Only Two Of
The Leaders Exceeded Fifty Years Of Age, And Of These Governor Carver
Died Early.
Of the principal men only nine could have been over forty,
and of these Carver, Chilton, Martin, Mullins, and Priest (more than half
died within a few months after landing), leaving Brewster, Warren (who
died early), Cooke, and Hopkins - neither of the latter hardly forty - the
seniors.
One does not readily think of Alden as but twenty-one, Winslow
as only twenty-five, Dr. Fuller as about thirty, Bradford as only
thirty-one when chosen Governor, Allerton as thirty-two, and Captain
Standish as thirty-six. Verily they were "old heads on young
shoulders." It is interesting to note that the dominant influence
at all times was that of the Leyden contingent.
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.
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