Mayflower

For other uses, see Mayflower (disambiguation).

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)
Name:	Mayflower
Owner:	Christopher Jones (¼ of the ship)
Route:	numerous, but the most famous route is: Southampton to America
Maiden voyage:	Before 1609
Out of service:	1622–1624
Fate:	most likely taken apart by Rotherhithe shipbreaker c.1624.
General characteristics
Class & type:	Dutch cargo fluyt
Tonnage:	180 tons +
Length:	c. 80–90 ft. on deck, 100–110 ft. overall.
Decks:	Around 4
Capacity:	Unknown, but carried c. 135 people during the historical voyage to what they would call Plymouth Colony

The Mayflower was the ship that transported the first English Separatists, known today as the Pilgrims, from Plymouth to the New World in 1620. There were 102 passengers, and the crew is estimated to have been about 30, but the exact number is unknown. This voyage has become an iconic story in some of the earliest annals of American history, with its story of death and of survival in the harsh New England winter environment. The culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact was an event which established a rudimentary form of democracy, with each member contributing to the welfare of the community.

Mayflower structure and layout

The Pilgrim ship Mayflower was a typical English merchant ship of the early 17th century – square-rigged and beak-bowed, with high, castle-like structures fore and aft that served to protect the ship's crew and the main deck from the elements. But having on her stern such structures as the 30-foot high, square aft-castle made the Mayflower extremely difficult to sail against the wind. This awkward superstructure configuration, making the Mayflower unable to sail well against the North Atlantic's prevailing Westerlies, especially in the Fall and Winter of 1620, was the direct cause of the ship's voyage from England to America taking over two months. The Mayflower's return trip to London in April–May 1621, with the same strong winds following this time, took less than half that time.

By 1620, the Mayflower was an aging ship, nearing the end of the usual working life of an English merchant ship in that era, some 15 years. No dimensions of her hull can be stated exactly, since this was many years before such measurements were standardized. Probably Mayflower measured about 100 feet in length from the forward end at the beak of her prow to the tip of her stern superstructure aft. She was about 25 feet at her widest point, with about 12 feet of keel below the waterline. William Bradford estimated that Mayflower had a cargo volume of 180 tons, but he was not a mariner. What is known on the basis of records from that time that have survived is that she could certainly accommodate 180 casks of wine in her cargo hold. The casks were great barrels that each held hundreds of gallons of claret wine.

This was a ship that traditionally was heavily armed while on trading routes around Europe, due to the possibility of encountering pirates and privateers of all types. And with its armament, the ship and crew could easily be conscripted by the English monarch at any time in case of conflict with other nations.

General layout

The general layout of the ship was as follows:

• Three masts – mizzen (aft), main (midship) and fore, and also a spritsail in the bow area.
• Three primary levels – main deck, gun deck and cargo hold.

Main deck

Aft on the main deck in the stern was the cabin for Master Christopher Jones, measuring about ten by seven feet. Forward of that was the steerage room, which housed a whipstaff (tiller extension) for sailing control – not a wheel as in later ships. Also here was the ship's compass and probably also berths for the ship's officers. Forward of the steerage room was the capstan – a vertical axle used to pull in ropes or cables. Far forward on the main deck, just aft of the bow, was the forecastle space where the ship's cook prepared meals for the crew; it may also have been where the ship's sailors slept.

Above the cabin of Master Jones, on the ship's highest level above the stern on the aft castle, was the poop deck, on which was the poop house, which may have been for passengers' use either for sleeping or cargo. On normal merchant ships this space was probably a chart room or a cabin for the master's mates.

