norfolk, England; by wife
• Will Probated: 16 Jun 1614, Redenhall Parish, Norfolk, England; by son Thomas

Notes:

Three of his children, Edward, Samuel, and Susanna withdrew their memberships from the Church of England and became affiliated with the Separatist Church. All three of them arrived in America on the "Mayflower".

Occupation:
Robert was a butcher, who owned property in the village of Harleston, Norfolk, England.

Robert married Sarah Dunkhorn on 29 Jan 1571 in Starston, Harleston, England. Sarah was born about 1552 in Starston, Harleston, England; died on 01 Jul 1584 in Redenhall Parish, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]