The following is a summary of what is known about the Mayflower seamen. The Mayflower probably carried as many as twenty or more average seamen, but history only records a couple of their names. The Mayflower is known to have carried four quartermasters, gunners, a cook, a carpenter, and boatswain. Their names are all unknown.
The existence of this individual as a seaman is known to historians by only by one statement made in William Bradford's History, Of Plymouth Plantation: "There were also other two seamen hired to stay a year here in the country, William Trevor, and one Ely. But when their time was out they both returned." It has been suggested that this "Ely" could have been either John or Christopher Ellis, who in some records are called Ely. John and Christopher were brothers of English origin that lived in Leyden, Holland at the same time the Pilgrims were living there1. However, Ely is not an uncommon English name, and it is more probable that the seaman is some unidentified English mariner.
William Trevore was hired by the Pilgrims to stay for one year as a laborer2. [See the quote under "Mr. Ely"]. William Trevore had come to New England on the Mayflower, and may have been there in 1619. After fulfilling his work, he returned to England on the ship Fortune in December 1621. Trevore apparently had a big mouth and enjoyed telling his story about America to anyone who would listen. Robert Cushman wrote in a 1623 letter:
William Trevore hath lavishly told [Thomas Weston] but what he knew or imagined of Capawack, Mohegan and the Narragansetts.
In the 1630s, he became the captain of his own ship, the William, and took several groups of passengers to America. In 1650, William Trevore testified that in 1619 he had taken possession of Thompson's Island, and at the time it was named "Island of Trevour". Captain Myles Standish testified:
. . . in the year 1620 I came into this country, and I take it in the same year I was in the Massachusetts Bay with William Trevoyre, and then being upon the island lying near Dorchester, called the said island Island Trevoyre.
Master Leaver is known to historians by only one statement, made in Mourt's Relation (1622). John Goodman and Peter Brown had managed to get lost in the forest, and after failing to return the Pilgrims mounted a search party. "Whereupon Master Leaver and three or four more went to seek them, but could hear nothing of them, so they returning, sent more, but that night they could hear nothing at all of them."
It has been suggested that Leaver may have been a typographical error for Carver. However, an examination of the subsequent text shows that John Carver was at the time very sick and certainly not capable of leading an exploring party. Since no Leaver appears in Bradford's passenger list, he must have been a member of the Mayflower's crew.
It is very possible that Master Leaver is the Thomas Lever who is named in the Second Virginia Charter on 23 May 1609, just a few names before that of Robert Coppin, another Mayflower crewmember.
In Mourt's Relation (1622), a "Master Williamson" is mentioned on one occasion, as having gone out to greet chief Massasoit. And in William Mullins' will of 21 February 1620/1, a "Master Williamson" is also mentioned. However, it has been fairly conclusively argued that this mysterious "Master Williamson" was in fact a pseudonym for William Brewster (whose Dutch surname would have been Williamson), as he was at the time a fugitive from the King of England for publishing illegal religious pamphlets. If Brewster's presence had been known to the King or other government officials, it could have jeopardized the Pilgrim's ability to get a patent for their Colony.
Charles Banks identified this Master Williamson with Andrew Williamson, a mariner whose will is found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in 1629. This identification is based solely on the surname, and is hardly a conclusive identification. There was also a William Williamson who was an investor in the Virginia Company of London.
Early 20th century Mayflower scholar Charles Banks identifies this man as having been a Mayflower crew member. This is based on a 1750 Superior Court deposition of John Phillips. Phillips stated that when he was twelve, his father told him "that Sagadahock had the name of Parkers Island given to it from one Thomas Parker who as said John Phillips was Informed was Mate of the first ship that came from England with the Plymouth People and was uncle to my father John Phillips and father to Thomas Parker who then lived on Parkers Island." Thomas Parker's father was John Parker, and so according to Banks, must have been a mate on the Mayflower.
SOURCES:
1. Mayflower Quarterly, 51:59.
2. William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, written 1630-1654.
3. 'Master Williamson' of the Mayflower. National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 62:88-90 (John G. Hunt).
4. Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 3d series, Volume 42 (information on William Trevore and Thompson's Island)
5. Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, 3d series, Volume 60 (various information on Mayflower crewmembers)
6. Charles Edward Banks, English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers, 1929.