THE PASSENGERS OF THE MAY FLOWER IN 1620.
BY NATHANIEL BRADSTREET SHURTLEFF, M. D.
As early as the year 1602, several religious people residing near the joining borders of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire, together with their pious ministers, being grievously oppressed by courts and canons, resolved to shake off the yoke of antichristian bondage, and, as the Lord's free people, to form themselves by covenant into a church-state, to walk in all his ways according to their best knowledge and endeavors, cost them whatever it might.
In the year 1606, by reason of the distance of their habitations, these people were obliged to assemble in two places and become two distinct churches; over one of which Mr. John Smith was established pastor, and among the others were Mr. Richard Clifton and Mr. John Robinson, two very excellent and worthy preachers.
In the fall of 1607, Mr. Clifton and many of his church, being extremely harassed, removed themselves and families to Holland, where, in the spring of 1608, they were followed by Mr. Robinson and the rest. They settled first at Amsterdam, where they remained a year; but finding that Mr. Smith's church, which was there before them, had fallen into contention with others, they, valuing peace and spiritual comfort above other riches, removed with Mr. Robinson, their pastor, to Leyden, Mr. Clifton remaining in Amsterdam, where he soon died.
Soon after their arrival in Leyden, they chose Mr. William Brewster to assist the pastor, as Elder of the Church. In their new place of abode they lived in love and harmony with each other, and on friendly terms of intercourse with their neighbors, till they removed to America.
By the year 1610, many had come over to them from various parts of England, and they had increased and become a great congregation.
In 1617, Mr. Robinson and his church began to think of emigrating to America; and, as a preparatory step, sent Mr. Robert Cushman and Mr. John Carver from Leyden over to England, to treat with the Virginia Company, and also to see if the King would grant them the liberty of conscience there, which was refused them in the land of their birth. Although the agents were not able to obtain from the King their suit for liberty in religion under the broad seal, as was desired, nevertheless, they prevailed so far as to gain the connivance of the King that he would not molest them, provided they carried themselves peaceably. In 1618, the agents returned to Leyden, to the great discouragement of the people who sent them; who, notwithstanding, resolved, in 1619, to send again two agents to agree with the Virginia Company; and at this time they sent Mr. Cushman a second time, and with him Mr. William Bradford, who, after long attendance, obtained the patent granted by the Company to Mr. John Wincob, which was never used.
Notwithstanding all these troubles, so strong was their resolution to quit Leyden and settle in America, that they entered into an arrangement with Mr. Thomas Weston, a merchant of London, for their transportation, and sent Mr. Carver and Mr. Cushman to England, to receive the money of Mr. Weston, to assist in their transportation, and to provide for the voyage. By direction, Mr. Cushman went to London and Mr. Carver to Southampton, where they finally joined with Mr. William Martin, who had been chosen to assist them.
A vessel of sixty tons, called the Speedwell, was bought and fitted in Holland, to be used in their transportation, and was designed to be kept for use in their new country. Mr. Cushman, in June, 1620, also hired at London the renowned May Flower, a vessel of ninescore tons, and also Mr. Clarke, the pilot.
Mr. Cushman, having procured the May Flower at London, and fitted it for the voyage, proceeded in it to Southampton, where he and Captain Jones, together with the other agents, remained seven days, until the arrival of the Pilgrims who left Leyden in July, embarking from Delft Haven.
On the 5th of August, both vessels, the May Flower, Capt. Jones, and the Speedwell, Capt. Reinolds, set sail from Southampton. The small vessel proving leaky, they both put in to Dartmouth about the 13th of August, where they remained till the 21st, when they set sail again. Both vessels were obliged to return a second time on account of the leakage of the Speedwell; and this time they put back to Plymouth, where they gave up the small vessel and dismissed those who were willing to return to London, Mr. Cushman and his family returning with them.
On the 6th of September, their number then consisting of one hundred persons, they made their final start, and arrived at Cape Cod on the eleventh day of November, when they signed the famous compact, and landed at Plymouth, in America, on the eleventh day of December, Old Style, or on the twenty-first of December, New Style, in the year 1620.
During their passage, one only died, William Butten, a young man, servant to Mr. Samuel Fuller, the physician of the new colony, who was included in Mr. Fuller's family, according to Governor Bradford, although dead at the time of the signing of the compact.
One person was born during the passage, Oceanus Hopkins, a son of Mr. Stephen Hopkins, who did not survive long after the landing.
At the commencement of the voyage, the number of passengers of the May Flower was one hundred, and at the time of the arrival at Cape Cod Harbor it was the same; one having died, and one having been born, thus preserving the integrity of the number. Both of these persons, however, are numbered among the passengers, and hence the number is generally stated as one hundred and one.
Peregrine White, son of Mr. William White, was born in Cape Cod Harbor, in November, after the signing of the compact and before the landing, and is not included with the voyagers. He enjoyed the distinction of being the first born white child in New England, of the Leyden Pilgrims.
The first child born after the landing on the twenty-second day of December, 1620, was a son of Mr. Isaac Allerton, but it did not survive its birth.
The May Flower has already been stated to have been a vessel of about ninescore tons, and was procured at London by Mr. Robert Cushman, who was debarred the privilege of coming over with the infant colonists, as it was necessary that he should remain in England, to keep together those who were left behind, and to provide for their future emigration, as he had done for that of those of the first passage. This he did by procuring the Fortune, and sailing from London in July, 1621, and arriving in New England on the 9th of November of the same year. It is also highly probable that he obtained the other early vessels, as he continued to be the agent of the Pilgrims till his death, which occurred in England, just as he was ready to come to spend the rest of his days in New England. In 1624, when the first division of land for continuance took place, Mr. Cushman, although in England, was placed at the head of the list of those who came in the May Flower; an act of justice alike creditable to our forefathers and honorable to him.
