John Carver

John Carver (c. 1584 – 1621) Carver was a passenger on the Mayflower. He was a leader during the Mayflower voyage and signed the Mayflower Compact. He was also the first Governor of Plymouth Colony.^[1]

It is believed that Carver was from Doncaster in Yorkshire England. Carver was a Separatist who did not believe in the teachings of the Church of England.^[2][3]

Carver and his first wife Mary were members of the French Walloon church in Leiden, Netherlands. Their religion was also not allowed where they lived. Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke and his wife were also members of the French church in Leiden. So was Philip Delano. Delano would arrive in Plymouth in 1621 on the ship Fortune. Carver was a deacon in Leiden about 1609 at about age 25, and was born sometime before 1584. Leiden church records show that Carver lost his first wife Mary and their child in 1609^[2][4][5]

Carver then married Katherine White. She was a member of the Separatist church and was originally from Nottinghamshire. Carver became very involved in the Leiden church. He made close friendships with the leaders of the church, especially the pastor John Robinson.^[6][7][8] He also became friends with Robert Cushman who would play an important part in the plans for the Mayflower voyage.^[6]

The church members decided to travel to Virginia Colony, a place where they would be allowed to practice their religion.^[9][10] William Brewster was in hiding from King James I. John Carver and Robert Cushman were chosen to make plans for the voyage. In 1617 Carver and Robert Cushman began talking to officials of the Virginia Company.

These were London businessmen interested in making a profit from the New World. By June 1620, John Carver was in Southampton purchasing supplies for the Mayflower voyage, along with Christopher Martin. They agreed to pay for the Mayflower voyage.^[11][12]

Carver was very rich and provided much of his money to the church members, and for the Mayflower voyage.^[1][13]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War, (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 42
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} A genealogical profile of John Carver [1] Archived 2012-11-01 at the Wayback Machine
3. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), p. 107
4. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), pp. 107-108
5. ↑ Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691, (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Publishing, 1986), p. 18
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), p. 108
7. ↑ Charles Edward Banks, The English ancestry and homes of the Pilgrim Fathers who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620, the Fortune in 1621, and the Anne and the Little James in 1623, (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2006), p. 44
8. ↑ Nick Bunker, Making Haste from Babylon: The Mayflower Pilgrims and their New World a History (New York: Knopf 2010), pp. 108-109
9. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), pp. 108-109
10. ↑ Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 19
11. ↑ Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A story of Courage, Community and War (New York: Viking, 2006), p. 42
12. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), pp. 109-110"
13. ↑ Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her passengers (Indiana: Xlibris, 2006), p. 110