The Mayflower and Her Log - Chapter VI



CHAPTER VI.
THE MAY-FLOWER'S PASSENGERS 

The passenger list of the SPEEDWELL has given us the names of the Leyden 
members of the company which, with the cooperation of the associated 
Merchant Adventurers, was, in the summer of 1620, about to emigrate to 
America. 

Though it is not possible, with present knowledge, positively to determine 
every one of those who were passengers in the MAY-FLOWER from London to 
Southampton, most of them can be named with certainty. 

Arranged for convenience, so far as possible, by families, they were:-- 

Master Robert Cushman, the London agent of the Leyden company, Mrs. Mary 
(Clarke)-Singleton Cushman, 2d wife, Thomas Cushman, son (by 1st wife). 

Master Christopher Martin, treasurer-agent of the colonists, Mrs. Martin, 
wife, Solomon Prower, "servant," John Langemore, "servant." 

Master Richard Warren. 

Master William Mullens, Mrs. Alice Mullens, wife, Joseph Mullens, 2d son, 
Priscilla Mullens, 2d daughter, Robert Carter, "servant." 

Master Stephen Hopkins, Mrs. Elizabeth (Fisher?) Hopkins, 2d wife, Giles 
Hopkins, son (by former wife), Constance Hopkins, daughter (by former 
wife), Damaris Hopkins, daughter, Edward Dotey, "servant," Edward Leister, 
"servant." 

Gilbert Winslow. 

James Chilton, Mrs. Susanna (2) Chilton, wife, Mary Chilton, daughter. 

Richard Gardiner. 

John Billington, Mrs. Eleanor (or Helen) Billington, wife, John Billington 
(Jr.), son, Francis Billington, son. 

William Latham, "servant-boy" to Deacon Carver. 

Jasper More, "bound-boy" to Deacon Carver. 

Ellen More, "little bound girl" to Master Edward Winslow. 

Richard More, "bound-boy" to Elder Brewster. ------- More, "bound-boy" to 
Elder Brewster. 

There is a possibility that Thomas Rogers and his son, Joseph, who are 
usually accredited to the Leyden company, were of the London contingent, 
and sailed from there, though this is contra-indicated by certain 
collateral data. 

It is possible, also, of course, that any one or more of the English 
colonists (with a few exceptions--such as Cushman and family, Mullens and 
family, the More children and others--known to have left London on the MAY-
FLOWER) might have joined her (as did Carver and Alden, perhaps Martin and 
family) at Southampton, but the strong presumption is that most of the 
English passengers joined the ship at London. 

It is just possible, too, that the seamen, Alderton (or Allerton), 
English, Trevore, and Ely, were hired in London and were on board the MAY-
FLOWER when she left that port, though they might have been employed and 
joined the ship at either Southampton, Dartmouth, or Plymouth. It is 
strongly probable, however, that they were part, if not all, hired in 
Holland, and came over to Southampton in the pinnace. 

Robert Cushman--the London agent (for more than three years) of the Leyden 
congregation, and, in spite of the wickedly unjust criticism of Robinson 
and others, incompetent to judge his acts, their brave, sagacious, and 
faithful servant--properly heads the list. 

Bradford says: "Where they find the bigger ship come from London, Mr. 
Jones, Master, with the rest of the company who had been waiting there 
with Mr. Cushman seven days." Deacon Carver, probably from being on shore, 
was not here named. In a note appended to the memoir of Robert Cushman 
(prefatory to his Discourse delivered at Plymouth, New England, on "The 
Sin and Danger of Self-Love") it is stated in terms as follows: "The fact 
is, that Mr. Cushman procured the larger vessel, the MAY-FLOWER, and its 
pilot, at London, and left in that vessel." The statement--though 
published long after the events of which it treats and by other than Mr. 
Cushman--we know to be substantially correct, and the presumption is that 
the writer, whoever he may have been, knew also. 

Sailing with his wife and son (it is not probable that he had any other 
living child at the time), in full expectation that it was for Virginia, 
he encountered so much of ungrateful and abusive treatment, after the 
brethren met at Southampton,--especially at the hands of the insufferable 
Martin, who, without merit and with a most reprehensible record (as it 
proved), was chosen over him as "governor" of the ship,--that he was 
doubtless glad to return from Plymouth when the SPEEDWELL broke down. He 
and his family appear, therefore, as "MAY-FLOWER passengers," only between 
London and Plymouth during the vexatious attendance upon the scoundrelly 
Master of the SPEEDWELL, in his "doublings" in the English Channel. His 
Dartmouth letter to Edward Southworth, one of the most valuable 
contributions to the early literature of the Pilgrims extant, clearly 
demonstrates that he was suffering severely from dyspepsia and deeply 
wounded feelings. The course of events was his complete vindication, and 
impartial history to-day pronounces him second to none in his service to 
the Pilgrims and their undertaking. His first wife is shown by Leyden 
records to have been Sarah Reder, and his second marriage to have occurred 
May 19/June 3, 1617, [sic] about the time he first went to England in 
behalf of the Leyden congregation. 

Mrs. Mary (Clarke)-Singleton Cushman appears only as a passenger of the 
MAY-FLOWER on her channel voyage, as she returned with her husband and son 
from Plymouth, England, in the SPEEDWELL. 

Thomas Cushman, it is quite clear, must have been a son by a former wife, 
as he would have been but a babe, if the son of the latest wife, when he 
went to New England with his father, in the FORTUNE, to remain. Goodwin 
and others give his age as fourteen at this time, and his age at death is 
their warrant. Robert Cushman died in 1625, but a "Mary, wife [widow?] of 
Robert Cushman, and their son, Thomas," seem to have been remembered in 
the will of Ellen Bigge, widow, of Cranbrooke, England, proved February 
12, 1638 (Archdeaconry, Canterbury, vol. lxx. leaf 482). The will 
intimates that the "Thomas" named was "under age" when the bequest was 
made. If this is unmistakably so (though there is room for doubt), then 
this was not the Thomas of the Pilgrims. Otherwise the evidence is 
convincing. 

Master Christopher Martin, who was made, Bradford informs us, the 
treasurer-agent of the Planter Company, Presumably about the time of the 
original conclusions between the Adventurers and the Planters, seems to 
have been appointed such, as Bradford states, not because he was needed, 
but to give the English contingent of the Planter body representation in 
the management, and to allay thereby any suspicion or jealousy. He was, if 
we are to judge by the evidence in hand concerning his contention and that 
of his family with the Archdeacon, the strong testimony that Cushman bears 
against him in his Dartmouth letter of August 17, and the fact that there 
seems to have been early dissatisfaction with him as "governor" on the 
ship, a very self-sufficient, somewhat arrogant, and decidedly contentious 
individual. His selection as treasurer seems to have been very 
unfortunate, as Bradford indicates that his accounts were in 
unsatisfactory shape, and that he had no means of his own, while his 
rather surprising selection for the office of "governor" of the larger 
ship, after the unpleasant experience with him as treasurer- agent, is 
difficult to account for, except that he was evidently an active opponent 
of Cushman, and the latter was just then in disfavor with the colonists. 
He was evidently a man in the prime of life, an "Independent" who had the 
courage of his convictions if little discretion, and much of that energy 
and self-reliance which, properly restrained, are excellent elements for a 
colonist. Very little beside the fact that he came from Essex is known of 
him, and nothing of his wife. He has further mention hereafter. 

Solomon Prower is clearly shown by the complaint made against him by the 
Archdeacon of Chelmsford, the March before he sailed on the MAY- FLOWER, 
to have been quite a youth, a firm "Separatist," and something more than 
an ordinary "servant." He seems to have been summoned before the 
Archdeacon at the same time with young Martin (a son of Christopher), and 
this fact suggests some nearer relation than that of "servant." He is 
sometimes spoken of as Martin's "son," by what warrant does not appear, 
but the fact suggests that he may have been a step-son. Bradford, in 
recording his death, says: "Dec. 24, this day dies Solomon Martin." This 
could, of course, have been none other than Solomon Prower. Dr. Young, in 
his "Chronicles," speaking of Martin, says, "he brought his wife and two 
children." If this means Martin's children, it is evidently an error. It 
may refer to age only. His case is puzzling, for Bradford makes him both 
"servant" and "son." If of sufficient age and account to be cited before 
the Archdeacon for discipline, it seems strange that he should not have 
signed the "Compact." Even if a "servant" this would seem to have been no 
bar, as Dotey and Leister were certainly such, yet signers. The 
indications are that he was but a well-grown lad, and that his youth, or 
severe illness, and not his station, accounts for the absence of his 
signature. If a young foster-son or kinsman of Martin, as seems most 
likely, then Martin's signature was sufficient, as in the cases of fathers 
for their sons; if really a "ser vant" then too young (like Latham and 
Hooke) to be called upon, as were Dotey and Leister. 

John Langemore; there is nothing (save the errors of Dr. Young) to 
indicate that he was other than a "servant." 

Richard Warren was probably from Kent or Essex. Surprisingly little is 
known of his antecedents, former occupation, etc. 

