BORN: c. 1610/probably London, England
DIED: March 27, 1683/Plymouth

Robert Bartlett, designated a “wine cooper” in later records, arrived in Plymouth Colony on the Anne in 1623. During the 1627 Division of Cattle, he was unmarried and listed as part of Francis Eaton’s company.

Probably around 1629, Robert married Mary Warren, daughter of well-to-do London merchant Richard Warren and his wife Elizabeth (Walker) Warren. Mary was the Warrens’ oldest child, born about 1610 (presumably in London) and was about 10 years old when her father departed on the voyage to America. Three years later, Mary accompanied her mother and four younger sisters on the ship Anne and the family was reunited in Plymouth.

The date of marriage for Robert and Mary Bartlett is based on their estimated ages and the estimated birthdates of their children, though actual birthdates are known only for the last two Bartlett children. Robert and Mary Warren Bartlett had eight children: Benjamin, Rebecca, Mary, Sarah, Joseph, Elizabeth, Lydia, whose birth on 8 June 1647 is noted in the Plymouth Colony Records (PCR 8:4), and Mercy, whose birth on 10 March 1650 is also recorded (PCR 8:11).

Robert’s name appears in the earliest list of freemen, dated 1633. His public service was limited to serving on juries and as surveyor of the highways. Most of his legal dealings centered on land transactions.

In 1655, Bartlett brought suit against Thomas Pope for killing his pregnant sow and was awarded 18 shillings damage, and the cost of the suit. In 1660, Bartlett was himself summoned to court to “answare for speakeing contemptuously of the ordinance of singing of psalmes.”

Robert Bartlett died between September 19 and October 29-November 8, 1676 when his will was probated.

According to Plymouth Church Records (I:250), “Mary Bartlett, widow” died at Plymouth on March 27, 1683 in her 73rd year. A document by her sons in 1683 also refers to her as deceased by that time.