[1] He was the son of John Major, a Southampton brewer who probably originally came from Jersey, and his wife Joyce.
[2] Between 1603 and 1614 Major served terms as constable, steward, bailiff and sheriff of Southampton, before becoming an alderman in 1615.
[3] In 1628 he was chosen to serve in parliament alongside his business partner George Gallop.
[1] By 1599 Major had married Anne (d.1646), daughter of John Searle of Cossam, Carisbrooke, I.o.W., a yeoman.
On his death without a direct heir Searle left a substantial bequest to their son Richard.