William Mullens and his family were, as shown, from Dorking in Surrey, and 
their home was therefore close to London, whence they sailed, beyond 
doubt, in the MAY-FLOWER. The discovery at Somerset House, London, by Mr. 
Henry F. Waters, of Salem, Massachusetts; of what is evidently the 
nuncupative will of William Mullens, proves an important one in many 
particulars, only one of which need be referred to in this connection, but 
all of which will receive due consideration. It conclusively shows Mr. 
Mullens not to have been of the Leyden congregation, as has sometimes been 
claimed, but that he was a well-to-do tradesman of Dorking in Surrey, 
adjacent to London. It renders it certain, too, that he had been some time 
resident there, and had both a married daughter and a son (William), 
doubtless living there, which effectually overthrows the "imaginary 
history" of Baird, and of that pretty story, "Standish of Standish," 
whereby the Mullens (or Molines) family are given French (Huguenot) 
antecedents and the daughter is endowed with numerous airs, graces, and 
accomplishments, professedly French. 

Dr. Griffis, in his delightful little narrative, "The Pilgrims in their 
Three Homes, England, Holland, America," cites the name "Mullins" as a 
Dutch distortion of Molines or Molineaux. Without questioning that such it 
might be,--for the Dutch scribes were gifted in remarkable distortions of 
simple names, even of their own people,--they evidently had no hand in 
thus maltreating the patronym of William Mullens (or Mullins) of the 
Pilgrims, for not only is evidence entirely wanting to show that he was 
ever a Leyden citizen, though made such by the fertile fiction of Mrs. 
Austin, but Governor Carver, who knew him well, wrote it in his will 
"Mullens," while two English probate functionaries of his own home-
counties wrote it respectively "Mullens" and "Mullins." 

Dr. Grifs speaks of "the Mullens family" as evidently [sic] of Huguenot or 
Walloon birth or descent, but in doing so probably knew no other authority 
than Mrs. Austin's little novel, or (possibly) Dr. Baird's misstatements. 

A writer in the "New England Historic-Genealogical Register," vol. xlvii, 
p. 90, states, that "Mrs. Jane G. Austin found her authority for saying 
that Priscilla Mullens was of a Huguenot family, in Dr. Baird's 'History 
of Huguenot Emigration to America,' vol. i. p. 158," etc., referring to 
Rev. Charles W. Baird, D. D., New York. The reference given is a notable 
specimen of very bad historical work. Of Dr. Baird, one has a right to 
expect better things, and the positiveness of his reckless assertion might 
well mislead those not wholly familiar with the facts involved, as it 
evidently has more than one. He states, without qualification or 
reservation, that "among the passengers in the SPEEDWELL were several of 
the French who had decided to cast in their lot with these English 
brethren. William Molines and his daughter Priscilla, afterwards the wife 
of John Alden and Philip Delanoy, born in Leyden of French parents, were 
of the number." One stands confounded by such a combination of unwarranted 
errors. Not only is it not true that there "were several of the French 
among the passengers in the SPEEDWELL," but there is no evidence whatever 
that there was even one. Those specifically named as there, certainly were 
not, and there is not the remotest proof or reason to believe, that 
William Mullens (or Molines) and his daughter Priscilla (to say nothing of 
the wife and son who accompanied him to America, whom Baird forgets) ever 
even saw Leyden or Delfshaven. Their home had been at Dorking in Surrey, 
just across the river from London, whence the MAY-FLOWER sailed for New 
England, and nothing could be more absurd than to assume that they were 
passengers on the SPEEDWELL from Delfshaven to Southampton. 

So far from Philip Delanoy (De La Noye or Delano) being a passenger on the 
SPEEDWELL, he was not even one of the Pilgrim company, did not go to New 
England till the following year (in the FORTUNE), and of course had no 
relation to the SPEEDWELL. Neither does Edward Winslow--the only authority 
for the parentage of "Delanoy"--state that "he was born in Leyden," as 
Baird alleges, but only that "he was born of French parents . . . and came 
to us from Leyden to New Plymouth,"--an essential variance in several 
important particulars. Scores and perhaps hundreds of people have been led 
to believe Priscilla Mullens a French Protestant of the Leyden 
congregation, and themselves--as her descendants--"of Huguenot stock," 
because of these absolutely groundless assertions of Dr. Baird. They lent 
themselves readily to Mrs. Austin's fertile imagination and facile pen, 
and as "welcome lies" acquired a hold on the public mind, from which even 
the demonstrated truth will never wholly dislodge them. The comment of the 
intelligent writer in the "Historic-Genealogical Register" referred to is 
proof of this. So fast-rooted had these assertions become in her thought 
as the truth, that, confronted with the evidence that Master Mullens and 
his family were from Dorking in England, it does not occur to her to doubt 
the correctness of the impression which the recklessness of Baird had 
created,--that they were of Leyden,--and she hence amusingly suggests that 
"they must have moved from Leyden to Dorking." These careless utterances 
of one who is especially bound by his position, both as a writer and as a 
teacher of morals, to be jealous for the truth, might be partly condoned 
as attributable to mistake or haste, except for the facts that they seem 
to have been the fountain-head of an ever-widening stream of serious 
error, and that they are preceded on the very page that bears them by 
others as to the Pilgrim exodus equally unhappy. It seems proper to 
suggest that it is high time that all lovers of reliable history should 
stand firmly together against the flood of loose statement which is 
deluging the public; brand the false wherever found; and call for proof 
from of all new and important historical propositions put forth. 

Stephen Hopkins may possibly have had more than one wife before Elizabeth, 
who accompanied him to New England and was mother of the sea-born son 
Oceanus. Hopkins's will indicates his affection for this latest wife, in 
unusual degree for wills of that day. With singular carelessness, both of 
the writer and his proof-reader, Hon. William T. Davis states that Damaris 
Hopkins was born "after the arrival" in New England. The contrary is, of 
course, a well established fact. Mr. Davis was probably led into this 
error by following Bradford's "summary" as affecting the Hopkins family. 
He states therein that Hopkins "had one son, who became a seaman and died 
at Barbadoes probably Caleb, and four daugh ters born here." To make up 
these "four" daughters "born here" Davis found it necessary to include 
Damaris, unmindful that Bradford names her in his list of MAY-FLOWER 
passengers. It is evident, either that Bradford made a mistake in the 
number, or that there was some daughter who died in infancy. It is evident 
that Dotey and Leister, the "servants" of Hopkins, were of English origin 
and accompanied their master from London. 

Gilbert Winslow was a brother of Edward Winslow, a young man, said to have 
been a carpenter, who returned to England after "divers years" in New 
England. There is a possibility that he was at Leyden and was a passenger 
on the SPEEDWELL. It has been suggested that he spent the greater part of 
the time he was in New England, outside of the Pilgrim Colony. He took no 
part in its affairs. 

James Chilton and his family are but little known to Pilgrim writers, 
except the daughter Mary, who came into notice principally through her 
marriage with John Winslow, another brother of Governor Edward, who came 
over later. Their name has assumed a singular prominence in popular 
regard, altogether disproportionate to either their personal 
characteristics, station, or the importance of their early descendants. 
Some unaccountable glamour of romance, without any substantial foundation, 
is probably responsible for it. They left a married daughter behind them 
in England, which is the only hint we have as to their home just prior to 
the embarkation. There has been a disposition, not well grounded, to 
regard them as of Leyden. 

Richard Gardiner, Goodwin unequivocally places with the English colonists 
(but on what authority does not fully appear), and he has been claimed, 
but without any better warrant, for the Leyden list. 

John Billington and his family were unmistakably of the English colonists. 
Mrs. Billington's name has been variously given, e.g. Helen, Ellen, and 
Eleanor, and the same writer has used them interchangeably. One writer has 
made the inexcusable error of stating that "the younger son, Francis, was 
born after the arrival at New Plymouth," but his own affidavit shows him 
to have been born in 1606. 

William Latham, a "servant-boy" of Deacon Carver, has always been of 
doubtful relation, some circumstances indicating that he was of Leyden and 
hence was a SPEEDWELL passenger, but others--and these the more 
significant--rendering it probable that he was an English boy, who was 
obtained in London (like the More children) and apprenticed to Carver, in 
which case he probably came in the MAY- FLOWER from London, though he may 
have awaited her coming with his master at Southampton, in which case he 
probably originally embarked there, with him, on the SPEEDWELL, and was 
transferred with him, at Plymouth, to the MAY-FLOWER. There is, of course, 
also still the possibility that he came with Carver's family from Leyden. 
Governor Carver's early death necessarily changed his status somewhat, and 
Plymouth early records do not give much beyond suggestion as to what the 
change was; but all indications confirm the opinion that he was a poor 
boy--very likely of London or vicinity--taken by Carver as his "servant." 

