Rev. Samuel Fuller: Genealogical Goldmine with a Major Plot Twist

 

This line is a true genealogical goldmine, but it comes with a major plot twist that will completely transform how we write about it for our America 250 archive.

Older, centuries-old family trees frequently list this 9th great-grandmother as Elizabeth Brewster (supposedly connecting us to Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower). However, modern, rigorous scholarship by the Mayflower Society completely dismantled this theory.

The woman who married Thomas Bowen and later Rev. Samuel Fuller II was actually Elizabeth Nichols, the daughter of early Connecticut settler John Nichols.

🔍 The True Breakdown of the Line

While this correction untangles the Brewster myth, the actual historical truth leaves us with an arguably more compelling narrative of early Plymouth Colony.

1. The Step-Father and the True Lineage

Our 8th great-grandmother, Abiah (Abijah) Bowen, was born to Elizabeth Nichols during her first marriage to a cooper named Thomas Bowen. When Thomas died in 1663, the widowed Elizabeth married Rev. Samuel Fuller II.

Because Samuel Fuller raised the Bowen children as his own stepfamily, older family historians conflated the trees.

2. The True Mayflower Connection

Even though Elizabeth Nichols wasn't a Brewster, our connection to Rev. Samuel Fuller II remains a massive piece of history. Samuel II was the son of Dr. Samuel Fuller Sr., the legendary passenger on the 1620 Mayflower voyage who served as the Pilgrims' primary physician, surgeon, and church deacon during the devastating first winter at Plymouth.

Rev. Samuel Fuller II went on to become the very first ordained minister of Middleborough, Massachusetts, serving as a pillar of spiritual and civic leadership for the expanding colony.

📜 The Enduring Spirit of the Mayflower Physicians and Pioneer Ministers is Woven Directly into our Blood

Celebrating America 250

In the world of family history, sometimes the myths we inherit hide an even greater truth. For generations, whispers in our family tree claimed a descent from the famous Brewster pilgrims of Plymouth. But the real records reveal a story of survival, blended families, and a deep connection to the literal survival of the Old Colony.

Our 9th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Nichols, was a woman acquainted with the harsh realities of the early frontier. Left a young widow with small children—including our 8th great-grandmother, Abiah Bowen—she had to navigate a raw, unforgiving New England landscape alone. But her story took a historic turn when she caught the eye of Rev. Samuel Fuller II.

Samuel wasn't just any country preacher; he was the son of Dr. Samuel Fuller, the famous physician who walked off the Mayflower in 1620 and kept the fragile Pilgrim colony alive through its darkest hours. When Rev. Samuel wedded Elizabeth, he wrapped his arms around her fatherless Bowen children, raising them under the roof of the Middleborough parsonage.

Through the generations that followed—running through the Wood and Townsend lines—this deep Plymouth heritage traveled west, eventually flowing into the veins of Calvin Plimpton and our Civil War soldier, Charles Henry Plympton. The Brewster name may have been a ghost in the archives, but the enduring spirit of the Mayflower physicians and pioneer ministers is woven directly into our blood.

Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy