Samuel Fuller (Mayflower physician)

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"The Embarkation of the Pilgrims from Delfthaven in Holland" (1844) by Robert Walter Weir
"The Embarkation of the Pilgrims from Delfthaven in Holland" (1844) by Robert Walter Weir

Samuel Fuller (baptised 1580 – died 1633) was an English doctor and church deacon. He is remembered as one of the Separatist Pilgrims who together formed the colony in North America at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

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[edit] Early life

Samuel was born in England and baptized at Redenhall Parish, Harleston in the English county of Norfolk on January 20, 1580. He was the son of Robert and Sara (Dunkhorn) Fuller. Samuel's father Robert was a butcher in the area of Norwich [1]. Initially Samuel learned the trade of a say-weaver [2], one who makes cloth for tablecloths and bedding[3].

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 Fuller 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. Fuller went with them to Leiden and became a deacon in their congregation[4]. Fuller's first wife Alice Glascock having died, he took as his second wife Agnes "Anna" Carpenter in 1613. Anna gave birth to a child but it died in infancy and was buried in Leiden [5]. Anna died soon after and in 1617 Fuller took a third wife, Bridget Lee. All of his wives were Englishwomen [6]. In Leiden Fuller acquired skill in medicine, possibly while attending lectures at Leiden University [7]. His experience in the butcher shop and with a needle served him well when he took up surgery.

[edit] Pilgrim Journey to America

Fuller and the elders of the congregation entered into negotiations with some speculators to travel to North America and establish a colony there[8]. 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[9]. Samuel Fuller's brother Edward Fuller joined him, along with Edward's wife Ann[10]. 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 Reverend Samuel Fuller of Middleboro[11]. In 1629 the colony at Neumkeag (which is now Salem) sent for Dr. Fuller to come help them, which he did[12]. 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ www.mayflowerhistory.com
  2. ^ Samuel Fuller
  3. ^ www.genealogyinc.com
  4. ^ www.pilgrimhall.org
  5. ^ http://members.aol.com/calebj/sfuller.html
  6. ^ www.mayflowerfamilies.com/mayflower/samuel_fuller.htm
  7. ^ www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/medart.htm
  8. ^ Samuel Fuller in Records
  9. ^ Samuel Fuller
  10. ^ http://www.clt.astate.edu/rcarlton/pchthank.htm
  11. ^ www.hopetillman.com/genealogy/gp681.html
  12. ^ www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/SamuelFuller.php

[edit] Further reading

  • Arthur and Katherine Radasch, Mayflower Families for Five Generations: Francis Eaton, Samuel Fuller and William White, volume 1 (Plymouth: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1974).
  • Francis H. Fuller, Early New England Fullers, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 55(1901):192-196.
  • Francis H. Fuller, Fullers of Redenhall, England, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 55(1901):410-414.
  • Will of Samuel Fuller
  • References to Samuel Fuller