The More children, Jasper, Richard, their brother (whose given name has 
never transpired), and Ellen, their sister, invite more than passing 
mention. The belief has always been current and confident among students 
of Pilgrim history that these More children, four in number, "put" or 
"indentured" to three of the Leyden leaders, were probably orphaned 
children of some family of the Leyden congregation, and were so "bound" to 
give them a chance in the new colony, in return for such services as they 
could render to those they accompanied. If thus of the Leyden contingent 
they would, of course, be enumerated as passengers in the SPEEDWELL from 
Delfshaven, but if of the English contingent they should probably be borne 
on the list of passengers sailing from London in the MAY- FLOWER, 
certainly should be reckoned as part of the English contingent on the MAY-
FLOWER at Southampton. An affidavit of Richard More, perhaps the eldest of 
these children, indentured to Elder Brewster, dated in 1684., found in 
"Proceedings of the Provincial Court, Maryland Archives, vol. xiv. ('New 
England Historic-Genealogical Register,' vol. 1. p. 203 )," affirms the 
deponent to be then "seaventy years or thereabouts" of age, which would 
have made him some six years of age, "or thereabouts," in 1620. He deposes 
"that being in London at the house of Mr. Thomas Weston, Iron monger, in 
the year 1620, he was from there transported to New Plymouth in New 
England," etc. This clearly identifies Richard More of the MAY FLOWER, and 
renders it well-nigh certain that he and his brothers and sister, "bound 
out" like himself to Pilgrim leaders, were of the English company, were 
probably never in Leyden or on the SPEEDWELL, and were very surely 
passengers on the MAY-FLOWER from London, in charge of Mr. Cushman or 
others. The fact that the lad was in London, and went from thence direct 
to New England, is good evidence that he was not of the Leyden party. The 
fair presump tion is that his brothers and sister were, like himself, of 
English birth, and humble--perhaps deceased--parents, taken because of 
their orphaned condition. It is highly improbable that they would be taken 
from London to Southampton by land, at the large expense of land travel in 
those days, when the MAY-FLOWER was to sail from London. That they would 
accompany their respective masters to their respectively assigned ships at 
Southampton is altogether likely. The phraseology of his affidavit 
suggests the probability that Richard More, his brothers, and sister were 
brought to Mr. Weston's house, to be by him sent aboard the MAY-FLOWER, 
about to sail. The affidavit is almost conclusive evidence as to the fact 
that the More children were all of the English colonists' party, though 
apprenticed to Leyden families, and belonged to the London passenger list 
of the Pilgrim ship. The researches of Dr. Neill among the MS. "minutes" 
and "transactions" of the (London) Virginia Company show germanely that, 
on November 17, 1619, "the treasurer, council, and company" of this 
Virginia Company addressed Sir William Cockaine, Knight, Lord Mayor of the 
city of London, and the right worthys the aldermen, his brethren, and the 
worthys the common council of the city," and returning thanks for the 
benefits conferred, in furnishing out one hundred children this last year 
for "the plantation in Virginia" (from what Neill calls the "homeless boys 
and girls of London"), states, that, "forasmuch as we have now resolved to 
send this next spring [1620] very large supplies," etc., "we pray your 
Lordship and the rest . . . to renew the like favors, and furnish us again 
with one hundred more for the next spring. Our desire is that we may have 
them of twelve years old and upward, with allowance of L3 apiece for their 
trans portation, and 40s. apiece for their apparel, as was formerly 
granted. They shall be apprenticed; the boys till they come to 21 years of 
age, the girls till like age or till they be married," etc. A letter of 
Sir Edwin Sandys (dated January 28, 1620) to Sir Robert Naunton shows that 
"The city of London have appointed one hundred children from the 
superfluous multitude to be transported to Virginia, there to be bound 
apprentices upon very beneficial conditions." In view of the facts that 
these More children--and perhaps others--were "apprenticed" or "bound" to 
the Pilgrims (Carver, Winslow, Brewster, etc.), and that there must have 
been some one to make the indentures, it seems strongly probable that 
these four children of one family,--as Bradford shows, --very likely 
orphaned, were among those designated by the city of London for the 
benefit of the (London) Virginia Company in the spring of 1620. They seem 
to have been waifs caught up in the westward-setting current, but only 
Richard survived the first winter. Bradford, writing in 1650, states of 
Richard More that his brothers and sister died, "but he is married [1636] 
and hath 4 or 5 children." William T. Davis, in his "Ancient Landmarks of 
Plymouth" (p. 24), states, and Arber copies him, that "he was afterwards 
called Mann; and died at Scituate, New England, in 1656." The researches 
of Mr. George E. Bowman, the able Secretary of the Massachusetts Society 
of MAY- FLOWER Descendants, some time since disproved this error, but 
Mores affidavit quoted conclusively determines the matter. 

The possible accessions to the company, at London or Southampton, of Henry 
Sampson and Humility Cooper, cousins of Edward Tilley and wife, would be 
added to the passengers of the pinnace rather than to the MAY- FLOWER'S, 
if, as seems probable, their relatives were of the SPEEDWELL. If Edward 
Tilley and his wife were assigned to the MAY FLOWER, room would doubtless 
also be found for these cousins on the ship. John Alden, the only 
positively known addition (except Carver) made to the list at Southampton, 
was, from the nature of his engagement as "cooper," quite likely assigned 
to the larger ship. There are no known hints as to the assignments of 
passengers to the respective vessels at Southampton--then supposed to be 
final--beyond the remarks of Bradford that "the chief [principal ones] of 
them that came from Leyden went on this ship [the SPEEDWELL] to give the 
Master content," and his further minute, that "Master Martin was governour 
in the biger ship and Master Cushman assistante." It is very certain that 
Deacon Carver, one of the four agents of the colonists, who had "fitted 
out" the voyage in England, was a passenger in the SPEEDWELL from 
Southampton,--as the above mentioned remark of Bradford would suggest,--
and was made "governour" of her passengers, as he later was of the whole 
company, on the MAY-FLOWER. It has sometimes been queried whether, in the 
interim between the arrival of the SPEEDWELL at Southampton and the 
assignment of the colonists to their respective ships (especially as both 
vessels were taking in and transferring cargo), the passengers remained on 
board or were quartered on shore. The same query has arisen, with even 
better reason, as to the passengers of the SPEEDWELL during the stay at 
Dartmouth, when the consort was being carefully overhauled to find her 
leaks, the suggestion being made that in this case some of them might have 
found accommodation on board the larger ship. The question may be fairly 
considered as settled negatively, from the facts that the colonists, with 
few exceptions, were unable to bear such extra expense themselves; the 
funds of the Adventurers--if any were on hand, which appears doubtful--
were not available for the purpose; while the evidence of some of the 
early writers renders it very certain that the Leyden party were not 
released from residence on shipboard from the time they embarked on the 
SPEEDWELL at Delfshaven till the final landing in the harbor of New 
Plimoth. Just who of the Leyden chiefs caused themselves to be assigned to 
the smaller vessel, to encourage its cowardly Master, cannot be definitely 
known. It may be confidently assumed, however, that Dr. Samuel Fuller, the 
physician of the colonists, was transferred to the MAY-FLOWER, upon which 
were embarked three fourths of the entire company, including most of the 
women and children, with some of whom, it was evident, his services would 
be certainly in demand. There is little doubt that the good Elder (William 
Brewster) was also transferred to the larger ship at Southampton, while it 
would not be a very wild guess--in the light of Bradford's statement--to 
place Carver, Winslow, Bradford, Standish, Cooke, Howland, and Edward 
Tilley, and their families, among the passengers on the consort. Just how 
many passengers each vessel carried when they sailed from Southampton will 
probably never be positively known. Approximately, it may be said, on the 
authority of such contemporaneous evidence as is available, and such 
calculations as are possible from the data we have, that the SPEEDWELL had 
thirty (30), and the MAY-FLOWER her proportionate number, ninety (90)--a 
total of one hundred and twenty (120). 

Captain John Smith says,(*) apparently without pretending to be exact, 
"They left the coast of England the 23 of August, with about 120 persons, 
but the next day [sic] the lesser ship sprung a leak that forced their 
return to Plymouth; where discharging her [the ship] and twenty 
passengers, with the great ship and a hundred persons, besides sailors, 
they set sail again on the 6th of September."(**)

(* Smith, New England's Trials, ed. 1622, London, p. 259. It is a singular 
error of the celebrated navigator that he makes the ships to have, in less 
than a day's sail, got outside of Plymouth, as he indicates by his words, 
"the next day," and "forced their return to Plymouth." He evidently 
intends to speak only in general terms, as he entirely omits the (first) 
return to Dartmouth, and numbers the passengers on the MAY-FLOWER, on her 
final departure, at but "one hundred." He also says they "discharged 
twenty passengers.") 
 
(** Dr. Ames, so stringent in his requirements of other authors, for 
example Jane Austin, has to this point been pathetically naive as to the 
opinions of Captain John Smith. Captain Smith's self-serving and very 
subjective narratives of his own voyages obtained for him the very 
derogatory judgement by his contemporaries. One of the best reviews of 
John Smith's life may be found in a small book on this adventurer by 
Charles Dudley Warner. D.W.)

