in April of 1671, prior to his second marriage. Family Ancestry and Transport The origins of Thomas Willett are not known for certain and are subject to some debate. The most commonly encountered description of his early life from the Dictionary of National Biography describes him as the fourth son of the English clergyman Andrew Willet. The germ of this description may have come from the pedigree of Willett's descendants published in 1848, which offered the theory that this Thomas may have descended from Andrew Willet because the Willett name is rare. A differing opinion exists in Dexter's compilation of the Leyden congregation in the appendix of his work, England and Holland of the Pilgrims. This indicates that Willett was the son of Thomas and Alice Willet of the Leyden congregation. The respective merits of these opinions are discussed by Burgess. There is general agreement that Willett came over to the Plymouth Colony with the second wave of the Leyden congregation in 1629. There is disagreement however over whether or not he went back to England shortly thereafter for the trial of Edward Ashley who was accused of trading weapons and ammunition to native Americans. The evidence that this might have been the case is based upon a listing of passengers on the ship Lyon which sailed from London on June 22, 1632, with William Pierce as Master as given by Charles Edward Banks in his Planters of the Commonwealth. This list includes Thomas Willett along with the family of his future father-in-law, John Browne, including Willett's future wife, Mary. However, an examination of the original source material by Samuel Gardner Drake, published in 1860, indicates that the original record for the ship sailing to England on that date listed only a few names of the passengers, including only a "Tobie" Willet and a "Jo:" Browne (but no other Brownes). This and the indication that only the depositions of Willett and others accompanied Ashley back to England for his trial are contrary to Banks' passenger list. Family in the Plymouth Colony and Descendants Willett's parents and siblings were evidently left behind when he emigrated to Plymouth in 1629. His family life thereafter centered around that of his wife's family. Willett married Mary, daughter of John Browne (Sr.), a leading citizen of the Plymouth Colony, and Browne's wife, Dorothy, in 1636. He moved with the Brown(e) family from Plymouth westward, originally