Part I · Chapter 1

Ancestor Spotlight · Swift maternal line

Rev. John Robinson

The Long brothers' 11th great-grandfather.

How they’re connected
  1. Rev. John Robinson
  2. ↓ Isaac Robinson
  3. ↓ Mercy 'Mary' Robinson
  4. ↓ Lydia Weeks
  5. ↓ William Swift V
  6. ↓ Solomon Swift
  7. ↓ Capt. Nathaniel Swift
  8. ↓ Solomon Swift
  9. ↓ Leroy E. Swift
  10. ↓ Le Roy Warren Swift
  11. ↓ Rachel Winter Swift
  12. ↓ Francis Swift Perry
  13. ↓ Carol Perry Long
  14. ↓ John, Perry and Patrick Long

c. 1576-1625

Theological founder of the Pilgrim movement, pastor of the Separatist congregation at Leiden (1609-1625) that became the Mayflower Pilgrims. He died in Leiden before the crossing, but his church became Plymouth Colony.

Appears in: The Swift, Winter & Peckham Lines

← Back to the Swift line

Editor’s Note

This page documents not a Mayflower passenger but the Pilgrims’ pastor, the man whose Leiden congregation supplied the core of the Mayflower company. [1] Robinson never crossed the Atlantic; he stayed in Leiden intending to follow and died there in 1625. [1][2] His son Isaac emigrated to Plymouth Colony and Cape Cod, [3] and through Isaac the line continues into the Swift dynasty and down to the family. [4][5][6][7] Every generation has been checked against the FamilySearch Family Tree, [8] and the colonial links against the published sources cited here.

A note on coherence, not coincidence: the Robinson line enters the Swift dynasty at William Swift IV, who married Lydia Weeks in 1707, [7] and a separately documented cousin line, that of Col. Heman Swift, also joins at William Swift II. [9] The two independently walked chains meet in one Swift trunk. That agreement corroborates the Swift generations they share; it does not test the Robinson–Weeks links, which rest on the sources cited below.

Relationship

Rev. John Robinson is the 11th great-grandfather of John, Perry, and Patrick Long, via the Swift maternal line.

●VerifiedSIDE: MATERNAL · SWIFT LINE
FamilySearch PID
KXJ7-871↗
Birthplace
Sturton-le-Steeple, Nottinghamshire, England
Deathplace
Leiden, Holland

Biography

John Robinson was an English Separatist minister [11] who, with his congregation, fled persecution in England for the relative tolerance of the Dutch Republic, [10] settling at Leiden around 1609. [11][12] There he served as the pastor and theological architect of the community that history remembers as the Pilgrims. [12][13]

When part of his congregation resolved to sail for America in 1620, Robinson stayed behind with the larger group in Leiden, intending to follow once the colony was established. [1][2] His farewell counsel to the departing Pilgrims, as Edward Winslow recalled it in print in 1646, urged openness to “further light”: Robinson was “very confident the Lord had more truth and light yet to breake forth out of his holy Word.” [14] It became one of the movement’s defining texts. He never made the crossing; he died at Leiden in 1625, before he could join them. [2][15]

His son Isaac Robinson (c. 1610–c. 1704) did emigrate, settling in Plymouth Colony and later on Cape Cod. [3][16][17] Through Isaac the line runs into the Swift family of Sandwich and Falmouth: his daughter Mercy married William Weeks of Falmouth in March 1669/70, [4][18][19] and their daughter Lydia married William Swift in 1707. [5][6][7] From there it runs onward, by the maternal Swift-Perry descent, to John, Perry, and Patrick Long. [8] Robinson’s nearly twelve years as pastor in Leiden shaped the congregation that sent the Mayflower company; [13] he is the theological root of the colony his descendants helped settle.

Key Accomplishments

  • Pastor and theological leader of the Leiden Separatist congregation that became the Pilgrims [10][12]
  • Gave the Pilgrims’ farewell counsel (the “further light” charge) at their departure in 1620, as later recorded by Edward Winslow [14][13]
  • Ancestor, through his son Isaac, of New England Robinson descendants, among them the Falmouth Swifts descended from Lydia (Weeks) Swift [17][4][7]

Descent to the Long Brothers

Every generation, from the recorded chain. Each link shows its confidence; “record pending” marks a link that rests on the FamilySearch tree, with no record attached yet.