Gun deck

The gun deck was where the passengers resided during the voyage in a space measuring about 50 feet by 25 feet with a five-foot overhead (ceiling). But it was also a dangerous place in conflict, as it had port and starboard gun ports from which cannon could be run out to fire on the enemy. In the stern area of the gun deck was the gun room, to which passengers had no access due to it being the storage space for powder and ammunition for the ship's cannons and any other guns or weapons belonging to the ship. The gun room might also house a pair of 'stern chasers' – small cannons used to fire out the stern of the ship. Forward on the gun deck in the bow area was a windlass – equipment similar in function to the capstan in steerage – which was used to raise and lower the ship's main anchor. There were no stairs for the passengers on the gun deck to go up through the gratings to the main deck. To get up to the main deck, passengers were required to climb a wooden or rope ladder.

There was no facility for a latrine or privy on the Mayflower and ship's crew had to fend for themselves in that regard. Gun deck passengers most likely used a bucket-turned-chamber pot affixed to the deck or bulkhead to keep it from being jostled at sea.

Gun deck armament

The largest gun was a minion cannon, which was brass, weighed about 1,200 pounds, and could shoot a 3.5 pound cannonball almost a mile. The Mayflower also had on board a saker cannon of about 800 pounds, and two base cannons that weighed about 200 pounds which shot a 3 to 5 ounce ball. She carried at least ten pieces of ordnance on the port and starboard sides of her gun deck – seven cannons for long range purposes and three smaller guns often fired from the stern at close quarters that were filled with musket balls. Later at New Plymouth, Mayflower Master Jones unloaded four of the pieces to help fortify the colony against invaders and would not have done so unless he was comfortable with the armament he still had on board.

Cargo hold

Below the gun deck was the cargo hold where the passengers kept most of their food stores and other supplies. Other items included most of their clothing and bedding. The hold also stored the passengers' personal weapons and military equipment – armor, muskets, gunpowder and shot, as well as swords and bandoliers. Also all the tools the Pilgrims would need, as well as all the equipment and utensils needed to prepare meals in the New World. It is also known that some Pilgrims such as Allerton and Mullins, and possibly others, loaded trade goods on board, with these also most likely being stored in the cargo hold.

Early history

When and where the Mayflower of the Pilgrim voyage of 1620 was built is not known, but it is likely that she was launched at Harwich in the county of Essex, England, and although later known "of London", she was designated as "of Harwich" in the Port Books of 1609–11. Harwich was the birthplace of Mayflower master Christopher Jones about 1570.

Since Captain Jones became master 11 years prior to the Mayflower Pilgrims' voyage, the ship had sailed cross-Channel taking English woolens to France and bringing French wine to London. In addition to wine and wool, Jones had transported hats, hemp, Spanish salt, hops and vinegar to Norway and may have taken the Mayflower whaling in the North Atlantic in the Greenland area. She had traveled to Mediterranean ports, being then owned by Christopher Nichols, Robert Child, Thomas Short, and Christopher Jones, the ship's master. In 1620 Jones and Robert Child still owned their quarter shares in the ship, and it was from them that Thomas Weston chartered her in the summer of 1620 to undertake the Pilgrim voyage. Weston had a significant role in the Mayflower voyage due to his membership of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, and he eventually traveled to the Plymouth Colony himself.

From the Port Books of England in the reign of James I (1603–1625), there were 26 vessels bearing the same name as the Pilgrim ship, and the reason for this popularity of the name has never been found.

One particular Mayflower that has caused historical confusion is a Mayflower erroneously identified as the Mayflower of the 1620 Pilgrims. This ship was partly owned by John Vassall and was outfitted for Queen Elizabeth in 1588, during the time of the Spanish Armada, a war for which Vassall outfitted several ships. However, there are no records of Vassall's Mayflower after 1594.

From records of the time, and to avoid confusion with the many other Mayflower ships, the identity of Captain Jones's Mayflower is based on her home port, her tonnage (est. 180–200 tons), and the master's name in 1620.

Records dating from August 1609 first note Christopher Jones as master and part owner of the Mayflower, when his ship was chartered for a voyage from London to Trondheim in Norway and back to London. Due to bad weather, on her return, the ship lost an anchor and made short delivery of her cargo of herrings. Litigation resulted, and this was still proceeding in 1612.

