Degory Priest (1579-1621)

Degory Priest (ca. 1579/1582-1621) was the 29th signer of the Mayflower Compact, and one of the original 102 Pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620.

Alternate spellings of his name were: "Digory" "Gregory", "Degorie", or "Digorie" Priest.

Biography
Little information remains regarding Degory Priest's lineage and his activities as a Mayflower passenger. Priest was allegedly born between 1579 and 1582 in London, England and his wife, Sarah Allerton, was born in London in 1588. She was the sister of Isaac Allerton (1586-1658) (another passenger on the Mayflower). Priest and Allerton were married in 1611 when Allerton was twenty-three years old. Degory Priest died in Plymouth in January, 1621, two months after the Mayflower landed in America. Sarah Allerton, and children, Mary and Sarah, stayed behind in Leyden, Holland where some of the Pilgrims had moved to escape religious persecution in England. However, they came to North America on the Anne almost two years after the death of Priest in 1623. At least one of Priest's grandchildren was an early settler on Nantucket Island.

Notable Descendants
Degory and Sarah have many notable descendants including Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Maria Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Richard Gere, Dick Van Dyke, and Orson Scott Card.

Children of Degory and Sarah

 * Mary Priest - married to Phineas Pratt (1590-1680)
 * Sarah Priest -