Massachusetts – Our Ancestors, Our Narratives

The Pilgrims — A Thanksgiving

This is Chapter Seven of seven. It is the last of our opening chapters on The Pilgrims. So far we have covered topics such as — how they thought differently than we do today, British colonization, their experiences in Holland, the Mayflower, Plimoth Plantation, and the Native Peoples they encountered. Finally, we get to the part that most of know, the Thanksgiving celebration. Like a great meal, pass the plate please, because there’s always more to share.

The Thanksgiving holiday is a national ritual that has moved like a resonant wave through American culture for more than 150 years. Iconic images such as those by painter Norman Rockwell have impressed generations, including our own family.

Freedom From Want

“One of Norman Rockwell’s most well known and adored paintings, ‘Freedom from Want’ was never actually on the cover of the magazine. It appeared as an inside illustration, along with the three other images that represented President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, and Freedom from Fear. Hundreds of variations of this image have been created, including ones for our magazine featuring The Muppets and The Waltons.” (The Saturday Evening Post)

The Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod Bay over 400 years ago. That has been a lot of time for some mythology about the first Thanksgiving to have developed — an event at which two of our ancestors were present. Some myths and rituals are good, because they bring all of us together. We think it will be interesting to look at and write a bit about, both this mythology and the actual history.

Myths are the body of legends and stories that belong to our different societies. Occasions such as wedding ceremonies, funerals, baptisms, Bar Mitzvah, church services, college graduations, Super Bowl, and Heineken Cup (Rugby) are all examples of the various types of rituals that take place during our normal lives.

It is these myths and rituals that give our societies some meaning and contribute to stability. Indeed, one could say that stability requires its myths and rituals.
Writer Brian Leggett,
writing on Joseph Campbell’s book, The Power of Myth

“For American culture, the story of the Pilgrims, including their “first Thanksgiving” feast with the local Native Americans, has become the ruling creation narrative, celebrated each November along with turkey, pumpkin pie, and football games. The Pilgrims and Plymouth Rock have eclipsed the earlier 1607 English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, as the place where America was born.” (National Endowment For The Humanities – NEFTH) (1)

What Happened In That First Winter

Before we can get to the first Thanksgiving celebration we need to pass through the devastating winter which the Saints and Strangers experienced. When they disembarked, it was already a troublesome experience. “With passengers and crew weakened by the voyage and weeks exploring Cape Cod, the Mayflower anchored in Plymouth harbor in late December 1620. The weather worsened, and exposure and infections [began to] take their toll. (PBS)

Immediate decisions were made as to where to begin with the development of structures for shelter. This required felling trees and making their own lumber. — “First to be built was a Common House which would have several huts around it. Then there would be living quarters built for the settlers. There would be a total of 19 lots. Because of the hardships that the settlers had to endure in the coming months, the Common House had to be used as living quarters and a hospital. Just as the construction of the Common House began, a storm came along which featured snow that changed to rain. During the next three weeks, there were a number of storms that moved through while producing rain, snow, and sleet. Many settlers lived on the Mayflower and left the ship [only] to work until March when more dwellings were constructed in earnest.” (NY NJ PA Weather – NYNJPA)

*The First Winter of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, 1620*. Colored engraving, circa 19th century. (Image courtesy of The Granger Collection).

“Many of the colonists [had fallen] ill. They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather. Although the Pilgrims were not starving, their sea-diet was very high in salt, which weakened their bodies on the long journey and during that first winter. As many as two or three people died each day during their first two months on land. Only 52 people survived the first year in Plymouth. When the Mayflower left Plymouth on April 5, 1621, she was sailed back to England by only half of her crew.” (Plimoth Pautexet)

By the spring of 1621, about half of the Mayflower’s passengers and crew had died. We obtained these charts from the Pilgrim Hall Museum, and they are perfect for explaining quite clearly what a difference one year made in their lives.

William Bradford kept a registry recording those who had passed. The Plymouth Colony Archive Project shares his entry below. On March 24, 1621 (only three months after they arrived), he wrote —

Elizabeth Winslow: March “Dies Elizabeth, the wife of Master Edward. This month, Thirteen of our number die.”

“And in three months past, die Half our Company. The greatest part in the depth of winter, wanting houses and other comforts; being infected with the scurvy and other diseases which their long voyage and unaccommodate condition bring upon them. So as there die sometimes two or three a day. Of one hundred persons, scarce 50 remain. The living scarce able to bury the dead; the well not sufficient to tend the sick: there being in their time of greatest distress but six or seven who spare no pains to help them. Two of the seven were Master Brewster, their reverend Elder, and Master Standish the Captain.

The like disease fell also among the sailors; so as almost Half their company also die, before they sail.”

(See footnotes — Deetz and Mayflower Society)

“Of the eighteen women who began the journey, only five (Susanna White, Eleanor Billington, Elizabeth Hopkins, Katherine Carver, and Mary Brewster) were alive by the spring of 1621. Of these 5 women, Katherine Carver, wife of Plimoth’s first governor John Carver, would not live to see the year’s end. William Bradford writes that John Carver died in April 1621, and Katherine “his wife, being a weak woman, died within five or six weeks after him.”

“About a year after the arrival of the Mayflower, [around the time of the first Thanksgiving] the ship Fortune reached Plimoth bringing more settlers in November 1621. Amongst its passengers there were only two women, meaning this small contingent of adult women were often spread quite thin between the colony’s domestic duties.” (Mayflower Society) (2)

To Celebrate With A Harvest Feast

The Thanksgiving holiday has not existed for 400+ years as many people likely assume. In fact, for a long period of time it was a forgotten event. One of the first places it was mentioned is a small book we referred to in the chapter, The Pilgrims — A Mayflower Voyage.

In fact, “as autumn came, the Pilgrims gathered to in a ‘special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors,’ wrote one of their number, Edward Winslow.” This same event was held again in 1623, but after that, there are no further records of it. (NEFTH)

Images left to right: Front cover for *Mourt’s Relation,* circa 1622. Photograph of the original 17th century volume (book) *Of Plimoth Plantation*. 1945 front cover for George F. Willison book, Saints and Strangers. (See footnotes).

Writer Joshua J. Mark in the World History Encyclopedia, helps us to understand the context of this period in the early 1620s: “The story of the First Thanksgiving comes from only two sources initially: Bradford and Winslow’s ‘Mourt’s Relation’, which gives a detailed account. The book seems to have been an initial success before going out of print and was only brought back to public notice in 1841.

By the fall of 1621, with Squanto’s [and Samoset’s] help, the colonists were able to bring in a good crop and had been shown the best hunting grounds and fishing streams. The colonists decided to celebrate with a harvest feast which has since been defined as the First Thanksgiving.

“Visit of Samoset to the Colony.” Illustration from the 1876 textbook,
*A Popular History of the United States*, by William Cullen Bryant, circa 1876.

The narrative of the event is usually given along the lines provided by the scholar George F. Willison in his 1945 ‘Saints and Strangers: Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers & Their Families, with Their Friends and Foes’, which is loosely based on Bradford’s and Winslow’s earlier account:

As the day of the harvest festival approached, four men were sent out to shoot waterfowl, returning with enough to supply the company for a week. Massasoit was invited to attend and shortly arrived – with ninety ravenous braves! The strain on the larder was somewhat eased when some of these went out and bagged five deer. Captain Standish staged a military review, there were games of skill and chance, and for three days the Pilgrims and their guests gorged themselves on venison, roast duck, roast goose, clams and other shellfish, succulent eels, white bread, corn bread, leeks and watercress and other “sallet herbes”, with wild plums and dried berries as dessert – all washed down with wine, made of the wild grape, both white and red, which the Pilgrims praised as “very sweete and strong”. At this first Thanksgiving feast in New England, the company may have enjoyed, though there is no mention of it in the record, some of the long-legged “Turkies” whose speed of foot in the woods constantly amazed the Pilgrims.

*Gift of Meat from Native Americans to Plymouth Colonists*.
Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration.
(Illustration courtesy of North Wind Picture Archives).

Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, which references the event in more general terms. (It was brought back into print in 1856). Bradford writes:

They began now [fall of 1621) to gather in the small harvest they had, and to prepare their houses for the winter, being well recovered and in health and strength and plentifully provisioned; for while some had been thus employed in affairs away from home, others were occupied in fishing for cod, bass, and other fish, of which they caught a good quantity, every family having their portion. All summer there was no want. And now, as winter approached, wild fowl began to arrive [and] they got abundance of wild turkeys besides venison. (Book II. ch. 2)

Harvest time had now come, and then instead of famine, God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many for which they blessed God. And the effect of their particular planting was well seen, for all had, one way or another, pretty well to bring the year about, and some of the abler sort and more industrious had to spare, and sell to others, in fact, no general want or famine has been amongst them since, to this day. (Book II. ch. 4) (3)

*The First Thanksgiving In 1621*, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. Another Ferris painting that, although somewhat romantic and popular, is wrong in most details.

What Was Really On The Menu?

Writer Joshua J. Mark continues: “Bradford mentions turkeys, which most likely were served as part of the feast, but no menu such as provided by Willison appears in the primary documents and, although cranberries probably grew in the nearby wetlands, nothing suggests they were harvested. Further, since the settlement had no ovens, butter, or wheat for crusts, there were no pies, pumpkin or otherwise. The most glaring misrepresentation of the First Thanksgiving story, however, which routinely adheres to the above passage from Willison, is that the Native Americans of the Wampanoag were invited to the feast; neither of the primary documents suggests this in any way.”

In addressing this quandary, Epicurious interviewed Kathleen Curtin the food historian at Plimoth Plantation (Plimoth Patuxet), who shares that “Most of today’s classic Thanksgiving dishes weren’t served in 1621,” says Curtin. “These traditional holiday dishes became part of the menu after 1700. When you’re trying to figure out just what was served, you need to do some educated guesswork. Ironically, it’s far easier to discern what wasn’t on the menu during those three days of feasting than what was!”

First Thanksgiving, by Artist unknown. (Image courtesy of Fine Art Storehouse).

She elaborates further, “Potatoes—white or sweet—would not have been featured on the 1621 table, and neither would sweet corn. Bread-based stuffing was also not made, though the Pilgrims may have used herbs or nuts to stuff birds. Instead, the table was loaded with native fruits like plums, melons, grapes, and cranberries, plus local vegetables such as leeks, wild onions, beans, Jerusalem artichokes, and squash. (English crops such as turnips, cabbage, parsnips, onions, carrots, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme might have also been on hand.) And for the starring dishes, there were undoubtedly native birds and game… Fish and shellfish were also likely [served].

“While modern Thanksgiving meals involve a lot of planning and work, at least we have efficient ovens and kitchen utensils to make our lives easier. Curtin says the Pilgrims probably roasted and boiled their food. ‘Pieces of venison and whole wildfowl were placed on spits and roasted before glowing coals, while other cooking took place in the household hearth,’ she notes, and speculates that large brass pots for cooking corn, meat pottages (stews), or simple boiled vegetables were in constant use.” (4)

“To make victuals both more plentiful and comfortable”

“The Pilgrims had to sell their butter in 1620 to pay expensive port fees caused by delays with the Speedwell. Little did they know that they would not taste cows’ milk, butter, or cheese for another four years. On September 8, 1623, Gov. William Bradford and Dep. Governor Isaac Allerton wrote to the Merchant Adventures in London imploring them to send goats and cattle in order ‘to make victuals both more plentiful and comfortable’ and stating that “the Colony will never be in good estate till they have some.

The London investors agreed, and finally sent over one bull and three heifers in 1623 on the Anne and five more cows on the Jacob in 1624. From that time forward, the food shortages came to an end. Why would the addition of cattle make such a difference?

*Young Herdsmen with Cows*, by Aelbert Cuyp, circa 1655-60.
(Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art).

“As the Pilgrims knew, the addition of milk, cheese and butter was so important to the diet of English colonists that it was called ‘white meat.’ The concentrated calories, proteins, calcium and fats were life sustaining, and particularly important for growing children. Most of the Pilgrims came from yeoman farming backgrounds and knew how to effectively use dairy cows. Dairying was ‘women’s work’ and it was hard and labor-intensive. The Colony women would have worked from dawn to dusk taking care of their cattle.

By 1627, the colonists had sufficient cattle to actually divide them by family group among the 156 colonists. The 1627 Division of Cattle into 13 family groups acts as an invaluable census for all those living in Plymouth during that year. The growth in cattle also caused a demand for farms, which led to the settlement of Kingston, Duxbury, Marshfield, and other towns throughout the colony.” (Mayflower Society Newsletter) (5)

Adopted — A Day of For Thanksgiving

Due to the advocacy of one woman, and a President who listened to her, we eventually gained a national holiday in November.

“Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), the writer and editor of the popular periodical Godey’s Lady’s Book, campaigned for the national observance of Thanksgiving Day beginning in 1846. She wrote to each sitting president advocating the adoption of the holiday, but it was only acted upon in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln (served 1861-1865) during the American Civil War as a means of encouraging national unity.

Sidebar: Sarah Joseph Hale was quite intriguing as she was an early advocate for equal educational opportunities for women. She was the author of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and retired in 1877 at the age of 89. That same year, Thomas Edison spoke the opening lines of Mary’s Lamb as the first speech ever recorded on his newly invented phonograph. Here is a 17 second audio clip (just below his photo), where Edison recalls the original event. Unfortunately, the original recording was too fragile and has not survived.

Inventor Thomas Alva Edison with his early phonograph, circa 1877. (Public domain)

Left image: A typical cover of *Godey’s Lady’s Book,* circa 1867. Note Hale’s name as editor on the front cover. Right image: *Sarah Josepha Hale, 1831* by James Lambdin.

Americans already celebrated the holiday at different times in different places, but Hale wanted a specific national day of giving thanks to God for the blessings received during the past year. The Civil War context made such a day even more necessary, as both sides occasionally proclaimed days of thanksgiving to recognize and potentially foster divine support for their respective causes.” (World History Encyclopedia, WHE)

“Lincoln proved receptive to Hale’s ideas and officially declared the last Thursday in November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” He added (in an October 3, 1863, proclamation written by Secretary of State William H. Seward) that Americans should “with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.” (Lincoln Presidential Library)

A public notice about one of several Thanksgiving proclamations Lincoln issued
during the Civil War, circa 1863. (Image courtesy of the Lincoln Presidential Library).

“The modern celebration of the holiday was formalized across the United States only as recently as 1963 under President John F. Kennedy (served 1961-1963), although it had been observed regionally for 100 years prior.” (WHE)

Finally, author Kathleen Donegan writes in Seasons of Misery: Catastrophe and Colonial Settlement in Early America, about the Pilgrims and the Native Peoples at the first celebration in 1621 —

“We love the story of Thanksgiving because it’s about alliance and abundance,” Donegan says… “But part of the reason that they were grateful was that they had been in such misery; that they had lost so many people — on both sides. So, in some way, that day of thanksgiving is also coming out of mourning; it’s also coming out of grief. It’s a very interesting narrative for a superpower nation. There is something sacred about humble beginnings. A country that has grown so rapidly, so violently, so prodigiously, needs a story of small, humble beginnings.” (6)

Finally, Thanksgiving Dinner is Just Not Complete Without Pumpkin Pie!

Every year without fail we gathered together for our annual Thanksgiving dinner. Sometimes we would have twenty people gathered around the table at our home. It would always start out very well mannered and civilized, and then evolve into loosened belts, catching up on goings-on, mountains of dishes, and people yelling at the inevitable football games playing on the afternoon television.

Top photo: Around 1990, it looks like everyone decided to go to a restaurant and let someone else do the cooking. (Mom probably appreciated that). From left to right, John Bond, Daniel Bond, Jo Ann White, and Marguerite Bond (who is casting glances at George Soule and Edward Doty). Middle right image, Susan Bond helping with a post dinner clean up. Bottom image, an example of our traditional family pumpkin pie, [*with an overly crispy crust*: ‘A’ for effort; ‘C+’ for execution].

Our mother was a good cook. Later in her life, we convinced her to write out some of her recipes and now we’re glad we did, except for the fact that she had very difficult handwriting to read. (Her excuse was always that when she was younger, she learned shorthand at secretarial school and it had ruined her handwriting. We would not disagree). In any case, for those of you who are interested — her actual recipe as she wrote it out, is transcribed in the footnotes. (7) By the way, the picture of the pie is not Mom’s, it’s from an experiment in pie making by one of her children!

