John “Mad Jack” Oldham
(b. 1592, d. 1636)

English settler, merchant, and Indian trader, known for his fiery temper. Born in Derbyshire, England, arrived at Plymouth Colony in July 1623 aboard the Anne as an independent adventurer with his wife and sister.

In 1624, he allied with minister John Lyford; together, they held secret meetings, wrote letters to England criticizing the Pilgrim leadership, and stirred factional. Oldham challenged military captain Miles Standish, and drew a knife on him, calling him a “beggarly rascal.” Tried for plotting against the colony’s civil and church. He was banished from Plymouth—ordered to leave at once. Fellow outcast Thomas Morton later dubbed him “Mad Jack” for his quarrelsome nature.

He settled at Nantasket (Hull), traded along the coast, helped found settlement in Wethersfield, Connecticut (1634), served as a Watertown deputy. He was killed by indians aboard his trading vessel near Block Island on 20 July 1636; triggering the Pequot War.

@HistoricalNE