If the number one hundred and twenty (120) is correct, and the 
distribution suggested is also exact, viz. thirty (30) to the SPEEDWELL 
and ninety (90) to the MAY-FLOWER, it is clear that there must have been 
more than twelve (the number usually named) who went from the consort to 
the larger ship, when the pinnace was abandoned. We know that at least 
Robert Cushman and his family (wife and son), who were on the MAY-FLOWER, 
were among the number who returned to London upon the SPEEDWELL (and the 
language of Thomas Blossom in his letter to Governor Bradford, else where 
quoted, indicates that he and his son were also there), so that if the 
ship's number was ninety (90), and three or more were withdrawn, it would 
require fifteen (15) or more to make the number up to one hundred and two 
(102), the number of passengers we know the MAY-FLOWER had when she took 
her final departure. It is not likely we shall ever be able to determine 
exactly the names or number of those transferred to the MAY-FLOWER from 
the consort, or the number or names of all those who went back to London 
from either vessel. Several of the former and a few of the latter are 
known, but we must (except for some fortunate discovery) rest content with 
a very accurate knowledge of the passenger list of the MAY-FLOWER when she 
left Plymouth (England), and of the changes which occurred in it 
afterward; and a partial knowledge of the ship's own complement of 
officers and men. 

Goodwin says: "The returning ones were probably of those who joined in 
England, and had not yet acquired the Pilgrim spirit." Unhappily this view 
is not sustained by the relations of those of the number who are known. 
Robert Cushman and his family (3 persons), Thomas Blossom and his son (2 
persons), and William Ring (1 person), a total of six, or just one third 
of the putative eighteen who went back, all belonged to the Leyden 
congregation, and were far from lacking "the Pilgrim spirit." Cushman was 
both ill and heart-sore from fatigue, disappointment, and bad treatment; 
Ring was very ill, according to Cushman's Dartmouth letter; but the 
motives governing Blossom and his son do not appear, unless the 
comparatively early death of the son--after which his father went to New 
England--furnishes a clue thereto. Bradford says: "Those that went back 
were, for the most part, such as were willing to do so, either out of some 
discontent, or fear they conceived of the ill success of the Voyage, 
seeing so many crosses befallen and the year time so far spent. But 
others, in regard of their own weakness and the charge of many young 
children, were thought [by the Managers] least useful and most unfit to 
bear the brunt of this hard adventure." It is evident from the above that, 
while the return of most was from choice, some were sent back by those in 
authority, as unfit for the undertaking, and that of these some had "many 
young chil dren." There are said to have been eighteen who returned on the 
SPEEDWELL to London. We know who six of them were, leaving twelve, or two 
thirds, unknown. Whether these twelve were in part from Leyden, and were 
part English, we shall probably never know. If any of them were from 
Holland, then the number of those who left Delfshaven on the SPEEDWELL is 
increased by so many. If any were of the English contingent, and probably 
the most were,--then the passenger list of the MAY-FLOWER from London to 
Southampton was probably, by so many, the larger. It is evident, from 
Bradford's remark, that, among the twelve unknown, were some who, from 
"their own weakness and charge of many young children, were thought least 
useful and most unfit," etc. From this it is clear that at least one 
family was included which had a number of young children, the parents' 
"own weakness" being recognized. A father, mother, and four children (in 
view of the term "many") would seem a reasonable surmise, and would make 
six, or another third of the whole number. The probability that the 
unknown two thirds were chiefly from England, rather than Holland, is 
increased by observation of the evident care with which, as a rule, those 
from the Leyden congregation were picked, as to strength and fitness, and 
also by the fact that their Leyden homes were broken up. Winslow remarks, 
"the youngest and strongest part were to go," and an analysis of the list 
shows that those selected were mostly such. Bradford, in stating that 
Martin was "from Billericay in Essex," says, "from which part came sundry 
others." It is quite possible that some of the unknown twelve who returned 
were from this locality, as none of those who went on the MAY-FLOWER are 
understood to have hailed from there, beside the Martins. 

All the colonists still intending to go to America were now gathered in 
one vessel. Whatever previous disposition of them had been made, or 
whatever relations they might have had in the disjointed record of the 
exodus, were ephemeral, and are now lost sight of in the enduring interest 
which attaches to their final and successful "going forth" as MAY-FLOWER 
Pilgrims. 

Bradford informs us--as already noted--that, just before the departure 
from Southampton, having "ordered and distributed their company for either 
ship, as they conceived for the best," they "chose a Governor and two or 
three assistants for each ship, to order the people by the way, and see to 
the disposing of the provisions, and such like affairs. All which was not 
only with the liking of the Masters of the ships, but according to their 
desires." We have seen that under this arrangement-- the wisdom and 
necessity of which are obvious--Martin was made "Governor" on the "biger 
ship" and Cushman his "assistante." Although we find no mention of the 
fact, it is rendered certain by the record which Bradford makes of the 
action of the Pilgrim company on December 11, 1620, at Cape Cod,--when 
they "confirmed" Deacon John Carver as "Governor,"--that he was and had 
been such, over the colonist passengers for the voyage (the ecclesiastical 
authority only remaining to Elder Brewster), Martin holding certainly no 
higher than the second place, made vacant by Cushman's departure. 

Thus, hardly had the Pilgrims shaken the dust of their persecuting mother-
country from their feet before they set up, by popular voice (above 
religious authority, and even that vested by maritime law in their ships' 
officers), a government of themselves, by themselves, and for themselves. 
It was a significant step, and the early revision they made of their 
choice of "governors" certifies their purpose to have only rulers who 
could command their confidence and respect. Dr. Young says: "We know the 
age of but few of the Pilgrims," which has hitherto been true; yet by 
careful examination of reliable data, now available, we are able to deter 
mine very closely the ages of a considerable number, and approximately the 
years of most of the others, at the time of the exodus. No analysis, so 
far as known, has hitherto been made of the vocations (trades, etc.) 
represented by the MAY-FLOWER company. They were, as befitted those bent 
on founding a colony, of considerable variety, though it should be 
understood that the vocations given were, so far as ascertained, the 
callings the individuals who represented them had followed before taking 
ship. Several are known to have been engaged in other pursuits at some 
time, either before their residence in Holland, or during their earlier 
years there. Bradford tells us that most of the Leyden congregation (or 
that portion of it which came from England, in or about 1608) were 
agricultural people. These were chiefly obliged to acquire handicrafts or 
other occupations. A few, e.g. Allerton, Brewster, Bradford, Carver, 
Cooke, and Winslow, had possessed some means, while others had been bred 
to pursuits for which there was no demand in the Low Countries. Standish, 
bred to arms, apparently followed his profession nearly to the time of 
departure, and resumed it in the colony, adding thereto the calling which, 
in all times and all lands, had been held compatible in dignity with that 
of arms,--the pursuit of agriculture. While always the "Sword of the White 
Men," he was the pioneer "planter" in the first settlement begun (at 
Duxbury) beyond Plymouth limits. Of the "arts, crafts or trades" of the 
colonists from London and neighboring English localities, but little has 
been gleaned. They were mostly people of some means, tradesmen rather than 
artisans, and at least two (Martin and Mullens) were evidently also of the 
Merchant Adventurers. 

Their social (conjugal) conditions--not previously analyzed, it is 
thought--have been determined, it is believed, with approximate accuracy; 
though it is of course possible that some were married, of whom that fact 
does not appear, especially among the seamen. 

The passengers of the MAY-FLOWER on her departure from Plymouth (England), 
as arranged for convenience by families, were as appears by the following 
lists. 

While the ages given in these lists are the result of much careful study 
of all the latest available data, and are believed, when not exact, to be 
very close approximates; as it has been possible to arrive at results, in 
several cases, only by considerable calculation, the bases of which may 
not always have been entirely reliable, errors may have crept in. Though 
the author is aware that, in a few instances, the age stated does not 
agree with that assigned by other recognized authority, critical re-
analysis seems to warrant and confirm the figures given. 

The actual and comparative youth of the majority of the colonist leaders --
the Pilgrim Fathers--is matter of comment, even of surprise, to most 
students of Pilgrim history, especially in view of what the Leyden 
congregation had experienced before embarking for America. Only two of the 
leaders exceeded fifty years of age, and of these Governor Carver died 
early. Of the principal men only nine could have been over forty, and of 
these Carver, Chilton, Martin, Mullins, and Priest (more than half died 
within a few months after landing), leaving Brewster, Warren (who died 
early), Cooke, and Hopkins--neither of the latter hardly forty--the 
seniors. One does not readily think of Alden as but twenty-one, Winslow as 
only twenty-five, Dr. Fuller as about thirty, Bradford as only thirty- one 
when chosen Governor, Allerton as thirty-two, and Captain Standish as 
thirty-six. Verily they were "old heads on young shoulders." It is 
interesting to note that the dominant influence at all times was that of 
the Leyden contingent. 

Of these, all except William Butten, who died upon the voyage, reached 
Cape Cod in safety, though some of them had become seriously ill from the 
hardships encountered, and Howland had narrowly escaped drowning. Two were 
added to the number en voyage,--Oceanus Hopkins, born upon the sea, and 
Peregrine White, born soon after the arrival in Cape Cod harbor. This made 
the total of the passenger list 103, before further depletion by death 
occurred, though several deaths again reduced it before the MAY- FLOWER 
cast anchor in Plymouth harbor, her final haven on the outward voyage. 