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Freedom From Want

(1) — four records

The Saturday Evening Post
Thanksgiving
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/collections/thanksgiving/
Note: For the text, and Norman Rockwell’s painting, Freedom From Want, 1943.

If It’s Hip, It’s Here
The 37 Best Parodies of Rockwell’s Freedom From Want (aka Thanksgiving Dinner)
https://www.ifitshipitshere.com/37-best-parodies-rockwells-freedom-want-aka-thanksgiving-dinner/
Notes: Freedom From Want — Peanuts version by Charles Schultz, Lego Version by Greg 50 on Flickr, Muppets version by Jim Henson

IESE Business School, University of Navarra
The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell
Review of this book by Brian Liggett
https://blog.iese.edu/leggett/2012/02/27/the-power-of-myth-by-joseph-campbell/
Note: For the text.

(NEFTA)
The National Endowment For The Humanities
Who Were the Pilgrims Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving?
by Craig Lambert
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/who-were-the-pilgrims-who-celebrated-the-first-thanksgiving
Note: For the text.

What Happened In That First Winter

(2) — seven records

The First Winter of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, 1620. Colored engraving, circa 19th century. (Image courtesy of The Granger Collection).
Note: As found here, Exploration and the Early Settlers from Of Plymouth Plantation, on page 106:
https://www.muhlsdk12.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=4199&dataid=8729&FileName=Of%20Plymouth%20Plantation.pdf
Note: For the winter artwork.

PBS Learning Media
The First Winter | The Pilgrims
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/americanexperience27p-soc-firstwinter/the-first-winter-the-pilgrims/
Note: For the text.

Plimoth Pautexet Museums
Who Were The Pilgrims?
Arrival at Plymouth
https://plimoth.org/for-students/homework-help/who-were-the-pilgrims
Note: For the text.

Pilgrim Hall Museum
Charts About The Mayflower Passengers
https://www.pilgrimhall.org/ce_our_collection.htm
Note: We adapted these graphics for this chapter.

The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Mayflower Passenger Deaths, 1620-1621
Patricia Scott Deetz and James Deetz
http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/maydeaths.html
Note: For the text.

The Mayflower Society
Women of The Mayflower
https://themayflowersociety.org/history/women-of-the-mayflower/
Note: For the text.

To Celebrate With A Harvest Feast

(3) — seven records

(NEFTH)
The National Endowment For The Humanities
Who Were the Pilgrims Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving?https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/who-were-the-pilgrims-who-celebrated-the-first-thanksgiving
Note: For the text.

(VTHMB)
Voyaging Through History, the Mayflower and Britain
Mourt’s Relation (1622)
https://voyagingthroughhistory.exeter.ac.uk/2020/08/25/mourts-relation-1622/
Note: For the cover image.

State Library of Massachusetts
Bradford’s “Of Plimoth Plantation”
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/bradfords-manuscript-of-plimoth-plantation
Note: For the photograph of the original 17th century volume (book) Of Plimoth Plantation.

Saints and Strangers: Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers & Their Families
by George F. Willison
https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.13804/page/509/mode/2up
Note: For the cover image.

(WHE)
World History Encyclopedia
Thanksgiving Day: A Brief History
by Joshua J. Mark
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1646/thanksgiving-day-a-brief-history/
Note: For the text.

“Visit of Samoset to the Colony”
Illustration from the 1876 textbook, A Popular History of the United States
by William Cullen Bryant, circa 1876
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_popular_history_of_the_United_States_-_from_the_first_discovery_of_the_western_hemisphere_by_the_Northmen,_to_the_end_of_the_first_century_of_the_union_of_the_states;_preceded_by_a_sketch_of_the_(14597125217).jpg
Book page: 400, Digital page: 472/682
Note: For the Samoset illustration.

North Wind Picture Archives
Gift of Meat from Native Americans to Plymouth Colonists
https://www.northwindprints.com/american-history/gift-meat-native-americans-plymouth-colonists-5877641.html
Note: Fir the hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration.

What Was Really On The Menu?

(4) — three records

Fine Art America
The First Thanksgiving In 1621
by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-first-thanksgiving-in-1621-by-ferris-artist-jean-leon-gerome-ferris.html
Note: For the painting.

The Real Story of The First Thanksgiving
by Joanne Camas
https://www.epicurious.com/holidays-events/the-real-story-of-the-first-thanksgiving-menu-recipes-article
Note: For the text and historical insights.

Fine Art Storehouse
First Thanksgiving
https://www.fineartstorehouse.com/photographers/frederic-lewis/first-thanksgiving-11428168.html
Note: A depiction of early settlers of the Plymouth Colony sharing a harvest Thanksgiving meal with members of the local Wampanoag tribe at the Plymouth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1621.

“To make victuals both more plentiful and comfortable”

(5) — two records

Mayflower Society Newsletter, July 2024
by Lisa H. Pennington, Governor General
Note: For the text cited in the article —
2024: The 400th Anniversary of the “Great Black Cow”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Young Herdsmen with Cows
by Aelbert Cuyp, circa 1655-1660
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436064
Note: For the painting image.

Adopted — A Day of For Thanksgiving

(6) — eight records

(WHE)
World History Encyclopedia
Thanksgiving Day: A Brief History
by Joshua J. Mark
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1646/thanksgiving-day-a-brief-history/
Note: For the text.

Godey’s Lady’s Book
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godey’s_Lady’s_Book
Note: For the cover image.

Sarah Josepha Hale
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale
Note: For the text, and her portrait.

The audio file housed at —
The Internet Archive
Mary had a little lamb
by Thomas Edison
https://archive.org/details/EDIS-SCD-02
Note: For the audio clip reference only.

The Public Domain Review
Edison reading Mary Had a Little Lamb (1927)
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/edison-reading-mary-had-a-little-lamb-1927/
Note: For the photograph of Thomas Edison, and the MP3 download link at the articles end for the actual audio file used in this chapter.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Lincoln and Thanksgiving
https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/Blog/Posts/169/Abraham-Lincoln/2022/11/Lincoln-and-Thanksgiving/blog-post/
Note: For the text and 1863 proclamation image.

Finally, Thanksgiving Dinner is Just Not Complete Without Pumpkin Pie!

(7) — one record

All records are family photographs, or ephemera. Below is a transcription of Marguerite’s Pumpkin Pie recipe exactly as she wrote it out —

The Pilgrims — The Native Peoples

This is Chapter Six of seven. Long before our ancestors had arrived in the New Plymouth, the native peoples who already lived there had more than a century of experience with the Europeans.

In the first chapter, The Pilgrims — Saints & Strangers, we briefly learned about some of the historical consequences of the Columbian Exchange. We were then choosing to apply a light touch to that history, but here in this chapter, we need to delve more deeply.

(The English Exporer) *Bartholemew Gosnold trading with the Wampanoag at Martha’s Vineyard,*
circa 1597. (Image courtesy of The Newberry Library).

The Americas and The Great Dying

“The first manifestation of the Columbian exchange may have been the spread of syphilis from the native people of the Caribbean Sea to Europe. The history of syphilis has been well-studied, but the origin of the disease remains a subject of debate.

There are two primary hypotheses: one proposes that syphilis was carried to Europe from the Americas by the crew of Christopher Columbus in the early 1490s, while the other proposes that syphilis previously existed in Europe but went unrecognized. The first written descriptions of syphilis in the Old World came in 1493. The first large outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494–1495 among the army of Charles VIII during its invasion of Naples. Many of the crew members who had served with Columbus had joined this army. After the victory, Charles’s largely mercenary army returned to their respective homes, spreading “the Great Pox” across Europe, which killed up to five million people.” (Wikipedia)

*This chart looks a bit heavy on the left side, doesn’t it?*
Data gathered was from Wikipedia, and The National Library of Medicine, United Kingdom.
(See footnotes).

The Columbian exchange of diseases towards the New World was far deadlier. The peoples of the Americas had previously had no exposure to Old World diseases and little or no immunity to them. An epidemic of swine influenza beginning in 1493 killed many of the Taino people inhabiting Caribbean islands. The pre-contact population of the island of Hispaniola was probably at least 500,000, but by 1526, fewer than 500 were still alive. Spanish exploitation was part of the cause of the near-extinction of the native people. (Wikipedia)

In 1518, smallpox was first recorded in the Americas and became the deadliest imported Old World disease. Forty percent of the 200,000 people living in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, later Mexico City, are estimated to have died of smallpox in 1520 during the war of the Aztecs with conquistador Hernán Cortés. Epidemics, possibly of smallpox, spread from Central America, devastated the population of the Inca Empire a few years before the arrival of the Spanish. The ravages of Old World diseases and Spanish exploitation reduced the Mexican population from an estimated 20 million to barely more than a million in the 16th century. (Wikipedia)

Known as the *Port St. Louis map*, by Samuel de Champlain, circa 1605. This image shows Patuxet before the plague of 1617. It was included in the book, *Les Voyages du Sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois,* 1613. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

“There is disagreement regarding the number of Native Peoples before the first Europeans set foot in North America, but approximately five to eighteen million is currently the best estimate, and a much larger population of over 100 million including throughout the Americas and West Indies is probable. The arrival of Europeans… resulted in a catastrophic “demographic collapse” of up to 95% of the indigenous population. By the beginning of the 20th Century, the number of Native Americans in this country had been reduced to about 237,000 people through disease, war, and relocation.” (See footnotes, Ipswich) (1)

Passage excerpted from: *Indian Narratives: Containing a Correct and Interesting History*
of the Indian Wars, *From the Landing of Our Pilgrim Fathers, 1620*. It was published in 1854,
by Henry Trumbull, Susannah Willard, and Zadock Steele. (See footnotes).

Closer to Home in New England

“The Wampanoag Tribe, also known as the People of the First Light, has inhabited present-day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years. In the 1600s, there were as many as 40,000 people in the 67 villages that made up the Wampanoag People, who firstly lived as a nomadic hunting and gathering culture. By about 1000 AD, archaeologists have found the first signs of agriculture, in particular the corn crop, which became an important staple, as did beans and squash.” (Mayflower 400)

Dr. Ian Saxine of Bridgewater State University, when interviewed near the time of the Mayflower’s 400th anniversary stated, “There is evidence that the inhabitants of the Outer Cape had interacted with European sailors from Portugal, England and France for at least 200 years. They traded, and at times, fought.” (GBH News) This area is shown on the right portion of the map below.

*Map of Wampanoag Country in the 1600s*.
Wampanoag territory in the 1600s was made up of about 67 villages, and this map shows some of them. The larger print shows the Wampanoag name, and the smaller print gives the modern name. (Map courtesy of Plimoth Patuxet Museums).

“Entire villages were lost and only a fraction of the Wampanoag Nation survived. This meant they were not only threatened by the effects of colonisation but vulnerable to rival tribes and struggled to fend off the neighbouring Narragansett, who had been less affected by this plague.

In the winter of 1616-17 an expedition dispatched by Sir Ferdinando Gorges found a region devastated by war and disease, the remaining people so “sore afflicted with the plague, for that the country was in a manner left void of inhabitants”. Two years later another Englishman found “ancient plantations” now completely empty with few inhabitants – and those that had survived were suffering.

In the years before the Mayflower arrived, the effects of colonization had already taken root.” (Mayflower 400)

Front cover and interior page from, Historical, Poetical and Pictorial American scenes:
Principally Moral and Religious: Being a Selection of Interesting Incidents in American History
*to Which is Added a Historical Sketch of Each of the United States*,
by John W. Barber and Elizabeth G. Barber, 1850. (Images courtesy of the Hathi Trust).

When the sickness came, the reduction of the population may have been incremental, episodic, and continuous, but in the end, it was relentless.
For the tribe with whom our family (mostly) interacted with, “the extraordinary impact of the Great Dying meant the Wampanoag had to reorganize its structure and the Sachems [the North American Indian chiefs] had to join together and build new unions.” (Mayflower 400)

“When we look back on the Aborigines, as the sole proprietors
of our soil, on the places which once knew them,
but are now to know them no more forever,
feelings of sympathy and sadness come over our souls.

In the light of history,
a tribe of men immortal as ourselves… have irrevocably
disappeared from the scenes and concerns of earth.
Joseph Felt writing in his 1834 book,
“History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton”

If you recall when we wrote in The Pilgrims — Saints & Strangers, we drew attention to the fact that people then had no concept of germ theory. The very healthy nature of the Native Peoples “proved their undoing, for they had built up no resistance, genetically or through childhood diseases, to the microbes that Europeans and Africans would bring to them. They did not cause the plague and were as baffled as to its origin as the stricken Indian villagers.

These epidemics probably constituted the most important geopolitical event of the early seventeenth century. Their net result was that the English, for their first fifty years in New England, would face no real Indian challenge.” (Lies My Teacher Told Me – LMTTM)

Drawing of a Wampanoag hut. (Image courtesy of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum).

Nature loves to exploit a new environmental niche, and viruses that complicate our lives are unintentionally skilled at exploiting new opportunities. We all know this, with the most recent example being the global SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

It was into this world of empty landscapes that Plimoth Plantation began. (2)

First Encounters With The Pilgrims

From the standpoint of the Native People, when the Pilgrims first arrived, their memories of some of their own having been taken prisoner and sold into slavery, led some to act aggressively. “The First Encounter… was not so much an attack on the English settlers as the Wampanoags defending themselves and their culture. Pilgrim records say the Nauset [a neighboring tribe of the Wampanoags] attacked once the Pilgrims had pulled their small boat ashore after spending the day exploring along the coast and were camped out near the beach. Although the Pilgrims and Nauset engaged in a brief firefight, there is no record of any deaths or injuries.

Saxine [of Bridgewater State University] said both sides felt they had won what was the first violent engagement between the Native Americans and the European settlers who would later colonize Plymouth. The Mayflower party felt that they had won because the Nauset fighters pulled back after this firefight,” Saxine said. “The Nauset probably felt they had won because the English people sailed away and left them alone.” (GBH News) (3)

The Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts on board the Mayflower,
November 1620 (painting), by W.J. Aylward. (Image courtesy of Historynet.com)

These People Were Different.

“The story of the Pilgrims… has been told primarily from the English colonists’ point of view. How the Native Americans felt about the colonists’ arrival in the New World has been mostly absent from the story.” (GBH News)

“Four hundred years ago, this newly organised People [after the Great Dying] watched as yet another ship arrived from the east. These people were different. The Wampanoag watched as women and children walked from the ship, using the waters to wash themselves. Never before had they seen Europeans engage in such an act. They watched cautiously as the men of this new ship explored their lands, finding what remained of Patuxet and building homes. They watched them take corn and beans, probably winter provisions, stored for the harsh conditions that were to come. The Wampanoag People did not react.

Given the horrific nature of the past years, the Wampanoag People were understandably wary of this new group. Months would pass before contact. But in this time, they would have recognised the opportunity for a new alliance to help them survive.” (Mayflower 400) (3)

Discovering Indian Corn …and Graves

In the book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, author Charles C. Mann, states to National Geographic —

“When the pilgrims arrived in Cape Cod, they were incredibly unprepared. “They were under the persistent belief that because New England is south of the Netherlands and southern England, it would therefore be warmer,” says Mann. “Then they showed up six weeks before winter with practically no food.” In a desperate state, the pilgrims robbed corn from Native Americans graves and storehouses soon after they arrived; but because of their overall lack of preparation, half of them still died within their first year.

If the pilgrims had arrived in Cape Cod three years earlier, they might not have found those abandoned graves and storehouses … in fact, they might not have had space to land. Europeans who sailed to New England in the early to mid-1610s found flourishing communities along the coast, and little room for themselves to settle. But by 1620, when the Mayflower arrived, the area looked abandoned.

“Having their guns and hearing nobody, they entered the houses and found the people were gone. The sailors took some things but didn’t dare stay. . . . We had meant to have left some beads and other things in the houses as a sign of peace and to show we meant to trade with them. But we didn’t do it because we left in such haste. But as soon as we can meet with the Indians, we will pay them well for what we took.”

