Biographical Summary
William Button, called "a youth" by
William Bradford, was a servant for Samuel Fuller. He was the only
passenger to die during the Mayflower's voyage across the
Atlantic Ocean: he died just three days before land was sighted.
William Button's English origins are
unknown. There were a couple of William Button's baptized in
William Bradford's home parish of Austerfield, York, but those baptisms
are for individuals who would have been in their 20s and 30s, too old to
be called a "youth." There is also a William Button, son of John,
baptized on 13 March 1605 in Worksop, Nottingham, which is where some of
the original Separatists were from: so this would be a far better
candidate for the Mayflower passenger.
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