Deacon John Carver's place of birth or early life is not known, but he was 
an Essex County man, and was probably not, until in middle life, a member 
of Robinson's congregation of "Independents." His age is determined by 
collateral evidence. 

Mrs. Katherine Carver, it has been supposed by some, was a sister of 
Pastor Robinson. This supposition rests, apparently, upon the expression 
of Robinson in his parting letter to Carver, where he says: "What shall I 
say or write unto you and your good wife, my loving sister?" Neither the 
place of Mrs. Carver's nativity nor her age is known. 

Desire Minter was evidently a young girl of the Leyden congregation, 
between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, who in some way (perhaps 
through kinship) had been taken into Carver's family. She returned to 
England early. See ante, for account of her (probable) parentage. 

John Howland was possibly of kin to Carver and had been apparently some 
years in his family. Bradford calls him a "man-servant," but it is evident 
that "employee" would be the more correct term, and that he was much more 
than a "servant." It is observable that Howland signed the Compact (by 
Morton's List) before such men as Hopkins, the Tilleys, Cooke, Rogers, and 
Priest, which does not indicate much of the "servant" relation. His 
antecedents are not certainly known, but that he was of the Essex family 
of the name seems probable. Much effort has been made in recent years to 
trace his ancestry, but without any considerable result. His age at death 
(1673) determines his age in 1620. He was older than generally supposed, 
being born about 1593. 

Roger Wilder is also called a "man-servant" by Bradford, and hardly more 
than this is known of him, his death occurring early. There is no clue to 
his age except that his being called a "man-servant" would seem to suggest 
that he was of age; but the fact that he did not sign the Compact would 
indicate that he was younger, or he may have been extremely ill, as he 
died very soon after arrival. 

William Latham is called a "boy" by Bradford, though a lad of 18. It is 
quite possible he was one of those "indentured" by the corporation of 
London, but there is no direct intimation of this. 

"Mrs. Carver's maid," it is fair to presume, from her position as lady's- 
maid and its requirements in those days, was a young woman of eighteen or 
twenty years, and this is confirmed by her early marriage. Nothing is 
known of her before the embarkation. She died early. 

Jasper More, Bradford says, "was a child yt was put to him." Further 
information concerning him is given in connection with his brother 
Richard, "indentured" to Elder Brewster. He is erroneously called by 
Justin Winsor in his "History of Duxbury" (Massachusetts) a child of 
Carver's, as Elizabeth Tilley is "his daughter." Others have similarly 
erred. 

Elder William Brewster's known age at his death determines his age in 
1620. He was born in 1566-67. His early life was full of interest and 
activity, and his life in Holland and America no less so. In early life he 
filled important stations. Steele's "Chief of the Pilgrims" is a most 
engaging biography of him, and there are others hardly less so, Bradford's 
sketch being one of the best. 

Mrs. Mary Brewster's age at her death determines it at the embarkation, 
and is matter of computation. 

Love Brewster was the second son of his parents, his elder brother 
Jonathan coming over afterwards. 

Wrestling Brewster was but a "lad," and his father's third son. 

Richard More and his brother, Bradford states, "were put to him" (Elder 
Brewster) as bound-boys. For a full account of their English origin, 
Richard's affidavit, etc., see ante. This makes him but about six, but he 
was perhaps older. 

Governor Edward Winslow's known age at his death fixes his age at the time 
of the exodus, and his birth is duly recorded at Droitwich, in Worcester, 
England. (See "Winslow Memorial," David Parsons Holton, vol. i. p. 16.) 

Mrs. Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow, the first wife of the Governor, appears 
by the data supplied by the record of her marriage in Holland, May 27, 
1618, to have been a maiden of comporting years to her husband's, he being 
then twenty-three. Tradition makes her slightly younger than her husband. 

George Soule, it is evident,--like Howland,--though denominated a 
"servant" by Bradford, was more than this, and should rather have been 
styled, as Goodwin points out, "an employee" of Edward Winslow. His age is 
approximated by collateral evidence, his marriage, etc. 

Elias Story is called "man-servant" by Bradford, and his age is unknown. 
The fact that he did not sign the Compact indicates that he was under age, 
but extreme illness may have prevented, as he died early. 

Ellen More, "a little girl that was put to him" (Winslow), died early. She 
was sister of the other More children, "bound out" to Carver and Brewster, 
of whom extended mention has been made. 

Governor William Bradford's date of birth fixes his age in 1620. His early 
home was at Austerfield, in Yorkshire. Belknap (" American Biography," 
vol. ii. p. 218) says: "He learned the art of silk- dyeing." 

Mrs. Dorothy (May) Bradford's age (the first wife of the Governor) is 
fixed at twenty-three by collateral data, but she may have been older. She 
was probably from Wisbeach, England. The manner of her tragic death (by 
drowning, having fallen overboard from the ship in Cape Cod harbor), the 
first violent death in the colony, was especially sad, her husband being 
absent for a week afterward. It is not known that her body was recovered. 

Dr. Samuel Fuller, from his marriage record at Leyden, made in 1613, when 
he was a widower, it is fair to assume was about thirty, perhaps older, in 
1620, as he could, when married, have hardly been under twenty-one. His 
(third) wife and child were left in Holland. 

William Butten (who died at sea, November 6/16), Bradford calls "a youth." 
He was undoubtedly a "servant"-assistant to the doctor. 

Isaac Allerton, it is a fair assumption, was about thirty-four in 1620, 
from the fact that he married his first wife October 4, 1611, as he was 
called "a young man" in the Leyden marriage record. He is called "of 
London, England," by Bradford and on the Leyden records. He was made a 
"freeman" of Leyden, February 7, 1614. Arber and others state that his 
early occupation was that of "tailor," but he was later a tradesman and 
merchant. 

Mary (Norris) Allerton is called a "maid of Newbury in England," in the 
Leyden record of her marriage, in October, 1611, and it is the only hint 
as to her age we have. She was presumably a young woman. Her death 
followed (a month later) the birth of her still-born son, on board the MAY-
FLOWER in Plymouth harbor, February 25/March 7, 1621. 

Bartholomew Allerton, born probably in 1612/13 (his parents married 
October, 1611), was hence, as stated, about seven or eight years old at 
the embarkation. He has been represented as older, but this was clearly 
impossible. He was doubtless born in Holland. 

Remember Allerton, apparently Allerton's second child, has (with a 
novelist's license) been represented by Mrs. Austin as considerably older 
than six, in fact nearer sixteen (Goodwin, p. 183, says, "over 13"), but 
the known years of her mother's marriage and her brother's birth make this 
improbable. She was, no doubt, born in Holland about 1614--She married 
Moses Maverick by 1635, and Thomas Weston's only child, Elizabeth, was 
married from her house at Marblehead to Roger Conant, son of the first 
"governor" of a Massachusetts Bay "plantation." 

Mary Allerton, apparently the third child, could hardly have been much 
more than four years old in 1620, though Goodwin ("Pilgrim Republic," p. 
184) calls her eleven, which is an error. She was probably born in Holland 
about 1616. She was the last survivor of the passengers of the MAY-FLOWER, 
dying at Plymouth, New England, 1699. 

John Hooke, described by Bradford as a "servant-boy," was probably but a 
youth. He did not sign the Compact. Nothing further is known of him except 
that he died early. It is quite possible that he may have been of London 
and have been "indentured" by the municipality to Allerton, but the 
presumption has been that he came, as body-servant of Allerton, with him 
from Leyden. 

Captain Standish's years in 1620 are conjectural (from fixed data), as is 
his age at death. His early home was at Duxborough Hall, in Lancashire. 
His commission as Captain, from Queen Elizabeth, would make his birth 
about 1584. Rose Standish, his wife, is said by tradition to have been 
from the Isle of Man, but nothing is known of her age or antecedents, 
except that she was younger than the Captain. She died during the "general 
sickness," early in 1621. 

Master Christopher Martin, as previously noted, was from Billerica, in 
Essex. From collateral data it appears that he must have been "about 
forty" years old when he joined the Pilgrims. He appears to have been a 
staunch "Independent" and to have drawn upon himself the ire of the 
Archdeacon of Chelmsford, (probably) by his loud-mouthed expression of his 
views, as only "a month before the MAY-FLOWER sailed" he, with his son and 
Solomon Prower of his household (probably a relative), were cited before 
the archdeacon to answer for their shortcomings, especially in reverence 
for this church dignitary. He seems to have been at all times a self-
conceited, arrogant, and unsatisfactory man. That he was elected treasurer 
and ship's "governor" and permitted so much unbridled liberty as appears, 
is incomprehensible. It was probably fortunate that he died early, as he 
did, evidently in utter poverty. He had a son, in 1620, apparently quite a 
grown youth, from which it is fair to infer that the father was at that 
time "about forty." Of his wife nothing is known. She also died early. 