“We marched to the place we called Cornhill, where we had found the corn before. At another place we had seen before, we dug and found some more corn, two or three baskets full, and a bag of beans. . . . In all we had about ten bushels, which will be enough for seed. It was with God’s help that we found this corn, for how else could we have done it, without meeting some Indians who might trouble us.”

“A couple of years before, there’d been an epidemic that wiped out most of the coastal population of New England, and Plymouth was on top of a village that had been deserted by disease,” says Mann. “The pilgrims didn’t know it, but they were moving into a cemetery,” he adds.

“The next morning, we found a place like a grave. We decided to dig it up. We found first a mat, and under that a fine bow. . . . We also found bowls, trays, dishes, and things like that. We took several of the prettiest things to carry away with us, and covered the body up again.”

“The newcomers did eventually pay the Wampanoags for the corn they had dug up and taken. Plymouth, unlike many other colonies, usually paid Indians for the land it took. In some instances Europeans settled in Indian towns because Natives had invited them, as protection against another tribe or a nearby competing European power.” (National Geographic, and LMTTM)

*Massasoit Meeting English Settlers*, from Lives of Famous Indian Chiefs by Norman B. Wood, 1906. (Image courtesy of Encyclopædia Britannica).

“…just as the Pilgrims don’t represent all English colonists, the Wampanoags, who feasted with them, don’t represent all Native Americans. The Pilgrims’ relations with the Narragansetts, or the Pequots, were completely different.” (National Endowment For The Humanities – NEFTH) (5)

The Wampanoag Confederacy of Massasoit Sachem

The history that has come down to us today, records four individuals who made important differences in the lives of the Pilgrims, and helped them to succeed with their new colony endeavors.

Massasoit was the Sachem, or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit Sachem means the Great Sachem. Although Massasoit was only his title, English colonists mistook it as his name and it stuck. Massasoit needed the Pilgrims just as much as they needed him. [His] people had been seriously weakened by a series of epidemics and were vulnerable to attacks by the Narragansetts, and he formed an alliance with the colonists at Plymouth Colony for defense against them. It was through his assistance that the Plymouth Colony avoided starvation during the early years.

At the time of the Pilgrims’ arrival in Plymouth, the realm of the Wampanoag, also known as the Pokanokets, included parts of Rhode Island and much of southeastern Massachusetts. Massasoit lived in Sowams, a village at Pokanoket in Warren, Rhode Island. He held the allegiance of lesser Pokanoket Sachems [chiefs].

Massasoit forged critical political and personal ties with colonial leaders William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Stephen Hopkins, John Carver, and Myles Standish, ties which grew out of a peace treaty negotiated on March 22, 1621. The alliance ensured that the Pokanokets remained neutral during the Pequot War in 1636. According to English sources, Massasoit prevented the failure of Plymouth Colony and the starvation that the Pilgrims faced during its earliest years.

Massasoit Sachem images, from left to right: Pilgrim Edward Winslow comforting Massasoit. Center: *A Map of New-England (Woodcut)*, attributed to John Foster 1677. Note: The crown, indicates the royal seat of Massassoit Sachem of the Wampanoags, and is drawn between the two branches of the Sowams River. Plimoth is nearby to the southeast. Right: 1902 postcard photo showing Profile Rock, *…it was thought to be that of the Wampanoag Chief Massasoit Sachem*. (See footnotes).

Massasoit was humane and honest, kept his word, and endeavored to imbue his people with a love for peace. He kept the Pilgrims advised of any warlike designs toward them by other tribes. It is unclear when Massasoit died. Some accounts claim that it was as early as 1660; others contend that he died as late as 1662. He was anywhere from 80 to 90 at the time.” (Wikipedia)

“In Winslow’s second published book, ‘Good Newes from New England (1624),’ he recounted at length nursing the Wampanoag leader Massasoit as he lay dying, even to the point of spoon-feeding him chicken broth.” (See footnotes, The Conversation) (6)

Samoset arriving at Plymouth Colony in 1621. (See footnotes).

Samoset, the Abenaki Native American

This is how we first learn of Samoset, “Yet, in March, a lone Indian warrior named Samoset appeared and greeted the settlers, improbably, in English. Soon, the Pilgrims formed an alliance with the Wampanoags and their chief, Massasoit. Only a few years before, the tribe had lost 50 to 90 percent of its population to an epidemic borne by European coastal fisherman. Devastated by death, both groups were vulnerable to attack or domination by Indian tribes. They needed each other.” (NEFTH)

He “was the Abenaki Native American who first approached the English settlers of Plymouth Colony in friendship, introducing them to [the] natives Squanto and Massasoit who would help save and sustain the colony.

He was a Sagamore (Chief) of the Eastern Abenaki, who was either visiting Massasoit or had been taken prisoner by him sometime before the Mayflower landed off the coast of modern-day Massachusetts in November 1620. Massasoit chose him to make first contact with the pilgrims in March of 1621, and he has been recognized since as instrumental in bringing the Native Americans of the Wampanoag Confederacy and English colonists of Plymouth together in a compact which would remain unbroken for the next 50 years.”

All that is known of Samoset comes from these works except for a passing mention by the explorer Captain Christopher Levett who met Samoset in 1624 at present-day Portland, Maine, and considered it an honor based on Samoset’s role in helping to sustain Plymouth Colony in 1621. Samoset was highly regarded by other English and European colonists following his appearance in Mourt’s Relation, published in 1622. (World History Encyclopedia) (7)

*Tisquantum. or Squanto, the Guide and Interpreter*
by Charles de Wolf Brownell, circa 1864. (See footnotes).

Tisquantum, Who is Also Known as Squanto

“A Native American called Tisquantum was born in 1580. He became known as Squanto and little is known of his early life. Some believe he was captured as a young man on the coast of what is now Maine by Captain George Weymouth in 1605. Weymouth was an Englishmen commissioned to explore the American coastline and thought his financial backers might like to see Native American people.

“What do most books leave out about Squanto? First, how he learned English. Squanto spent nine years [in England, with three years being in the employ of Ferdinando Gorges]. At length, Gorges helped Squanto arrange passage back to Massachusetts. Some historians doubt that Squanto was among the five Indians stolen in 1605. All sources agree, however, that in 1614 an English slave raider, Thomas Hunt, lured 24 Native Americans on board his ship under the premise of trade. Their number included Tisquantum. Hunt locked them up below deck, sailed for Spain and sold these people into the European slavery in Málaga, Spain. Squanto escaped from slavery, escaped from Spain, and made his way back to England.

Malaga, Spain, circa 1572, 40 years before Tisquantum was delivered there in slavery.
(Image courtesy of Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg).

After trying to get home via Newfoundland, in 1619 he talked Thomas Dermer into taking him along on his next trip to Cape Cod as an interpreter. He searched for his homeland but tragically, he arrived as the Great Dying reached its horrific climax. His tribe had all been wiped out two years before.. His home village, Patuxet, was lost. — No wonder Squanto threw in his lot with the Pilgrims.” (LMTTM and Mayflower 400)

“Squanto’s travels acquainted him with more of the world than any Pilgrim encountered. He had crossed the Atlantic perhaps six times, twice as an English captive, and had lived in Maine, Newfoundland, Spain, and England, as well as Massachusetts.”
Excerpted from Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen, page 88.

“As translator, ambassador, and technical advisor, Squanto was essential to the survival of Plymouth in its first two years. Like other Europeans in America, the Pilgrims had no idea what to eat or how to raise or find food until American Indians showed them. [Massasoit was, as the Great Sachem of the Wampanoag Confederacy, the one who sent Tisquantum (Squanto) to live among the Pilgrim colonists.]

William Bradford called Squanto “a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation. He directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit.” Squanto was not the Pilgrims’ only aide: in the summer of 1621 Massasoit sent another Indian, Hobomok, to live among the Pilgrims for several years as guide and ambassador.” (LMTTM)

Importantly, we learned that he “… facilitated understandings between the colony and its native neighbors and established trade relations with a number of villages.” (Wikipedia)

*Pilgrim Fathers and Squanto, the Friendly Indian*,
after an Illustration by C. W. Jefferys, 1926. (See footnotes).

“With spring, under the careful guidance of a Wampanoag friend, Tisquantum, the settlers planted corn, squash, and beans, with herring for fertilizer. They began building more houses, fishing for cod and bass, and trading with the Native Americans. By October, they had erected seven crude houses and four common buildings.” (NEFTH) (8)

Hobomok, A ‘Pneise’ of the Pokanoket

Almost nothing is known about Hobomok before he began living with the English settlers who arrived aboard the Mayflower. His name was variously spelled in 17th century documents and today is generally simplified as Hobomok, or Hobbamock. He was known as a Pneise, which means he was an elite warrior of the Algonquin people of Eastern Massachusetts. Also, he was a member of the Pokanoket tribe… whom Sachem Massasoit had authority over. William Bradford described him as “a proper lustie man, and a man of accounte for his vallour and parts amongst thed Indeans.”

“Hobomak is known to us primarily for his rivalry with Squanto, who lived with the settlers before him. He was greatly trusted by Myles Standish, the colony’s military commander, and he joined with Standish in a military raid against the Massachuset” [a neighboring tribe].

*The March of Miles Standish,* Postcard image published by Armstrong & Co.
(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, see footnotes).

Both Bradford and Winslow first record Hobomok’s actions in connection with a crisis in which Squanto was thought to have been kidnapped and possibly murdered. Long story short is that there were ongoing rival factions for control among the various Native nations, and therefore there was an attempt to have Massasoit driven “from his country.” Hobomak aided Miles Standish “to raid Nemasket at night to round up Corbitant and any accomplices.” This was a messy confrontation, but Squanto was released, and Massasoit remained as Sachem.

However, “The affair left the colony feeling exposed. They decided to protect the settlement by taking down tall trees, dragging them from the forest and sinking them in deep holes closely bound to prevent arrows from passing through. [This was the building of a stockade.] Moreover, Standish divided the men into four squadrons and drilled them on how to respond to an emergency, including instructions on how to remain armed and alert to a native attack even during a fire in the town.” (Adapted from Wikipedia)

An artist’s conception of the Plymouth Colony by 1630. (See footnotes).

“Hobomok helped Plymouth set-up fur trading posts at the mouth of the Penobscot and Kennebec rivers in Maine; in Aputucxet, Massachusetts, and in Windsor, Connecticut.” If you recall, the underwriters in London who had financed the voyage of the Mayflower still need to be reimbursed by the Pilgrims. The income generated by the sale and shipment of these fur skins back to the Europeans, helped to alleviate those debts. (LMTTM) (9)

Very Faithful in Their Covenant of Peace

When have written previously that it appeared that the demeanor of the Pilgrims had shifted during their years in Leyden, Holland. Perhaps after all of their harrowing experiences since they left there, some of them were becoming less strident in their views? We observed that instead of viewing the Native Peoples in America as Others — as they themselves had been treated in England — an appreciation and tolerance toward those who are different from them, had begun to take hold.

Left image: *Portrait of Plymouth Colony Governor Edward Winslow*, Attributed to the school of Robert Walker, circa 1651. Right image: *Hand-colored woodcut of Edward Winslow visiting Chief Massasoit*. (See footnotes).

“At the same time, Pilgrims did not actively seek the conversion of Native Americans. According to scholars like [Nathaniel] Philbrick, English author Rebecca Fraser and [Mark] Peterson, the Pilgrims appreciated and respected the intellect and common humanity of Native Americans.

An early example of Pilgrim respect for the humanity of Native Americans came from the pen of Edward Winslow. Winslow was one of the chief Pilgrim founders of Plymouth. In 1622, just two years after the Pilgrims’ arrival, he published in the mother country the first book about life in New England, “Mourt’s Relation.”

While opining that Native Americans “are a people without any religion or knowledge of God,” he nevertheless praised them for being “very trusty, quick of apprehension, ripe witted, just.” Winslow added that “we have found the Indians very faithful in their covenant of peace with us; very loving. … we often go to them, and they come to us; some of us have been fifty miles by land in the country with them.” (See footnotes, The Conversation)

“These epidemics probably constituted the most important geopolitical event of the early seventeenth century. Their net result was that the English, for their first fifty years in New England, would face no real Indian challenge.” (LMTTM) (10)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

The Americas and The Great Dying

(1) — eight records

The Newberry Library
(The English Exporer) Bartholomew Gosnold trading with
Wampanoag Indians at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
by Theodor de Bay, circa 1597
https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/nby_eeayer/id/3563
Note: For the image.

Post-Columbian Transfer of Diseases chart, sources —
Columbian Exchange
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange
Note: For the text and the image of, Sixteenth-century Aztec drawings
of victims of smallpox, from the Florentine Codex.
and
New Hypothesis for Cause of Epidemic among Native Americans,
New England, 1616–1619
by John S. Marr and John T. Cathey
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2957993/
Note: For the data, “…leptospirosis complicated by Weil syndrome, a rare but severe bacterial infection, spread by non-native black rats that arrived on the settlers’ ships.”
and
Smithsonian Magazine
Alfred W. Crosby on the Columbian Exchange
by Megan Gambino
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/alfred-w-crosby-on-the-columbian-exchange-98116477/?no-ist
Note: For the bottom image.

Library of Congress
Les voyages dv sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois,
capitaine ordinaire pour le Roy, en la marine. Divisez en devx livres.
ou, Iovrnal tres-fidele des observations faites és descouuertures
de la Nouuelle France
by Samuel de Champlain, circa 1605
https://www.loc.gov/item/22006274/
Book page: 80, Digital page: 112/436
Note: For book frontipiece and credits.
and
Plimoth Patuxet Museums
Port St. Louis (map)
https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-1/port-st-louis
Note: For the text and map.

(Ipswich)
Historic Ipswich
The Great Dying 1616-1619, “By God’s visitation, a Wonderful Plague.”
https://historicipswich.net/2023/11/17/the-great-dying/

Indian Narratives: Containing a Correct and Interesting History of the Indian Wars,
From the Landing of Our Pilgrim Fathers, 1620, circa 1854
by Henry Trumbull, Susannah Willard, and Zadock Steele
https://archive.org/details/indiannarrative00steegoog/page/n10/mode/2up
Book page: 76, Digital page: 87/295
Note: For the text.

Closer to Home in New England

(2) — seven records

Mayflower 400
Native America and the Mayflower: 400 years of Wampanoag History
https://www.mayflower400uk.org/education/native-america-and-the-mayflower-400-years-of-wampanoag-history/
Note: For the text.

GBH News
Reframing The Story Of The First Encounter Between
Native Americans And The Pilgrims
by Bob Seay
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2019-11-28/reframing-the-story-of-the-first-encounter-between-native-americans-and-the-pilgrims
Note: For the text.

Plimoth Patuxet Museums
Map of Wampanoag Country in the 1600s
https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-1/map-of-wampanoag-country-in-the-1600s
Note: For the map image.

Hathi Trust
Historical, Poetical and Pictorial American scenes:
Principally Moral and Religious: Being a Selection of Interesting Incidents in American History to Which is Added a Historical Sketch of Each of the United States, 1850
by John W. Barber and Elizabeth G. Barber
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t00057646&seq=199
Book page: 183, Digital page: 199/254
Note: For the text and the image.

History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton
by Joseph Barlow Felt, 1834
https://archive.org/details/historyofipswich00felt/page/2/mode/2up
Book page: 2, Digital page: 24/404
Note: For the text (pull-quote).

(LMTTM)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note: Chapter 3: “The Truth About The First Thanksgiving”

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
https://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/en
Note: For the illustration of the Wampanoag hut.

First Encounters With The Pilgrims

(3) — two records

GBH News
Reframing The Story Of The First Encounter Between Native Americans And The Pilgrims
by Bob Seay
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2019-11-28/reframing-the-story-of-the-first-encounter-between-native-americans-and-the-pilgrims
Note: For the text.

The Pilgrims arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts on board the Mayflower,
November 1620 (painting)
by W.J. Aylward
https://www.historynet.com/how-collectivism-nearly-sunk-colonies/landing-of-the-pilgrims/
Note: For the painting image.

These People Were Different.

(4) — two records

Discovering Indian Corn …and Graves

(5) — five records

National Geographic
A few things you (probably) don’t know about Thanksgiving
by Becky Little
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/151121-first-thanksgiving-pilgrims-native-americans-wampanoag-saints-and-strangers
Note: For the text.

