Robert Cushman

Robert Cushman (1578-1625) was one of the Pilgrim Fathers. He was born in the village of Rolvenden in Kent, England, and was baptized in the parish church there on February 9th, 1578. He spent part of his early life in Canterbury. He was one of a group of Pilgrims who fled to Holland because of differences with the official church over their practice of religion. From there, he later returned to England and arranged the purchase of the Mayflower for them to use in their voyage to America. He did not complete the trip aboard the Mayflower with the other Pilgrims, because their smaller sister ship experienced a disaster which threatened its survival. He left the Mayflower, which had not proceeded very far at that time, in order to involve himself in saving this vessel.

His expertise in financial matters, which had been valuable in acquiring the Mayflower, was also valuable in arranging for needed repairs. Cushman sailed to Plymouth in the fall of 1621 on the ship Fortune, but returned shortly thereafter to England to promote the colony's interests. There he published an essay concerning the Lawfulness of Plantations, which was appended to Mourt's Relation. This document is of interest to modern scholars bcause of its treatment of the economic reasons for emigration.

Unfortunately, before he could return to the New World, he succumbed to an outbreak of plague in London, in the spring of 1625; as a result, the site of his grave is unknown. The book Saints and Strangers by George F. Willison recounts his story.

His son Thomas Cushman (ca. 1607/08 - 91), who accompanied him on the Fortune, was raised in the family of Governor William Bradford, and served as Ruling Elder of the Plymouth church from 1649, till his death in 1691.

Robert Cushman was also an ancestor of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.