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Family tree▼ Facts and Events
| Name |
John Vassall |
| Gender |
Male |
John Vassall, alderman of London, who in 1588 fitted out and commanded two ships of war, with which he joined the royal navy to oppose the Spanish armada. He was the descendant of an ancient French family, traced back, it is claimed, to the 11th century of the House of Du Vassall, Barons de Guerden, in Querci, Perigord. He had sons Samuel and William, and one other
2. JOHN2 VASSAL (JOHN1) of Caen, Normandy, France, died September 13, 1625 in Ratcliffe, Stepney, Essex, England. He married (1) ANNE HEWES September 25, 1569 in St. Dunstans, Stepney, Middlesex, England. He married (2) September 04, 1580, ANNE RUSSELL of Ratcliffe, Co Middlesex, buried May 5, 1593. He married (3) JUDITH BOROUGH May 23, 1594 in Ratcliffe, Essex, England, daughter of STEPHEN BOROUGH and JOAN OVERYE of Stepney and of Chatham, County Kent, and widow of THOMAS SCOTT of Colchester, County Essex. A subscriber for two shares of stock in the Virginia Company with an investment of £25.10.0 in 1618. An alderman of London, in 1588 equipped and himself commanded two ships of war against the Spanish Armada. The arms granted to him by queen Elizabeth I in consequence of this service were adopted by his family thereafter in place of those used by his French forebears. A "mariner" according to his will, he was the builder and owner of the ship Mayflower that brought the Pilgrims to the shores of Cape Cod and also equipped and commanded the ships of war Samuel and Little Toby against the Spanish Armada. (The information about the Mayflower is in dispute, I have lost the source for this information, but it appears there was more than one Mayflower, and the ship John owned may not have been "THE" MAYFLOWER that brought people to America). He was an alderman of London, and a member of the Virginia Company. (Dictionary of American Biography)
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