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William White

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Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)

William White (25 January 1586/7[1]  – 21 February 1621) was a passenger on the Mayflower. Accompanied by his wife Susanna, son Resolved and two servants, and joined by a son, Peregrine, on the way, he traveled in 1620 on the historic voyage. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and perished early in the history of Plymouth Colony.[2]Articles lacking reliable references[self-published source][3][4]

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.[5]: 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.[6][7]: 411–413  They landed on November 21. They wrote the Mayflower Compact, which made rules on how they would live and treat each other.[6][7]: 411–413 

Life in Plymouth

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William White died late in the first winter, on 21 February in 1621. With the death of her husband Susanna White, with newborn Peregrine and five-year-old Resolved, became the only surviving widow out of the many families who perished that winter. By the Spring of 1621, 52 of the 102 persons who originally had arrived on the Mayflower at Cape Cod would be dead.[8][9]

In May 1621, Susanna White became the first Plymouth colony bride, marrying Edward Winslow, a fellow Mayflower passenger whose wife had perished on 24 March 1621.[4][10] At least five children were born to Edward Winslow and his wife Susanna.[11][12]

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.[5]: 101 [13] Together they had five children. She and Winslow are buried in the Winslow Cemetery.[14]

Resolved White married Judith Vassall, the daughter of William Vassall.[15] Peregrine White married Sarah Bassett, daughter of William Bassett.

References

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  1. ↑ Caleb Johnson, Sue Allan and Simon Neal, "The English Origin and Kinship of Mayflower Passengers William White and Dorothy (May) Bradford of Wisbech, Cambridgeshire," The American Genealogist, 89-2(April 2017):81-94 and 89-3(July 2017):168-188.
  2. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her Passengers (Indiana: Xlibris Corp., copyright 2006 Caleb Johnson), pp. 246-247
  3. ↑ Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), pp. 25, 405, 412
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 104
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: The named reference bradford was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 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.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Stratton, Eugene Aubrey (1986). Plymouth Colony: Its history and people, 1620-1691. Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing. ISBN 0-916489-18-3.
  8. ↑ Cite error: The named reference Caleb p. 247 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
  9. ↑ Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War (New York: Viking, 2006), pp. 89-90
  10. ↑ Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 25
  11. ↑ Pilgrim Village Family Sketch: Edward Winslow
  12. ↑ William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, the second Governor of Plymouth, (Boston: 1856), p. 101
  13. ↑ "Edward Winslow". Pilgrim Village Families Sketch. 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "Susanna White Winslow (1595 - unknown ) -". Find A Grave Memorial. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Cite error: The named reference philbrick was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).
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