The ancestry of John Carver is unclear and makes research difficult as “John Carver” is a common enough name to have and many persons of the late-16th and early 17th centuries in England are associated with that name. He was born probably in Nottinghamshire or in Derbyshire, England.
In 1609, he joined the English Separatist exiles at Leiden (Holland), and, in 1620, helped secure an American land patent from the Virginia Company. He later helped select and equip the Mayflower. On the voyage to America, Carver signed the Mayflower Compact. He was elected governor of Plymouth Colony in November 1620 and was reelected in March 1621. An able administrator, he is credited with negotiating a treaty with the Indians that was helpful in maintaining peace for many years. Carver died at Plymouth, April 5, 1621.
John Carver married twice. He married first, sometime before February 8, 1609, Mary de Lannoy and married secondly sometime before May 22, 1615, Katherine (White) Leggatt, widow of George Leggatt.
