author
Robert Cushman
d. 1625
A key organizer behind the Mayflower voyage, he helped turn a risky plan into one of the best-known journeys in early American history. He was also a writer and lay preacher whose words give a vivid sense of the Pilgrims' religious convictions and struggles.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Kent in the late 1570s, Robert Cushman became part of the English Separatist movement and later joined the Leiden congregation that would be remembered as the Pilgrims. Reliable sources describe him as an author, lay preacher, and one of the main practical minds behind arranging the 1620 voyage to North America.
Cushman worked as the London agent for the Leiden group, helping negotiate travel, financing, and supply arrangements connected with the Mayflower expedition. Although he did not sail on the Mayflower itself, he remained deeply involved with the colony's early survival and later traveled to Plymouth in 1621 on the Fortune.
He is especially remembered for combining administration with writing. His booklet Cry of a Stone, written around 1619 and published after his death, is often noted as an important early expression of Pilgrim belief and experience. He died in 1625 in England, but his role in organizing the voyage and supporting Plymouth Colony left a lasting mark on early colonial history.