Born in Plymouth about 1626, he passed his earlier years in Duxbury where the records show that he was admitted freeman in 1646. Three years later he removed to Boston, which was thenceforth to be his home, his dwelling being situated on a passage leading from Cambridge Street to Sudburv Street, and called after him "Alden's Lane," today known as Alden Street.

In his youth he became a mariner and in later years rose to eminence in his profession and acquired by means of it what was in his day something of a fortune. He was for some years master of a merchantman owned by John Hull, and later for many years commander of the armed vessel belonging to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay which supplied the Maine posts with provisions and stores. He also saw service in the French and Indian wars, and in 1691 a vessel in his charge was taken by a French frigate, and he and his son were made prisoners, not, however, for a long captivity.

But by far the most interesting episode in Captain Alden's career was his arrest and trial as a witch, and as of all those so accused he is the only one who has left us a written account of his experiences, his case is of exceptional interest. The narrative is given in Upham's "History of Witchcraft," as follows:

"John Alden, Sr., of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, mariner, on the twenty-eighth day of May, 1692, was sent for by the magistrates of Salem, in the county of Essex, upon the accusation of a company of poor distracted or possessed creatures or witches; and being sent by Mr. Stoughton, arrived there on the thirty-first of May, and appeared at Salem Village, before Mr. Gedney, Mr. Hawthorne and Mr. Corwin.

" Those wenches being present who played their juggling tricks, falling down, crying out, and staring in people's faces, the magistrates demanded of them several times who it was of all the people in the room that hurt them. One of these accusers pointed several times at one Captain Hill, there present, but spake nothing. The same accuser had a man standing at her back to hold her up. He stooped down to her ear; then she cried out, 'Alden, Alden afflicted her.' One of the magistrates asked her if she had ever seen Alden. She answered ' No.' He asked her how she knew it was Alden. She said the man told her so.

" Then all were ordered to go down in the street,where a ring was made; and the same accuser cried out, ' There stands Alden, a bold fellow, with his hat on before the judges ; he sells powder and shot to the Indians and French. . . . ' Then was Alden committed to the marshal's custody, and his sword taken from him; for they said he afflicted them with his sword. After some hours Alden was sent for to the meeting-house in the village, before the magistrates, who required Alden to stand upon a chair, to the open view of all the people.

" The accusers cried out that Alden pinched them then, when he stood upon the chair, in the sight of all the people, a good way distant from them. One of the magistrates bid the marshal to hold open Alden's hands, that he might not pinch those creatures. , Alden asked them why they should think that he should come to that village to afflict those persons that he never knew or saw before. Mr. Gedney bid Alden confess and give glory to God.

" Alden said he hoped he should give glory to God and hoped he should never gratify the devil:but appealed to all that ever knew him, if they ever suspected him to be such a person; and challenged any one that could bring in anything on their own knowledge, that might give suspicion of his being such an one. Mr. Gedney said he had known Alden many years, and had been at sea with him, and always looked upon him to be an honest man; but now he saw cause to alter his judgment. Alden answered, he was sorry for that, but he hoped God would clear up his innocency, that he would recall that judgment again; and added that he hoped that he should, with Job, maintain his integrity till he died.

" They bid Alden look upon his accusers, which he did, and then they fell down. Alden asked Mr. Gedney what reason there could be given why Alden's looking upon him did not strike him down as well, but no reason was given that I heard. But the accusers were brought to Alden to touch them; and this touch, they said, made them well. Alden began to speak of the Providence of God in suffering these creatures to accuse innocent persons.

" Mr. Noyes asked Alden why he should offer to speak of the Providence of God: God, by his Providence (said Mr. Noyes), governs the world, and keeps it in peace; and so went on with discourse, and stopped Alden's mouth as to that, Alden told Gedney that he could assure him that there was a lying spirit in them ; for I can assure you that there is not a word of truth in all these say of me. But Alden was again committed to the marshal, and his mittimus written.

" To Boston Alden was carried by a constable: no bail would be taken for him, but was delivered to the prison-keeper, where he remained fifteen weeks; and then, observing the manner of trials, and evidence then taken, was at length prevailed with to make his escape."

From the prison Captain Alden made his way to Duxbury, where he aroused his relatives in the middle of the night with the information that " he was flying from the devil and the devil was after him." He remained there for several months, until the witchery scare had subsided, when he gave himself up to the authorities at Boston and no one appearing against him, he was discharged, but with a temper forever after soured against any mention of witchcraft.

Captain Alden was married twice, each time to an Elizabeth. The first wife died before 1660, for this was the year in which he married Elizabeth Everill, widow, who remained to share his home until 1695 or 96. He himself lived until 1702, when he died at the age of seventy-five. According to Ebenezer Alden's Memorial he was the father of fourteen children, at least four of whom died in early infancy. At the present day there are no descendants of Captain Alden bearing the name.

When he first came to Boston Captain Alden united by letter with the "First Church" of that city, but later joined the secession from that church which resulted in the organization of the " Third Church," afterward the Old South Church, of which he was thus a charter member. Today his gravestone is one of three preserved under the portico of the New Old South Church building at the corner of Copley Square in that city. The story of its recovery is given in the Boston Transcript for April thirty, 1870, as follows:

" Mr. Samuel Jennison, the owner of property on and about Carlton Place, has recently, on account of the widening ot Eliot Street, begun operations for the purpose of building there a new block. As the excavations have been going on some relics of the past have been dug up, including a lot of bones and quite a number of gravestones, some of them nearly whole. These are small slate stone tablets, such as may be seen in the King's Chapel, Granary, and other ancient buryinggrounds in the vicinity, and most of them have the old-fashioned death's head cut over their inscriptions."

The inscription upon Captain Alden's stone reads,

" Here lyeth the body of John Alden, Senior, aged seventy-five years. Deceased March fourteen, 1702." The stone was consecrated, in its present position, in 1884, Hamilton A. Hill delivering upon that occasion a memorial address.