William White (Mayflower passenger)

William White (c.1580 – February 21, 1621) was a passenger on the Mayflower. Accompanied by his wife Susanna, son Resolved and two servants, he travelled in 1620 on the historic voyage. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact and perished early in the history of Plymouth Colony.

William White has been a difficult person to research, largely because of the commonness of his name in England. Per author Edward Banks, his surname was one of the dozen most common names in England and his baptismal name one of the four most frequently bestowed in that period, making genealogical research be difficult. And contrary to internet information about his supposed White family ancestry, per the Mayflower Society Families book, Volume 13, the Society states “Little is known about Pilgrim William White.”

Further, there is confusion about William White in Leiden. Records reveal that there were two men of that name living there, other than Mayflower William White about 1620 and both appear to have been still there after the Mayflower departed. Aside from the William Whites in Leiden confusion, an additional contributing factor was the name of the wife of one of the William Whites – Ann – which erroneously has connected the Whites with the Fuller family.

Other evidence of the William White family coming to the Mayflower from England and not Holland comes from William Bradford’s passenger list which has “Mr. William White” in his section for London merchants along with Mr. Christopher Martin, Mr. William Mullins, Mr. Stephen Hopkins, Mr. Richard Warren, and John Billington. It is believed that if William White had been a member of the Leiden congregation, his name would have appeared in Bradford’s work for that section, but it does not. There is no evidence to associate the William White of the Mayflower with Leiden, Holland.

...
Wikipedia