The May Flower not only brought over the first of the Leyden Pilgrims, but also, in the year 1629, with four other vessels, transported Mr. Higginson and his company to Salem; and in 1630, was one of the fleet which conveyed to New England Mr. Winthrop and the early settlers of the Massachusetts Colony.
A vessel bearing this name was owned in England about fifteen years or more before the voyage of our forefathers; but it would be impossible to prove or disprove its identity with the renowned May Flower, however great such a probability might be. It is known, nevertheless, that this identical famous vessel afterwards hailed from various English ports, such as London, Yarmouth, and Southampton, and that it was much used in transporting emigrants to this country. What eventually became of it, and what was the end of its career, are equally unknown to history.
The following list of passengers is made up from various sources. By referring to the list of those who signed the compact at Cape Cod, taken from Governor Bradford's folio manuscript, we know who signed the compact, and the number of persons in the family of each; who of the signers brought wives, and who died the first winter. By the pocket-book of Governor Bradford we know the names and dates of the deaths of sixteen who died the first season, and how many died before the arrival of the Fortune, on the 9th of November, 1621. By an examination of the Old Colony Records, we know to whom land was assigned in 1624, and what families were extinct at that time; and, as the families were arranged according to the vessel in which they came, and an acre was granted to each individual, we know how many were at that time in each family. Smith has also told us that none of the first planters died during the three years preceding the close of the year 1624. By the division of cattle, in the year 1627, a record of which was made at Plymouth, we know every individual who was living at that date, and the relative age of each person in every family. By wills, records, and gravestones, we know the ages of many of the Pilgrims and their children.
From such materials, and with such authorities, the following table has been constructed; and it is believed, that, although there is a possibility of the existence of small errors which can never be proved, the list is entirely or very nearly correct.
In order to save space and unnecessary printing, and to exhibit more readily for reference some of the most important facts, the following distinctive marks are made use of.
Those who signed the compact at Cape Cod, on the 11th of November, 1620, are in capitals.
The number in each family is indicated by the Arabic numeral.
Those who brought their wives have this mark, †.
Those who left them for a time in Holland or England are thus distinguished, ‡.
Those who died before the arrival of the Fortune on the 9th of November, 1621, have an asterisk, *.
Those who died before the division of cattle in 1627, are in italics.
The dates of those who died the first season are given as taken from Bradford's pocket-book.
The number of deaths of the first planters that occurred from the time the May Flower left England, to the year 1625, may be thus enumerated:—
| In November, 1620, | 1 | |
| In December, " | 6 | |
| In January, 1620-1, | 8 | |
| In February, " | 17 | |
| In March, " | 13 | |
| In April, 1621, | 1 | |
| In May, " | 1 | |
| From April 6 to November 9, 1621, | 4 | |
| From November 9, 1621, to 1625, | 0 | |
| Total, | 51 | |
| Of these were,— | ||
| Signers to the Compact, | 21 | |
| Wives of the signers, | 13 | |
| Known members of the families, viz: William Butten, Edward Thompson, Jasper, the boy, Solomon Martin, and Oceanus Hopkins. | 5 | |
| Unknown members of the following families, viz: | ||
| Of Carver's, | 3 | |
| Of Martin's, | 1 | |
| Of Mullins's, | 2 | |
| Of Edward Tilley's, | 2 | |
| Of John Tilley's, | 1 | |
| Of Tinker's, | 1 | |
| Of Turner's, | 2 | 12 |
| Total, | 51 |
In the division of land in 1624, Henry Samson and Humilitie Cooper had land assigned them among those who came in the May Flower, and for this reason they have been generally believed to have been among the passengers of that vessel. If such is the case they can be placed in the family of Mr. Carver better than that of any other. But, as Mr. Cushman is also placed on that list, it may be reasonably inferred that others were put there for some other reasons, as perhaps Samson and Cooper, who are therefore excluded in this account.
John Goodman is marked in Bradford's manuscript as among those who died the first season. But as his name occurs among those who had garden lots in 1620, and also in the division of land in 1623, it must be inferred that he was marked by mistake, or else Mr. Prince committed an error in taking his copy for the Annals.
Three of the wives of the signers were left in Europe; namely, Bridgett, the wife of Dr. Samuel Fuller, Hester, the wife of Francis Cooke, and Elizabeth, the wife of Richard Warren. These afterwards came over in the Ann, in 1623.
Five lost their wives and married again; namely, William Bradford, who married widow Alice Southworth; Edward Winslow, who married widow Susanna White; Isaac Allerton, who married Fear Brewster, and afterwards, Joanna ——; Miles Standish, who married Barbara ----; and Francis Eaton, who married Christian Penn.
Others were married for the first time; namely, John Howland and Elizabeth Carver; George Soule and Mary; Love Brewster and Sarah Collier; John Alden and Priscilla Mullins; Resolved White and Judith Vassal; Giles Hopkins and Catherine Wheldon; Edward Dotey and Faith Clarke; John Cooke and Sarah Warren; Samuel Eaton and Martha Billington.
Several of the Pilgrims had children born in New England, an account of whom may form another article at some future time.