Dorothy May was born in 1597 in Wisbeech, Cambridge, England. Dorothy was born into an upper middle class family. Sometime in the early 1600’s Dorothy and her family moved to Amsterdam, Holland where she met the handsome William Bradford. William was a hard worker and earned a good living as a weaver of heavy cottons and fabrics he had bought a house of his own so he was able to take care of a family.

On December 10th 1613 Dorothy May married William Bradford. They had their first child John Bradford in 1617.

During this time the congregation (who William had come over with) from Scrooby, England. Who had come to Holland for freedom to worship God in the way they felt was right by separating from the Church of England and starting their own Church. Felt like their children as well as themselves were losing their heritage. Their children were forgetting their mother language and the traditions of the English.
So they decided to move the congregation from Leyden, Holland. To take the big step as well a very dangerous step and move to the “New World”.

So the Bradford’s after much prayer seeking the face of God and after spending much time talking about it decided to go to the New World. They would leave there son John behind with some Dorothy’s parents who were not going.
The next few years were spent getting ready for this big life changing move to the unknown.

In the year 1620 they were ready to go to the New World they boarded the Speedwell spending all that morning and the previous evening in prayer and fasting for the journey ahead to and the New Life God had in store for them. They made their way to England to meet with the Mayflower and start for the New World. After turning back 3 times because the Speedwell was having troubles they finally deemed it unsafe for the voyage out on the sea so some of the pilgrim’s decided to stay behind.

So the Mayflower was able to take everyone who still wanted to go to the New World.  So all together on the Mayflower there were a little over 100 people aboard. They made it to the New World in 64 days landing on Cape Cod on November 9, 1620.

William along with several other men volunteered to scout out a place to build and live. They were gone much of November and December.

On December 7th 1620 while William was away Dorothy was walking the deck when she probably slipped on black ice and fell overboard and drowned before anyone could save her.

References:

Thank you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bradford_%28Plymouth_governor%29

http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/Passengers/DorothyMay.php

http://www.geni.com/people/Dorothea-Bradford-May-Mayflower-Passenger/6000000001643820277