Mayflower Passenger List and Crew

Overview

When the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620, there were two distinct groups of people on board:

1. Passengers
2. Crewmembers

The passengers can be broken down further into three distinct groups:

1. Separatists from Leiden
2. Planters recruited by the Merchant Adventurers
3. Servants, Indentured Servants, and Apprentices

Essential Facts

Various sources provide passenger lists, but the exact number of people on the ship during the first voyage to America will never be known. As of today, the following has been documented:

• There were 102 passengers on the Mayflower when it left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620.
• Fifty passengers were Separatists from Leiden, Netherlands, with permission to move to America and establish a colony. Soon after the Mayflower arrived at Cape Code, a child was born, increasing the number of colonists in the Separatist group to 51.
• The Merchant Adventurers recruited 34 passengers (known as Planters) to journey to America. Some were families looking for a new start, and some were workers hired to help start the colony. One of the passengers, William Butten, died on the voyage, which lowered the number to 34. However, a child, Oceanus Hopkins, was born, pushing the number back to 34.
• Eighteen documented passengers were servants, indentured servants, apprentices, or placed in the care of other passengers.
• When the Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod, there were 102 documented passengers. Peregrine White was born on November 20, making 103 passengers.
• Most accounts of the Mayflower Voyage indicate there were 20-30 crewmembers. At least 6 of them are known and documented.
• The Separatists called themselves “Saints” and everyone else on board “Strangers.”

Significance

The passengers on the Mayflower — regardless of their purpose — are essential to American History for many reasons. Although they established the first permanent English settlement in New England and inspired thousands of Puritans to emigrate to America, perhaps the most critical thing the Pilgrims did was survive. The first winter they spent in Plymouth was brutal. They were ravaged by sickness and short on food. Only 52 colonists survived the first winter. However, they persevered and built Plymouth into a viable colony.

Mayflower Passengers

Group 1 — Separatists from Leiden

• Mary Allerton, the daughter of Isaac and Mary Allerton, was the last living passenger of the Mayflower Voyage. She died in 1699. 
• William Bradford served as the Governor of Plymouth 30 times. Each term was for one year.
• William Brewster served as the religious leader of Plymouth and was an advisor to William Bradford.
• Samuel Fuller was the first doctor in Plymouth.
• When the Mayflower left Plymouth, there were 50 passengers from Leiden. After the ship reached Cape Code, Peregrine White was born, pushing the total number of Separatists to 51.

This table lists the Separatist Families and the number of people in each family (party). The last column displays the running total of Separatist passengers.

Isaac Allerton Family (5)

1. Isaac Allerton
2. Mary Allerton, wife
3. Bartholomew Allerton, son
4. Remember Allerton, daughter
5. Mary Allerton, daughter

William Bradford Family (2)

1. William Bradford
2. Dorothy Bradford, wife

William Brewster Family (4)

1. William Brewster
2. Mary Brewster, wife
3. Love Brewster, son
4. Wrestling Brewster, son

John Carver Family (2)

1. John Carver
2. Catherine Carver, wife

James Chilton Family (3)

1. James Chilton
2. Susanna Chilton, wife
3. Mary Chilton, daughter

Francis Cooke Family (2)

1. Francis Cooke
2. John Cooke, son

John Crackstone Family (2)

1. John Crackstone
2. John Crackstone, son

Edward Fuller Family (4)

1. Edward Fuller
2. Wife, no name given
3. Samuel Fuller, son
4. Dr. Samuel Fuller, brother of Edward

Thomas Rogers Family (2)

1. Thomas Rogers
2. Joseph Rogers, son

Edward Tilley Family (4)

1. Edward Tilley
2. Ann Tilley, wife
3. Humility Cooper, niece
4. Henry Sampson, nephew

John Tilley Family (3)

1. John Tilley
2. Joan Tilley, wife
3. Elizabeth Tilley, daughter

Thomas Tinker Family (3)

1. Thomas Tinker
2. Wife, no name given
3. Son, no name given

John Turner Family (3)

1. John Turner
2. Son, no name given
3. Son, no name given

William White Family (4)