In a document of January 1611, Christopher Jones is described as being "of Harwich", and his ship is called the Mayflower of Harwich (in the county of Essex). Records of Jones's ship Mayflower show the ship was twice on the Thames at London in 1613 – once in July and again in October and November.

Records of 1616 again state that Jones's ship was on the Thames, carrying a cargo of wine, which suggests the ship had recently been on a voyage to France, Spain, Portugal, the Canaries, or some other wine-producing land.

After 1616, there is no further record which specifically relates to Jones's Mayflower until 1624. This is unusual for a ship trading to London, as it would not usually disappear for such a long time from the records. And no Admiralty court document relating to the pilgrim fathers' voyage of 1620 can be found, although the unusual way in which the transfer of the pilgrims from Leyden to New England was arranged may account for this. Or some of the records of the period may have been lost.

Voyage

Mayflower arrived in the "Cape Cod fishhook", 11 November 1620 (satellite photo, 1997)

The Mayflower embarked about 65 passengers in London at its homeport in the Rotherhithe district on the Thames about the middle of July in 1620. She then proceeded down the Thames into the English Channel and then on to the south coast to anchor at Southampton Water. There the Mayflower waited for seven days for a rendezvous on July 22 with the Speedwell, coming with Leiden church members from Delfshaven in Holland.

About August 5, the two ships set sail. The unseaworthy Speedwell sprang a leak shortly after and the ships put into Dartmouth for repairs. After the repairs, a new start was made. They were more than 200 miles beyond Land's End at the southwestern tip of England when Speedwell sprang another leak. Since it was now early September, they had no choice but to abandon the Speedwell and make a determination on her passengers. This was a dire event, as the ship had wasted vital funds and was considered very important to the future success of their settlement in America. Soon after the Mayflower continued on her voyage to America, Speedwell was sold, refitted, and, according to Bradford, "made many voyages…to the great profit of her owners." Bradford later assumed that the Speedwell master Mr. Reynolds's "cunning and deceit" (in causing what may have been 'man-made' leaks in the ship) had been motivated by a fear of starving to death in America.

In addition to the 102 passengers, the officers and crew consisted of about 25–30 persons, bringing the total persons on board the Mayflower to approximately 130.

In early September, western gales begin to make the North Atlantic a dangerous place for sailing. The Mayflower's provisions, already quite low when departing Southampton, became much less by delays of more than of a month, and the passengers, having been aboard ship for all this time, were quite worn out by then and in no condition for a very taxing lengthy Atlantic journey cooped up in cramped spaces in a small ship. But on September 6, 1620, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth with what Bradford called "a prosperous wind".

Plaque on the side of a building next to Newlyn Old Quay

Traditionally, the last port in England for the Mayflower was Plymouth; however, there is continued controversy that the ship had to stop at Newlyn in Cornwall on the Land's End peninsula before sailing west. It was believed that the water picked up at Plymouth had caused fever and cholera in the city, so Newlyn provided fresh water to the ship. Newlyn has a plaque to this effect on the side of a building on its quay. It was erected in remembrance of Plymouth historian Bill Best Harris, whose research is believed to have uncovered this little-known detail about the voyage.

Aboard the Mayflower were many stores that supplied the pilgrims with the essentials needed for their journey and future lives. It is assumed that among these stores, they would have carried tools and weapons, including cannon, shot, and gunpowder; as well as some live animals, including dogs, sheep, goats, and poultry. Horses and cattle would come later. The Mayflower would also carry two boats: a long boat and a "shallop", a 21-foot boat powered by oars or sails. She also carried 12 artillery pieces (eight minions and four sakers), as the Pilgrims feared they might need to defend themselves against enemy European forces, as well as the Natives.

