no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Degory Priest (abt. 1579 - 1621)

Degory Priest
Born about in Englandmap
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 4 Nov 1611 in Leiden, Holland, Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlandenmap
Descendants descendants
Father of and
Died at about age 42 in Plymouth Colonymap
Problems/Questions Profile managers: Robert Richards private message [send private message], Sandy Culver private message [send private message], Donald McKenzie private message [send private message], and Mayflower Project WikiTree private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 27 Jan 2011
This page has been accessed 18,439 times.
The Mayflower.
Degory Priest was a passenger on the Mayflower.
Join: Mayflower Project
Discuss: mayflower

Contents

Biography

"Moyses Fletcher, Thomas Williams, Digerie Preist, John Goodman, Edmond Margeson, Richard Britterige, Richard Clarke. All these dyed sone after their arivall, in the generall sicknes that befell. But Digerie Preist had his wife & children sent hither afterwards, she being Mr. Allertons sister. But the rest left no posteritie here."[1]

Disputed Origins

According to Anderson, in 1957 John G. Hunt published the 1582 baptism for a "Digorius Prust" in Hartland, Devonshire,[2] noting that there is nothing to connect this record with the Degory Priest of London, Leiden and Plymouth.[3]

Some believe he was the son of Hugh Prust and Agnes Wood, baptized 4 Jun 1592 in Hartland, Devon, England,[4] but no published research names any parents. Those parents, therefore, have been detached from this profile until solid evidence of his origins can be found.

According to Banks, the name of Digory Priest or Prust is common in Devon and Cornwall. A family with those names was found residing in Lezant, co. Cornwall. At the time of the Pilgrim emigration families of this name were living in the London parishes of All Hallows the Great, All Hallows on the Wall, St. Augustine, St. Dunstan-in-the-West and St. Margaret Patten.[5]

Recent Research

By Sue Allan, Caleb Johnson and Simon Neal. "Degory Priest, "Obstinate Brownist" of London: A Clue to the Origins of the Mayflower Passenger." New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol 175 No 4. Fall 2021.

A record 4 October 1609 identifies "Three obstinate Brownistes sent in by two sevrall warrtes from my lo:the Bushoppe of London, wilfully refuseing to come to Church, are by order of Court kepte according to warranty . "Diggerie Priest" was one of the three. Then 11 October 1609 "Diggerie Preest an old prisonr sent in from the Bushope of London is nowe by warrt from his lo: dd'"[6][7] The term old probably does not refer to age but the fact that he'd spent some time in custody.

Other records were identified for Priest families in the area, but nothing that positively sheds light on Degory's origins.

Birth

Degory Priest was born about 1579. (He deposed his age was about forty in 1619),[8][3] and he identified himself as of London in his 1611 betrothal and marriage in Leiden.[9][10] Since Degory Priest was one of the earliest to have arrived in Leiden, Caleb Johnson suspects that he may be from the Nottinghamshire/Yorkshire region, the Sandwich/Canterbury region, the London/Middlesex region, or the Norfolk region, as all of the early Separatists in Leiden appear to have come from one of these centers, and not from the Devonshire region discussed above in "Disputed Origins".[11]

Life in Leiden

Degory Priest was a hatter/hat maker[12] when he became a citizen (burgess) of Leiden,[3] on 16 Nov 1615[11] with guarantors being his future brother-in-law, Isaac Allerton, and his friend Roger Wilson.[13]

He is recorded in Leiden in the following documents:

  • In 1617, Degory had some kind of altercation with John Cripps, who was rumored to have been in an adulterous relationship. Degory had friends sign two separate affidavits relating to his dispute with Cripps, one of them stating that Degory hadn't hit Cripps but only "touched his jabot"[11] (the frill on the front of his shirt).[14]
  • On 18 Jan 1618, his brother-in-law, tailor Isaac Allerton, signed a statement regarding the estimated value of a crimson coat, and Degory signed the statement as a witness.[14]
  • Nicholas Claverly, a tobacco-pipe maker, resided in a house owned by Degory Priest.[11] On 9 Apr 1619, Degory Priest and Samuel Lee, both hatters, signed a certificate of good behavior on Nicholas' behalf. In that document, Priest's age was given as forty years.[14][15]
  • On 3 May 1619, Degory Priest witnessed an affidavit signed by Richard Tyrill stating that Nicholas Claverly was not connected with the murder of Tyrill’s brother John Tyrill.[14]

Marriage

Degory Priest of London married Sarah (Allerton) Vincent, widow of Jan/John Vincent and sister of Isaac Allerton, in Leiden on 4 Nov 1611,[3] their banns having been published on 8, 15 and 22 Oct 1611.[16] They apparently had a double marriage, with Sarah's brother Isaac marrying Mary Norris on that same day, before the same officials,[10] their banns being published on the same days.[16]

