John Howland accompanied the English Separatists and other passengers when they left England on the Mayflower to settle in Plymouth Colony. In 1620, he signed the Mayflower Compact and helped found the colony. He came on the Mayflower in 1620 as a manservant of Governor John Carver.  During the Mayflower’s voyage, Howland fell overboard during a storm and was almost lost at sea–but luckily for his millions of descendants living today (including Presidents George Bush and  George W. Bush, and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt) he managed to grab hold of the topsail halyards, giving the crew enough time to rescue him with a boat-hook.