DESIRE MINTER
Desire Minter came to Plymouth in 1620 on the Mayflower, in the household of JOHN CARVER [PM 95]. "Desire Minter returned to her friend and proved not very well and died in England" [Bradford 441, 443-44].
COMMENTS: Jeremy D. Bangs suggests that Desire Minter may have been daughter of William and Sarah (Willett) Minter of Leiden [NEHGR 143:209]. If Desire Minter is related to the Minters of Leiden, then she would also be connected with THOMAS WILLETT [PM 497].
In Bradford's list, Desire appears immediately after John Carver and his wife, and before a number of other persons specifically described as servants, which might indicate that she was somehow a relative of the Carvers. Note also that Bradford says that "Desire Minter returned to her friend." The OED indicates that friend could at this time mean relation or kinsman, citing Shakespeare: "But she I mean is promised by her friends, Unto a youthful gentleman of worth" (The Two Gentlemen of Verona 111.1.106-7). See the sketch of JOYCE BRADWICK for the same usage; perhaps the word at this time also had the meaning of "guardian."
The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony 1620-1633
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The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633
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This authoritative work by Robert Charles Anderson identifies and describes all Europeans who settled in New England prior to the end of 1633. Each individual or family entry includes (when known) the port or country of origin; when and on what ship they arrived in New England; the earliest known record of the individual or family; their first and subsequent residences; return trips to their country of origin; marriages, births, and deaths; and other important family relationships. This work is available in print and database form on AmericanAncestors.org.
