Dr. Samuel Fuller, "Mayflower" passenger, was born in England and baptized at Redenhall Parish, Harleston in the English county of Norfolk on January 20, 1580. He died between 9 August and 26 September, 1633, Plymouth.

Dr. Fuller was one of the band of Pilgrims that fled from England to Leyden, Holland, in 1609. He signed the "Mayflower Compact" and practiced as a physician and surgeon in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and in Plymouth.

Parents: Not verified. See http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/SamuelFuller.php for discussion.

Married:

1. first, Alice Glascock, who died by 1613.
2. second, Agnes Carpenter in Leiden, April 1613. She died by 1617.
3. third, Bridget Lee, Leiden, May 27, 1617.

Children of Samuel Fuller and Agnes Carpenter:

1. Two unnamed children who died young and were buried in Leiden.

Children of Samuel Fuller and Bridget Lee:

1. possible Bridget, born 1619.
2. Mercy, b. after May 22, 1627, but no further record;
3. Samuel born about 1629.

Links

• http://www.pilgrimhall.org/fullersamuel.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Fuller_(Mayflower_physician)
• http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/SamuelFuller.php

References for him and his family

• Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol. 1, published by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants

Notes from Wikipedia

Initially Samuel learned the trade of a say-weaver, one who makes cloth or tablecloths and bedding.

In 1604 the Puritan minister John Robinson left his position at Cambridge to become pastor of St. Andrew;s Church in Norwich. In the face of persecution from King James I, Robinson left Norwich and soon made his way to the village of Scrooby. Samuel went to Scrooby as well at this time, presumably influenced by Robinson. In 1609 the Separatist congregation at Scrooby escaped to Holland and made their way to the city of Leiden, where they could worship as they pleased. Samuel went with him to Leiden and became a deacon in their congregation. uller's 1st wife Alice Glascock having died, he took as his 2nd wife Agnes "Anna" Carpenter in 1613. Anna gave birth to a child but ir died in infancy and was buried in Leiden. Anna died soon after and in 1617 Fuller took a 3rd wife, Bridget Lee. All of his wives were Englishwomen. In Leiden Fuller acquired skill in medicine, possibly while attending lectures at Leiden University. His experience in the butcher shop and with a needle served him well when he took up surgery. Fuller and the elders of the congregation enetered into negotiations with some speculators to travel to North America and establish a colony there. In 1620 a ship named the Speedwell departed Holland with a small number of Separatist colonists, Samuel Fuller among them. They docked at Southampton, Hampshire, where they met up with a ship called the Mayflower. The ships set sail for North America, but the Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and they had to put in at Plymouth in Devon, England. Fuller took his apprentice and servant William Butten with him and sailed to North America. He left his wife behind in Plymouth to care for his young child, which later died in Plymouth. Samuel's brother Edward joined him, along with Edward's wife Ann. The settlers founded a colony in North America and named it Plymouth, after the city they had set out from. Upon arrival in the New World, Samuel was a signer of the Mayflower Compact along with the other adult male settlers. He did what he could to relieve settlers stricken with scurvy and disease, but nearly half of the settlers died that first disastrous winter. It is of interest to note that the Doctrine of Humours (the medical doctrine of that time) called for bloodletting to treat these diseases, so it is unclear exactly how much Samuel could medically do for those suffering from disease. Samuel's brother Edward and his wife Ann were among the dead, which were buried in an unmarked mound so that militant natives would not know how many colonists had died. Edward was survived by his son Samuel, which Dr. Fuller took into his home. In 1623 Bridget Fuller took passage on a ship named the Anne and came to Plymouth. Four years later they had a son they named Samuel, who became the Reverand Samuel Fuller of Middleboro. In 1629 the colony at Neumkeag (which in now Salem) sent for Dr. Fuller to come help them, which de did. Fuller became ill and died during the epidemic that struck the Plymouth colony in 1633. In his last will and testament he forgave the indigent of doctor's fees yet owed, bought gloves for many of the colonists, and bequeathed the very cloak off his back to a needy person. Some of his letters are preserved in a collection called William Bradford's Letterbook. He was survived by his wife and son as well as several children entrusted to his care upon the death of their parents.

of Interest

From Seward (1973: 63)Family in America: Toward a Socio-Historical Restoration of Its Structure. Journal of Marriage and the Family:

An extreme example is presented by Demos (1965:285) using the household of Samuel Fuller. At Fuller's death in 1633, there were nine people in his household; five of these were not family members. In addition to his wife, son, and a nephew; there were two servants, a ward, and two "additional children." The "additional children"had been sent from other families to the Fuller household for education.

-------------------- Arrived on the ship, "Mayflower."