Solomon Prower, who is called by Bradford both "son" and "servant" of 
Martin, seems from the fact of his "citation" before the Archdeacon of 
Chelmsford, etc., to have been something more than a "servant," possibly a 
kinsman, or foster-son, and probably would more properly have been termed 
an "employee." He was from Billerica, in Essex, and was, from the fact 
that he did not sign the Compact, probably under twenty-one or very ill at 
the time. He died early. Of John Langemore, his fellow "servant," nothing 
is known, except that he is spoken of by Young as one of two "children" 
brought over by Martin (but on no apparent authority), and he did not sign 
the Compact, though this might have been from extreme illness, as he too 
died early. 

William White was of the Leyden congregation. He is wrongly called by 
Davis a son of Bishop John White, as the only English Bishop of that name 
and time died a bachelor. At White's marriage, recorded at the Stadthaus 
at Leyden, January 27/February 1, 1612, to Anna [Susanna] Fuller, he is 
called "a young man of England." As he presumably was of age at that time, 
he must have been at least some twenty-nine or thirty years old at the 
embarkation, eight years later. His son Peregrine was born in Cape Cod 
harbor. Mr. White died very early. 

Susanna (Fuller) White, wife of William, and sister of Dr. Fuller (?), was 
apparently somewhat younger than her first husband and perhaps older than 
her second. She must, in all probability (having been married in Leyden in 
1612), have been at least twenty-five at the embarkation eight years 
later. Her second husband, Governor Winslow, was but twenty-five in 1620, 
and the presumption is that she was slightly his senior. There appears no 
good reason for ascribing to her the austere and rather unlovable 
characteristics which the pen of Mrs. Austin has given her. 

Resolved White, the son of William and Susanna White, could not have been 
more than six or seven years old, and is set down by Goodwin and others--
on what seems inconclusive evidence--at five. He was doubtless born at 
Leyden. 

William Holbeck is simply named as "a servant" of White, by Bradford. His 
age does not appear, but as he did not sign the Compact he was probably 
"under age." From the fact that he died early, it is possible that he was 
too ill to sign. 

Edward Thompson is named by Bradford as a second "servant" of Master 
White, but nothing more is known of him, except that he did not sign the 
Compact, and was therefore probably in his nonage, unless prevented by 
severe sickness. He died very early. 

Master William Mullens (or Molines, as Bradford some times calls him) is 
elsewhere shown to have been a tradesman of some means, of Dorking, in 
Surrey, one of the Merchant Adventurers, and a man of ability. From the 
fact that he left a married daughter (Mrs. Sarah Blunden) and a son 
(William) a young man grown, in England, it is evident that he must have 
been forty years old or more when he sailed for New England, only to die 
aboard the ship in New Plymouth harbor. That he was not a French Huguenot 
of the Leyden contingent, as pictured by Rev. Dr. Baird and Mrs. Austin, 
is certain. 

Mrs. Alice Mullens, whose given name we know only from her husband's will, 
filed in London, we know little about. Her age was (if she was his first 
wife) presumably about that of her husband, whom she survived but a short 
time. 

Joseph Mullens was perhaps older than his sister Priscilla, and the third 
child of his parents; but the impression prevails that he was slightly her 
junior,--on what evidence it is hard to say. That he was sixteen is 
rendered certain by the fact that he is reckoned by his father, in his 
will, as representing a share in the planter's half-interest in the 
colony, and to do so must have been of that age. 

Priscilla Mullens, whom the glamour of unfounded romance and the pen of 
the poet Longfellow have made one of the best known and best beloved of 
the Pilgrim band, was either a little older, or younger, than her brother 
Joseph, it is not certain which. But that she was over sixteen is made 
certain by the same evidence as that named concerning her brother. 

Robert Carter is named by Bradford as a "man-servant," and Mrs. Austin, in 
her imaginative "Standish of Standish," which is never to be taken too 
literally, has made him (see p. 181 of that book) "a dear old servant," 
whom Priscilla Mullens credits with carrying her in his arms when a small 
child, etc. Both Bradford's mention and Mr. Mullens's will indicate that 
he was yet a young man and "needed looking after." He did not sign the 
Compact, which of itself indicates nonage, unless illness was the cause, 
of which, in his case, there is no evidence, until later. 

Richard Warren, as he had a wife and five pretty well grown daughters, 
must have been forty-five or more when he came over. He is suggested to 
have been from Essex. 

Stephen Hopkins is believed to have been a "lay-reader" with Mr. Buck, 
chaplain to Governor Gates, of the Bermuda expedition of 1609 (see 
Purchas, vol. iv. p. 174). As he could hardly have had this appointment, 
or have taken the political stand he did, until of age, he must have been 
at least twenty-one at that time. If so, he would have been not less than 
thirty two years old in 1620, and was probably considerably older, as his 
son Giles is represented by Goodwin ("Pilgrim Republic," p. 184) as being 
"about 15." If the father was but twenty-one when the son was born, he 
must have been at least thirty-seven when he became a MAY-FLOWER Pilgrim. 
The probabilities are that he was considerably older. His English home is 
not known. Professor Arber makes an error (The Story of the Pilgrim 
Fathers," p. 261) in regard to Hopkins which, unless noted, might lead to 
other and more serious mistakes. Noting the differences between John 
Pierce and a Master Hopkins, heard before the Council for New England, May 
5/15, 1623, Arber designates Master Hopkins as "Stephen" (on what 
authority does not appear), and leaves us to infer that it was the Pilgrim 
Hopkins. On further inquiry it transpires that the person who was at 
variance with Master John Pierce over the matter of passage and freight 
money, on account of the unfortunate PARAGON, was a Rev. Master Hopkins 
(not Stephen of the MAY-FLOWER), who, we learn from Neill's "History of 
the Virginia Company," was "recommended July 3, 1622, by the Court of the 
Company to the Governor of Virginia, . . . being desirous to go over at 
his own charge. He was evidently a passenger on both of the disastrous 
attempts of the PARAGON under Captain William Pierce, and being forced 
back the second time, apparently gave up the intention of going. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, nothing is known concerning, except that she was 
not her husband's first wife. Sometime apparently elapsed between her 
husband's marriages. 

Giles Hopkins we only know was the son of his father's first wife, and 
"about 15." An error (of the types presumably) makes Griffis ("The 
Pilgrims in their Three Homes," p. 176) give the name of Oceanus Hopkins's 
father as Giles, instead of Stephen. Constance (or Constantia) Hopkins was 
apparently about eleven years old in 1620, as she married in 1627, and 
probably was then not far from eighteen years old. Damaris Hopkins, the 
younger daughter of Master Hopkins, was probably a very young child when 
she came in the MAY-FLOWER, but her exact age has not been as certained. 
Davis, as elsewhere noted, makes the singular mistake of saying she was 
born after her parents arrived in New England. She married Jacob Cooke, 
and the ante- nuptial agreement of his parents is believed to be the 
earliest of record in America, except that between Gregory Armstrong and 
the widow Billington. 

Edward Dotey is called by Bradford "a servant," but nothing is known of 
his age or antecedents. It is very certain from the fact that he signed 
the Compact that he was twenty-one. He was a very energetic man. He seems 
to have been married before coming to New England, or soon after. 

Edward Leister (the name is variously spelled) was a "servant," by 
Bradford's record. He was doubtless of age, as he signed the Compact. 

Master John Crackstone, being (apparently) a widower with a son, a child 
well grown, was evidently about thirty five years old when he embarked for 
New England. He left a daughter behind. He died early. 

John Crackstone, Jr., was but a lad, and died early. 

Master Edward Tilley (sometimes spelled Tillie) and his wife Ann seem to 
have been without children of their own, and as they took with them to New 
England two children who were their kindred, it may be inferred that they 
had been married some little time. It is hence probable that Mr. Tilley 
was in the neighborhood of thirty. His wife's age is purely conjectural. 
They were, Bradford states, "of the Leyden congregation." 

Henry Sampson was apparently but a young English lad when he came over in 
the MAY-FLOWER with his cousins the Tilleys. As he married in 1636, he was 
probably then about twenty-one, which would make him five or six when he 
came over. Goodwin ("Pilgrim Republic," p. 184) says he was "six." 

Humility Cooper is said by Bradford to have been a "cosen" of the Tilleys, 
but no light is given as to her age or antecedents. She was but a child, 
apparently. She returned to England very soon after the death of Mr. and 
Mrs. Tilley, and "died young." 

Master John Tilley, having twice married, and having a daughter some 
fourteen years old, must have been over thirty-five years old when he 
sailed on the Pilgrim ship. His birthplace and antecedents are not known, 
but he was "of the Leyden congregation." 

Mrs. Bridget (Van der Velde) Tilley was just possibly a second wife. 
Nothing is known concerning her except that she was of Holland, and that 
she had, apparently, no child. 

Elizabeth Tilley is said by Goodwin (op. cit. p. 298) and others to have 
been fourteen years old at her parents' death in 1621, soon after the 
arrival in New England. She was the child of her father's first wife. She 
married John Howland before 1624. Historians for many years called her the 
"daughter of Governor Carver," but the recovery of Bradford's MS. 
"historie" corrected this, with many other misconceptions, though to some 
the error had become apparent before. Her will also suggests her age. 

