Edward Doty

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Edward Doty (c. 1598 – August 23, 1655) was a Mayflower passenger, a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and a permanent settler at the Plymouth colony. His surname sometimes appears as Doten or Dotey.

Doty's ancestry is unknown. Statements that he was born in Shropshire, England, on May 14, 1598, or baptized on the same date in St. Mary le Strand, Thurburton Hills, Suffolk, England, are complete fabrications. While there are no fewer than eight authentic Edward Doty baptisms recorded between 1585 and 1605, it has not been possible to identify any of them with Edward Doty of the Mayflower.

Edward Doty was one of two indentured servants under Stephen Hopkins, the other one being Edward Leister, and as such accompanied Hopkins and his family aboard the Mayflower. On November 11, 1620, while the Mayflower was anchored off Cape Cod, 41 of the adult males, including servants, signed the Mayflower Compact; Doty and Leister were among the signers.

Doty was a member of the exploratory party, led by Myles Standish and including John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley and his son Edward, John Howland, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, and several crewmen from the Mayflower, that departed on December 6, 1620, in a shallop to search for a suitable site for settlement.

On June 18, 1621, Edward Doty and Edward Leister fought a duel with swords and daggers. One was wounded in the hand, and the other in the thigh. Both were publicly punished by having their ankles tied to their necks.