The translation of their Dutch marriage record (see image below) is as follows:

Degory Priest, unmarried man, from London, in England, accompanied by William Lisle and Samuel Fuller, his acquaintances, with Sarah Vincent, also from London, in England. widow of John Vincent, accompanied by Jane Thickins and Rosamond Jepson, her acquaintances. They were married before William Cornelison Tybault and Jacob Paedts, sheriffs, this 4th November, 1611.[16]
Marriage 4 Nov 1611 at Leiden - Diggorne Preest and Sarah Vincent[17]

Mayflower Passenger and Death

In 1620, Degory Priest came to Plymouth alone aboard the Mayflower,[3] his wife, Sarah, and two daughters, Mary and Sarah, remained in Leiden,[9] with the intent that he would send for them once the colony was better established.[11][14] He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact on 11 Nov 1620,[14] with his signature written as “Digery Priest".[18]

January 1, 1621 [1620/1] "Monday, the people at Plymouth go betimes to work, [M] and the year begins with the death of Degory Priest."[19] He died a victim of the general sickness that killed nearly half of the passengers on the Mayflower,[20] his date of death was recorded as 1 Jan 1620/1.[3][10][12] He was probably buried sometime in Jan 1621 in Cole's Hill Burial Ground in Plymouth, most likely in an unmarked grave, as was the custom that first winter. Along with many others who died in the winter of 1620-1621, his name is memorialized on the Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, located on Cole's Hill in Plymouth.[21]

After the death of Degory Priest, Sarah married, as her third husband, Godbert Godbertson[12][22] on 13 Nov 1621 in Leiden,[10][14] their betrothal having been recorded there on 25 Oct 1621.[3] They had a son, Samuel, born about 1622 in Leiden.[23] Godbert (aka Cuthbert Cuthbertson), also a hat-maker, brought Sarah and her children to Plymouth on the ship Anne in 1623 and they were assigned land in the 1623 Plymouth division of land,[14] with 6 “akers” for “Cudbart Cudbartsone” – one acre for the deceased Priest and one each for his wife Sarah, her second husband Godbert Godbertson and their three children.[23] In the 1627 Plymouth cattle division, "Marra Priest" and "Sarah Priest" were the tenth and eleventh people in the second company, listed after their mother and stepfather.[3] Both Godbert and Sarah died in the Plymouth epidemic of 1633[9] sometime in that fall, with their estate inventories being taken on 24 Oct 1633.[23] Their burial places are unknown.

Children

  1. Marah, aka Mary, was born about 1612 and married Phineas Pratt between about 1630[3] and 1633 and they had eight children.[9] She arrived in Plymouth aboard the Anne in 1623,[10] and moved to Charlestown about 1646,[14] dying there between Mar 1686/7 and Jul 1689.[22]
  2. Sarah was born about 1614 and married John Coombs by about 1632[3] and they had two sons.[9] She arrived in Plymouth aboard the Anne in 1623[10] and returned to England by Oct 1646, and never returned, perhaps dying there or on the voyage,[9][14] before 1 Aug 1648.[22] Sarah left her two sons, John and Francis Coombs, in Plymouth, in the care of William Spooner, who had agreed to their maintenance.[14]

Notable Descendant

Degory Priest is a direct ancestor of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt.[24]