Interesting Events in the History of The United States: being a selection of
the most important and interesting events which have transpired…
by John Warner Barber, 1798-1885
https://archive.org/details/intereventshistus00barbrich/page/n5/mode/2up
Note: For text and the illustration, Discovering Indian Corn.

(LMTTM)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note 1: Chapter 3 for text, The Truth About The First Thanksgiving
Note 2: The travel map for Squanto was adapted from graphics on page 88.

Encyclopædia Britannica
Wampanoag People
Massasoit Meeting English Settlers
from ‘Lives of Famous Indian Chiefs’ by Norman B. Wood, 1906
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wampanoag#/media/1/635211/179338
Note: For the image.

(NEFTH)
The National Endowment For The Humanities
Who Were the Pilgrims Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving?
by Craig Lambert
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/who-were-the-pilgrims-who-celebrated-the-first-thanksgiving
Note: For the text.

The Wampanoag Confederacy of Massasoit Sachem

(6) — seven records

Primary Source Learning:
The Wampanoag, the Plimoth Colonists & the First Thanksgiving
https://primarysourcenexus.org/2021/11/primary-source-learning-wampanoag-plimoth-colonists-first-thanksgiving/
Note: For the image of Massasoit And His Warriors

Massasoit
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasoit
Note: For the text.

The Conversation
The First Pilgrims and the Puritans Differed in Their Views on Religion,
Respect for Native Americans
by Michael Carrafiello
https://theconversation.com/how-the-first-pilgrims-and-the-puritans-differed-in-their-views-on-religion-and-respect-for-native-americans-240974
Note: For the text.

Images for the Massasoit collage —
Hathi Trust
Historical, Poetical and Pictorial American scenes:
Principally Moral and Religious: Being a Selection of Interesting Incidents in American History to Which is Added a Historical Sketch of Each of the United States, 1850
by John W. Barber and Elizabeth G. Barber
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiuo.ark:/13960/t00057646&seq=32
Book page: 16, Digital page: 32/254
Note: For the image of Massasoit.
and
The Massachusetts Historical Society
A Map of New-England (Woodcut)
Attributed to John Foster, 1677
https://www.masshist.org/database/68
Note 1: Originally published in William Hubbard’s Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians. Note 2: The Crown, indicates the royal seat of Massassoit, the Sachem of the Wampanoags, and is drawn between the two branches of the Sowams River.
and
File:Profile Rock (Assonet).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Profile_Rock_(Assonet).jpg
Note 1: Image, 1902 postcard photo showing Profile Rock; scanned from a private collection.
Note 2: …it was thought to be that of the Wampanoag Chief Massasoit Sachem, from: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/profile-rock

Samoset, the Abenaki Native American

(7) — two records

Samoset
Samoset arriving at Plymouth Colony in 1621
by Artist unknown
https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Samoset/601202

World History Encyclopedia
Samoset
https://www.worldhistory.org/Samoset/
Note: For the text.

Tisquantum, Who is Also Known as Squanto

(8) — seven records

Antique Print Club
Tisquantum. or Squanto, the Guide and Interpreter
by Charles de Wolf Brownell, circa 1864
https://www.antiqueprintclub.com/Products/Antique-Prints/Historic-Views-People/Americas-Canada/Tisquantum-or-Squanto,-the-guide-and-interpreter-c.aspx
Note 1: For the antique image of Tisquantum. or Squanto.
Note 2: “Rare wood engraving with contemporary hand color, from Charles de Wolf Brownell’s ‘The Indian Races of North and South America: comprising an account of the principal aboriginal races; a description of their national customs, mythology, and religious ceremonies; the history of their most powerful tribes, and of their most celebrated chiefs and warriors…’,
published in Hartford, Connecticut in 1864 by Hurlbut, Scranton & Co.”

Artwork of Málaga in 1572 —
40 years before Tisquantum was delivered there in slavery
Extracted from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto
Notes: Georg Braun; Frans Hogenberg: Civitates Orbis Terrarum, Band 1, 1572 (Ausgabe Beschreibung vnd Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt, Köln 1582; [VD16-B7188) Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg

(LMTTM)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note 1: Chapter 3: “The Truth About The First Thanksgiving”
Note 2: For the map from page 88, which we adapted for this chapter.

Pilgrim Fathers and Squanto, the Friendly Indian
after an Illustration by C. W. Jefferys, 1926
https://www.art.com/products/p53691947530-sa-i8600719/pilgrim-fathers-and-squanto-the-friendly-indian-after-an-illustration-by-c-w-jefferys-1926.htm
Note: For the illustration.

Hobbamock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbamock#Hobomok_comes_to_live_with_English
Note: For the text about Squanto.

Hobomok, A Pneise of the Pokanoket

(9) — three records

Hobbamock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobbamock#Hobomok_comes_to_live_with_English
Note: For the text.

The Conversation
The First Pilgrims and the Puritans Differed in Their Views on Religion, Respect for Native Americans
by Michael Carrafiello
https://theconversation.com/how-the-first-pilgrims-and-the-puritans-differed-in-their-views-on-religion-and-respect-for-native-americans-240974
Note: For the text.

Very Faithful in Their Covenant of Peace

(10) — three records

Hand-colored woodcut of Edward Winslow visiting Chief Massasoit.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/11/19/after-first-thanksgiving-things-went-downhill/vvDRodh9iKU7IB2Wegjt8J/story.html
Note: For the image.

The British Empire
Plymouth Colony in 1630
https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/massachusetts/massachusetts3.htm
Note: For the image.

Portrait of Plymouth Colony Governor Edward Winslow
Attributed to the school of Robert Walker, circa 1651
File:Edward Winslow.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Winslow.jpg
Note: For the portrait of Edward Winslow.

The Pilgrims — Plimoth Plantation

This is Chapter Five of seven. In this chapter we are going to share some of the knowledge we’ve gained about what it was like to live in the new ‘Plimouth’ Plantation, but first an interesting history that is quite literally, about a rock.

But now, God knows, Anything Goes!

Times have changed / And we’ve often rewound the clock / Since the Puritans got the shock / When they landed on Plymouth Rock
If today / Any shock they should try to stem / ’Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock / Plymouth Rock would land on them!

In 1934, Cole Porter wrote the classic Broadway musical Anything Goes!, and it was quite an enormous hit with the Depression Era audiences. In fact, some of those catchy songs are still popular to this day. However, he got the introductory details in the lyrics just a little off in the title song.

The Puritans didn’t land at Plymouth Rock. Our ancestors the Pilgrims did — or did they?

Stereoscopic card image, circa 1925. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

When you first lay eyes on Plymoth Rock, you can’t help but think, Is that all there is? (Cue singer Peggy Lee). It’s actually just pretty much a boulder. Even when you take a hopeful photograph wishing that through the magic of your camera, it will be… somehow more photogenic. It still ends up looking underwhelming — just like a rock from somebody’s yard down the street.

There are historical reasons for this. (1)

The Real Story of Behind Plymouth Rock

“There’s the inconvenient truth that no historical evidence exists to confirm Plymouth Rock as the Pilgrims’ steppingstone to the New World. Leaving aside the fact that the Pilgrims first made landfall on the tip of Cape Cod in November 1620 before sailing to safer harbors in Plymouth the following month, William Bradford and his fellow Mayflower passengers made no written references to setting foot on a rock as they disembarked to start their settlement on a new continent.

It wasn’t until 1741—121 years after the arrival of the Mayflower—that a 10-ton boulder in Plymouth Harbor was identified as the precise spot where Pilgrim feet first trod. The claim was made by 94-year-old Thomas Faunce, a church elder who said his father, who arrived in Plymouth in 1623, and several of the original Mayflower passengers assured him the stone was the specific landing spot. When the elderly Faunce heard that a wharf was to be built over the rock, he wanted a final glimpse. He was conveyed by chair 3 miles from his house to the harbor, where he reportedly gave Plymouth Rock a tearful goodbye. Whether Faunce’s assertion was accurate oral history or the figment of a doddering old mind, we don’t know.

By the 1770s, just a few years after Faunce made his declaration, Plymouth Rock had already become a tangible monument to freedom. As a revolutionary fever swept through Plymouth in 1774, some of the town’s most zealous patriots sought to enlist Plymouth Rock in the cause. With 20 teams of oxen at the ready, the colonists attempted to move the boulder from the harbor to a liberty pole in front of the town’s meetinghouse. As they tried to load the rock onto a carriage, however, it accidentally broke in two. The bottom portion of Plymouth Rock was left embedded on the shoreline, while the top half was moved to the town square.

On July 4, 1834, Plymouth Rock was on the move again, this time a few blocks north to the front lawn of the Pilgrim Hall Museum. And once again, the boulder had a rough ride. While passing the courthouse, the rock fell from a cart and broke in two on the ground. The small iron fence encircling Plymouth Rock did little to discourage the stream of souvenir seekers from wielding their hammers and chisels to get a piece of the rock. (Even today, chips off the old block are strewn across the country in places such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn.)

The long history of the Plymouth Rock in images.
Clockwise from the top left: The painting *Memorial Housing the Plymouth Rock*, (which was built circa 1920), the wharf which was built over the Rock, circa 1860s, a lithographic print of passengers arriving, Plymouth Rock in front of Pilgrim Hall, circa 1834, (note the painted numerals) and from the Historical Marker Database, the Plymouth Rock Marker. (See footnotes).

Finally, in 1880, at the same time that an America torn asunder by the Civil War was stitching itself back together, the top of Plymouth Rock was returned to the harbor and reunited with its base. The date ‘1620’ was carved on the stone’s surface, replacing painted numerals.

In conjunction with the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival, Plymouth’s Rock’s current home, which resembles a Roman temple, was constructed. The boulder now rests on a sandy bed 5 feet below street level, encased in an enclosure like a zoo animal. Given all the whittling and the accidents, Plymouth Rock is estimated to be only a third or half of its original size, and only a third of the stone is visible, with the rest buried under the sand. A prominent cement scar is a reminder of the boulder’s tumultuous journeys around town.” (History.com) (2)

*The Landing of the Pilgrims* by Henry Bacon, 1877. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).
**Comment:** Was Plymouth Rock ever really this big? Or was the painter Henry Bacon just *inspired*?

English Clothing in the 1620s: Not What You Think

“Many people think the Pilgrims always wore black clothes. This may be because in many images of the time, people are shown wearing black clothes. This is because in the 1620s, the best clothes were often black, and people usually had their portraits painted while wearing their best clothes. It was not easy to dye cloth a solid, long-lasting black. It took a great deal of skill. People kept clothes made of such beautiful, expensive cloth for special occasions. Everyday clothes were made of many colors. Brown, brick red, yellow and blue were common. Other clothes were made of cloth that was not dyed. These clothes were gray or white, the natural color of the cloth.” (Plimoth Pautuxet)

***Let’s just clarify something here at the get go —***
***The Pilgrims were not Puritans, even though they are sometimes labeled as such***
by ***writers and artists from the past. (They just dressed similarly).***

*A Puritan Woman, About 1640* and *A Puritan Man, About 1640*.
These cards are from WD & HO Wills, a British tobacco company founded in 1786.
(The series is from 1929, *English Period Costumes*).
***Note:*** The man’s clothing would likely have been more colorful, despite the fact that many Victorian era illustrators have frequently portrayed the Pilgrims as wearing black.

“Men wore a short jacket called a doublet, which was attached to breeches (which are knee-length pants), to form a suit. Usually they were made of wool cloth or linen canvas. A felt hat often completed the outfit. At the time when the Pilgrims first arrived in Massachusetts, colors were fashionable, and the colonists wore various hues. The wardrobe of colonist William Brewster, for example, included a pair of green trousers and a violet-colored coat.

Women colonists wore elaborate multi-layered outfits: a corset, multiple petticoats, stockings, a dress over those items, and a waistcoat or apron. They also wore linen caps called coifs over their hair, and felt hats as well.” (WordPress, George Soule History) (3)

The Everyday Life of The Settlers

Historian Carla Pestana shares her thoughts on their everyday lives with this story, and reflects on how the world they lived in, was quickly changing —

“One thing I got fascinated with was the everyday reality of the settlers’ lives. In the book, I tell the story of a man named Thomas Hallowell who gets called before the grand jury in Plymouth in 1638 because he’s wearing red stockings. The reason why his neighbors call him on this is that they know he doesn’t own red stockings and has no honest way to acquire them. So they think it needs to be looked into. When he’s called into court, he immediately confesses, yes, I was up in the very new town of Boston. I saw these stockings laying over a windowsill, drying, and I pocketed them, and brought them back to Plymouth, and put them on, and wore them in front of my neighbors, who knew I didn’t have them.

That story tells you so much. The neighbors knew exactly what clothes he had, because clothes were really scarce and valuable. The materials to make clothing were not locally available, at first, and so it all has to be imported, which means that it’s expensive. Mostly they have to make do with what they have.

There were lots of references in letters, accounts, and even in the court records about people and their clothing, and about having to provide a suit of clothes to somebody, or having some shoes finally arrive on a ship, and what they’re able to do because the shoes have arrived. You’d think, shoes arrived, no big deal, but the shoes don’t just make themselves!

Cloth was is coming in, and it’s being traded with Native hunters, and it’s being used by local people to make clothes. They try to get sheep, so they can have wool and start making woolen cloth. All of this trade is connecting them to other places, where sheep are available, or skills are available, or the cloth is coming from, or the shoes are coming from. That little story about this man’s stockings really tells us so much.

Changes were happening in the wider world, of which they were part. English people are in Virginia and Bermuda. The English are going in and out of the Caribbean all the time, and thinking about setting up settlements down there. Fisherman operating off the Grand Banks and in the northern fisheries are always stumbling into Plymouth. Then shortly after Plymouth, the New Amsterdam [Manhattan Island] colony was founded so English have these not-too-distant European neighbors from the Netherlands. French fishing boats are constantly in the region, so there’s all kinds of activity, and people coming and going.

Woodcut engraving of 17th Century New England Cod-fishing.
(Image courtesy of Granger Art On Demand).

Almost immediately after Plymouth is founded, other peoples from England say, ‘Well, we can go there, too. We don’t need to be part of Plymouth, but we can go to that region, and actually mooch off of Plymouth for a while for food and supplies, and then go set up a trading post somewhere else.’ ” (Smithsonian) (4)

New England’s Great Migration Had Started

The eventual success of the Plimoth Plantation caught the attention of many investors and immigrants back home in England. The inset detail (below) is excerpted from the famous 1676 Map of New York and New England by John Speed of London. (And no, that dark spec next to the ‘New Plymouth’ name is not the Plymouth Rock before it went on all of its adventures).

As part of The Great Migration, a map like this, with all of the various harbors already named, helped familiarize people with this strange new world they had been hearing about.“It depicts the territories acquired by the British with the capture of New Amsterdam in 1664, which changed European influence in the colonies from the Dutch to the English. It is the first appearance of the name Boston, and the first map to use the term New York for both Manhattan and the colony.”

Inset detail showing the town of New Plymouth,
from *A Map of New England and New York*, by John Speed, circa 1676.
(Image courtesy of Raremaps.com).

“The Great Migration Study Project uses 1620 — the date of the arrival of the Mayflower — as its starting point. The peak years lasted just over ten years — from 1629 to 1640, years when the Puritan crisis in England reached its height.

Motivated primarily by religious concerns, most Great Migration colonists traveled to Massachusetts in family groups. In fact, the proportion of Great Migration immigrants who traveled in family groups is the highest in American immigrant history. Consequently, New England retained a normal, multi-generational structure with relatively equal numbers of men and women. At the time they left England, many husbands and wives were in their thirties and had three or more children, with more yet to be born.

Great Migration colonists shared other distinctive characteristics. New Englanders had a high level of literacy, perhaps nearly twice that of England as a whole. New Englanders were highly skilled; more than half of the settlers had been artisans or craftsmen. Only about seventeen percent came as servants, mostly as members of a household.” (American Ancestors) (5)

Let’s Put A Pin In That (Place) Name!

We have come across some name variations about the place where the Pilgrims established their colony, which seem to cause a bit of confusion. We believe that these names depend upon the era in which the history was written, so we have sorted them out a bit.

Plymouth
This is the location of the eventual (future) town on Cape Cod Bay where the Pilgrims established their settlement.

