The family were Plymouth Colony's troublemakers. Billington's son, Francis, fired a musket on the "Mayflower". In March 1621 Billington was punished because he did not to obey Myles Standish the military leader. He would do this many times. In May 1621 John Billington (the younger) became lost in the woods for many days and was returned home by some Native Americans. In 1625 Governor Bradford wrote a letter to Robert Cushman and said "Billington still says many things against you. He is a bad man, and always will be". In 1636, wife was punished and made to sit in the stocks for saying bad things about John Doane.