By Don Taylor
With Thanksgiving upon us, it feels like an appropriate moment to share a discovery I made just yesterday: I may be descended from Richard Warren (1583–1628), one of the passengers of the Mayflower. This possible connection appears on my Roberts line and, unlike my distant Charlemagne link, is close enough that I should be able to verify—or rule it out—through careful research.
Below is the lineage I believe may connect me to Richard Warren. This reconstruction follows my direct ancestors up the Roberts, Barnes, Taft, Cruff, Sprague, and Bartlett lines, arriving eventually at the Warren family of early Plymouth Colony.
Proposed Line of Descent to Richard Warren
- Me
- Hugh Eugene Roberts (1926-1997)
- Essie Pansy Barnes (1903-1982)
- Joel Clinton Barnes (1857-1921)
- Mercy Eliza Taft (1822-1884
- Joel Cruff Taft (1800-1849)
- Asa Taft (1774-1839)
- Elizabeth Cruff (1750-1821)
- Abigail Sprague (c. 1719- 1776)
- Richard Sprague (1685-1753)
- Elizabeth Bartlett (c. 1836-1713)
- Mary Warren (c. 1610-1683)
- Richard Warren (1583-1628) MAYFLOWER PASSENGER
About Richard Warren
Richard Warren arrived in Plymouth Colony aboard the Mayflower in 1620. He traveled alone, leaving his wife Elizabeth (née Walker) and their five daughters in England. They later joined him in 1623 on the ship Anne. Warren played a meaningful role in the early development of the colony, and his descendants spread widely across New England.
His eldest daughter, Mary Warren, married Robert Bartlett, thus beginning one of the region’s enduring colonial family lines.
Where My Research Stands Today
I have thoroughly researched the first six generations of this proposed lineage and feel confident in their accuracy. For the remaining ancestors—particularly the connections linking the Taft, Cruff, Sprague, and Bartlet families—I am relying on established secondary sources that appear consistent with reputable genealogical work.
To fully confirm this Mayflower descent, I still need to examine three more ancestor pairs closely:
- Asa Taft → Elizabeth Cruff
- Elizabeth Cruff → Abigail Sprague
- Abigail Sprague → Richard Sprague
And confirm three more ancestor pairs that are well known:
- Richard Sprague → Elizabeth Bartlet
- Elizabeth Bartlet → Mary Warren
- Mary Warren → Richard Warren
Once those links are verified through primary evidence or trusted scholarly treatments, I should be able to determine with confidence whether this Mayflower ancestry is valid.
Even the possibility is a meaningful discovery to consider during this Thanksgiving season, inviting reflection on family, history, and heritage.
Endnotes
- “Richard Warren,” Wikipedia, accessed November 2025.
- General histories of Plymouth Colony, the Bartlett family, and the Warren descendants, including Mayflower Families Through Five Generations.
Disclaimer
This article’s development was aided by the use of ChatGPT and Grammarly.
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