Plimoth Plantation, or Plymouth Plantation
This is name with which Governor William Bradford described their settlement in his journal Of Plimoth Plantation. This old-fashioned spelling was soon supplanted with the more modern spelling: Plymouth Plantation.

Plimoth Colony, or Plymouth Colony
Whether the Name is spelled as Plimoth, or Plymouth depends upon your source material, (and your computer’s fussy spell-check programming). They are the same place, just not the same spelling.

New Plimoth, or New Plymouth
Again, the same place. Some people have assumed that the Pilgrims named Plymouth after the English port city they knew. Actually, John Smith had already named the area New Plimouth on his 1616 map. See the chapter, The Pilgrims — A Mayflower Voyage.

Contemporary photograph of the Plimoth Patuxet historical site.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

Plimoth Patuxet
This is the name of the museum and present day historical (replica village) site near the town of Plymouth. It is viewed as a more accurate representation of the cultures that co-existed at that time. “For the 12,000 years that the Wampanoag lived in and around what is now Plymouth, they called the land Patuxet, meaning ‘place of running water’ in the Wampanoag language. This land that is both Patuxet and Plymouth speaks to the emergence of an Indigenous-English hybrid society that existed here – in conflict and in collaboration – in the 17th century.” (See footnotes, The Enterprise) (6)

William Bradford’s 1620 Sketch of Plymouth

For our two Pilgrim ancestors — George Soule and Edward Doty — we have only been able to discern where the Soule family home was specifically located. We started with William Bradford’s 1620 Sketch of Plymouth, upon which he noted the two primary roads: one labeled the Streete, and the other the High Way. On this sketch, he also indicated where some homes were built, or intended to be built since it was Winter time.

The second map is from the 19th century. If you look closely, you can see that First Street (the Streete), had a name change to Leyden Street. This happened in 1823, when it was renamed in honor of Leiden, Holland.

Four different plat drawings showing the original housing sites for various Pilgrim families. Top row, left: William Bradford’s original drawing, *“The meersteads & garden plots of which came first layed out 1620,” is the only known map of the original town layout.”* Top row right: 19th century, origin unknown. Bottom row, left: This drawing was originally published in *“The Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas), November 21, 1966*. Bottom row, right: Origin unknown. (See footnotes).

The third sketch is from the 20th century and is an aerial view of the Plymouth Plantation* for a November 1966 newspaper article in the Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas). The George Soule home is tucked into the upper corner.
*Now known as the Plimoth Patuxet Museum, it opened in 1947.

Lastly, the image shown below at the lower right, appears as if it is from the mid-20th century. Note how several more homesites are accounted for, which earlier documents had not yet indicted. This brings us to any interesting point — it was a big challenge to work out exactly where the Soule house was, because all of these maps / had different authors / in different eras / with different purposes. Even the modern aerial photograph below does not account for a couple of new home additions to the Plimoth Patuxet site. (7)

The George and Mary Soule house as shown situated within *Plimoth Patuxet Museum* site. (Background image borrowed from Axiom Images, Aerial Stock Photos).

Leyden Street

In the last few years, archeologists have determined that the original location of Plimoth Plantation was likely Leyden Street in the present town of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

From the article See Plymouth, “The Pilgrims began laying out the street before Christmas in 1620 after disembarking from the Mayflower. The original settlers built their houses along the street from the shore up to the base of Burial Hill where the original fort building was located and now is the site of a cemetery and First Church of Plymouth.

Leyden Street is a street in Plymouth, Massachusetts that was created in 1620 by the Pilgrims, and claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited street in the Thirteen Colonies of British America. It was originally named First Street, …named Leyden Street in 1823.” (See Plymouth) (8)

Left image: Leyden Street in the 1800s from a period stereographic photo. Right image: This is a contemporary tourist map which shows the locations of the original Plimouth Colony, where the streets William Bradford sketched are still in use. The arrow indicates the distance to the *Plimoth Patuxet Museum* site — about 3.2 miles, or 5 kilometers.

If you recall from previous chapters, we learned that the British nobility were interested in developing these American colonies so that they could extract resources and bring those resources back to Europe to make money — and — the Pilgrims also had a responsibility to pay off their debts to the underwriters, who had financed their Mayflower voyage.

This transactional relationship required our ancestors to learn and develop new skills to prosper in this, their new home. They owe much of this success to the help of The Native Peoples.

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

But now, God knows, Anything Goes!

(1) — three records

Anything Goes! (lyrics)
by Cole Porter
https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/anythinggoes/anythinggoes.htm

Ella Fitzgerald – Anything Goes (Verve Records 1956)
We believe that the best version of this song, is this one.
Click on the link to listen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NTO2n35Xo0

Library of Congress
Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Mass. digital file from original
https://www.loc.gov/resource/stereo.1s13324/
Note: For the stereo scope image, circa 1925.

Plymouth Rock

(2) — eight records

History.com
The Real Story Behind Plymouth Rock
by Christopher Klein
https://www.history.com/news/the-real-story-behind-plymouth-rock
Note: For much of the text. Thanks Chris!

Colonial Quills
Saving Plymouth Rock
Massacusetts, Landing at Plymouth 1620
https://colonialquills.blogspot.com/2014/12/saving-plymouth-rock.html
Note: For the boat landing artwork.

The long history of Plymouth Rock in images,
with the five references which follow—
Memorial Housing the Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts
by E. Mote
https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/memorial-housing-the-plymouth-rock-plymouth-massachusetts-147875
Note: For the Roman temple-like image which houses the Plymouth Rock.

Library of Congress
Where the pilgrims landed, Plymouth Rock and Cole’s Hill, Plymouth, Mass., U.S.A.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2018649923/
Note: For the wharf image.

Library of Congress
Plymouth Rock, in front of Pilgrim Hall, “1834” b&w film copy neg.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b43231/
Note: For the painted 1620 numerals image.

Mediastorehouse.com
Mayflower passengers landing at Plymouth Rock, 1620
https://www.mediastorehouse.com/north-wind-picture-archives/american-history/mayflower-passengers-landing-plymouth-rock-1620-5877623.html
Note: For the disembarking passengers image.

The Historical Marker Database
1. Plymouth Rock Marker
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2896
Note: For the photograph.

The Landing of the Pilgrims
by Henry Bacon, circa 1877
File:The Landing of the Pilgrims (1877) by Henry A. Bacon.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Landing_of_the_Pilgrims_(1877)_by_Henry_A._Bacon.jpg
Note: For the painting image.

English Clothing in the 1620s: Not What You Think

(3) — five records

Plimoth Patuxet Museums
What to Wear?
English Clothing in the 1620s: Not What You Think
https://plimoth.org/for-students/homework-help/what-to-wear
Note: For the text.

George Soule History
Colony Lifestyle: Clothing
https://georgesoulehistory.wordpress.com/tag/mayflower/
Note 1: For the adapted text.
Note 2: Furthermore, it appear that this text above was adapted (or vice-versa), from:
What Did the Pilgrims Wear?
by Rebecca Beatrice Brooks
https://historyofmassachusetts.org/what-did-pilgrims-wear/

A Puritan Woman, About 1640 and A Puritan Man, About 1640.
These cards are from WD & HO Wills, a British tobacco company founded in 1786. (The series is from 1929, English Period Costumes).
Notes: Sources vary. For some of the text, see: https://tommies-militaria-and-collectables.myshopify.com/collections/wd-ho-wills-cigarette-cards For the card images; Google searches, such as: https://www.breakoutcards1.co.uk/a-puritan-woman-about-1640-24-english-period-costumes-1929-wills-card

The Everyday Life of The Settlers

(4) — three records

Smithsonian Magazine
Why the Myths of Plymouth Dominate the American Imagination
by Karin Wulf
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-myths-plymouth-dominate-american-imagination-180976396/
Note: For the text.

Interview of Samoset With The Pilgrims, book engraving
by Artist unknown, circa 1853
File:Interview of Samoset with the Pilgrims.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interview_of_Samoset_with_the_Pilgrims.jpg
Note: For the image of Interview of Samoset With The Pilgrims

Granger Art On Demand
Woodcut engraving of 17th Century New England Cod-fishing
https://grangerartondemand.com/featured/cod-fishing-17th-century-granger.html
Note: For the illustration. Woodcut engraving, American, 1876.

New England’s Great Migration Had Started

(5) — three records

A Map of New England and New York
by John Speed, circa 1676
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/33805/a-map-of-new-england-and-new-york-speed
Note: For the map image.

Alexandre Antique Prints, Maps & Books
John Speed
A Map of New England and New York.
https://www.alexandremaps.com/pages/books/M8290/john-speed/a-map-of-new-england-and-new-york
Note: For the history of the John Speed map.“It depicts the territories acquired by the British with the capture of New Amsterdam in 1664, which changed European influence in the colonies from the Dutch to the English.. It is the first appearance of name Boston, and the first map to use the term New York for both Manhattan and the colony.”
Note: For the text.

American Ancestors
New England’s Great Migration
by Lynn Fetlock
https://www.americanancestors.org/new-englands-great-migration
Note: For the text.

Let’s Put A Pin In That (Place) Name!

(6) — three records

Of Plymouth Plantation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Plymouth_Plantation#:~:text=Of%20Plymouth%20Plantation%20is%20a,the%20colony%20which%20they%20founded.
Note: For the text.

The Enterprise
Why was Plimoth Plantation changed to Plimoth Patuxet Museums?
https://eu.enterprisenews.com/story/news/history/2024/03/21/why-was-plimoth-plantation-changed-to-plimoth-patuxet-museums/72710390007/
Note: For the text.

File: Plimoth Plantation 2002.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plimoth_Plantation_2002.JPG
Note: For contemporary photograph of the Plimoth Patuxet site.

William Bradford’s 1620 Sketch of Plymouth

(7) — six records

The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Bradford’s 1620 Sketch of Plymouth
http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/1620map.html
Note: For the map image.

Stagge-Parker Histories
George Soule 1600-1679
https://stagge-parker.blogspot.com/2009/05/george-soule.html
Note: For the map image.

File: Map of early Plymouth MA home lots.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_early_Plymouth_MA_home_lots.png#mw-jump-to-license
Note: For the map image.

Genealogy Bank
April 2022 Newsletter
Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 14
by Melissa Davenport Berry
https://www.genealogybank.com/newsletter-archives/202204/mayflower-descendants-who’s-who-part-14
Note 1: For the map image.
Note 2: This map was originally published in “The Arkansas Gazette (Little Rock, Arkansas), 21 November 1966, page 25.” Original file name: arkansas-gazette-newspaper-1121-1966-plymouth-map.jpg

File:Plimoth Plantation farm house.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plimoth_Plantation_farm_house.jpg
Note: 2009 photo of a Pilgrim House, (George Soule and Mary Soule’s) from Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
Note: For the Soule house image.

Axiom Images, Aerial Stock Photos
https://www.axiomimages.com/aerial-stock-photos/view/AX143_108.0000260
Note: Borrowed as the background image of the Plimoth Patuxet site > The Plimoth Plantation museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts Aerial Stock Photo AX143_107.0000194

Leyden Street

(8) — four records

Phys.org
Researchers find evidence of original 1620 Plymouth settlement
https://phys.org/news/2016-11-evidence-plymouth-settlement.html
Note: For the text.

Leyden Street
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyden_Street
Note: For the stereographic photo and caption.

See Plymouth Massachusetts
Learn the True Story of the Pilgrims Along the Mayflower Trail —
Leyden Street
https://seeplymouth.com/news/learn-the-true-story-of-the-pilgrims-along-the-mayflower-trail/#:~:text=Leyden%20Street&text=After%20disembarking%20from%20the%20Mayflower,Thanksgiving%20was%20likely%20held%20nearby.
Note: For the text.

(Contemporary) Waterfront Visitors Center Map
https://seeplymouth.com/travel-guides/
Then use this link: https://seeplymouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DP-001-24_2024_Map.pdf
Note: To document the location of the Plimoth Patuxet site in relation to contemporary downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims — A Mayflower Voyage

This is Chapter Four of seven. Finally, after many troubles, both Pilgrim Soule and Pilgrim Doty board the Mayflower and sail with the Saints and Strangers to the New World. As we learned in the chapter The Pilgrims — Colonial Pursuits, several European nations in the 15th and 16th centuries were seeking to exploit the resources available in the New World. They just needed good maps to guide them on their various quests.

Samuel de Champlain, Explorer and Cartographer

One of the most famous early explorers and cartographers was the Frenchman, Samuel de Champlain (1574 — 1635). “He made between 21 and 29 trips across the Atlantic Ocean, [creating] the first accurate coastal map during his explorations [as he] founded various colonial settlements.

Born into a family of sailors, Champlain began exploring North America in 1603, under the guidance of his uncle, François Gravé Du Pont. From 1604 to 1607, he participated in the exploration and creation of the first permanent European settlement north of Florida. Champlain was the first European to describe the Great Lakes, and published maps of his journeys and accounts of what he learned from the natives and the French living among the Natives.” (Wikipedia) (1)

Known as the *Port St. Louis map*, by Samuel de Champlain, circa 1605. This image shows the Patuxet settlement (the future Plymouth Colony site), before the plague of 1617. Note the depictions of shelters and abundant cornfields. It was included in the book, *Les Voyages du Sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois,* 1613. (Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

Reliable Maps Were Difficult To Come By

“On March 3, 1614, Captain John Smith set sail for Monhegan Island, a rocky outcrop ten miles off the coast of Maine. The spot was popular for fishing, and the funders of Smith’s voyage expected fresh whale on his return. When Smith and the crew of his two whaling ships landed in what was then called Northern Virginia that April, however, they found rorqual and finback whales to be painfully difficult to catch. To make the trip worthwhile, most of the men fished and traded furs, while Smith and eight other shipmates explored the shore.

Smith quickly discerned that the half-dozen maps of the region he had in his possession were useless, saying that they ‘so unlike each to other; and most so differing from any true proportion, or resemblance of the Countrey [sic], as they did mee [sic] no more good, then so much waste paper, though they cost me more.’

With a humble set of surveying tools—a crude compass, astrolabe, sextant, a lead line to measure depth, a quill pen and paper—they gathered notes for their very own map of what Smith named ‘New England.’ The official map was published alongside Smith’s book, A Description of New England, in 1616.” (Smithsonian)

Captain John Smith’s map of *New England*, published in 1616. (Image courtesy of Smithsonian).

Many writers feel that the Pilgrims almost certainly had access to the map of New England published by Captain John Smith in 1616. An interesting fact: Some people have assumed that the Pilgrims named Plymouth after the English port city they knew in England. Actually, John Smith had already named the area New Plimouth on his 1616 map. “John Smith had studied the region… he even offered to guide the Pilgrim leaders. They rejected his services as too expensive and carried his guidebook along instead.” (Lies My Teacher Told Me – LMTTM)

An 19th century depiction of the Pilgrim Fathers leaving Delfshaven on their voyage to America. (Image courtesy of History Extra).

Observation: Recalling that two of the concerns which the Pilgrims had when they chose to leave Leyden, Holland, were these: Losing their English culture, and losing their religious viewpoint (their worldviews), to Dutch influence, to Dutch language, and to that culture. Did these ideas in any way influence the possibility that New Amsterdam needed to be avoided? It turns out that this observation is true — “The [Pilgrim] congregation obtained a land patent from the Plymouth Company in June 1619. They had declined the opportunity to settle south of Cape Cod in New Amsterdam because of their desire to avoid the Dutch influence.” (Wikipedia) (2)

But What Destination Exactly Were The Pilgrims Supposed To Sail To?

“In 1620, Virginia extended far beyond its current boundaries and the Mayflower was originally meant to land at its ‘northern parts,’ specifically the Hudson River. When the Mayflower attempted to sail around Cape Cod to reach the Hudson, contrary winds and dangerous shoals forced the ship to turn around and instead anchor in modern day Provincetown Harbor.” (The Mayflower Society)

Was something fishy going on?
“The textbooks say the Pilgrims intended to go to Virginia, where there existed a British settlement already. But “the little party on the Mayflower”, explains American History, “never reached Virginia. On November 9, they sighted land on Cape Cod.” How did the Pilgrims wind up in Massachusetts when they set out for Virginia? “Violent storms blew their ship off course,” according to some textbooks; others blame an “error in navigation.” Both explanations may be wrong. Some historians believe the Dutch bribed the captain of the Mayflower to sail north so the Pilgrims would not settle near New Amsterdam. Others hold that the Pilgrims went to Cape Cod on purpose.

