Forty-five of the 102 Mayflowerpassengers died in the winter of 1620–21, and the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly during their first winter in the New World from lack of shelter, scurvy, and general conditions on board ship.[1] They were buried on
Cole's Hill.[2]
People marked * below were probably buried in unmarked graves in the Coles Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1921, some of the remains of persons buried on that hill were collected into the sarcophagus that is the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb on Cole's Hill in Plymouth. Many of the people listed here are named on the Tomb.[3]
Men
John Allerton*
Richard Britteridge*, December 21
William Butten/Button, November 6/16 on board Mayflower. Buried either at sea or later possibly ashore. Memorial in
Provincetown. (a young man)[4]
Mary (Norris) Allerton*, of Newbury, England, wife of Isaac Allerton, died February 25, 1621. Remains later interred in Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts[5][6]
Dorothy (May) Bradford, December 7/17 drowned while the Mayflower was anchored in Cape Cod Harbor; her body was never recovered; memorial in Provincetown
Mrs. James Chilton*
Sarah Eaton*
Mrs. Edward Fuller*
Mary (Prower) Martin*
Alice Mullins*, February 22–28
Alice Rigsdale*
Agnes (Cooper) Tilley*
Joan (Hurst) Tilley*
Mrs. Thomas Tinker*
Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow*, March 24. Remains later interred in Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts[7]
Rose Standish* January 29
Children
Mayflower plaque in St. James Church in Shipton, Shropshire commemorating the More children baptism. courtesy of Phil Revell
Elinor (Ellen) More, age 8 died in Plymouth January 1621. She died of the disease pneumonia. Name is on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Jasper More, age 7, died on board the Mayflower on December 6, 1620. Buried ashore in the Provincetown area.
Mary More, age 4 died in the winter of 1620. Location of her remains unknown. Name is represented on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Joseph Mullins*, age 14, February 22–28
Solomon Prower*, age ca. 14-17, December 24
the son of Thomas Tinker*
both sons of John Turner*
Statistics by month
Winter
According to Bradford's Register,[8] a contemporary source
November, 1
December, 6
January, 8
February, 17
March, 13
Spring
April uncertain, between 1 and 5[9] (including Governor
John Carver, not in above list)
May or June, at least 1 (Mrs. Katherine (White) Carver*, not in above list)
Four deaths occurred in the months before the first Thanksgiving, bringing the total deaths to between 51 and 56.
^Ruth Wilder Sherman, CG,
FASG, and Robert Moody Sherman, CG,
FASG, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Family of Isaac Allerton, Vol. 13 3rd edition (Pub. by General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2006) p. 5.
^The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
MAYFLOWER PASSENGER DEATHS, 1620–1621
[1], 2000, Patricia Scott Deetz and James Deetz, accessed August 29, 2006
^The death dates of Alice Mullins* and her son Joseph* are not clear, perhaps after April 5 when the Mayflower left with her husband William's will naming them as heirs but with no attachment concerning their deaths.
Further reading
Glenn Alan Cheney. Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America, (New London: New London Librarium, 2007)
ISBN978-0-9798039-0-1
Nathaniel Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, (New York: Viking, 2006)
ISBN0-670-03760-5
Forty-five of the 102 Mayflowerpassengers died in the winter of 1620–21, and the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly during their first winter in the New World from lack of shelter, scurvy, and general conditions on board ship.[1] They were buried on
Cole's Hill.[2]
People marked * below were probably buried in unmarked graves in the Coles Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In 1921, some of the remains of persons buried on that hill were collected into the sarcophagus that is the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb on Cole's Hill in Plymouth. Many of the people listed here are named on the Tomb.[3]
Men
John Allerton*
Richard Britteridge*, December 21
William Butten/Button, November 6/16 on board Mayflower. Buried either at sea or later possibly ashore. Memorial in
Provincetown. (a young man)[4]
Mary (Norris) Allerton*, of Newbury, England, wife of Isaac Allerton, died February 25, 1621. Remains later interred in Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts[5][6]
Dorothy (May) Bradford, December 7/17 drowned while the Mayflower was anchored in Cape Cod Harbor; her body was never recovered; memorial in Provincetown
Mrs. James Chilton*
Sarah Eaton*
Mrs. Edward Fuller*
Mary (Prower) Martin*
Alice Mullins*, February 22–28
Alice Rigsdale*
Agnes (Cooper) Tilley*
Joan (Hurst) Tilley*
Mrs. Thomas Tinker*
Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow*, March 24. Remains later interred in Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts[7]
Rose Standish* January 29
Children
Mayflower plaque in St. James Church in Shipton, Shropshire commemorating the More children baptism. courtesy of Phil Revell
Elinor (Ellen) More, age 8 died in Plymouth January 1621. She died of the disease pneumonia. Name is on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Jasper More, age 7, died on board the Mayflower on December 6, 1620. Buried ashore in the Provincetown area.
Mary More, age 4 died in the winter of 1620. Location of her remains unknown. Name is represented on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Joseph Mullins*, age 14, February 22–28
Solomon Prower*, age ca. 14-17, December 24
the son of Thomas Tinker*
both sons of John Turner*
Statistics by month
Winter
According to Bradford's Register,[8] a contemporary source
November, 1
December, 6
January, 8
February, 17
March, 13
Spring
April uncertain, between 1 and 5[9] (including Governor
John Carver, not in above list)
May or June, at least 1 (Mrs. Katherine (White) Carver*, not in above list)
Four deaths occurred in the months before the first Thanksgiving, bringing the total deaths to between 51 and 56.
^Ruth Wilder Sherman, CG,
FASG, and Robert Moody Sherman, CG,
FASG, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Family of Isaac Allerton, Vol. 13 3rd edition (Pub. by General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2006) p. 5.
^The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
MAYFLOWER PASSENGER DEATHS, 1620–1621
[1], 2000, Patricia Scott Deetz and James Deetz, accessed August 29, 2006
^The death dates of Alice Mullins* and her son Joseph* are not clear, perhaps after April 5 when the Mayflower left with her husband William's will naming them as heirs but with no attachment concerning their deaths.
Further reading
Glenn Alan Cheney. Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims' First Year in America, (New London: New London Librarium, 2007)
ISBN978-0-9798039-0-1
Nathaniel Philbrick, Nathaniel. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, (New York: Viking, 2006)
ISBN0-670-03760-5