Degory Priest facts for kids
Degory Priest (born around 1579 – died around 1621) was a hat maker from London, England. He was one of the "Pilgrims" who sailed on the famous ship Mayflower in 1620. These Pilgrims were looking for religious freedom. Degory Priest signed an important agreement called the Mayflower Compact when the ship arrived in America. Sadly, he died less than two months later. His name was sometimes spelled Digory Priest.
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Life in Holland
Degory Priest lived in Leiden, Holland, before coming to America. He was known as a hat maker there. On November 16, 1615, he became a citizen of Leiden. His friends Isaac Allerton (who also sailed on the Mayflower) and Roger Wilson helped him.
Degory Priest was quite active in the Leiden community. In 1617, he needed to show that he had not hurt someone in a disagreement. He got two tobacco pipe-makers to say he had only "touched his Jabot" (the frill on the front of his shirt).
In 1619, Degory Priest and another hat maker helped a tobacco-pipe maker named Nicholas Claverly. They signed a document saying Claverly would behave well. At this time, Degory Priest said he was about 40 years old, which means he was born around 1579.
The Mayflower Journey
Degory Priest left Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower on September 6, 1620. The ship was about 100 feet long and carried 102 passengers, plus 30-40 crew members. It was very crowded!
The journey across the Atlantic Ocean was very difficult. Strong storms hit the ship, and water leaked in. Passengers were often wet and sick. There wasn't enough good food, and conditions were unsanitary. Many people became ill. Two people died during the trip. But the worst was yet to come after they arrived.
On November 9, 1620, after about three months at sea, they finally saw land. It was Cape Cod, which is now in Massachusetts. They tried to sail south to their planned destination in Virginia, but strong winter seas forced them back. They anchored in Provincetown Harbor on November 11.
On that same day, Degory Priest and other men signed the Mayflower Compact. This was an important agreement to create laws for their new colony.
William Bradford, a leader of the Pilgrims, later wrote about the difficult first winter. He mentioned that Degory Priest was one of the men who died soon after arriving. Bradford wrote that Priest's wife and children came to America later.
Family Life
Degory Priest married Sarah (Allerton) Vincent on November 4, 1611. Sarah was the sister of another Mayflower passenger, Isaac Allerton. Degory and Sarah had two daughters: Mary and Sarah.
After Degory Priest died, his wife Sarah married Godbert Godbertson in Leiden in 1621. He was also a hat maker. Sarah, Godbert, and her two daughters (Mary and Sarah Priest) came to Plymouth in 1623 on a ship called the Anne.
Sadly, both Sarah and Godbert died in 1633 during a widespread sickness. Their burial places are not known.
Degory Priest's Daughters
- Mary Priest was born around 1612. She married Phineas Pratt by 1633. They had eight children. Mary and her family moved to Charlestown (near Boston) around 1646. Phineas Pratt was an important person in Plymouth history.
- Sarah Priest was born around 1614. She married John Coombs around 1632 and had two sons. For reasons unknown, Sarah traveled to England around 1645. She left her two sons, John and Francis, with William Spooner to care for them. It is believed that Sarah never returned to the Massachusetts Colony.
Death and Burial
Degory Priest died early in the first winter, on January 1, 1621. He was about 42 years old. He died from the "general sickness" that affected many of the Pilgrims.
He was likely buried in an unmarked grave at Cole's Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth. This was common during that difficult first winter. His name is remembered on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, which is also on Cole's Hill in Plymouth.
Images for kids
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Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882)
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Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1899)
See also
In Spanish: Degory Priest para niños
