John Alden, seen with Priscilla Mullins, served in Mayflower’s crew as one of the strangers. Wikimedia
4. Captain Christopher Jones of Mayflower hired several of the Strangers
In summer, 1620, Mayflower departed London for Southampton, for fitting out and rendezvous with Speedwell. Captain Christopher Jones, commander of the ship, also owned one-quarter of the vessel, which operated in the wine trade. It was he who accepted a charter from Thomas Weston for the voyage to the New World. While in Southampton, Jones hired a cooper to attend to the numerous barrels aboard the ship, a critical position in the 17th century. The cooper he hired, a carpenter/barrel maker named John Alden, became one of the most famous of the Pilgrims, though not one of the Separatists. Jones had extensive experience as a seaman, though there is no evidence he had ever crossed the Atlantic before. Most of his voyages had been to the Mediterranean and to Northern European ports.
William Mullins, father of Priscilla Mullins, who joined the Merchant Adventurers (investors) formed by Thomas Weston, came aboard Mayflower in London. He accompanied the travelers to ensure a satisfactory return on his investment, encouraged by Weston and Jones. As part of his charter, Jones received shares in the project as well. Captain Jones also hired John Allerton, who subsequently signed on with the Merchant Adventurers. Allerton was to have returned to Leiden to assist the second group of Pilgrims following the establishment of the colony. Instrumental in scouting sites for the settlement in the New World, Allerton died before Mayflower departed the American coast for its return voyage in 1621. It was Jones who later made the crucial decision to remain with the colonists throughout the critical first winter, which undoubtedly saved the colony from destruction.