  1. 11th great-grandfatherRev. John Robinsonc. 1576 – 1625KXJ7-871●Verified
    link●Verified
  2. 10th great-grandfatherIsaac Robinsonc. 1610 – c. 1704LCJM-K4K●Verified
    link●Verified
  3. 9th great-grandmotherMercy 'Mary' Robinson1647 – 1688LH8F-MG8●Verified
    link●VerifiedMercy Robinson m. William Weeks of Falmouth, March 1669/70[1][2][3]
  4. 8th great-grandmotherLydia Weeks1687 – 1732LZGK-8PL●Verified
    link●VerifiedLydia Weeks m. William Swift IV, 1707[4][5][6]
  5. 7th great-grandfatherWilliam Swift V1719 – 1809LWJP-78R●Verified
    link●Verified
  6. 6th great-grandfatherSolomon Swift1745 – 1807KH2D-K3J●Verified
    link●Verified
  7. 5th great-grandfatherCapt. Nathaniel Swift1776 – 1849MF8H-YW2●Verified
    link●Verified
  8. 4th great-grandfatherSolomon Swift1804 – 1885MYBT-VP3●Verified
    link●Verified
  9. 3rd great-grandfatherLeroy E. Swift1836 – after 1874L1VB-5P9●Verified
    link●Verified
  10. 2nd great-grandfatherLe Roy Warren Swift1869 – 1919LW29-V4G●Verified
    link●Verified
  11. great-grandmotherRachel Winter Swiftb. 18969JGN-43B●Verified
    link●Verified
  12. grandfatherFrancis Swift Perry1923 – 2011L1V1-8D2●Verified
  13. Carol Perry Long
  14. John, Perry and Patrick Long

Sources for the marriages

  1. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633, vol. 3 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1593. archive.org
  2. James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, vol. 3 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1861), 550–51. archive.org
  3. James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, vol. 4 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1862), 454. archive.org
  4. Oliver B. Brown, comp., Vital Records of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 ([Warwick, RI]: Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island, 1976), 128–29. archive.org On the reading of “Mary” as Mercy, see Anderson, Great Migration Begins, 3:1593; for a contrary view, Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, rev. C. F. Swift, vol. 1 (Barnstable, MA: F. B. & F. P. Goss, 1888), 467.
  5. Oliver B. Brown, comp., Vital Records of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 ([Warwick, RI]: Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island, 1976), 212, 217. archive.org
  6. George H. Swift, comp., William Swyft of Sandwitch and Some of His Descendants, 1637–1899 (Millbrook, NY: Round Table Press, 1900), 5, 8. archive.org

Robinson’s line runs directly to Leroy E. Swift, the Navy officer in the family tintype.

Generation Count

Rev. John Robinson stands at the 11th-great-grandfather remove, generation 13 from the brothers, one generation deeper than the Coffin/Folger 10th-great-grandfather anchors, reached by the independent maternal Swift chain. The Robinson line joins the Swift dynasty at William Swift IV; a separately documented cousin line, Heman Swift's, also joins at William Swift II, so the two walks corroborate one another.

Confidence

VERIFIED generation-by-generation on the FamilySearch walk from Rev. John Robinson (KXJ7-871) through Isaac Robinson (LCJM-K4K), Mercy Robinson (LH8F-MG8), Lydia Weeks (LZGK-8PL), William Swift V (LWJP-78R), Solomon Swift (KH2D-K3J), and Capt. Nathaniel Swift (MF8H-YW2). The continuation from Capt. Nathaniel Swift down through the Winter-Swift generations to the Perry bridge is the standard maternal Swift line, marked Research-in-Progress where individual PIDs are not re-enumerated here, none invented. The 11th-great-grandfather depth (generation 13) is consistent with the FS-verified 12-step Coffin/Folger depth reached by a different chain; Robinson sits one generation deeper.