The Mayflower Memorial in Southampton

The passage was a miserable one, with huge waves constantly crashing against the ship's topside deck until a key structural support timber fractured. The passengers, who had already suffered agonizing delays, shortages of food and of other supplies, now were called upon to provide assistance to the ship's carpenter in repairing the fractured main support beam. This was repaired with the use of a metal mechanical device called a jackscrew, which had been loaded on board to help in the construction of settler homes and now was used to secure the beam to keep it from cracking further, making the ship seaworthy enough.

The crew of the Mayflower had some devices to assist them en route such as a compass for navigation as well as a log and line system to measure speed in nautical miles per hour or "knots". Time was measured with an ancient method – an hour glass.

There were two deaths, but this was only a precursor of what happened after their arrival in Cape Cod, where almost half the company would die in the first winter.

On November 9, 1620, they sighted land, which was present-day Cape Cod. After several days of trying to sail south to their planned destination of the Colony of Virginia where they had already obtained permission from the Company of Merchant Adventurers to settle, strong winter seas forced them to return to the harbor at Cape Cod hook, well north of the intended area, where they anchored on November 11. To establish legal order and to quell increasing strife within the ranks, the settlers wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact after the ship dropped anchor at Cape Cod, in what is now Provincetown Harbor.

On Monday, November 27, an exploring expedition was launched under the direction of Capt. Christopher Jones to search for a suitable settlement site. As master of the Mayflower, Jones was not required to assist in the search, but he apparently thought it in his best interest to assist the search expedition. There were 34 persons in the open shallop – 24 passengers and 10 sailors. They were obviously not prepared for the bitter winter weather they encountered on their reconnoiter, the Mayflower passengers not being accustomed to winter weather much colder than back home. Due to the bad weather encountered on the expedition, they were forced to spend the night ashore ill-clad in below-freezing temperatures with wet shoes and stockings that became frozen. Bradford wrote "(s)ome of our people that are dead took the original of their death here".

The settlers explored the snow-covered area and discovered an empty native village, now known as Corn Hill in Truro. The curious settlers dug up some artificially made mounds, some of which stored corn, while others were burial sites. Nathaniel Philbrick claims that the settlers stole the corn and looted and desecrated the graves, sparking friction with the locals. Philbrick goes on to say that, as they moved down the coast to what is now Eastham, they explored the area of Cape Cod for several weeks, looting and stealing native stores as they went. He then writes about how they decided to relocate to Plymouth after a difficult encounter with the local native, the Nausets, at First Encounter Beach, in December 1620.

However, Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation records that they took "some" of the corn to show the others back at the boat, leaving the rest. Then later they took what they needed from another store of grain, paying the locals back in six months, and it was gladly received.

Also there was found more of their corn and of their beans of various colors; the corn and beans they brought away, purposing to give them full satisfaction when they should meet with any of them as, about some six months afterward they did, to their good content.

During the winter, the passengers remained on board the Mayflower, suffering an outbreak of a contagious disease described as a mixture of scurvy, pneumonia and tuberculosis. When it ended, there were only 53 passengers, just over half, still alive. Likewise, half of the crew died as well. In the spring, they built huts ashore, and on March 21, 1621, the surviving passengers disembarked from the Mayflower.

Due to the fear of Indian attack, in late February 1621 the settlers decided to mount "our great ordnances" on the hill overlooking the settlement. Christopher Jones supervised the transportation of the "great guns" – about six iron cannons that ranged between four and eight feet in length and weighed almost half a ton. The cannon were able to hurl iron balls 3 ½ inches in diameter as far as 1,700 yards. This action made what was no more than a ramshackle village almost into a well-defended fortress.

