The Mayflower Compact 1620

By Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930). On November 21 in 1620 (or Nov. 11 under the Julian calendar they used then), my ancestor William White, along with other adult male passengers of the Mayflower, signed the Mayflower Compact, adapting language that was used for church charter in Netherlands after the Puritans fled persecution in England. William and his wife became the parents of the first child born in the new world, Peregrine White, from whom I am descended. My ancestor William, however, did not have long to appreciate this new land, dying three months later during that harsh first winter that killed nearly one-half of the "pilgrims" who made the voyage. Note on the painting from the Library of Congress: "The artist, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, depicts how he thinks passengers of the Mayflower looked signing the 'Mayflower Compact.' Included are Carver, Winston, Alden, Myles Standish, Howland, Bradford, Allerton, and Fuller. Starting in the early 20th century, Ferris created a series of commemorative interpretations of early American development called 'The Pageant of a Nation.'"