Francis Cooke's age in 1620 is fixed by his known age at his death ("about 
81") in 1663. He was from the north of England, and long a member of 
Robinson's congregation, both in England and in Holland(?). 

John Cooke, son of Francis, is known to have been about ten years old when 
he sailed with his father for America, as his parents did not marry before 
1609. He was undoubtedly born at Leyden. He was long supposed to have been 
the last male survivor of the original passengers (dying at Dartmouth in 
1695.) 

James Chilton's antecedents and his age are quite unknown. He must have 
been at least fifty, as he had a married daughter in Leyden, according to 
Bradford. He died among the first, and there is nothing of record to 
inform us concerning him, except Bradford's meagre mention. He may have 
lived at Leyden. 

Mrs. Chilton's given name is declared by one writer to have been Susanna, 
but it is not clearly proven. Whence she came, her ancestry, and her age, 
are alike unknown. 

Mary Chilton was but a young girl in 1620. She married, before 1627, John 
Winslow, and was probably not then over twenty, nor over fourteen when she 
came with her parents in the MAY-FLOWER. 

Thomas Rogers appears, from the fact that he had a son, a lad well-grown, 
to have been thirty or more in 1620. His birthplace, antecedents, and 
history are unknown, but he appears to have been "of the Leyden 
congregation." His wife arid children came later. 

Joseph Rogers was only a "lad" aboard the MAY-FLOWER, but he left a 
considerable posterity. Nothing is surely known of him, except that he was 
Thomas's son. 

Degory Priest had the distinction of being "freeman" of Leyden, having 
been admitted such, November 16, 1615. He was by occupation a "hatter," a 
man of some means, who left a wife and at least two children in Holland 
when he embarked for America. His known age at death gives his age at 
sailing but a few months previous. At his marriage in Leyden, October 4, 
1611, he was called "of London." He was about thirty-two when he married. 
His wife (a widow Vincent) was a sister of Isaac Allerton, who also was 
married at the same time that he was. Goodwin ("Pilgrim Republic," p. 183) 
also gives his age as "forty-one." His widow remarried and came over 
later. Dexter ("Mourt's Relation," p. 69, note) states, quoting from 
Leyden MS. records, that "Degory Priest in April, 1619, calling himself a 
'hatter,' deposes that he 'is forty years of age.'" He must, therefore, 
have been about forty-one when he sailed on the MAY- FLOWER, and forty-two 
years old at his death. 

John Rigdale and his wife Alice afford no data. They both died early, and 
there is no record concerning either of them beyond the fact that they 
were passengers. 

Edward Fuller and his wife have left us little record of themselves save 
that they were of Leyden, that he is reputed a brother of Dr. Samuel 
Fuller (for whom they seem to have named the boy they brought over with 
them,--leaving apparently another son, Matthew, behind), and that both 
died the first winter. He must have been at least twenty- five, judging 
from the fact that he was married and had two children, and was perhaps 
somewhat older (though traditionally represented as younger) than his 
brother. Neither his occupation nor antecedents are surely known. 

Samuel Fuller--the son of Edward Fuller and his wife--is called by 
Bradford "a young child." He must have been some five or six years of age, 
as he married in 1635, fifteen years later, and would presumably have been 
of age, or nearly so. 

Thomas Tinker's name, the mention of his "wife" and "son," the tradition 
that they were "of the Leyden congregation" (which is not sure), the 
certainty that they were MAY-FLOWER passengers,--on Brad ford's list,--and 
that all died early, are all we know of the Tinker family. 

John Turner and his two sons we know little about. He seems to have been a 
widower, as no mention is found of his wife, though this is not certain. 
He was of the Leyden congregation, and evidently a man of some standing 
with the leaders, as he was made their messenger to Carver and Cushman in 
London, in June, 1620, and was apparently accustomed to travel. He appears 
to have had business of his own in England at the time, and was apparently 
a man of sober age. As he had three children,--a daughter who came later 
to New England, and two sons, as stated by Bradford,--it is probable that 
he was thirty or over. He and both his sons died in the spring of 1621. 

Francis Eaton was of Leyden, a carpenter, and, having a wife and child, 
was probably a young man about twenty five, perhaps a little younger. He 
married three times. 

Mrs. Sarah Eaton, wife of Francis, was evidently a young woman, with an 
infant, at the date of embarkation. Nothing more is known of her, except 
that she died the spring following the arrival at Plymouth. 

Samuel Eaton, the son of Francis and his wife, Sarah, Bradford calls "a 
sucking child:" He lived to marry. 

Gilbert Window was the third younger brother of Governor Edward Winslow, 
and is reputed to have been a carpenter. He was born on Wednesday, October 
26, 1600, at Droitwitch, in Worcester, England. ("Winslow Memorial," vol. 
i. p. 23.) He apparently did not remain long in the colony, as he does not 
appear in either the "land division" of 1623 or the "cattle division" of 
1627; and hence was probably not then in the "settlement," though land was 
later allowed his heirs, he having been an "original" voyager of the 
Plymouth colony. He was but twenty years and fifteen days old when he 
signed the Compact, but probably was--from his brother's prominence and 
his nearness to his majority--counted as eligible. Bradford states that he 
returned to England after "divers years" in New England, and died there. 
It has been suggested that he went very early to some of the other 
"plantations." 

John Alden was of Southampton, England, was hired as "a cooper," was 
twenty-one years old in 1620, as determined by the year of his birth, 1599 
("Alden Memorial," p. 1), and became the most prominent and useful of any 
of the English contingent of the MAY FLOWER company. Longfellow's 
delightful poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish," has given him and his 
bride, Priscilla Mullens, world- wide celebrity, though it is to be feared 
that its historical accuracy would hardly stand criticism. Why young Alden 
should have been "hired for a cooper at Southampton," with liberty to "go 
or stay" in the colony, as Bradford says he was (clearly indicating that 
he went to perform some specific work and return, if he liked, with the 
ship), has mystified many. The matter is clear, however, when it is known, 
as Griffis shows, that part of a Parliamentary Act of 1543 reads: 
"Whosoever shall carry Beer beyond Sea, shall find Sureties to the 
Customers (?) of that Port, to bring in Clapboard [staves] meet 
[sufficient] to make so much Vessel [barrel or "kilderkin"] as he shall 
carry forth." As a considerable quantity of beer was part of the MAY-
FLOWER'S lading, and her consignors stood bound to make good in quantity 
the stave-stock she carried away, it was essential, in going to a wild 
country where it could not be bought, but must be "got out" from the 
growing timber, to take along a "cooper and cleaver" for that purpose. 
Moreover, the great demand for beer-barrel stock made "clapboard" good and 
profitable return lading. It constituted a large part of the FORTUNE'S 
return freight (doubtless "gotten out" by Alden), as it would have 
undoubtedly of the MAY-FLOWER'S, had the hardship of the colony's 
condition permitted. 

Peter Browne we know little concerning. That he was a man of early middle 
age is inferable from the fact that he married the widow Martha Ford, who 
came in the FORTUNE in 1621. As she then was the mother of three children, 
it is improbable that she would have married a very young man. He appears, 
from certain collateral evidence, to have been a mechanic of some kind, 
but it is not clear what his handicraft was or whence he came. 

John Billington (Bradford sometimes spells it Billinton) and his family, 
Bradford tells us, "were from London." They were evidently an ill- 
conditioned lot, and unfit for the company of the planters, and Bradford 
says, "I know not by what friend shuffled into their Company." As he had a 
wife and two children, the elder of whom must have been about sixteen 
years old, he was apparently over thirty- five years of age. There is a 
tradition that he was a countryman bred, which certain facts seem to 
confirm. (See land allotments for data as to age of boys, 1632.) He was 
the only one of the original colonists to suffer the "death penalty" for 
crime. 

Mrs. Ellen (or "Elen") Billington, as Bradford spells the name, was 
evidently of comporting age to her husband's, perhaps a little younger. 
Their two sons, John and Francis, were lively urchins who frequently made 
matters interesting for the colonists, afloat and ashore. The family was 
radically bad throughout, but they have had not a few worthy descendants. 
Mrs. Billington married Gregory Armstrong, and their antenuptial agreement 
is the first of record known in America. 

John Billington, Jr., is always first named of his father's two sons, and 
hence the impression prevails that he was the elder, and Bradford so 
designates him. The affidavit of Francis Billington (Plymouth County, 
Mass., Deeds, vol. i. p. 81), dated 1674, in which he declares himself 
sixty-eight years old, would indicate that he was born in 1606, and hence 
must have been about fourteen years of age when he came on the MAY-FLOWER 
to New Plymouth. If John, his brother, was older than he, he must have 
been born about 1604, and so was about sixteen when, he came to New 
England. The indications are that it was Francis, the younger son, who got 
hold of the gunpowder in his father's cabin in Cape Cod harbor, and 
narrowly missed blowing up the ship. John died before 1630. Francis lived, 
as appears, to good age, and had a family. 

