Edward Winslow
1595–1655 · Mayflower passenger, Plymouth governor and diplomat, and author of Good Newes from New England.
Edward Winslow was born on 18 October 1595 in Droitwich, Worcestershire. In 1617 he went to Leiden and joined John Robinson’s Separatist church there. In 1620 he sailed on the Mayflower with his first wife, Elizabeth Barker, who died soon after they reached Plymouth. In May 1621 he married Susanna White, widow of William White and mother of Peregrine White; that marriage is recorded as the first in the New England colonies. Winslow was the colony’s chief envoy to the Wampanoag and helped win the friendship of their sachem Massasoit. He later visited the sachem in illness and wrote of that visit, and of later strain and conflict, in Good Newes from New England (1624). He had already helped write the 1622 journal known as Mourt’s Relation. He served as an assistant almost yearly from 1624 to 1647 and was governor in 1633, 1636, and 1644. After 1646 he remained in England, held office under Oliver Cromwell, and in 1655 was a commissioner on Cromwell’s West Indies expedition. He died at sea near Jamaica on 8 May 1655.
Edward Winslow is also an author in the library: author page and works.
See also: William Bradford · Massasoit (Ousamequin) · Tisquantum (Squanto) · John Winthrop
Key dates
- 1595 Born in Droitwich, Worcestershire, on 18 October
- 1617 Joins John Robinson’s church at Leiden
- 1620 Sails on the Mayflower
- 1622 Mourt’s Relation printed in London
- 1624 Good Newes from New England printed in London
- 1655 Dies at sea near Jamaica on 8 May
Fun facts
- His marriage to Susanna White in May 1621 is recorded as the first marriage in the New England colonies. (Source: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, “Winslow, Edward” (Wikisource))
- He died at sea near Jamaica on 8 May 1655 while serving as a commissioner on Oliver Cromwell’s West Indies expedition. (Source: Edward Winslow (Pilgrim Hall Museum))
Record-breaker
Firsts and records, worded as the sources give them ("first known", "at the time").
- He served as an assistant from 1624 to 1647, except in the years he was governor of the colony: 1633–1634, 1636–1637 and 1644–1645. (Source: 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, “Winslow, Edward” (Wikisource))
In their words
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.”
“Never did I see a man so low brought, recover in that measure in so short a time.”
Read about them
Grades 9–12
- Mourt's Relation · In the library
- Good Newes from New England · In the library
- Of Plymouth Plantation · In the library
More lives
Francis Bacon · Nicolò Barbaro · Aphra Behn · William Bradford · Thieleman J. van Braght · John Bunyan