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.