John May Sr or Jan Maij (1694 – 1779) was an English shipwright from Chatham who served from 1758-1779 as Master Shipbuilder of the Amsterdam Admiralty.

Career

John May was hired in 1728 by the Amsterdam Admiralty. In 1727 this Admiralty, the largest of the five Dutch Admiralties, had hired Charles Bentham and Thomas Davis to work for them in improving ship design. John May served as the assistant to Charles Bentam for three decades. May taught the art of shipbuilding, and after the death of Bentam in 1758, he was appointed Master Shipbuilder and would serve in the position for 21 years. In 1761, May was accused of belonging to a camarilla with Count of Gronsveld which managed the Admiralty.

Family

In 1714 he married Rebecca Pensix (-1743) a spinster from Gillingham; the couple had five children who lived to adulthood: Job, John, William, Rebecca, and George. In 1762, he married Magteld Geertruy Kannegieter of Amsterdam. His son John May Jr or Johannes Maij (Rochester (1724-1782) married Martha Naudin in March 1753; the couple had five daughters. At that time he lived at Reguliersgracht, but moved to Keizersgracht near Westerkerk. May traded in company with J.A. Crop on Narva, Reval and Riga, a decade later on the Caribbean. In March 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, they shipped weapons and horses from Deptford to North-America. During the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War he was pro-British, and the company liquidated in 1782. Job May, also a shipwright, owned the shipyard Yhoek on Wittenburg, which John bought in 1767. In 1790 it was sold by (his son-in-law) Isaac ten Cate who took over his business and involved in setting up a training for sailors. In 1793 John's daughter Elisabeth married Paul Busti, a real estate agent, operating the Holland Land Company in Philadelphia. William May (Maij) (Chatham 1725-1807), a captain and equipment master from 1780, devised various innovations in shipbuilding and cooperated with Robert Seppings. He played a role on 30 May 1787 when the Admiralty was occupied and his house was besieged during the Patriot revolt. He escaped with his family across the Y. In December 1787 he appointed as captain of a civic guard. William was the father of Job Seaborn May, midshipman and Rear Admiral, who played an important role on 15 November 1813 so the French general Molitor decided to leave Amsterdam. At the end of the month he arrived with William I of the Netherlands at Scheveningen.

Designs

John May, Sr's designs in alphabetical order are: