Josiah Winslow was born on May 22, 1629, in Plymouth colony (now Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States), the son of Edward Winslow, II and Susanna White (Fuller). He grew up in the homes of the Pilgrim leaders, who gave him an excellent education. His father soon moved from Plymouth, Josiah's birthplace, to Marshfield.
Josiah studied at Harvard College, but left without taking a degree.
After attending Harvard College, Josiah accompanied his father on a journey to England in 1651. When he returned to Plymouth the next year, he was appointed militia commander of Marshfield, and in 1657 he was appointed assistant governor of the Plymouth colony. In 1658 he became one of the colony’s commissioners in the New England Confederation’s directorate, and later he was chosen commander-in-chief of Plymouth’s military forces, succeeding Myles Standish. As commander, he laboured to prevent Indian uprisings. In 1672 he became a signatory to the new governing articles of the New England Confederation.
Winslow was elected governor of Plymouth in 1673, and in one of his early administrative actions, he established the first public school in the colony. When King Philip’s War erupted in 1675, he became commander-in-chief of the forces of the New England Confederation. Although he defeated the rebellious Indians in a battle and burned many of their villages, his losses were high and illness obliged him to relinquish his command to Captain Benjamin Church in February 1676. Winslow continued as governor of Plymouth, nevertheless, and in 1677 he successfully satisfied the inquiries into the colony’s activities by Edward Randolph, investigative agent for the Lords of Trade. He was in the process of negotiating a new charter from crown officials in England at the time of his death. Josiah Winslow died on December 18, 1680, in Marshfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Massachusetts, United States) at about age 51.
In 1651, in England Josiah Winslow married Penelope Pelham. The couple had four children, one of whom died in infancy.
Edward Winslow, II was an American governor of Plymouth Colony and author. After May 12, 1618, Edward Winslow, II married Elizabeth Barker, by whom he had one daughter. After the death of his first wife, he married Susanna White, they had five children (one of whom died in infancy).
Susanna Winslow (White) was a passenger on the Mayflower and a member of the Leiden, Holland Congregation. Susanna Fuller married William White, by whom she had two sons. After the death of her first husband on February 21, 1621, Susanna White married Edward Winslow, II, the couple had five children (one of whom died in infancy).
Resolved White was a passenger on the historic voyage of the Pilgrim ship Mayflower.
Peregrine White was the first baby boy born on the Mayflower in the harbor of Massachusetts, the second baby born on the Mayflower's historic voyage and the first known English child born to the Pilgrims in America.