Jones had originally planned to return to England as soon as the Pilgrims found a settlement site. But after his crew members began to be ravaged by the same diseases that were felling the Pilgrims, he realized he had to remain in Plymouth Harbor "till he saw his men began to recover." The Mayflower lay in New Plymouth harbor through the winter of 1620–1. On April 5, 1621 the Mayflower, her empty hold ballasted with stones from the Plymouth Harbor shore, set sail for England. As with the Pilgrims, her sailors had been decimated by disease. Jones had lost his boatswain, his gunner, three quartermasters, the cook, and more than a dozen sailors. The Mayflower made excellent time on her voyage back to England. The westerlies that had buffeted her coming out pushed her along going home and she arrived at the home port of Rotherhithe in London on May 6, 1621, – less than half the time it had taken her to sail to America."

Jones died after coming back from a voyage to France on March 5, 1622, at about age 52. It is suggested that his journey to the New World may have taken its toll on him. For the next two years, the Mayflower lay at her berth in Rotherhithe, not far from the grave of Captain Jones at St. Mary's church there. By 1624, the Mayflower was no longer useful as a ship and although her subsequent fate is unknown, she was probably broken up about that time. The Mayflower was the final casualty of a voyage that had cost her master, Christopher Jones, everything he could give.

Passengers

Some families traveled together, while some men came alone, leaving families in England and Leiden. Two wives on board were pregnant – Elizabeth Hopkins gave birth to a son Oceanus while at sea and Susanna White gave birth to a son Peregrine in late November while the ship was anchored in Cape Cod Harbor. He is historically recognized as the first European child born in the New England area. One child died during the voyage, and there was one stillbirth during the construction of the colony.

Many of the passengers were Separatists, fleeing persistent religious persecution, but some were hired hands, servants, or farmers recruited by London merchants, all originally destined for the Colony of Virginia. Four of this latter group of passengers were small children given into the care of Mayflower pilgrims as indentured servants. The Virginia Company began the transportation of children in 1618. Until relatively recently, the children were thought to be orphans, foundlings or involuntary child labor. At that time, children were routinely rounded up from the streets of London or taken from poor families receiving church relief to be used as laborers in the colonies. Any legal objections to the involuntary transportation of the children were over-ridden by the Privy Council. In 1959 it was conclusively shown that the four More children were sent to America because they were deemed illegitimate, and a source of later historical controversy in England. Three of the four children died in the first winter in the New World, but the survivor, Richard More, lived to be approximately 81, dying in Salem, probably in 1695 or 1696.

The passengers mostly slept and lived in the low-ceilinged great cabins. These cabins were thin-walled and extremely cramped. The cabin area was 25 feet by 15 at its largest, and on the main deck, which was 75 by 20 at the most. Below decks, any person over five feet tall would be unable to stand up straight. The maximum possible space for each person would have been slightly less than the size of a standard single bed. The Mayflower passengers were the earliest permanent European settlers in New England, referring to themselves as "First Comers". They lived in the perilous times of what was called "The Ancient Beginnings" of the New World adventure.

Passengers would pass the time by reading by candlelight or playing cards and games like Nine Men's Morris. Meals on board were cooked by the firebox, which was an iron tray with sand in it on which a fire was built. This was risky because it was kept in the waist of the ship. Passengers made their own meals from rations that were issued daily and food was cooked for a group at a time.

Upon arrival late in the year, the harsh climate and scarcity of fresh food caused many more deaths. Due to the delay in departure, provisions were short. Living in these extremely close and crowded quarters, several passengers experienced scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of the essential nutrient vitamin C. There was no way to store fruits or vegetables without their becoming rotten, so many passengers did not receive enough nutrients in their diets. Passengers with scurvy experienced symptoms such as rotten teeth, which would fall out; bleeding gums, and stinking breath.

Passengers consumed large amounts of alcohol such as beer with meals which was known to be safer than water, which often came from polluted sources causing diseases. All food and drink was stored in barrels known as "hogsheads".

William Mullins took 126 pairs of shoes and 13 pairs of boots. These clothes included: oiled leather and canvas suits, stuff gowns and leather and stuff breeches, shirts, jerkins, doublets, neckcloths, hats and caps, hose, stockings, belts, piece goods, and haberdasherie. At his death, Mullins estate consisting of extensive footwear and other items of clothing made his daughter Priscilla and her husband John Alden quite prosperous.

