Degory Priest

Degory Priest (c.1579 - c.1621) was a member of the Leiden contingent on the historic 1620 voyage of the ship Mayflower. He was a hat maker from London who married Sarah, sister of Pilgrim Isaac Allerton in Leiden. He was a signatory to the Mayflower Compact in November 1620 and died less than two months later.

In some documents of the time, his name was also written as Digory Priest.

English Origins

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.

Life in Holland

There are several depositions in Leiden which make his approximate birth year 1579. The first historic record of Degory Priest is from documentation in Leiden, Holland on October 7, 1611 when he became betrothed to Sarah Vincent, widow of John Vincent of London. At his betrothal Priest was identified as a hat-maker from London. Sarah’s maiden name was Allerton and was a sister of Mayflower passenger Isaac Allerton. Degory and Sarah were married on November 4, 1611, the same day that Sarah’s brother Isaac Allerton married Mary Norris.