Back in Dec 1996 from the Latter-Day-Saints Ancestral file I found some royalty back there in-the far regions of- my ancestry- Kings, Queens, Princes & princesses, kings concubines, knights, barons, etc. of various countries, France, Italy and England. Of course we all know that information is only as valid as the research of the people who sent it in. Anyway, I spotted the name "John Alden born 1599 of Southampton, England married Priscilla Mullins in Plymouth Mass. 12 May 1622. It turns out that 5 generations later their great great grandaughter, Rebecca Dowd became the 4th wife of Jabez Carter and the mother of my Mom's great grandfather, Luman Carter. I had previously noticed that there was a Robert (or Robart) Carter who was one of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, a servant of the William and Mrs. Mullines family and their 2 children, Joseph and Priscila. But-alas, he died "without issue" so was not my ancestor. Records show that John Alden was hired for a cooper at South-Hampton, England "wher the ship victuled; and being a hopfull yong man, was much desired, but left to his owne liking to go or stay when he came here; he stayed, and maryed here." It also turns out that in 1620 Miles Standish and his wife Rose also sailed with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Miles had already attained the rank of Lieutenant in the British Army by 1603 and was employed by the "Separatists" (pilgrims) as their military captain of the Plymouth Colony , helping train their militia. He was a shrewd businessman and became a close friend of John Alden's. They both became assistants of the governor of the colony, and they founded the town of Duxbury, Mass. named for Standish's estate in England (pg 7691-w.b.encyclopedia). But Miles Standish is remembered chiefly for the part he played in the courtship of his friends, John and Priscilla Alden. Before anybody aboard the Mayflower went ashore on Nov. 21, 1620- the Pilgrim leaders persuaded most of them to sign the "Mayflower Compact," which would be the first plan for self determining government. Having undertaken a "Voyage to plant ye first Colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginnia," they promised to set up "just and equal laws, " and to obey the laws decided upon by their leaders. John Alden, 21 years old, was the youngest signer of the Mayflower Compact. He and Priscila Mullines on 12 May 1622 were married in Plymouth, Mass. and theirs was one of the first weddings in America among the Mayflower passangers. They bought a 169 acre farm in what became Duxbury, Mass and they had 11 children. John and Priscilla Alden's daughter Elizabeth Alden, born 1624 in Plymouth, Mass, married William Pabodie; Of that union, their daughter Lydia Pabodie born April 1667 in Duxbury, Mass. married Daniel Grinell in 1683; Of that union their daughter Rebecca Grinnell married John Dowd Jr. in 1736; John Dowd, Jr. and Rebecca had a son Peleg Dowd born 10 February 1734 who married Mereb Ward on 2 July 1752. They had 13 or 15 children, among them Rebecca Dowd born 2 December 1767 in Killingworth, CT who became the 4th wife of Jabez Carter. Jabez and Rebecca Dowd Carter had at least 7 children, Luman, Jonah, Rebecca, Daniel, Clarissa, James and Charity. Some noted descendants of John and Priscilla Mullins Alden were John Quincy Adams (6th American president), his son Charles Francis Adams (a brilliant diplomat) and poets, William Cullen Bryant and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. William Cullen Bryant, known as "The Father of American Poets," also practiced law. His best known poems were "To a Waterfowl," "The Death of the Flowers," and translation of "Letters a Traveler." Longfellow's mother, Zilpah Wadsworth, the daughter of the famed Revolutionary General Peleg Wadsworth, loved music, nature and poetry. As descendants of John and Priscilla Alden, they were quite familiar with the family legend of Alden's courtship about which Longfellow wrote in his poem "The Courtship of Miles Standish" which included the memorable phrase "Why don't you speak for yourself, John." Longfellow traveled widely, taught at Harvard for 17 years and as "the Children's Poet" won fame for poems like, "Hiawatha," "Evangeline," "The Village Blacksmith," and "Paul Revere's Ride." (Vol 10 pp 4579-4580- W.B.Encyclop.) I did find Carter ancestors who lived in England. Edward ? Carter born about June 1639 in Oxford, England was the son of Edward Carter born [1613] and Elizabethae Blackburne born [1617].