CUSHMAN, Rev. Robert

Other Events and Attributes:

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Notes:

At the time of her marriage, Sarah lived in the precincts of the Cathedral at Canterbury. Soon after Thomas' baptism, the Cushman family disappears from the Canterbury records. At this time, it is surmised that Robert and his family joined the Reverend John Robinson's Puritan colony in Holland. Their marriage record reads "Robert Cushman vnto Sara Reder dwelling with in Pr'cinct's of Christchurche" [the Cathedral] They were married before Andries Hasperson van Vesanevelt and Jacob Paedts, Sheriggs, this fifth of June 1617".

He came to the Plymouth colony on board the Fortune in late November 1621. "One of the leading passengers on board the Fortune was Robert Cushman, accompanied by his son Thomas. Thomas in later life would become the church Elder for the Colony. Robert Cushman had been the London agent for Leiden and in 1620 was involved in Mayflower and Speedwell voyage preparations. In 1620 Cushman had negotiated a Mayflower(financial support) contract with the Merchant Adventurers that Bradford and others of the Leiden contingent refused to approve at Southampton with the Leideners saying the contract was all in the Adventurers favor and to the settlers detriment. Cushman’s purpose of coming to Plymouth was to convince the Plymouth settlers to finally approve this agreement that had been unsigned for over a year. Governor Bradford knew that, so far, the Adventurers had nothing to show for their investment, and after assurance from Cushman that Weston could be counted on to be trusted, Bradford and the others signed the agreement that Cushman had brought from the Merchant Adventurers." (Wikipedia)

Robert married REDER, Sarah on 31 Jul 1606 in St. Alphage, Canterbury, England. Sarah was born in 1580 in Sandwich, Kent, England; died in 1616 in Leiden, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands; was buried on 11 Oct 1616 in St. Peters, Leyden, Holland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. CUSHMAN, Elder Thomas was born on 8 Feb 1607 in Kent, England; was christened on 8 Feb 1607/8 in Canterbury, Kent, England; died on 10 Dec 1691 in Plymouth, MA; was buried in Plymouth, MA.