Bartlett Society Newsletter

The Bartlett Line
our newsletter

We may post from time to time on this page excerpts from the current and/or back issues of The Bartlett Line. Please check back often.

If you have something you feel is appropriate to include in a future issue of The Bartlett Line, send an email to the Editor describing what you have. All submissions become the property of The Bartlett Society and will reside in our permanent database. Scanned images are acceptable to include and will allow you to retain your valuable original items.

We will also post here other items of interest to Bartlett researchers. Send any such items to Webmaster.

FOR SALE: e-books of the descendants of Robert Bartlett

One of our members, David T. Robertson, has written three books (as of 2012) showing descendants of Robert Bartlett through 5 generations including information never before published. These eBooks (PDF) are reasonably priced and can be downloaded by visiting David's Store. You will find a brief biography of Mr. Robertson and descriptions of the books when you link to the store.

100th Reunion Group Picture

Click on the below picture to enlarge it. Broadband speed is recommended (or just be patient).
This picture was part of a feature story in a recent edition of The Bartlett Line.

October 13, 2007: Attendees at the 100^th reunion of The Bartlett Society
at Plimoth Plantation with Robert Bartlett and Mary Warren in the front.

Who Was Robert Bartlett?
Excerpted from a talk given by Robert L. Bartlett,
former newsletter editor, on the occasion of the
100th Reunion of The Bartlett Society.

"The question of the English origins of Pilgrim Robert has bedeviled the Bartlett Society since its beginnings. This morning I hope to answer that question for you.

"Robert Bartlett arrived at Plymouth on the ship Anne in 1623. The ship's manifest records that he was 20 years old and that he was a cooper by trade. From this we know that he was born in 1603.

"Coopers made barrels and other containers of all kinds out of wood. In those days they were the only kind of large containers available. Later we learn that he was a wine cooper, one who could make leak-proof barrels to hold wine, water, and other liquids. He was the top level of a highly-skilled and demanding trade.

"On the same ship were Mistress Elizabeth Warren and her five daughters. Their father, Richard Warren, had preceded them on the Mayflower.

"There is a village in the county of Dorset, in southwest England, called Puddletown. It is not far from Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral. Its oldest and most important building is the Church of St. Mary's, parts of which date back to 1200 A.D. The Parish Register at St. Mary's records the baptism of an infant named Robert Bartlett on . . ."

The complete story is printed in two parts in The Bartlett Line. You may read the whole story including references when you join our Society.

A Small Forgery
by David T. Robertson

"In 1999, Elizabeth Price Heinsohn donated to the Pilgrim Hall Museum a damask napkin that is said to have been passed down from generation to generation and had been brought to America by Elizabeth Warren, the wife of Richard Warren. The napkin, measuring three feet long and two fee wide, is designed, white on white, with a woven facade of houses and churches, and in the foreground, a graceful bridge over the canal showing boats and ice skaters. In the skyline the word Amsterdam in Dutch is clearly seen, and the entire design is framed by a border.

"Mrs. Heinsohn's generous gift was first sent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston where, for three years, it was carefully preserved in a glass case, available for viewing. After three years, it was returned to Pilgrim Hall Museum where it now hangs.

"Family lore was that it was brought to America by Richard Warren along with some silver aboard the Mayflower. Thus it became known as the "Mayflower Napkin." The family story was that it had been passed down through thirteen generations and that each holder signed their name to the list. The list reads:

Elizabeth Marsh Warren
Mary Warren Bartlett
Lydia Bartlett Barnaby
Joanna Harlow Barnaby
Elizabeth Gardner Barnaby
Sylvia Winslow Barnaby
Lydia Barnaby Foster
Lucinda Foster Dickinson
Lucinda Dickinson Cowan
Margaret Cowan McClung
Lucy McClung Thomas
Minnie McClung Price
Elizabeth Price Heinsohn

"The curators at the Museum of Fine Arts confirmed that the material was of the type produced in Europe during this period. Thus it became the only piece of fabric from the Mayflower on display today. The gift was highly praised in The Mayflower Quarterly (65:114).

"There is just one problem, a minor issue. The first name on the list is Elizabeth Marsh Warren. We have proven conclusively that Elizabeth Warren's maiden name is Walker not Marsh. . ."

The story continues in the July 2008 issue of The Bartlett Line. Please join our Society to read the full story and other articles in our newsletter.

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