Sources

  1. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 53. archive.org
  2. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 247–49 (Roger White to William Bradford, Leiden, 28 April 1625). archive.org
  3. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633, vol. 3 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1590–92. archive.org
  4. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633, vol. 3 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1593. archive.org
  5. Oliver B. Brown, comp., Vital Records of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 ([Warwick, RI]: Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island, 1976), 128–29. archive.org On the reading of “Mary” as Mercy, see Anderson, Great Migration Begins, 3:1593; for a contrary view, Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, rev. C. F. Swift, vol. 1 (Barnstable, MA: F. B. & F. P. Goss, 1888), 467.
  6. Oliver B. Brown, comp., Vital Records of Falmouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 ([Warwick, RI]: Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island, 1976), 212, 217. archive.org
  7. George H. Swift, comp., William Swyft of Sandwitch and Some of His Descendants, 1637–1899 (Millbrook, NY: Round Table Press, 1900), 5, 8. archive.org
  8. “Isaac Robinson,” LCJM-K4K; “Mercy Robinson,” LH8F-MG8; “Lydia Weeks,” LZGK-8PL; “William Swift V,” LWJP-78R; “Solomon Swift,” KH2D-K3J; FamilySearch Family Tree, accessed October 17, 2026, familysearch.org.
  9. George H. Swift, comp., William Swyft of Sandwitch and Some of His Descendants, 1637–1899 (Millbrook, NY: Round Table Press, 1900), 3, 6, 12, 24. archive.org
  10. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 14–15. archive.org
  11. Walter H. Burgess, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers: A Study of His Life and Times (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 100–101. archive.org
  12. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 23–24. archive.org
  13. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 72. archive.org
  14. Edward Winslow, Hypocrisie Unmasked (London, 1646; facsimile repr., Providence: Club for Colonial Reprints, 1916), 97–98. archive.org
  15. Walter H. Burgess, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers: A Study of His Life and Times (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 302–3. archive.org
  16. Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, rev. C. F. Swift, vol. 2 (Barnstable, MA: F. B. & F. P. Goss, 1890), 230–31. archive.org
  17. Walter H. Burgess, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers: A Study of His Life and Times (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 349–51. archive.org
  18. James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, vol. 3 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1861), 550–51. archive.org
  19. James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, vol. 4 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1862), 454. archive.org

External Links & Sources

  1. John Robinson (pastor). Wikipedia
  2. FamilySearch: Rev. John Robinson (KXJ7-871)
  3. FamilySearch: Isaac Robinson, emigrant son (LCJM-K4K)
  4. Robinson→Swift FamilySearch walk (raw JSON)
  5. Internal: the Swift line & Solomon Swift
← Notable Kin

Life

Religion:
English Separatist minister.[1]
Migration:
Fled with his congregation from England to the Dutch Republic, settling at Leiden around 1609.[2][1][3]
Office:
Pastor at Leiden for nearly twelve years of the congregation history remembers as the Pilgrims.[3][4]
Event:
Stayed in Leiden in 1620 when part of his congregation sailed for America; he died there in 1625 without making the crossing.[5][6][7]
  1. Walter H. Burgess, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers: A Study of His Life and Times (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 100–101. archive.org
  2. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 14–15. archive.org
  3. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 23–24. archive.org
  4. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 72. archive.org
  5. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 53. archive.org
  6. William Bradford, Bradford's History "Of Plimoth Plantation." From the Original Manuscript (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1898), 247–49 (Roger White to William Bradford, Leiden, 28 April 1625). archive.org
  7. Walter H. Burgess, John Robinson, Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers: A Study of His Life and Times (London: Williams and Norgate, 1920), 302–3. archive.org

Family

Parents:
Anne Hannah White (1554-1616) GSDX-B9T; John Robinson (1551-1614) LH7G-2VC
Spouse:
Bridget White (1575-1643) 26PS-TXR
Child on the line to the brothers:
Isaac Robinson (1610-1704) LCJM-K4K

Mentioned On