Edward Doty

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Edward Doty (died 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, Dotey, or Day.

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.

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, forty-one 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, 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.

Doty's name appears in the lists of freemen for 1633 and 1636 and in the 1643 list of males that are able to bear arms. His name also appears many times in the records of the Plymouth colony as either plaintiff or defendant in various lawsuits. Doty was on the losing side in the majority of these cases.

Doty was married twice, but the name of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Faith Clarke, daughter of Thurston Clarke, both of whom arrived at Plymouth on the Francis in April 1634. Doty and Faith Clarke were married on January 6, 1635. Their children were Edward, John, Thomas, Samuel, Desire, Elizabeth, Isaac, Joseph, and Mary. Their descendants include actors Vincent Price, Dick Van Dyke, John Ritter, and Jordana Brewster, composer Roger Sessions, civil libertarian Roger Nash Baldwin, historian Mercy Otis Warren, educator Kingman Brewster, Jr., and investor Warren Buffett.