Edward Tilley

Edward Tilley (c. 1588 – c. winter of 1620/1621) traveled in 1620 on the historic voyage of the ship Mayflower as a Separatist member of the Leiden, Holland contingent. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact, and died with his wife in the first Pilgrim winter in the New World. In England Edward Tilley was baptized in Henlow, co. Bedford, England, on May 27, 1588. He was the son Robert and Elizabeth Tilley. Edward Tilley and Ann (or Agnes) Cooper married on June 20, 1614, in Henlow, co. Bedford, she having been baptized there on November 7, 1585. As with his brother John, Edward married a woman a few years his senior, which was unusual for the time. Their pastor in Leiden, John Robinson, spoke against such marriages, stating it was best for men not to marry older women. Edward Tilley and his wife likely resided in Henlow, Bedfordshire, until they emigrated to Holland a few years after their marriage.