William White

Mayflower passenger (1587-1621)

William White (birthdate unknown, died February 1621) White was a Mayflower passenger who settled in Plymouth Colony in 1620 and signed the Mayflower Compact. He was born in England and died in the winter of 1621, in Plymouth Colony.[1]: 101 

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)

The Mayflower Voyage

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Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

White married Susanna in about 1615, and their son, Resolved, was born soon after. They became passengers on the Mayflower which left Plymouth, England on 16 September 1620. They also took with them two servants, William Holbeck and Edward Thompson.[1]: 448  There were 102 passengers and 30–40 crew. On 19 November 1620, the Mayflower spotted land. The Mayflower was supposed to land in the Colony of Virginia, but the ship was too damaged and they were forced to land at what is now known as Provincetown Harbor.[2][3]: 411–413  They landed on November 21. They wrote the Mayflower Compact, which made rules on how they would live and treat each other.[2][3]: 411–413 

Life in Plymouth

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White's second son, Peregrine White, was born on the Mayflower, while it was anchored at Cape Cod. He was the first English child born in Plymouth Colony.[4] White and his servants, Holbeck and Thompson died soon after landing, in early 1621.

White's family

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White's widow, Susanna, married Edward Winslow in May 1621, which made her the first Plymouth Colony bride. Winslow had also been a Mayflower passenger and later became the second governor of Plymouth Colony.[1]: 101 [5] Together they had five children. She and Winslow are buried in the Winslow Cemetery.[6]

Resolved White married Judith Vassall, the daughter of William Vassall.[4] Peregrine White married Sarah Bassett, daughter of William Bassett.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bradford, William (1856). History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, the second Governor of Plymouth. Boston.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. 2.0 2.1 George Ernest Bowman, The Mayflower Compact and its signers (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1920). Photocopies of the 1622, 1646 and 1669 versions of the document pp. 7-19.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Stratton, Eugene Aubrey (1986). Plymouth Colony: Its history and people, 1620-1691. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing. ISBN 0-916489-18-3.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War (New York: Viking, 2006), pp. 89-90
  5. "Edward Winslow". Pilgrim Village Families Sketch. 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. "Susanna White Winslow (1595 - unknown ) -". Find A Grave Memorial. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.