Bear in mind that the Pilgrims numbered only about 35 of the 102 settlers aboard the Mayflower; the rest were ordinary folk seeking their fortunes in the new Virginia colony. George Willison [of Saints and Strangers book fame] has argued that the Pilgrim leaders, wanting to be far from Anglican control, never planned to settle in Virginia. According to Willison, they intended a hijacking.” (LMTTM)

The **Virginia Company of Plymouth** managed the northern section (in yellow), which was much larger than what is shown here. The **Virginia Company of London** was responsible for the southern section shown in blue. The yellow rectangle designates overlapped responsibility. Competition between the two branches with overlapping territory was intended to motivate efficient settlement.

We have some observations about “something fishy” going on —
Observation 1: Despite what history textbooks say about bad weather hampering their voyage, the Pilgrims still spent about six weeks exploring the coastline along what eventually became the Massachusetts Colony. Even back then, that is a long time to sail up and down the coast line. Suspicious? Perhaps, but the evidence is soft.

Observation 2: Virginia was quite a vast area at that time. Perhaps some writers get confused about what was actually designated as Virginia. The northern area where the Pilgrims settled, was still technically Virginia territory; it was just the very, very outer reaches of Virginia in 1620. Boundaries then were still in flux in North America. As such, this caused many disputes among both nations and their colonizers.

The Pilgrims Patent was in question because of this, and it was a fundamental reason why the Mayflower Compact was crafted. The definition of what was constituted as Virginia and as English territory, settled out in the decades after the Pilgrims landed, and was fully resolved as England gained more control of the area.

Observation 3: Despite their charter, they actually settled quite north of the Hudson River. The Dutch were slowly building strong militarized influence near the Hudson River. Since the Pilgrims had just left Leyden, they wanted to steer completely clear of anything Dutch, their culture, their language, their influences, etc.

Observation 4: Jamestown was further south, in the area that was shared by another charter, so why not go there? At this time, Jamestown was still a tough, difficult colony. If the Pilgrims thought Leyden was wrong for their families, then tales of the many struggles in Jamestown (cannibalism!), probably made going there out of the question. And, it was also a place named after someone who for years had worked actively against their safety and beliefs. So that was not a real possibility either.

What choices did they actually have? Perhaps they intended a hijacking, but it is also plausible that they just couldn’t sail south. (3)

The Mayflower — A Merchant Ship

“The Mayflower was [newly] built shortly before its purchase in 1608. Experts estimate that the length of the deck was between 80 and 90 feet and that the ship was 24 feet at its widest ” (Family Search)

“The Mayflower is first recorded in 1609, at which time it was a merchant ship travelling to Baltic ports, most notably Norway. It was at that time owned by Christopher Nichols, Richard Child, Thomas Short, and Christopher Jones II. The ship was about 180 tons, and rested in Harwich. In its early years it was employed in the transportation of tar, lumber, and fish; and possibly did some Greenland whaling. Later on in its life, it became employed in Mediterranean wine and spice trading.

In 1620, Thomas Weston assisted by John Carver and Robert Cushman, hired the Mayflower and the Speedwell to undertake the voyage to plant a colony in Northern Virginia. Christopher Jones was the captain of the Mayflower when it took the Pilgrims to New England in 1620.” (Rootsweb)

*Mayflower II on Her Sailing Trials in the Waters* *Off Brixham, South Devon, April 1957*
by Montague Dawson. (Image courtesy of Bonhams).

“The Mayflower set sail for home on April 5, 1621, arriving back May 6, 1621. The ship made a few more trading runs, to Spain, Ireland, and lastly to France. However, Captain Christopher Jones died shortly thereafter, and was buried March 5, 1621 or 1622, in Rotherhithe, Surrey, England. The ship lay dormant for about two years, at which point it was appraised for probate.

This probate inventory is the last record of the Mayflower. The ship was not in very good condition, being called “in ruinis” in a 1624 High Court of Admiralty record (HCA 3/30, folio 227) written in Latin. Ships in that condition were more valuable as wood (which was in shortage in England at the time), so the Mayflower was most likely broken apart and sold as scrap.” (Rootsweb)

“After 1624, the Mayflower disappeared from maritime records. Several places in England claim to have a piece of the original ship, but there is no historical proof to support these claims.” (Orange County Register – OCR) (4)

*Embarkation of the Pilgrims* by Robert Walter Wier, 1857. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

Saints, and Strangers, and Pilgrims, and Debts…

At the time, the definition “of who was a Pilgrim was much narrower than it is today. On board the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower to the New World were 102 passengers and 30 crew.” Not Everyone on the Mayflower was a Pilgrim.

The Saints
Of the passengers, 40 or so comprised a band of English seekers of religious independence [religious Separatists, also sometimes called Brownists], These religious people – whose journey to the New World began in Leiden, Holland – referred to themselves as Saints, and to the others – who boarded in Southampton, England — as Strangers.

The Strangers
These passengers are identified as people who were sympathetic to the cause of the Saints, but not necessarily people who shared their exact, specific viewpoint on faith. Some of them were Adventurers, who had contracted with the merchant Thomas Weston (1584-1647), for a ship to take them to the New World. Weston had enlisted some of the Strangers to assist the Separatists in establishing a colony and turning a profit for the investors who financed the expedition.

The Pilgrims
Later in time, William Bradford [the Colony Governor, who once referred to] the so-called Saints as Pilgrims, from an Old Testament reference, and the name eventually stuck. During the bicentennial celebration in 1820 of the founding of Plymouth, the term Pilgrim was broadened to include all of the Mayflower passengers. “The English term ‘pilgrim’ originally comes from the Latin word peregrinus (per, through + ager, field, country, land), which means a foreigner, a stranger, someone on a journey, or a temporary resident”. (University of York)

From the Virginia Historical Society, An example of an Indentured servant agreement
*from July 31, 1627.* (Image courtesy of Bridgeman Images).

The Indentured Servants
“Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. Between one-half and two-thirds of European immigrants to the American Colonies between the 1630s and the American Revolution came under indentures. The contract [is called an] ‘indenture’, [and] may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or service (e.g. travel), purported eventual compensation, or debt repayment.

Historically, in an apprenticeship, an apprentice worked with no pay for a master tradesman to learn a trade. This was often for a fixed length of time, usually seven years or less. Apprenticeship was not the same as indentureship”.

The Pilgrims started out deeply in debt —
“Seeking the right to worship as they wished, the Pilgrims had signed a contract with the Virginia Company to settle on land near the Hudson River, which was then part of northern Virginia.” (History.com / Mayflower Compact))

“To pay for the journey to America, the Pilgrims took a loan for 1,700 pounds. This was an astronomical sum of money, considering the average day’s wage back then was 10 pence. To repay the loan, the Pilgrims signed a legal contract called an indenture, which obligated them to work for seven years, six days a week, harvesting furs and cod. However, more than half the Pilgrims died from the bitter cold the first winter.” (OCR)

The Pilgrims were finally able to erase their debt to the Merchant Adventurers by 1648. (NY NJ PA Weather – NYNJPA) (5)

However, before we sail, here are some statistics about those who were on board. Of the 132 people on board —

The Julian Calendar Versus The Gregorian Calendar

An important understanding about calendars —
We have come across this important bit of information which we would like to share — When original sources are cited by some writers, it’s important to verify if they are citing dates that make sense with the calendar that is in use today. At the historical time of this journey, two calendars were in use. (Many writers do not realize this error).

“Simply put, the Mayflower passengers used a different calendar than we do now. According to their old-style
Julian calendar,
the Mayflower departed England on September 6, 1620.
However, the actual anniversary of their departure,
according to the Gregorian calendar we use today,
was September 16, 1620.”
Tamura Jones, for
Vita Brevis, Mayflower Myths 2020

“When the Pilgrims lived in Leiden, [known as the Low Countries] the Dutch were using the Gregorian calendar, while the English were still using the Julian calendar.” The difference is about ten days.

“The Julian calendar is named after Julius Caesar, who introduced it as a reform of the Roman calendar. The Gregorian calendar is named after Pope Gregorius XIII, who introduced it as a reform of the Julian calendar. Henry VIII had thumbed his nose at the Pope by creating the Anglican Church, with the English head of state as the head of the Anglican Church. The English monarch was not going to jump at some papal decision. Great Britain and the many English colonies kept using the Julian calendar till 1751.” (Vita Brevis)

Note: In the following section, we have corrected the calendar dates to correspond to the Gregorian calendar we use today. (6)

The Speedwell and The Mayflower

“The Pilgrim’s arduous journey to the New World technically began on August 1, 1620, when a large group of colonists boarded a ship called the Speedwell in the Dutch port city of Delfshaven. From there, they sailed to Southampton, UK, where they met the rest of the passengers as well as a second ship, the Mayflower. The two ships disembarked from Southampton on August 15 with hopes of speedy crossing to northern Virginia.”

*The Mayflower and Speedwell in Dartmouth Harbor*
By Leslie Wilcox, circa 1971.

Between August 22 and September 14. through the ports at both Dartmouth and Plymouth, “The Mayflower and Speedwell [had] twice set sail from England and returned because the Speedwell leaked. After the second return, the Speedwell was deemed unseaworthy, although no specific leak was found*. A significant reorganization of the voyage followed. The frustrated and exhausted Pilgrims docked at Plymouth and made the difficult decision to ditch the Speedwell. Some of the Pilgrims also called it quits in Plymouth, but the rest of the passengers and cargo from the Speedwell were transferred to the already overcrowded Mayflower.
*Later it was found to be deliberately sabotaged by the crew who didn’t want to make the long voyage across the ocean on that ship. (NYNJPA)

On September 16, 1620, 102 passengers and 25-30 crew members crowded on board the Mayflower and set sail again, a month behind schedule. (Some of the passengers had already been living on the ship for one month by this time). They were leaving behind some of the passengers and vital supplies and would be crossing the Atlantic Ocean at the height of the storm season.

The Mayflower was a modest merchant ship built to carry crew and cargo. It had no passenger cabins, beds, dining rooms, or toilets. It also had very little ventilation. The passengers stayed on the gun deck, which measured about five feet tall, preventing anyone taller from standing upright. At that time, all ships were cargo ships; the concept of passenger ships would not emerge for another two hundred years.

All three maps are from the Oklahoma Society of Mayflower Descendants. (See footnotes).

On November 21, the ship sighted American land, and the passengers rejoiced. However, as they approached the upper end of Cape Cod, they realized they were north of the area where King James had authorized them to settle. (This is the day when they signed The Mayflower Compact). After deliberating with the shipmaster, the Mayflower changed direction to sail south along the coast to its intended destination.

Within a day, joy turned to terror as treacherous shallow waters and crashing waves threatened to splinter the ship. They could not continue south. Harsh winter weather was upon them, food and drink supplies were nearly gone, and passengers and crew were ill and dying. Having no choice, they reversed their course and sailed back to Cape Cod to look for a place to settle.

The Mayflower anchored at Provincetown. The long voyage was eventful. A baby was born, [They named him Oceanus Hopkins], a young passenger died [William Butten], a main mast cracked and fell during a storm, casting doubt on the ship’s fate until its repair; and a male passenger [John Howland]* fell overboard, requiring a dramatic rescue. In addition, the seas were often stormy, and the relentlessly cold and wet passengers suffered from seasickness, scurvy, dehydration, and hunger.

*Comment: “Howland not only made it to America and worked off his indenture, but married a pretty young woman in the new colony named Elizabeth Tilley. They produced ten children, who begat 88 grandchildren, from whom an estimated two million Americans descended over the next four centuries. These included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Joseph Smith, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Humphrey Bogart, Chevy Chase, and both Presidents Bush.” (National Endowment For The Humanities – NEFTH) (7)

***Man overboard!***
John and Elizabeth (Tilley) Howland should be proud of these four grandchildren,
if not many more of their two million (and counting) descendants.
From left to right: Ralph Waldo Emerson, poet and essayist; Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
32nd President of the United States; Humphrey Bogart, Hollywood legend;
and George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States.

What Was The Mayflower Compact?

“When Pilgrims and other settlers set out on the ship for America in 1620, they intended to lay anchor in northern Virginia. But after treacherous shoals and storms drove their ship off course, the settlers landed in Massachusetts instead, near Cape Cod, outside of Virginia’s jurisdiction. (History.com)

“English colonies at the time required “patents” – documents granted by the King or authorized companies which gave permission to settle at a particular place. Since the Mayflower passengers had obtained a patent for Virginia, when they instead landed in New England this patent was no longer valid.” (The Mayflower Society)

Comment: See Observation 2 from above under the subtitle, But What Destination Exactly Were The Pilgrims Supposed To Sail To?

Tensions arose on board the ship, and “discord began before the colonists even left the ship. The strangers argued the Virginia Company contract was void. They felt since the Mayflower had landed outside of Virginia Company territory, they were no longer bound to the company’s charter. The defiant strangers refused to recognize any rules since there was no official government over them. Pilgrim leader William Bradford later wrote, ‘several strangers made discontented and mutinous speeches.’

[The strategy of the Pilgrim leaders was to] to quell the rebellion before it took hold. After all, establishing a New World colony would be difficult enough without dissent in the ranks. The Pilgrims knew they needed as many productive, law-abiding souls as possible to make the colony successful. With that in mind, they set out to create a temporary set of laws for ruling themselves as per the majority agreement.

On November 11, 1620 [November 21 on our Gregorian Calendar], 41 adult male colonists signed the Mayflower Compact, although it wasn’t called that at the time.

*Signing The Mayflower Compact 1620*, painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, circa 1899.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

The Mayflower Compact created laws for Mayflower Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims alike for the good of their new colony. It was a short document which established that:

The colonists would live in accordance with the Christian faith.
The colonists would remain loyal subjects to King James, despite their need for self-governance.
The colonists would create and enact “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices…” for the good of the colony, and abide by those laws.
The colonists would create one society and work together to further it.”
(History.com)

“The influence of the Mayflower Compact has far outlasted and outgrown the Pilgrims’ original intent. Legally, it was superseded when the Pilgrims obtained a patent from the Council of New England for their settlement at Plimoth in 1621. However, the Compact had already gained symbolic importance in the Pilgrims’ lifetimes, as it was considered important enough to be read at government meetings in Plimoth Colony for many years.” (The Mayflower Society)

The text of the Mayflower Compact was published as early as 1622, (see Mourt’s Relation below). However, the names of the signatories of that document were not published for many years due to fears of political retaliation against them. Both of our ancestors, Pilgrim George Soule and Pilgrim Edward Doty, were signers. (8)

Mourt’s Relation

“The earliest text detailing the settlement of New Plymouth is known as Mourt’s Relation or ‘A Relation or Journal of the Beginning and Proceedings of the English Plantation Settled at Plimoth in New England’ (1622). The manuscript was carried out of New Plymouth by Robert Cushman, Chief Agent in London for the settlers, on board the Fortune in 1621. When Mourt’s Relation was sold in John Bellamy’s London bookshop in the 1620s, its readers could have scarcely imagined this would become one of the most well-known texts in American history.

Perhaps the most significant feature of Mourt’s Relation is its inclusion of ‘The Mayflower Compact’: the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. Signed on November 21, 1620 (prior to landing), the text gave a legal framework of government to the eventual settlement.” (Voyaging Through History, the Mayflower and Britain – VTHMB) (9)

An image of the original handwritten page of Governor William Bradford’s history *Of Plimoth Plantation.* In the footnotes, we have added an exact, line-by-line transcription with the original spelling and punctuation. (The words of the text have not been modernized).

Being thus arrived in a good harbor…

There is only one primary source account existing which describes the events while the Mayflower was at sea. It was written by Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford in his History of Plymouth Plantation. It concludes with this dramatic passage:

Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. And no marvel if they were thus joyful, seeing wise Seneca was so affected with sailing a few miles on the coast of his own Italy; as he affirmed, that he had rather remain twenty years on his way by land, then pass by sea to any place in a short time; so tedious and dreadful was the same unto him. (10)

Top image: Frontipiece for the *History of Plymouth Plantation* by William Bradford
(this edition), circa 1890. Background image: The first page of his original document,
Of *Plimoth Plantation*. (See footnotes).