1. William White
2. Susanna White, wife
3. Resolved White, son
4. Peregrine White, son

Edward Winslow Family (2)

1. Edward Winslow
2. Elizabeth Winslow, wife

Leiden Passengers Traveling Alone (6)

1. Moses Fletcher
2. John Goodman
3. Desire Minter
4. Degory Priest
5. Thomas Rogers
6. Thomas Wilson

Group 2 — Planters Recruited by the Merchant Adventurers

• John Billington Sr. was the first Englishman convicted of murder in America. In 1630, during an argument with colonist John Newcomen, he shot and killed him. Billington was convicted of murder and hanged.
• John Alden was hired to work on the Mayflower but decided to stay in Plymouth.
• Priscilla Mullins married John Alden but was also courted by Myles Standish after his wife, Rose, died. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow memorialized the story of Mullins, Alden, and Standish in the poem “The Courtship of Miles Standish,” which he published in 1858.
• Myles Standish was the military leader of Plymouth and had a reputation for having a quick temper. In 1632, he founded the town of Duxbury, Massachusetts.
• Gilbert Winslow was Edward Winslow’s brother but was not a member of the Leiden congregation.
• George Soule survived the first winter and fought in the Pequot War in 1637.

This table lists the non-Separatist passenger groups and the number of people in each party. The last column displays the running total of non-Separatist passengers.

John Billington Family (4)

1. John Billington
2. Eleanor Billington, wife
3. John Billington, son
4. Francis Billington, son

Francis Eaton Family (3)

1. Francis Eaton
2. Sarah Eaton, wife
3. Samuel Eaton, son

Stephen Hopkins Family (6)

1. Stephen Hopkins
2. Elizabeth Hopkins, wife
3. Giles Hopkins, son
4. Constance Hopkins, daughter
5. Demaris Hopkins, daughter
6. Oceanus Hopkins, son

Christopher Martin Family (2)

1. Christopher Martin
2. Mary Martin, wife
3. Solomon Prower (son of Mary Martin from her first marriage)

William Mullins Family (4)

1. William Mullins
2. Alice Mullins, wife
3. Priscilla Mullins, daughter
4. Joseph Mullins, son

John Rigsdale Family (2)

1. John Rigsdale
2. Alice Rigsdale, wife

Myles Standish Family (2)

1. Myles Standish
2. Rose Standish

London Passengers Traveling Alone (7)

1. Richard Britteridge
2. Peter Browne
3. Richard Clarke
4. Richard Gardiner
5. Edmund Margesson
6. Richard Warren
7. Gilbert Winslow

Men Hired to Work for One Year (5)

1. John Alden
2. John Allerton
3. Richard Ely
4. Thomas English
5. William Trevore

Group 3 — Servants, Indentures, and Apprentices

Eighteen servants, Indentured Servants, and apprentices are documented:

1. William Butten — Servant of Samuel Fuller
2. Robert Carter — Servant or Apprentice of William Mullins
3. Dorothy — Maidservant of John Carver
4. Edward Doty — Servant of Stephen Hopkins
5. William Holbeck — Servant of William White
6. John Hooke — Apprentice of Isaac Allerton
7. John Howland — Servant of John Carver
8. John Lancemore — Servant of Christopher Martin
9. William Latham — Servant or Apprentice of John Carver
10. Edward Leister — Servant of Stephen Hopkins
11. Ellen More — Indenture of Edward Winslow
12. Jasper More — Indenture of John Carver
13. Richard More — Indenture of William Brewster
14. Mary More — Indenture of William Brewster
15. George Soule — Servant or Employee of Edward Winslow
16. Elias Story — Unknown, in the care of Edward Winslow
17. Edward Thompson — Unknown, in the care of William White
18. Roger Wilder — Servant of John Carver

Mayflower Crewmembers

Six crewmembers are documented:

1. Christopher Jones — Ship’s Master/Captain
2. John Clarke — First Mate and Ship’s Pilot
3. Robert Coppin — Second Mate and Pilot
4. Giles Heale — Ship’s Surgeon
5. Andrew Williamson — Seaman
6. John Parker — Seaman