Sources

  1. ↑ Bradford, William. Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts Project Gutenberg ebook
  2. ↑ Hunt, John G. "Origin of Digory Priest, Early Settler in Plymouth, New England." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 111:320 link at American Ancestors.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol. III, (Boston MA: NEHGS, 1995). Online at American Ancestors[$] and Ancestry.com[$], Vol 3, page 1526.
  4. ↑ England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, (FamilySearch: 30 Dec 2014, Hugh Prust in entry for Degory Prust, 04 Jun 1592); citing Hartland, Devon, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0874366 IT 1.
  5. ↑ Banks, Charles Edward, The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers who came to Plymouth on the "Mayflower" in 1620, the "Fortune" in 1621, and the "Anne" and the "Little James" in 1623. (Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1962), Online at HathiTrust, pages 75, 145.
  6. ↑ dd believed to be delivered
  7. ↑ Cites: Bridewell and Bethlem Minutes of the Court of Governors 15459-1689, BCB-05 (Nov 1604-July 1610. Images at Find my past , folio 386 (image 824 of 939 and folio 388 (image 826 of 939)
  8. ↑ Dexter, Henry Martyn. The England and Holland of the Pilgrims. (Boston, New York, Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1905). p. 630 "Priest, Degory. M. From London. Hat-maker/ Bet/ tp Sar/ Vincent Oct 7, 1611, with wits. Sam. Fuller, Wm. Lisle, Rosam. Jepson and Jane Thickins. Mar. Nov. 4. Guar. Nov. 16, 1615, by bro.-in-law, Is. Allerton, and Rog. Wilson. Deposed with Sam. Lee to knowledge of Nich. Claverly Apr.__, 1619. Then 40. (Entry crossed out.)"
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 A genealogical profile of Degory Priest published online by Plymouth Ancestors, A collaboration between Plimoth Plantation and the New England Historic Genealogical Society, at (PDF) Plimoth.org (Link via Wayback Machine at Archive.org, capture date 07 Jun 2017).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Townsend, Mrs. Charles Delmar, Wakefield, Robert C. S., FASG, and Margaret Harris Stover, Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Vol. 8, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA., 2nd Ed., 2008. pp 1, 3. ("Silver Book" - not available online, except for page 1 at AmericanAncestors.org[$]).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Johnson, Caleb. Degory Priest at MayflowerHistory.com.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Johnson, Caleb. & Allan, Sue & Neal, Simon. The Origin and Parentage of Mayflower Passenger Isaac Allerton in East Bergholt, Suffolk, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2019) Vol. 173, Spring 2019, WN 691, pages 203-204 (not available online).
  13. ↑ Dutch record at Heritage Leiden and Environs: Poorterboeken register, Type of reg.: Porter books, Date: 11/16/1615, Place: Leiden, Paid: 3.2, Poorter: Diggore Pryst (Priest) (hat maker), Origin: England, Witnesses (both stood surety): Rogier Wiltzon (boring worker) and Ysaac Allerton (tailor). Source: Register of gate registrations F, inventory #1267, page 91v., City: Leiden, Period: 1603-1638.
  14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 Johnson, Caleb H., The Mayflower and Her Passengers. (Indiana: Xlibris Corp., 2006), p. 197-198 (not available online). Verified against hard copy of book on 6 Sep 2019 tt.
  15. ↑ Dexter, Henry Martyn, The England and Holland of the Pilgrims. Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co. Online at Archive.org, page 577.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 "The Mayflower Marriage Records at Leyden and Amsterdam," published in the Mayflower Descendant (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899- ). Online database: AmericanAncestors.org[$], Vol 7, 1905, pages 129-130.
  17. ↑ Dutch record at Heritage Leiden and Environs: Marriage Court B., Jul 1611-Apr 1633, Municipality of Leiden, Baptismal, marriage & burial register, Archive #1004, Inventory #198, Folio B-004: Groom: Diggorne Preest, Place of birth: London, Bride: Sarah Vincent (Allerton), Place of birth: London, Wid. of Jan Vincent; Witnesses groom: William Leesle, Samuel Fuller; Witnesses bride: Jannetgen Diggens, Casemijn Gipsijn; maiden name bride: Allerton.
  18. ↑ The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, The Pilgrims at TheMayflowerSociety.org.
  19. ↑ Prince, Thomas. A Chronological History of New-England: In the Form of Annals, Being a Summary and Exact Account ... (Boston: Antiquarian Bookstore, 1852) p. 182
  20. ↑ Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1856). Online at Archive.org, pages 449, 454.
  21. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 6 Sep 2019), memorial page for Degory Priest (11 Aug 1582–1 Jan 1621), Find A Grave: Memorial #12508363, citing Coles Hill Burial Ground, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by ReLyRoTh (contributor 46556292): photo of monument.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Increasings From the Files of George Ernest Bowman, 2nd Ed., Genealogical Publishing, Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 2001. Online at Ancestry.com, pages 85-86.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, (Boston MA: NEHGS, 1995). Online at Ancestry.com[$]: Godbertson, Vol II, pages 776-778.
  24. ↑ The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Notable Descendants at TheMayflowerSociety.org. (Link via Wayback Machine, capture date 31 Jul 2021.)

See also:

  • Anderson, Robert Charles. The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony, 1620-1633. (Boston, MA:New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006). Online at American Ancestors.org (free) (reprint of info in GMB).
  • Bowman, George Ernest, The Mayflower Compact and its Signers, (Boston: MA Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1920). Online at Archive.org, page 16.
  • Find A Grave: Memorial #12523436 of daughter Sarah Priest Coombs.
  • Macdonough, Rodney. The Macdonough-Hackstaff Ancestry, (Press of S. Usher, Boston, 1901). Online at Archive.org, page 458-461.
  • Rapaport, Diane. "Ebenezer Perry, Son of John and Mercy (Swan) Perry of Cambridge, MA: Correcting Mayflower Families and Identifying a New Line of Descent from the Fifth Generation of Degory Priest," published in the Mayflower Descendant (Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899- ). Online at AmericanAncestors.org[$], Vol. 59, 2010, pages 21-31.
  • Rixford, Elizabeth. Families Directly Descended from All the Royal Families in Europe (495 to 1932) and Mayflower Descendants. Burlington VT: Free Press Printing, 1932. Online at HathiTrust.org, page 23: signed Mayflower Compact.
  • Stearns, Ezra S., Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire. (Lewis Publishing Company, 1908) at GoogleBooks, page 891.
  • Stratton, Eugene Aubrey, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620-1691. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Pub., 1986), pages 341-342, 409, 411-413, 417 (not available online).
  • Wikipedia: Degory Priest.
  • Bradford, William, 1590-1657. Of Plimoth Plantation: manuscript, 1630-1650. State Library of Massachusetts "List of Mayflower Passengers." In Bradford's Hand.