What Was It Like to Live on the Mayflower Gun Deck?

Writer Jeff Goertzen describes it pretty gruesomely — “You’re crammed in a room, shoulder to shoulder with 100 other passengers. [The distance from the floor to the ceiling was only five feet — so anyone taller than that, was constantly bent over].*

It’s dark. It smells. It’s wet and very cold. There’s no privacy. No bathrooms. Your meals are pitiful — salted meat and a hard, dry biscuit. [hardtack biscuits] You, and people around you are sick, because the room is rocking side to side. There’s no fresh water and no change of clean clothes. In essence, you‘re trapped because land is thousands of miles away. These conditions seem inhumane, but this was the Mayflower, the Pilgrims’ only means of transportation to a better life in the New Land.

*Observation: (Looking at you Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, circa 1899). Many artists like you have painted scenes inside of the Mayflower (gun deck) showing fabulous amounts of head space, lots of light, healthy, noble looking voyagers, etc. We surmise that this made the paintings more palatable to your patrons, rather than realistic looking scenes of seasick people slightly hunched over in the dark?

Of the passengers, most of the men had been farmers and were used to working long, hard hours. But on the ship, they spent most of their time reading or playing board games. The men also met to talk about the journey and plans for their new home. The women: On the ship, women cared for the children, prepared the meals, and sewed clothes. Women were expected to obey their husbands, so they never questioned their decision to go to the New World. Of the children, there were 41 minors on board the Mayflower. Only ten were girls. The older girls helped care for the younger children and there was no place for them to play.” (OCR)

Amazing, isn’t it? We wonder which sizes they eventually had at the first Thanksgiving celebration. (Image modified from Quora clip art).

From Quora: “The Puritans [actually the Pilgrims] brought more beer than water on the Mayflower. They carried 42 tons [tun or tonne] of beer (in contrast to only 14 tons of water) and 10,000 gallons of wine. The beverage of choice for many extended voyages was beer. The casks of fresh water tended to go “off” during long storage. Even on land, water was questionable as a potable drink — sometimes even dangerous. Young children were often given beer to drink as their daily beverage. The brews weren’t necessarily crafted with an eye toward imbibing alcohol; they were actually carried to avoid the water on board the ship.”

Observation: So understandably, beer was the beverage of choice. Thus, as in other earlier historical periods — before there was reliable, clean, fresh water available for people to drink — everyone drank fermented beverages. The microorganisms of the beer-making process rendered the beverage safe, and even the children drank beer. However, we have pondered just how much they could have drunk on a voyage like this — not too much we gather, because the ship was always heaving too and fro.

The Mayflower was originally a merchant ship that transported goods across the English Channel. It’s “castle-like” structures fore and aft (front and back) of the ship were designed to protect the crew from the elements. This made it very difficult to sail against the North Atlantic westerly winds, which is why it took more than two months to complete the journey.

Poop house: Despite this name, this was the living quarters for the Captain, and the higher ranking crew.
Cabin: The general sleeping quarters for the Mayflower’s crew. The 20-30 crewmembers took shifts working the ship and sleeping in this small space.
Steerage Room: Where the pilot steered the Mayflower with a special stick called a whip-staff, which moved the tiller, which then moved the rudder.
Upper Deck: Where the seamen worked and attended to the ship.
Forecastle: Where meals were cooked and the crew’s food supplies were kept.
Capstan: A large apparatus used to lift and lower cargo.
Gun Deck: Where the cannons were located — the ship carried 12 cannons to defend itself against pirates. Also, on merchant ships it was used to hold additional cargo, meaning this is where the ship’s passengers lived day in and day out. Note that there were no windows. All of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower’s journey to the new world lived in this cramped 58 foot x 24 foot space, [which equals 17.6 meters x 7.3 meters]. There was very little privacy and only the occasional opportunity to venture to the top deck to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.
Cargo Hold: This is where the Pilgrims stored their cargo, which consisted of biscuits, salt, dried beef, salted pork, oats, peas, beer, wheat, clothing, canvas sheets filled with straw bedding, pots and pans, utensils, and tools for building and farming. (OCR) (11)

The Pilgrims have finally made it to America, but it is late and Winter was arriving — but truthfully, it had already started! In the next chapter, we are going to write about their initial arrival and life at the Plimoth Plantation.

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Samuel de Champlain, Explorer and Cartographer

(1) — three records

Samuel de Champlain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_de_Champlain
Note: For the text.

Library of Congress
Les voyages dv sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois,
capitaine ordinaire pour le Roy, en la marine. Divisez en devx livres.
ou, Iovrnal tres-fidele des observations faites és descouuertures
de la Nouuelle France
by Samuel de Champlain, circa 1605
https://www.loc.gov/item/22006274/
Book page: 80, Digital page: 112/436
Note: For the book frontipiece and credits.
and
Plimoth Patuxet Museums
Port St. Louis (map)
https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-1/port-st-louis
Note: For the text and map.

Reliable Maps Were Difficult To Come By

(2) — three records

Smithsonian Magazine
John Smith Coined the Term New England on This 1616 Map
by Megan Gambino
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/john-smith-coined-the-term-new-england-on-this-1616-map-180953383/
Note: For the text and the map image.

(LMTTM)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note: For Chapter 3: “The Truth About The First Thanksgiving”

History Extra
(The official website for BBC History Magazine)
Your Guide to the Pilgrim Fathers, plus 6 interesting facts
https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/pilgrim-fathers-facts-history-mayflower-who-why-leave-religion-new-world/
Note: For the 19th century image of the Pilgrims leaving Delft.

But What Destination Exactly Were The Pilgrims Supposed To Sail To?

(3) — four records

The Mayflower Society
The Mayflower Compact
https://themayflowersociety.org/history/the-mayflower-compact/
Note: For the text.

(LMTTM)
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note: For Chapter 3: “The Truth About The First Thanksgiving”

Plymouth Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony
Note: For the text.

Virginia Company
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Company
Note: For the text and map.

The Mayflower — A Merchant Ship

(4) — five records

Take a Virtual Tour of the Mayflower
by Jessica Grimaud
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/virtual-tour-mayflower-ship
Note: For some dimensions of the Mayflower in 1608.

Mayflower
by Rootsweb Author, kee46@msn.com
https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ahopkins/cushman/mayflowe.htm
Note: For the text.

Mayflower II on Her Sailing Trials in the Waters
Off Brixham, South Devon, April 1957
by Montague Dawson, (British, 1890-1973)
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/23272/lot/54/montague-dawson-british-1890-1973-mayflower-ii-on-her-sailing-trials-in-the-waters-off-brixham-south-devon-april-1957-together-with-ramseys-book-montague-dawson-rsma-frsa-the-greatest-sea-painter-in-the-world/
Note: For the ship image.

Embarkation of the Pilgrims
by Robert Walter Wier, 1857
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Robert_Walter_Weir_-_Embarkation_of_the_Pilgrims_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Note: For the painting image.

Saints, and Strangers, and Adventurers, and Debts…

(5) — six records

The University of York
Pilgrims and Pilgrimage
https://www.york.ac.uk/projects/pilgrimage/intro.html
Note: For text regarding the definition of Pilgrim.

Indentured servant agreement between Richard Lowther and Edward Lyurd, 31st July 1627 (ink on paper)
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/american-school/indentured-servant-agreement-between-richard-lowther-and-edward-lyurd-31st-july-1627-ink-on-paper/ink-on-paper/asset/443693
Note: Example document, subtitled as “From the Virginia Historical Society, An example of an Indentured servant agreement from July 31, 1627.”

Indentured Servitude
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servitude
Note: For the text.

History.com
Mayflower Compact
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact
Note: For the text.

Orange County Register
How 102 Pilgrims Crammed Inside the Mayflower
a Year Before Their First Thanksgiving
by Jeff Goertzen
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/20/ahead-of-thanksgiving-day-2017-a-look-back-inside-the-mayflower/amp/
Note: For the text.

(NYNJPA)
The Pilgrims Barely Survived Their First Winter At Plymouth
https://nynjpaweather.com/public/2023/11/17/the-pilgrims-barely-survived-their-first-winter-at-plymouth/
Note: For the text.

The Julian Calendar Versus The Gregorian Calendar

(6) — two records

Vita Brevis
Mayflower Myths 2020
by Tamura Jones
https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2020/07/mayflower-myths-2020
Note 1: This reference gives a very precise timeline for the Pilgrims journey from Holland to North America.
Note 2: For information about the differences between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar.

Family Search Blog
When Did the Mayflower Land in America? The Answer Might Surprise You!
by Jessica Grimaud
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/when-did-mayflower-land-depart

The Speedwell and The Mayflower

(7) — nine records

Descriptions of the voyage are combined from these four sources:
(OCR)
Orange County Register
How 102 Pilgrims Crammed Inside the Mayflower
a Year Before Their First Thanksgiving
by Jeff Goertzen
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/20/ahead-of-thanksgiving-day-2017-a-look-back-inside-the-mayflower/amp/
Note: For the ship cut away image, and some captions, which we adapted for this chapter.
and
The Oklahoma Society of Mayflower Descendants
The Voyage
https://www.okmayflower.com/voyage
and
https://www.okmayflower.com/maps-1
Note 1: For the maps, and voyage information.
Note 2: We have corrected the dates from this online article to match the Gregorian calendar as per the Vita Brevis footnote above.
and
History.com
The Pilgrims’ Miserable Journey Aboard the Mayflower
by Dave Roos
https://www.history.com/news/mayflower-journey-pilgrims-america
Note: For the text.
and
(Rootsveb)
Mayflower
by Rootsweb Author, kee46@msn.com
https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ahopkins/cushman/mayflowe.htm
Note: For the text.

AP News
Meet John Howland, A Lucky Pilgrim — and Maybe Your Ancestor
by Mark Pratt
https://apnews.com/general-news-0d370c58d0034038b6a16c3f57c22af4
Note: Show off!

Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants
The Mayflower and Speedwell in Dartmouth Harbor
by Leslie Wilcox, circa 1971
https://www.facebook.com/MassMayflowerDesc/photos/a.397753117000504/408962462546236/?type=3
Note: For this rare painting showing the two ships together.

(NYNJPA)
The Pilgrims Barely Survived Their First Winter At Plymouth
https://nynjpaweather.com/public/2023/11/17/the-pilgrims-barely-survived-their-first-winter-at-plymouth/
Note: For the text.

(NEFTH)
The National Endowment For The Humanities
Who Were the Pilgrims Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving?
by Craig Lambert
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2015/novemberdecember/feature/who-were-the-pilgrims-who-celebrated-the-first-thanksgiving
Note: For the text.

What Was The Mayflower Compact?

(8) — four records

History.com
Mayflower Compact
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact
Note: For the text.

The Mayflower Society
The Mayflower Compact
https://themayflowersociety.org/history/the-mayflower-compact/
Note: For the text.

File:The Mayflower at sea.jpg
by Artist unknown
by John Clark Ridpath
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Mayflower_at_sea.jpg
Note: From the 1893 textbook, United States; a history: the most complete and most popular history of the United States of America from the aboriginal times to the present day…

File:The Mayflower Compact 1620 cph.3g07155.jpg
Signing The Mayflower Compact 1620
by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, circa 1899
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Mayflower_Compact_1620_cph.3g07155.jpg
Note: For the painting image.

Mourt’s Relation

(9) — two records

(VTHMB)
Voyaging Through History, the Mayflower and Britain
Mourt’s Relation (1622)
https://voyagingthroughhistory.exeter.ac.uk/2020/08/25/mourts-relation-1622/

Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History.com
The Mayflower Compact
http://mayflowerhistory.com/mayflower-compact
Note: We have included an exact, line-by-line transcription with the original spelling and punctuation. (The words of the text have not been modernized ).

In ye name of God Amen· We whose names are vnderwriten,
the loyall subjects of our dread soueraigne Lord King James
by ye grace of God, of great Britaine, franc, & Ireland king,
defender of ye faith, &c

Haueing vndertaken, for ye glorie of God, and aduancemente
of ye christian ^faith and honour of our king & countrie, a voyage to
plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia· doe
by these presents solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and
one of another, couenant, & combine our selues togeather into a
ciuill body politick; for ye our better ordering, & preseruation & fur=
therance of ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof, to enacte,
constitute, and frame shuch just & equall lawes, ordinances,
Acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought
most meete & conuenient for ye generall good of ye colonie: vnto
which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witnes
wherof we haue herevnder subscribed our names at Cap=
Codd ye ·11· of Nouember, in ye year of ye raigne of our soueraigne
Lord king James of England, france, & Ireland ye eighteenth
and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth. Ano: Dom ·1620·|

Being thus arrived in a good harbor…

(10) — ____ records

Mayflower
by Rootsweb Author, kee46@msn.com
https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~ahopkins/cushman/mayflowe.htm
Note: For the text.

Library of Congress
History of Plymouth Plantation, circa 1890
by William Bradford, 1590-1657
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcmassbookdig.historyofplymout00bra/?st=gallery&c=16
Note: For the cover image.
and
First page of “Of Plimoth Plantation” from a circa 1900 publication.
by William Brewster
File:Of Plimoth Plantation First 1900.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Of_Plimoth_Plantation_First_1900.jpg
Note: For the background image.

What Was It Like to Live on the Mayflower Gun Deck?

(11) — four records

Take a Virtual Tour of the Mayflower
by Jessica Grimaud
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/virtual-tour-mayflower-ship
Note: For some captions describing various rooms on the 1620 Mayflower.

(OCR)
The Orange County Register
How 102 Pilgrims Crammed Inside the Mayflower
a Year Before Their First Thanksgiving
by Jeff Goertzen
https://www.ocregister.com/2017/11/20/ahead-of-thanksgiving-day-2017-a-look-back-inside-the-mayflower/amp/
Note: For the ship cut away image, and some captions.

Quora
Did settlers really land at Plymouth Rock because they were out of beer?
by James M. Volo
(MA in Military History and Wars , American Military University)
https://www.quora.com/Did-settlers-really-land-at-Plymouth-Rock-because-they-were-out-of-beer
Note: For the text and the barrels chart image.

Mayflower ship
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mayflower-ship
Note: For the Mayflower II ship image.

The Pilgrims — Life In Leyden

This is Chapter Three of seven. In this chapter, our ancestors really expand their horizons. They discover what it was like to be an exile in nearby Holland, and also, what it was like to boldly venture much further — to the unknown place in the New World across a great ocean.

In the century before our ancestors sailed on the Mayflower, there was much debate going on within the religious circles of Europe, about individual authority for direct religious experience. It is difficult for many of us today to quite understood how radical these thinkers were. This period was known as the Protestant Reformation and its development helped lead our ancestors (both figuratively and literally) out of the Old World and into a New World.

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

“The Protestant Reformation was a religious reform movement that swept through Europe in the 1500s. It resulted in the creation of a branch of Christianity called Protestantism, a name used collectively to refer to the many religious groups that separated from the Roman Catholic Church due to differences in doctrine.

Martin Luther posting his 95 theses in 1517.
(Painting by Belgian artist Ferdinand Pauwels, via Wikimedia Commons).

The Protestant Reformation began in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, a teacher and a monk, published a document he called ‘Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, or 95 Theses’. The document was a series of 95 ideas about Christianity that he invited people to debate with him. These ideas were controversial because they directly contradicted the Catholic Church’s teachings.” (National Geographic)

The Spread of Calvinism —
“Written between 1536 and 1539, [John] Calvin’s ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’ was one of the most influential works of the era. Toward the middle of the 16th century, these beliefs were formed into one consistent creed which would shape the future definition of the Reformed faith. Through Calvin’s missionary work in France, his program of reform eventually reached the French-speaking provinces of the Netherlands.

Reformed theologians believe that God communicates knowledge of himself to people through the Word of God. People are not able to know anything about God except through this self-revelation. (With the exception of general revelation of God; ‘His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse’ [Romans 1:20].) Speculation about anything which God has not revealed through his Word is not warranted.” (Wikipedia)

From left to right: Portrait of *Martin Luther*, by Lucas Cranach the Elder, circa 1527. Title page to *Disputation on the Power of Indulgences*, by Martin Luther, circa 1519.
Portrait of *John Calvin*, by Artist unknown. Title page to *Christianae religionis institutio*,
by John Calvin, circa 1536. (See footnotes).