No cattle or beasts of draft or burden were brought on the journey, but there were pigs, goats, and poultry. Some passengers brought family pets such as cats and birds. Peter Browne took his large bitch mastiff and John Goodman brought along his spaniel.

Mayflower officers, crew and others

Per author Charles Banks, the officers and crew of the Mayflower consisted of a captain, four mates, four quartermasters, surgeon, carpenter, cooper, cooks, boatswains, gunners and about 36 men before the mast, making a total of about 50. The entire crew stayed with the Mayflower in Plymouth through the winter of 1620–1621. During that time, about half of the crew died. The crewmen that survived returned on the Mayflower which sailed for London on April 5, 1621.

Crew members per various sources

Banks also states the crew totaled 36 men before the mast and 14 officers, making a total of 50. Author Nathaniel Philbrick estimates between 20 and 30 sailors in her crew whose names are unknown. Author Nick Bunker states that Mayflower had a crew that was at least 17 in number and possibly as many as 30. Author Caleb Johnson states that the ship carried a crew of about 30 men, but the exact number is unknown.

Officers and crew

• Captain – Christopher Jones. About age 50, of Harwich, a seaport in Essex, England, which was also the port of his ship Mayflower. He and his ship were veterans of the European cargo business, often carrying wine to England, but neither had ever crossed the Atlantic. By June 1620, he and the Mayflower had been hired for the Pilgrims voyage by their business agents in London, Thomas Weston of the Merchant Adventurers and Robert Cushman.
• Masters Mate – John Clark (Clarke), Pilot. By age 45 in 1620, Clark already had greater adventures than most other mariners of that dangerous era. His piloting career began in England about 1609. In early 1611 he was pilot of a 300-ton ship on his first New World voyage with a three-ship convoy sailing from London to the new settlement of Jamestown in Virginia. Two other ships were in that convoy; altogether the three ships brought 300 new settlers to Jamestown, going first to the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Nevis. While in Jamestown, Clark piloted ships in the area carrying various stores. During that time he was taken prisoner in a confrontation with the Spanish and taken to Havana and held for two years then transferred to Spain where he was in custody for five years. In 1616 he was finally freed in a prisoner exchange with England. In 1618 he was back in Jamestown as pilot of the ship Falcon. Shortly after his return to England, he was hired as pilot for the Mayflower in 1620.
• Masters Mate – Robert Coppin, Pilot. Prior New World experience. An early investor in the Virginia Company being named in the Second Virginia Charter of 1609. Possibly from Harwich in Essex, the hometown of Captain Jones. Previously hunted whales in Newfoundland and sailed coast of New England.
• Masters Mate – Andrew Williamson
• Masters Mate – John Parker
• Surgeon – Doctor Giles Heale. The surgeon on board the Mayflower was never mentioned by Bradford but his identify was well established. He was essential in providing comfort to all who died or were made ill that first winter and was a witness to the death of William Mullins. He was a young man from Drury Lane in the parish of St. Giles in the Field, London, who had just completed, in the previous year, his apprenticeship with the Barber-Surgeons. On February 21, 1621, he was a witness to the death-bed will of William Mullins. He survived the first winter, returned to London on the Mayflower in April 1621, where began his medical practice working as a surgeon until his death in 1653.
• Cooper – John Alden. A 21-year-old from Harwich in Essex and a distant relative of Captain Jones. Hired on apparently while the Mayflower was anchored at Southampton Waters. He was responsible for maintaining the ship's barrels, known as hogsheads. The hogsheads were critical to the passengers survival and held the only source of food and drink while at sea, and tending them was a job which required a crew members attention. Bradford noted that Alden was "left to his own liking to go or stay" in Plymouth rather than return with the ship to England. He decided to remain.
• Quartermaster – (names unknown) – 4 men. These men were in charge of maintaining the ship's cargo hold as well as the crew's hours for standing watch. Some of the "before the mast" crewmen may also have been in this section. These quartermasters were also responsible for fishing and maintain all fishing supplies as well as harpoons. The names of the quartermasters are unknown but it is known that three of the four men died the first winter.
• Cook – (name unknown). He was responsible for preparing the crews meals and maintaining all food supplies and the cook room which was typically located in the ship's forecastle (front end). The unnamed cook died the first winter.
• Master Gunner – (name unknown). In charge of the ship's cannons and for maintaining the ship's guns, ammunition and powder. Some of those "before the mast" were likely in his charge. Although unknown by name, he is recorded as going on an exploration on December 6, 1620. He was remembered as being "sick unto death and so remained all that day, and the next night". He died later that winter.
• Boatswain – (name unknown). He was the person in charge of the ships rigging and sails as well as ship's anchors. He was also in charge of the ship's longboat. The majority of the crew members "before the mast" were most likely under his supervision working the sails and rigging. The operation of the ship's shallop, a light open boat with oars or sails, was also probably under his control (see seaman Thomas English). William Bradford's comment about the boatswain: "..the boatswain…was a proud young man, who would often curse and scoff at the passengers, but when he grew weak they had compassion on him and helped him." But despite such assistance, the unnamed boatswain died the first winter.
• Carpenter – (name unknown). He was responsible for making sure the hull was well-caulked and the masts were in good order. He was the person responsible for maintaining all areas of the ship in good condition and being a general repairman. He also maintained the tools and all necessary items to perform his carpentry tasks. The name of the Mayflower carpenter is unknown, but his tasks were quite important to the safety and seaworthiness of the ship.
• Swabber – (various crewmen). Lowliest position on the ship and responsible for cleaning (or "swabbing") the decks. The swabber usually had an assistant who was responsible for cleaning the ships beakhead (extreme front-end), which was also the crew's toilet. In the tradition of the sea, each Monday a crew member was appointed the "liar" or swabber assistant. This person was the first person caught telling a lie the previous week wherein the crew would harass him around the main mast with calls of "liar, liar."

