Leiden
The Carvers had connections with the original Scrooby Separatist group in Nottinghamshire, but do not appear to have been members of the original congregation. He was a wealthy man and contributed much to the congregation in Leiden (Leyden) Holland. John Carver and Robert Cushman from Canterbury were both deacons of the Green Gate congregation in Leiden, Holland. In 1619, William Brewster and Edward Winslow published a religious tract critical of the English king and his bishops. James ordered Brewster’s arrest, and when the king’s agents in Holland came to seize the elder, Brewster was forced into hiding just as preparations to depart for America entered the most critical phase.
John Carver was a very generous man and in addition to donating much of his money to the Church, he also provided much money to the Mayflower voyage.
In 1617, he became the agent for the Separatists in securing a charter and financial support for the establishment of a colony in America.
By June 1619, Carver and Robert Cushman, the Separatists Chief Agent, had succeeded in securing a patent from the Virginia Company. In addition to securing the voyage, both Carver and Cushman were agiven the responsibility to secure supplies and provisions, and this was done in both London and Canterbury.
Organizing the voyage was a tremendous task due to all the disorganization and competing interests involved. He was described by the other Separatists as a man of "a gentlemen of singular piety, rare humility and great condescendency".
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