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.
