John STANDISH

                   Myles Standish Family;  Volume 14: Myles Standish
1997. 218pp. + Index RussellWarner, Robert S. Wakefield (Editor)
Captain Myles Standish m. first Rose ______ who died during the first
winter and 2nd Barbara _______ who survived herhusband and was among the
executors of his estate. Standish, among the morewell known of the
Mayflower passengers -- perhaps due to Longfellow's fictitious poem "The
Courtship of Miles Standish -- was by some accounts of short stature and
of feisty temperament.  Nonetheless, he served the fledgling colonywith
great fidelity and was consistently called upon for service.
He was called by Thomas Morton, the man who Standish arrested, "Captain
Shrimp."  In acombative encounter with the natives, Wittuwamet, Peksuot
and others over aplot to eliminate the Weston colony, Winslow recounts
that prior to the deathfight, Pecksuot earlier had told Standish:
"though he were a great captain,yet he was but a little man; and said
he, though I be no sachem, yet I am a man of great strength and courage."
Both Wittuwamet and Peksuot were killed inhand-to-hand combat by
Standish and his men.
Bradford's Passenger List: "Captain Standish his wife dyed in the first
sicknes; and he maried againe, .4.and hath .4. sones liveing, and some
are dead."
[MD 3:153]Captain Myles Standish died at Duxbury, on Friday, 3 October,
1656. His will was made 7 March,1655/6. It was probated 4 May, 1657, as
is shown by the record of the inventory and by the following court order,
of that date: "Mr Allexander Standish and mr Josias Standish Doe accept
of beeing exequitors with Mis Barbery Standish theire mother on the
estate of Captaine Myles Standish Deceased; "
[MD 1:150 The Division of Cattle in 1627. ] The third lot fell to Capt
Standish & his companie Joyned to him his wife
2 Barbara Standish
3 Charles Standish
4Allexander Standish
5 John Standish
Children by Barbara:
Charles, died young, unmarried
Alexander, m. 1st Sarah Alden, m. 2nd Desire (Doty) (Sherman) Holmes as
her 3rd husband.
John - b. by 1627 no further record
Myles, m. SarahWinslow dau. of John Winslow
Lora, died unmarried
Josias, m. 1st Mary Dingley, m. 2nd Sarah Allen, dau. of Samuel Allen.
Charles, again, named in father'swill, but no further record.
Captain Myles Standish
by S. Aspinall
The story of Myles Standish seems to come direct from the pages of 'Boys'
Own'. As ayoung man Myles was commissioned to fight in the Netherlands.
On his return to England he was hired by the Merchant Adventurers to sail
with the Pilgrimsin the Mayflower. He was with the first landing party
to step ashore after they cast anchor on November 11th, 1620, in the Bay
of Cape Cod. He acted as the commander of the exploring parties, and
rallied the pilgrims to counter thefirst attack by Indians on December
8th, 1620.
On December 19th, the settlers selected a site for their colony to which
they gave the name New Plymouth,but the next few months were to be a
time of terrible hardship. One hundredand one persons came ashore, but
by Christmas 1620 there were so many sick ordead that only about
half-a-dozen were left capable of self-help. It was atthis time that
Myles lost his wife, Rose Standish. These few had to tend thesick, make
fires, cook, wash and feed the others. A later account says that all this
was done 'without any growling in the least' by 'William Brewster, their
Reverend Elder, and Myles Standish, their Captain and military commander'.
Myles continued his exploits as the colony prospered. In 1662 he
successfully led a rescue mission to Weymouth, which was under Indian
attack. In 1628he put down a minor rebellion by break-away settlers and
in 1635 led an attack on French Traders who were intent on taking land
from the colony. As late as 1653 he was called upon, at the age of 70, to
command the fighting volunteers of the colony against a threatened Dutch
inv