William Brewster
Mayflower Colony Member
B: 1625
D: Age 98, 1723
William Brewster was elder of the Pilgrim church in Scrooby, England, Leiden, Holland and Plymouth, Massachusetts. They sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, a tiny sailing ship. William brought this chest with him. His Plimoth Pautuxet Museum house (replica) has carved furniture from England, a dirt floor, a rope bed with curtains around it and several books, some in Latin. His will lists over 400 books. He taught Latin while living in Holland. His grandson, Isaac Allerton, lived with him and was tutored by him before entering Harvard College. William donated some of his books to Harvard. Isaac was in the first graduating class of 1650.
We are his direct descendants.
"Pilgrim" by Mary B. Sherwood is a complete biography of William Brewster and history of England and America in his lifetime.
This is a replica of the Mayflower.
William signed the Mayflower Compact along with the other men on the Mayflower. It is likely that he wrote the document because he was a graduate of Cambridge, and secretary to the ambassador to Holland, John Davison, in his early career during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
"It is recognized as one of the most important documents in world history in setting a precedent for the establishment of a democratic government by the consent of the governed."
Brewster's chest he took on the Mayflower.
