William White - A Man with a Plan

Susanna's first husband was William White. Mr. White is my 9th great grandfather. He, like many other Mayflower passengers, seemed to have had a good education. Even knowing how to read and write in 17th century England was a rarity. There was no universal educational system in effect in that century. In fact, total government sponsored education did not happen until around the year 1900. If one was literate in the 17th century, it usually meant that one was from a relatively wealthy family. William also had two male servants accompany his family on the Mayflower: William Holbeck and Edward Thompson. Having servants amongst the Pilgrims on the Mayflower was not that uncommon though. Nearly 20% of the passengers were servants. These two servants of my great grandpa White were not indentured, so that means he actually paid them money for their services.

I believe that William had a plan, as any good gentleman would. He was hoping that he would be granted a goodly sized land allotment in the New World, and have his two male servants do all the labour while he and his family would reap the rewards. He was a "Mr." William White, and in the 17th century, the term "Mr." meant something special. It meant that he was a gentleman, and gentlemen were designated by the "Mr." in front of their name. Mr., of course is an abbreviation for "Mister" and Mister was a derivation from the word "Master."

The quarters of the Mayflower ship were quite cramped, although each family was allocated a spot for storage of those articles they wanted to bring along with them to the New World. Obviously, they would bring those things which would have been useful for them as pioneers - perhaps tools, seed, or farming implements - or, perhaps those articles that meant the most to them. What my 9th great grandfather brought with him on the Mayflower, which was quite heavy and took up a lot of valuable space, was a writing cabinet. This would have been perhaps the most impractical object he could have brought, but he did anyway. I have the suspicion that William was a very studios man, and not much for physical labour. Thus, he also brought his two male servants, both of which were young - in their early 20s - and just perfect to do all of the manual labour that farming might demand. 

William White's Writing Cabinet

Unfortunately, William did not foresee that his plans were all for naught. Almost half of the Mayflower passengers died in the first year. The first of his servants to die, was Edward Thompson, and that was in December of 1620, shortly after the Mayflower arrived. This must have been a severe blow to William. However, a few days later there was some joy, as his wife Susanna gave birth to his second son. William named this new boy, Peregrine, pronounced, "para-green," derived from the Latin term, peregrinus, meaning foreigner or stranger, as surely his new son was a foreigner in this New World to which they had come. Peregrine was the first Englishman to be born in New England. Any educated man in the 17th century was well versed in Latin, and I guess William used his knowledge to the best that he could.

Of the 51 Mayflower passengers who died in the first year after their arrival, 17 of them died in the month of February, 1621, and William and his remaining servant, William Holbeck, were among them. The main cause of death amongst these new arrivals was lung disease due to exposure to the elements, scurvy, and typhoid fever. William's plans died with him, and his wife Susanna, became a widow, with a newborn in her arms, and a 5 year old wrapped around her leg, mourning for his deceased father.