Moses Fletcher was of the Leyden company, a "smith," and at the time of 
his second marriage at Leyden, November 30/December 21, 1613, was called a 
"widower" and "of England." As he was probably of age at the time of his 
first marriage,--presumably two years or more before his last,--he must 
have been over thirty in 1620. He was perhaps again a widower when he came 
over, as no mention is made of his having wife or family. He was possibly 
of the Amsterdam family of that name. His early death was a great loss to 
the colony. 

A Thomas Williams is mentioned by Hon. Henry C Murphy ("Historical 
Magazine," vol. iii. pp. 358, 359), in a list of some of Robinson's 
congregation who did not go to New England in either the MAY-FLOWER, 
FORTUNE, ANNE, Or LITTLE JAMES. He either overlooked the fact that 
Williams was one of the MAY-FLOWER passengers, or else there were two of 
the name, one of whom did not go. Nothing is known of the age or former 
history of the Pilgrim of that name. He died in the spring of 1621 (before 
the end of March). As he signed the Compact, he must have been over twenty-
one. He may have left a wife, Sarah. 

John Goodman we know little more about than that he and Peter Browne seem 
to have been "lost" together, on one occasion (when he was badly frozen), 
and to have had, with his little spaniel dog, a rencontre with "two great 
wolves," on another. He was twice married, the last time at Leyden in 
1619. He died before the end of March, 1621. As he signed the Compact, he 
must have been over twenty-one. 

Edward Margeson we know nothing about. As he signed the Compact, he was 
presumably of age. 

Richard Britteridge affords little data. His age, birthplace, or 
occupation do not transpire, but he was, it seems, according to Bradford, 
the first of the company to die on board the ship after she had cast 
anchor in the harbor of New Plymouth. This fact negatives the pleasant 
fiction of Mrs. Austin's "Standish of Standish" (p. 104), that Britteridge 
was one of those employed in cutting sedge on shore on Friday, January 12. 
Poor Britteridge died December 21, three weeks earlier. He signed the 
Compact, and hence may be accounted of age at the landing at Cape Cod. 

Richard Clarke appears only as one of the passengers and as dying before 
the end of March. He signed the Compact, and hence was doubtless twenty-
one or over. 

Richard Gardiner, we know from Bradford, "became a seaman and died in 
England or at sea." He was evidently a young man, but of his age or 
antecedents nothing appears. He signed the Compact, and hence was at least 
twenty-one years old. 

John Alderton (sometimes spelled Allerton), we are told by Bradford,--as 
elsewhere noted,--"was hired, but was reputed one of the company, but was 
to go back, being a seaman and so, presumably, unmindful of the voyages, 
for the help of others." Whether Bradford intended by the latter clause to 
indicate that he had left his family behind, and came "to spy out the land,
" and, if satisfied, to return for them, or was to return for the counsel 
and assistance of Robinson and the rest, who were to follow, is not clear, 
but the latter view has most to support it. We learn his occupation, but 
can only infer that he was a young man over twenty-one from the above and 
the fact that he signed the Compact. It has been suggested that he was a 
relative of Isaac Allerton, but this is nowhere shown and is improbable. 
He died before the MAY-FLOWER returned to England. 

Thomas English (or Enlish), Bradford tells us ("Historie," Mass. ed. p. 
533), "was hired to goe Master of a [the] shallop here." He, however, 
"died here before the ship returned." It is altogether probable that he 
was the savior of the colony on that stormy night when the shallop made 
Plymouth harbor the first time, and, narrowly escaping destruction, took 
shelter under Clarke's Island. The first three governors of the colony, 
its chief founders,--Carver, Bradford, and Winslow,--with Standish, 
Warren, Hopkins, Howland, Dotey, and others, were on board, and but for 
the heroism and prompt action of "the lusty sea man which steered," who 
was--beyond reasonable doubt--English, as Bradford's narrative ("Morton's 
Memorial") shows, the lives of the entire party must, apparently, have 
been lost. That English was, if on board--Bradford shows in the "Memorial" 
that he was--as Master of the shallop, properly her helmsman in so 
critical a time, goes without saying, especially as the "rudder was 
broken" and an oar substituted; that the ship's "mates," Clarke and 
Coppin, were not in charge (although on board) fully appears by Bradford's 
account; and as it must have taken all of the other (four) seamen on board 
to pull the shallop, bereft of her sail, in the heavy breakers into which 
she had been run by Coppin's blunder, there would be no seaman but English 
for the steering-oar, which was his by right. Had these leaders been lost 
at this critical time,--before a settlement had been made, --it is certain 
that the colony must have been abandoned, and the Pilgrim impress upon 
America must have been lost. English's name should, by virtue of his great 
service, be ever held in high honor by all of Pilgrim stock. His early 
death was a grave loss. Bradford spells the name once Enlish, but 
presumably by error. He signed the Compact as Thomas English. 

William Trevore was, according to Bradford, one of "two seamen hired to 
stay a year in the countrie." He went back when his time expired, but 
later returned to New England. Cushman (Bradford, "Historie," p. 122) 
suggests that he was telling "sailors' yarns." He says: "For William 
Trevore hath lavishly told but what he knew or imagined of Capewock 
Martha's Vineyard, Monhiggon, and ye Narragansetts." In 1629 he was at 
Massachusetts Bay in command of the HANDMAID (Goodwin, p. 320), and in 
February, 1633 (Winthrop, vol. i. p. 100), he seems to have been in 
command of the ship WILLIAM at Plymouth, with passengers for Massachusetts 
Bay. Captain Standish testified in regard to Thompson's Island in Boston 
harbor, that about 1620 he "was on that Island with Trevore," and called 
it "Island Trevore." (Bradford, "Historie," Deane's ed. p. 209.) He did 
not sign the Compact, perhaps because of the limitations of his contract 
(one year). 

--- Ely (not Ellis, as Arber miscalls him, "The Story of the Pilgrim 
Fathers," p. 377) was the other of the "two seamen hired to stay a year," 
etc. He also returned when his time expired. (Bradford, Hist. Mass. ed. p. 
534.) He did not sign the Compact, probably for the reason operative in 
Trevore's case. A digest of the foregoing data gives the following 
interesting, if incomplete, data (errors excepted):-- 

Adult males (hired seamen and servants of age included)... 44
Adult females (including Mrs. Carver's maid).............. 19
Youths, male children, and male servants, minors.......... 29
Maidens, female children.................................. 10
                                                         ----
                                                          102


Married males............................................. 26
Married females........................................... 18
Single (adult) males (and young men)...................... 25
Single (adult) females (Mrs. Carver's maid)............... 1


Vocations of adults so far as known (except wives, who are presumed 
housekeepers for their husbands):-- 

Carpenters................................................ 2
Cooper.................................................... 1
Fustian-worker and silk-dyer.............................. 1
Hatter.................................................... 1
Lay-reader................................................ 1
Lady's-maid............................................... 1
Merchants................................................. 3
Physician................................................. 1
Printers and publishers................................... 2
Seamen.................................................... 4
Servants (adult).......................................... 10
Smith..................................................... 1
Soldier................................................... 1
Tailor.................................................... 1
Tradesmen................................................. 2
Wool-carders.............................................. 2


Allowing for the addition of Wilder and the two sailors, Trevore and Ely, 
who did not sign it, the number of those who signed the Compact tallies 
exactly with the adult males. Besides these occupations, it is known that 
several of the individuals representing them were skilled in other 
callings, and were at some time teachers, accountants, linguists, writers, 
etc., while some had formerly practised certain handicrafts; Dr. Fuller, 
e.g. having formerly been a "silk-worker," Brad ford (on the authority of 
Belknap), a "silk-dyer," and others "fustian-workers." Hopkins had 
apparently sometime before dropped his character of "lay- reader," and was 
a pretty efficient man of affairs, but his vocation at the time of the 
exodus is not known. 

The former occupations of fourteen of the adult colonists, Browne, 
Billington, Britteridge, Cooke, Chilton, Clarke, Crackstone, Goodman, 
Gardiner, Rogers, Rigdale, Turner, Warren, and Williams are not certainly 
known. There is evidence suggesting that Browne was a mechanic; Billington 
and Cooke had been trained to husbandry; that Chilton had been a small 
tradesman; that Edward Tilley had been, like his brother, a silk- worker; 
that Turner was a tradesman, and Warren a farmer; while it is certain that 
Cooke, Rogers, and Warren had been men of some means. 

Of the above list of fourteen men whose last occupations before joining 
the colonists are unknown, only five, viz. Browne, Billington, Cooke, 
Gardiner, and Warren lived beyond the spring of 1621. Of these, Warren 
died early, Gardiner left the colony and "became a seaman;" the other 
three, Billington, Browne, and Cooke, became "planters." Thomas Morton, of 
"Merry Mount," in his "New Eng land's Canaan" (p. 217), gives Billington 
the sobriquet "Ould Woodman." 

The early deaths of the others make their former handicrafts--except as so 
much data pertaining to the composi tion and history of the colony-- 
matters of only ephemeral interest.