Known Mayflower seamen

• John Allerton – A Mayflower seaman who was hired by the company as labor to help in the Colony during the first year. Then to return to Leiden to help other church members seeking to travel to America. He signed the Mayflower Compact. He was a seaman on ship's shallop with Thomas English on exploration of December 6, 1620. Died sometime before the Mayflower returned to England in April 1621.
• ____ Ely – A Mayflower seaman, who was contracted to stay for a year, which he did. He returned to England with fellow crewman William Trevor on the Fortune in December 1621. Genealogist Dr. Jeremy Bangs believes his name was either John or Christopher Ely, or Ellis, who are documented in Leiden, Holland.
• Thomas English – A Mayflower seaman who was hired to be the master of the shallop (see Boatswain) and to be part of the company. He signed the Mayflower Compact. Seaman on ship's shallop with John Allerton on exploration of December 6, 1620. Died sometime before the departure of the Mayflower for England in April 1621. He appeared in Leiden records as "Thomas England".
• William Trevore (Trevor) – A Mayflower seaman who was hired to remain in Plymouth for one year. One reason for his hiring was his prior New World experience. He was one of those seaman to crew the shallop used in coastal trading. He returned to England with _____ Ely and others on the Fortune in December 1621. In 1623 Robert Cushman noted that Trevor reported to the Adventurers about what he saw in the New World. He did at some time return as master of a ship and was recorded living in Massachusetts Bay Colony in April 1650.

