Delano family

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The Delano family in America was founded by Philippe Delano (de Lannoy), a 19-year-old Separatist of Walloon descent who arrived at Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 9, 1621 on the ship Fortune.

Philippe was born December 7, 1602 in Leiden, the Netherlands, the son of Jan Lano (1570-1604) of Tourcoing and Marie le Mahieu of Lille, both in Walloon Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. ON February 18, 1605, when Philippe was three, his widowed mother married Robert Mannoo. Philippe's grandfather, Guillebert de Lannoy, was an early Calvinist who left the mainland for England probably in the early 1570s and then, in 1591, settled with his family in Leiden. The Mahieus had arrived in Leiden from England in 1590, the year before the de Lannoys. The family name of de Lannoy likely derives from the small town of Lannoy (originally Alnetum), east of Lille, present-day France. There is no known evidence to substantiate claims that Philippe descended from royalty.

As a teenager, Philippe Delano was a member of the Leiden Walloon Church (Waalse Kerk) and later entered the Separatist congregation established by the Pilgrims from Plymouth, England under the leadership of the English Separatist John Robinson. The decision to relocate the group to America came early in 1619, when Deacon John Carver and Robert Cushman, who had business experience, were sent to London to negotiate with the London Company. They carried with them articles of belief, written by Robinson and Brewster, as evidence of their loyalty and orthodoxy. The Leiden Separatists bought the ship Speedwell in Holland, and Philippe, with his uncle Francis Cooke and cousin John boarded the ship with the others at Delftshaven whence it sailed to Southampton, England to meet the Mayflower, which had been chartered by the English merchant investors. There they joined with other Separatists and the additional colonists hired by the investors. The two ships began the voyage, but the Speedwell leaked so badly that the expedition had to return to England, first to Dartmouth and then to Plymouth. Finally, Speedwell was sold and Mayflower set out alone from Plymouth, England. Ten Speedwell passengers (including Francis and John Cooke) joined the Mayflower. Philippe and the others remained behind in England until a replacement ship, the Fortune, finally sailed for Plymouth Colony in early July 1621, arriving at the Plymouth Colony on November 9.

Philippe Delano joined and resided with his probable guardian and maternal uncle Francis Cooke and cousin Robert who had arrived the year before. In 1623, he received a land grant in Plymouth but sold this property in 1627 and moved to Duxborough where in 1634 he married Hester Dewsbury (1613-1657). There, Delano prospered and was part of the group of men who organized the construction of highways and bridges around the village.

Philippe Delano served in the Pequot War of 1637 as a volunteer. In 1652 he joined with 35 other colonists to purchase what was then called Dartmouth Township from Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag Indians. Philippe gave his portion of the acquisition, amounting to 800 acres (3.2 km²), to his son Jonathan Delano who later fought in King Philip's War. Following the death of his wife, he married a second time to Mary Pontus. Jonathan married Mercy Warren, granddaughter of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren; among their direct descendants are the author Laura Ingalls Wilder, the President Ulysses S. Grant, the astronaut Alan B. Shepard, and the poet Conrad Potter Aiken.

Philippe died on August 22, 1681 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. A great many of his offspring would become prominent mariners, whalers, and shipbuilders. The family's commercial success was such that they would become part of the Massachusetts aristocracy, sometimes referred to as one of the Boston Brahmins (the "First Families of Boston").

Over time, family members migrated to other states including Michigan, Maine, New York, Ohio, and Vermont and as far away as Chile where today descendants of Captain Paul Delano are numerous and prominent. From the New York clan, Sara Delano married James Roosevelt and their only child, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States.

The Delano name is also found across America where several places have been named in honor of a family member: