Susanna White (Mayflower passenger)

Susanna White (Mayflower passenger) was a passenger on the Mayflower and a member of the Leiden, Holland Congregation.^[1][2] She was pregnant during the Mayflower voyage and gave birth to Peregrine in late November 1620, while the ship was anchored at Cape Cod.^[3][4] Peregrine was the first White baby boy born on the Mayflower in the harbor of Massachusetts, the second baby born on the Mayflower's historic voyage, and the first known English child born to the Pilgrims in America.^[5] Susanna's first husband was Pilgrim William White, with whom she had sons Resolved and Peregrine White, all of whom were Mayflower passengers.^[6] Susanna was widowed February 21, 1621, and subsequently married Pilgrim Edward Winslow.^[1][7] Edward's wife had perished on March 24, 1621.^[8][9] Susanna married Edward on May 12, 1621 in Plymouth Colony.^[10] The wedding of Edward Winslow and Susanna was the first in Plymouth Colony.^[11][12][13]

Children of Susanna's first marriage with William White who became Edward Winslow‘s step-sons include:

• Resolved White – born ca. 1615. Married 1640 (1) Judith Vassall, daughter of William Vassall, and had eight children. Resolved married 1674 (2) Abigail ____ Lord. She died 1682. He died 1687.
• Peregrine White – born late November 1620 on board the Mayflower in Cape Cod Harbor. First English child born in that part of America. Married ca. 1648/9 Sarah Bassett daughter of William Bassett, and had seven children. He died 1704. She died 1711.^[14][15] Marshfield vital records note the death of “Capt. Peregrine White” on “July ye 20:1704” and the ‘Boston Newsletter’ of Monday July 31, 1704 gives the following obituary: "Marshfield, July, 22 Capt. Peregrine White of this town, Aged Eighty three years, and Eight Months; died the 20th Instant. He was vigorous and of a comly Aspect to the last; Was the Son of Mr. William White and Susanna his Wife;’ born on board the Mayflower, Capt. Jones Commander, in Cape Cod Harbour. Altho’ he was in the former part of his Life extravagant; yet was much Reform’d in his last years; and died hopefully.”

Children of Susanna and Edward Winslow include:

• (child) born and died in 1622 or 1623
• Edward Winslow – born ca. 1624. No record after May 22, 1627.
• John Winslow – born ca. 1626. No record after May 22, 1627.
• Josiah Winslow, 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony – born ca. 1627. Married Penelope Pelham by 1658 and had four children. He died 1680. She died 1703.
• Elizabeth Winslow – born ca. 1631. Married (1) Robert Brooks on 8 April 1656 in Clapham, Surrey,^[16] and had one son. Married (2) George Curwin 1669 and had two daughters. He died 1684/5. She died 1698.^[17]

Susanna was one of the four adult Pilgrim women who survived their first winter in the New World, along with Eleanor Billington, Elizabeth Hopkins, and Mary Brewster; these four, along with young daughters and male and female servants, cooked the first Thanksgiving feast.^[18][19]

Susanna died between December 18, 1654 (Edward Winslow's will) and July 2, 1675 (date of son Josiah's will).^[20] Winslow Cemetery has a substantial stone monument to “The Early Settlers of Green Harbor Marshfield” naming, among others, Susanna, Resolved and Peregrine White, and Susanna's second husband Edward Winslow.^{[21][22][23][24]}

The Mayflower Society has refuted the reported maiden surname of 'Fuller' for Susanna White and has determined that the maiden name of Susanna White is unknown. Further, Susanna White was not the sister of Dr. Samuel Fuller as is often stated. The Samuel and Edward Fuller who traveled on the Mayflower were sons of Robert Fuller of Redenhall, England. Robert had a daughter Anna, born about 1578, far too old a bride for Winslow who was not born until 1595. The 1615 will of Robert Fuller mentions no daughter named Susanna, nor a daughter married to William White. It does mention Alice Bradford, a sister-in-law. In a letter that Edward Winslow wrote in 1623 to “Uncle Robert Jackson”, he provided news of Susanna, her late husband William White, and her children. He also sends his regards to his father-in-law in England, obviously not Robert Fuller who had been dead for nine years.^[25]

References