Unidentified passenger

• "Master" Leaver – Another passenger not mentioned by Bradford is a person called "Master" Leaver. He was named in Mourt's Relation, London 1622, under a date of January 12, 1621 as a leader of an expedition to rescue Pilgrims lost in the forest for several days while searching for housing-roof thatch. It is unknown in what capacity he came to the Mayflower and his given name is unknown. The title of "Master" indicates he was a person of some authority and prominence in the company. He may have been a principal officer of the Mayflower and since no more is known of him he may have returned to England on the Mayflower's April 1621 voyage or died of the illnesses that affected so many that first winter.

Later history

On May 4, 1624, two years after Captain Jones' death in 1622, an application was made to the Admiralty court for an appraisal of the Mayflower by three of her owners including Jones' widow, Mrs. Josian (Joan) Jones. This appraisal probably was made to determine the valuation of the ship for the purpose of settling the estate of its late master. The appraisal was made by four mariners and shipwrights of Rotherhithe, home and burial place of Captain Jones, where the Mayflower was apparently then lying in the Thames at London. The appraisement is extant and provides information on ship's gear on board at that time as well as equipment such as muskets and other arms. The ship may have been laid up since Jones' death and allowed to get out of repair, as that is what the appraisal indicates.

What finally became of the Mayflower is an unsettled issue. Per Banks, an English historian of the Pilgrim ship, claims that this historic ship was finally broken up, with her timbers used in the construction of a barn at Jordans village in Buckinghamshire. At the present time, within the grounds of Old Jordan in South Buckinghamshire is what tradition calls the Mayflower Barn. In 1624 Thomas Russell supposedly added to part of a farmhouse already there with timbers from a ship, believed to be from the Pilgrim ship "Mayflower", bought from a shipbreaker's yard in Rotherhithe. The well-preserved structure is a present-day tourist attraction, receiving visitors each year from all over the world and particularly from America.

Second Mayflower

Another ship called the Mayflower made a voyage from London to Plymouth Colony in 1629 carrying 35 passengers, many from the Pilgrim congregation in Leiden that organized the first voyage. This was not the same ship that made the original voyage with the first settlers. This voyage began in May and reached Plymouth in August. This ship also made the crossing from England to America in 1630, 1633, 1634, and 1639. It attempted the trip again in 1641, departing London in October of that year under master John Cole, with 140 passengers bound for Virginia. It never arrived. On October 18, 1642 a deposition was made in England regarding the loss.

Place in history

The Pilgrim ship Mayflower has a famous place in American history as a symbol of early European colonization of the future United States.

The main record for the voyage of the Mayflower and the disposition of the Plymouth Colony comes from the letters and journal of William Bradford, who was a guiding force and later the governor of the colony.

See also

• Billericay, where the Pilgrim Fathers met prior to the voyage
• Leigh-on-Sea, where the Mayflower was outfitted
• Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)
• Puritan migration to New England (1620–1640)
• Plymouth Adventure (directed by Clarence Brown, 1952)
• Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure (1979)
• Mayflower II, a replica of the Mayflower in Plymouth, Massachusetts
• Speedwell (ship)

Further reading

• (the only written account of the voyage)
• Marble, Annie Russell (1920). The Women Who Came in the Mayflower. Boston: Pilgrim Press
• R. G. Marsden, "The 'Mayflower,'" English Historical Review 19 (October 1904): 669–80.
• (originally published in 1918)

External links

• Mayflower and Plymouth History
• Women of the 'Mayflower' and Plymouth Colony by Mary Soule Googins, read before the Medford Historical Society, December 19, 1921
• Pilgrim Hall Museum of Plymouth, Massachusetts
• General Society of Mayflower Descendants
• The Mayflower And Her Log; Azel Ames, Project Gutenberg edition.
• The Mayflower And Her Log; Azel Ames, Internet Archive edition.
• Exact arrival site of the Mayflower on Satellite Map and NOAA Chart on BlooSee
• The Mayflower II
• Contemporary photos of Plymouth's Barbican and the Mayflower Steps
• Pilgrims Point, Plymouth (UK) A photo of the modern-day Mayflower Steps Arch and Pilgrims Point
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