BORN: Circa 1585/England
DIED: Between 1643 and 1650/Plymouth

Elinor Billington tried to make the best of a challenging life. She and her husband John and their teenage sons, John junior and Francis, likely came to America to escape poverty in England. They were unacquainted with the other passengers and soon acquired a reputation as troublemakers.

Francis accidentally caused a fire on the Mayflower; John senior spoke out against the authorities. In 1630, John Billington was convicted of murder and became the first in the colony to be executed.

After her husband’s execution, Elinor Billington likely faced some degree of community censure. In 1636, she was accused of slander by a high-ranking male neighbor and given the harsh and humiliating sentence of a public whipping. Yet less than two years later, she received a marriage proposal. Prior to marrying her second husband Gregory Armstrong in 1638, Elinor ensured her son Francis would receive his inheritance by deeding him most of her lands. She safeguarded her remaining property in a prenuptial agreement.