Learn about John Howland, a Mayflower passenger and indentured servant, whose numerous descendants include Ralph Waldo Emerson and both George Bushes, in this video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Pilgrims. During the Mayflower’s Atlantic crossing, Howland was thrown overboard in a storm. He managed to grab hold of a line and was rescued by the crew. Although he nearly died that day, he would later thrive in New England. He married Elizabeth Tilley, and together they had 10 children. More than two million Americans would descend from them, among them U.S. presidents and Hollywood actors.