NOTE: [$] denotes a subscription website - the links may not work without a subscription.

Mayflower Project Checklist Completed





Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of Degory's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Images: 2
Bradford's List
Bradford's List
Mayflower Passenger List, William Bradford
Mayflower Passenger List, William Bradford


Comments: 19

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Pierpont-94 Rick Pierpont
See the Fall 2021 issue of the NEHGR for the article "Degory Priest, "Obstinate Brownist" of London: A Clue to the Origins of the Mayflower Passenger"
posted by Rick Pierpont
Kristin Hubbard
Hi Rick, Thank you so much for sharing the article! I was amazed to find it available online here: https://www.americanancestors.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/nehgr-2021-fall-entire.pdf
posted by Kristin Hubbard
Fitzmaurice-131 Susan Fitzmaurice
Interesting note. Degory's wife Sarah's brother Isaac Allertson was also on the Mayflower. Degory is my 10th great grandfather, yet we don't appear to be a DNA match. (Isaac is my 10th great Uncle.)
posted by Susan Fitzmaurice
Thiessen-117 Traci Thiessen
Done. Reorganized bio, all citations were checked/verified and links tested.
posted by Traci Thiessen
Richards-3862 Robert Richards
that would good.
posted by Robert Richards
Thiessen-117 Traci Thiessen
If there are no objections, I'd like to organize/chronologize this biography as there is a lot repetitive information. I'll also cite-check everything, making sure citations are in the correct places.
posted by Traci Thiessen
[Living Eubank]
Today has been a great day Just found out that Digory Priest is my 11th Great-Grandfather and I'm still finding outvmore

Jim Eubank Eubank-84

posted by [Living Eubank]
B-404 Anne B
Hi Bernard, Priest-2125 doesn't exist anymore it definitely got merged. Please read what's here already. It's a well sourced profile. Then I would compare your gedcom very carefully with what's already here. If you have new sourced information, you may add it. If you want to dispute something already here, you can post a comment.

cc to Bernard

posted by Anne B
Ellis-15229 Bernard Ellis
Hi, I have a pretty well-populated profile for Degory Priest in my GENCOM, and the system rightly matched it to Priest-2125. I had previously matched it to -39. When I attempt to then edit 2125 to import my more informative profile, smoke comes out of my computer. I'm newly pre-1700 certified, and even tried to adopt it with no luck. So, if I match to this relatively empty profile, and don't edit, all the details in my GENCOM will be lost, correct? Perhaps that's ok--it's not well sourced, but it seems like it might still be useful? Does Priest -2125 perhaps need to be put out of its misery,in favor of -39? It looks like the merge attempted by David didn't work out. Should I remove the match?
posted by Bernard Ellis
B-404 Anne B
Hi David, Just go ahead and approve the merge. If you get a message that says -39 can't go in -2125, click the link that says reverse the merge
posted by Anne B
David Streeter
Priest-39 and Priest-2125 are not ready to be merged because: Priest 39 will not accept Priest 2125. I don't want to lose the information because 39 is in a project. Degory Priest is one of my ancestors. someone tell me how to resolve this as I am not that experienced on Wikitree procedures
posted by David Streeter
Betty Jones
Priest-39 and Priest-2125 appear to represent the same person because: Same date of birth, same spouse and name. Priest-2125 has less information.
posted by Betty Jones

This week's connection theme is Christmas Albums. Degory is 15 degrees from Donald Osmond, 20 degrees from Paul Anka, 14 degrees from Irving Berlin, 16 degrees from Karen Carpenter, 16 degrees from Nat King Cole, 20 degrees from Perry Como, 13 degrees from Burl Ives, 20 degrees from Eartha Kitt, 23 degrees from Kylie Minogue, 16 degrees from Willie Nelson, 19 degrees from Olivia Newton-John and 18 degrees from Dolly Parton on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.

P  >  Priest  >  Degory Priest

Categories: Mayflower Family Member | Mayflower Compact Signatories | Coles Hill Burial Ground, Plymouth, Massachusetts | Mayflower Passengers