The Political Background —
“The Pilgrim migration can be viewed as an aspect of the major changes in church and state throughout Europe which we know as the Renaissance and Reformation and the beginnings of colonialism. The urge to return to an ideal form of the Christian church in conformity with what is described in the New Testament arose from a critical reading of ancient texts which characterized other fields of scholarly enquiry at the time as well. Similar study of the Bible had inspired Martin Luther, Menno Simons,and John Calvin. The state Church of England rejected by the Pilgrims was, however, part of a much larger movement opposed to the religious dominance of Rome and the political dominance of the Catholic Hapsburg Empire.” (Leiden American Pilgrim Museum – LAPM)

The English King “Henry VIII created the Church of England as a religious body unique from the Roman Catholic Church in order to achieve his goal of divorcing his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in an attempt to remarry and father sons to continue his dynasty. The primary difference between the Catholic Church and the Church of England is that the Catholic Church recognizes the Pope as the Head of the Church, while the Church of England is led by the English monarch as Supreme Head of the Church.” (See footnotes). (1)

James I and England

In 1603, Queen Elizabeth of England was succeeded by James VI and I (James Stuart). He was the King of Scotland, the King of England and the King of Ireland, who faced many complicated religious challenges during his reigns in Scotland and England. For the purposes of this narrative, we are referring to him as James I and focusing solely on England.

*Portrait of Jacobus I, 1566-1625*, (James I, House of Stuart), by Artist unknown.
(Image courtesy of the Collection Museum Prinsenhof Delft / Loan Mauritshuis, The Hague).
“James I disliked Robert Browne’s followers, who did not care for the episcopal hierarchy of the Anglican state church. The king maintained that God had bestowed upon him his position as absolute ruler, making any criticism of him sacrilege. On James’s orders, the ‘Brownists’, the separatist movement to which the Pilgrims belonged, were fined, imprisoned or banished.”

“On his succession to the English throne in 1603, James was impressed by the church system he found there, which still adhered to an episcopate [the Bishops of the Church of England] and supported the monarch’s position as the head of the church. On the other hand, there were many more Roman Catholics in England than in Scotland, and James inherited a set of penal laws which he was constantly exhorted to enforce against them. Before ascending the English throne, James had [pledged] that he would not persecute “any that will be quiet and give but an outward obedience to the law,” but he soon reinforced strict penalties against Catholics. Partly triggered by Catholics’ disillusionment with the new King, the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 led to a new wave of anti-Catholicism and even harsher legislation.

James took an interest in the scholarly decisions of [religious] translators, [and] often participated in theological debate. A notable success was the commissioning of a new translation of the Bible, completed in 1611, which became known as the King James.”…and “Ironically, the most popular translation of that Bible, the King James version, came to be under a monarch who, in a sense, drove the Pilgrims from England.” (Wikipedia) and (National Endowment For The Humanities – NEFTH) (2)

It was one thing to disagree with the church hierarchy, but the political problem was that the head of the Church of England
was also the reigning king. And James I,
was a strong believer in unity when it came to his church;
he had no patience with religious rebels…

“Anyone who separates from the church is not just separating from the church, but they’re separating from royal authority,”
explains Michael Braddick, a historian at the University of Sheffield. “And that’s potentially very dangerous.”
Cited within the article,
Who Were the Pilgrims Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving?
by Craig Lambert
HUMANITIES, November/December 2015, Volume 36, Number 6

Historic Labels — Identifying Who “The Others” Are

Many historic references cite different terms when referring to the Pilgrims. They were religious non-conformists, who referred to themselves as Saints, not as Pilgrims. Later in time, William Bradford, the Plymouth Colony Governor, once referred to the Saints as Pilgrims, (from an Old Testament reference) and the name eventually stuck. In addition, “The English term ‘pilgrim’ originally comes from the Latin word peregrinus (per, through + ager, field, country, land), which means a foreigner, a stranger, someone on a journey, or a temporary resident”. (University of York)

People who disagreed with their views referred to them as English Dissenters, or Separatists, or (incorrectly) as Puritans, which was initially a pejorative phrase . The Separatists held many of the same beliefs as the Puritans, but “believed that their congregations should separate from the state church, which led to their being labelled Separatists.” In contrast, although they were perceived as similar, the Puritans wanted to work from within the established church framework to purify it from within.

“Pilgrims and Puritans get blended into one big origin story,
when in fact they are different peoples
with different colonies, patents, and perspectives.”
Abram Van Engen,
A History of American Puritan Literature*

*The Puritans “came to the Americas a decade later, in greater numbers, and with far more institutional resources at their disposal. Whereas 102 Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower, 1,000 Puritans came to Boston. Unlike the Pilgrims, the Puritans had an official charter from the King of England to establish a colony and had not separated from the Church of England.” (Washington University)

Finally, Some older texts refer to them as the Brownists. “The Brownists were a Christian group in 16th-century England. They were a group of English Dissenters or early Separatists from the Church of England. They were named after Robert Browne, [of] the 1550s, [and] the terms were used to describe them by outsiders…” (Wikipedia) (3)

*1600s Pilgrim Couple Kneeling In Prayer* is a painting by Herbert Paus.
(Image courtesy of History.com)

A Radical Notion At The Time

Having a direct experience of God, without intermediaries, was essentially what the Pilgrims sought in their religious beliefs. As such, “The Pilgrims strongly believed that the Church of England, and the Catholic Church, had strayed beyond Christ’s teachings, and established religious rituals, and church hierarchies, that went against the teachings of the Bible. This belief put them at odds with church officials, who in the early years of King James I tried to have them arrested and thrown in jail for refusing to participate in church rituals.”

The Pilgrim church had a number of religious differences with orthodoxy. Here were some of the main points and differences as further explained by Caleb Johnson’s Mayflower History.com —

Predestination
The Pilgrims believed that before the foundation of the world, God predestined to make the world, man, and all things. He also predestined, at that time, who would be saved, and who would be damned.

Sacraments and Popery
To the Pilgrims, there were only two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The other sacraments of the Church of England and Roman Catholic church (Confession, Penance, Confirmation, Ordination, Marriage, Confession, Last Rites) were inventions of man, had no scriptural basis, and were therefore superstitions–even to the point of being heretical or idolatrous.

Church Hierarchy
The legitimacy of the Pope, the Saints, bishops, and the church hierarchy were rejected, as was the veneration of relics. The church of the Pilgrims was organized around five officers: pastor, teacher, elder, deacon, and deaconess (sometimes called the “church widow”). However, none of the five offices was considered essential to the church.

Infant Baptism
The Pilgrims believed baptism was the sacrament that wiped away Original Sin, and was a covenant with Christ and his chosen people, and therefore children should be baptized as infants.

Holy Days and Religious Holidays
The Pilgrims faithfully observed the Sabbath, and did not work on Sunday. Even when the Pilgrims were exploring Cape Cod, they stopped everything and stayed in camp on Sunday to keep the Sabbath. The Pilgrims did not celebrate Christmas and Easter.

The Geneva (edition of the) Bible, from 1560.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons via The Library of Congress).

Religious Texts
The Pilgrims used the Geneva edition of the Bible, first published in English in 1560. The translation and footnotes of the Geneva Bible were made by early Calvinists more trustworthy to the Pilgrims than the later King James Bible (first published in 1611) whose translation and footnotes were written by the Anglican church hierarchy.”

The red arrow indicates the location of the small village of Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire. From the atlas created by cartographer Christopher Saxton as part of his *‘Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales’* — a project commissioned by Queen Elizabeth I — *Lincolnia nottinghamia*, Map of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire from 1576. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia).

“Although most Puritans wanted to reform or ‘purify’ the Church of England [from within], a number of groups believed that the Church was irreparable. One such group of Separatists, as they were known, had its roots in the small village of Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire, England. It was in Scrooby, in the year 1607, that a group of people came together to form an illegal separate church after withdrawing from their Anglican parishes. As English citizens were required by law to become members of the Church of England, many of the Scrooby group suffered persecution, in the form of fines and imprisonments.” (See footnotes, The Plymouth Colony Archive Project – TPCAP) (4)

Excerpted detail showing the Village of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England. From the atlas created by cartographer Christopher Saxton as part of his *‘Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales.’*

William Brewster and the Scrooby Village Congregation

William Brewster is an important figure in the life of our ancestor George Soule. Likely born in 1566 or 1567, probably in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire — he was an educated English official. He was an illustrious figure in the Plymouth community, and became the senior elder and the leader there, by virtue of his education and existing stature with those immigrating from the Netherlands.

“Beginning in 1580, he studied briefly at Cambridge University, before entering the service of William Davison, ambassador to the Netherlands, in 1584, giving him opportunity to hear and see more of reformed religion. [As such] Brewster was the only Pilgrim with political and diplomatic experience. With his mentor Davison in prison*, Brewster had returned home to Scrooby for a time, where he took up his father’s former position as postmaster in 1590.”

Sidebar: Davison was an English diplomat and secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. As a Secretary of some influence, he was active in forging alliances with England’s Protestant friends in Holland and Scotland to prevent war with France. He was involved in the 1587 execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was made a scapegoat for this event.

*The Old Manor House in Scrooby*, by Artist unknown. *“Not one to miss details, we suspect that she was probably keeping an eye on things going on at Scrooby.”* Illustration of Queen Elizabeth I from Saxton’s *‘Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales.’*

Using the manor house at Scrooby was a very brave move for this group of people. At that time, property like this was technically owned by the King, even though the era of manor houses was giving way to one of private country mansions. “The Tudor period (16th century) of stability in England saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. During the second half of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and under her successor King James I, the first mansions designed by architects began to make their appearance [and came to] epitomize the English country house.”

“Following the campaign led by Archbishop Bancroft to force puritan ministers out of the Church of England, the Brewsters joined the Brownist church led by John Robinson and Richard Clifton, inviting them to meet in their manor house in Scrooby. Restrictions and pressures applied by the authorities convinced the congregation of a need to emigrate to the more sympathetic atmosphere of Holland, and Brewster organized the removal. Leaving England without permission was illegal at the time, so that departure was a complex matter. On its first attempt, in 1607, the group was arrested at Scotia Creek, but in 1608, Brewster and others were successful in leaving from the Humber,” [on the east coast of northern England]. (Wikipedia) (5)

Fleeing to First to Amsterdam, and Then to Leyden, Holland

“Robinson’s church lived for a year in Amsterdam, but in 1609 one of their fellow Brownist churches there led by John Smyth became the first Baptist church. In the controversy that followed, Robinson and Brewster decided to take their church to Leiden.” (Wikipedia)

Left page only: *Permit from the city council of Leyden for 100 Englishmen to be allowed to settle in Leyden*, dated February 12, 1609, via Heritage Leiden, Stadsarchief 1574 – 1816. (Image courtesy of Leiden Museum de Lakenhal).

Leyden, or Leiden?
A comment about spelling — the spelling of the city name at the time when the Pilgrims resided there was Leyden (with a y). That is the spelling we prefer to use for this history. However in the present day, the name is spelled Leiden (with an i), which you will see in some quoted contexts.

Images form left to right: *“Boats like these sailed from Amsterdam to Leyden.”* (Image courtesy of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum). ‘Imagined’ portrait of William Brewster, (Image courtesy of Family Search. The journey from Amsterdam to Leyden. *Map of Holland: According to Astronomical Observation*s, circa 1791. (See footnotes).

“The move to Leiden was carefully prepared. The city’s permission included the statement, now famous, that Leiden ‘refuses no honest people free entry to come live in the city, as long as they behave honestly and obey all the laws and ordinances, and under those conditions the applicants’ arrival here would be pleasing and welcome.’

Putting inaction to fine words, the city refused to denounce the Pilgrims when the British ambassador requested information about them because they were rumored to be banished Brownists. Town officials let it be known that the city had heard nothing of their being either banished or Brownists, but rather that they were honest people of the Reformed religion – and would His Excellency please excuse them to the King in this matter.” (See footnotes, Leiden American Pilgrim Museum – LAPM) (6)

*Winter Scene on a Canal*, by Hendrick Avercamp, circa 1615. This painting shows typical winter activities that the Pilgrims would have experienced in Amsterdam and Leyden during the years
when they lived there. (Image courtesy of Wikiart.org).

The Brewster Press

The city of Leyden was the second largest in the Netherlands, with around 40,000 people living there by 1620. “Leiden’s city walls had to expand in 1611, when no more houses could be built in the gardens of the older residences. A city extension was carried out all along the northern side of the town. About a third of Leiden’s inhabitants were refugees from Belgium, and among so many thousands of newcomers, the group of 100 Pilgrims arriving in 1609 attracted little attention.”

*Map of Leiden*, by Pieter Bast, circa 1600.

“Brewster lived near St Peter’s church (Dutch: Pieterskerk) in Leiden with his wife and children. He was chosen as assistant and later as an elder to Pastor John Robinson. (He was still an elder when he travelled to Plymouth Colony in 1620).

In Leiden, the group managed to make a living. Brewster had struggled for money in Amsterdam, but in Leiden he taught English to [Calvinist] university students. Leiden was a fountain of academic publishing; and it was again becoming a major artistic center as it had been in the earlier 16th century. When the Pilgrims were in Leiden, the Latin School counted among its pupils Rembrandt van Rijn.” (LAPM)

Leiden Museum de Lakenhal
*Perth Assembly, 1619*
(Image courtesy of David Calderwood, Leiden University Libraries).
“A year before their departure for America, the Pilgrims published this pamphlet in Leiden. It was immediately banned in England since it criticised royal decisions that had been made during an assembly in Perth, Scotland in 1618. In this pamphlet, the Pilgrims express their dislike of the celebration of Christmas and Easter, the episcopal hierarchy and the practice of kneeling during Holy Communion.”

“Brewster printed and published religious books for sale in England, but they were prohibited there. The press was prolific, printing “seven books against the regime of the Church of England in 1618 alone. In 1618, Brewster’s press published ‘De regimine Ecclesianae Scoticanae’ by Scottish minister David Calderwood, which was highly critical of James I and his government. They followed it up in April 1619 with ‘Perth Assembly.’

King James ordered an international manhunt for the writer and printer, but Brewster went underground. According to historian Stephen Tomkins, Brewster handed himself over to the Dutch authorities, who refused to send him to his death in England and so told James that they had arrested the wrong person and let him go. Tomkins judges that Brewster’s printing operation ‘came close to ruining his church’s plans for America.’ ” (Wikipedia) Clearly, King James I was against minority opinion being shared publicly.

For our ancestor George Soule, most of his future life experiences would be shaped by this period with William Brewster, and his life underground. (See The Soule Line, A Narrative — _____). (7)

“The life of man compared to a weaver’s shuttle.”
(Copperstitch according to Adrian van Venne), from: J. Cats “Old age, country life, and court thoughts, on Sorgh-Vliet” Amsterdam, 1656. (Image courtesy of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum).

Pilgrim Occupations in Leyden

With so many refugees living in Leyden, the city welcomed some of them to work at the looms. Leiden American Pilgrim Museum notes, that among the Pilgrims, some worked at other professions —

Jonathan Brewster was a merchant who produced ribbon, that he exported to England.
Samuel Fuller, the Pilgrims’ physician in Plymouth Colony, was a serge-weaver in Leiden.
Myles Standish, the colony’s future military leader, was a soldier.
Isaac Allerton, later to become well-known as a merchant and Plymouth Colony’s representative in England, was a tailor in Leiden, a trade he had learned in London.
Edward Winslow assisted William Brewster as a printer, (and significantly for us, had George Soule travel with him on the Mayflower as his Servant).
Nicholas Claverley was one of Leiden’s first tobacco-pipe makers, involved with other Englishmen in the tobacco trade that could be found wherever English soldiers were garrisoned. (Note: Nicholas Claverley is recorded as being part of the Pilgrim group in Leyden, but he did not travel on the Mayflower).

“But adults and children alike, who’d been farmers in England, now toiled from dawn to dusk, six or seven days a week, weaving cloth in the textile factories. Even with such hardships, the Pilgrims later regarded their Leiden years as a type of “glory days,” whose difficulties were nothing compared with the ordeals they faced in America.” (NEFTH) (8)

Family photographs from inside of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, the Netherlands, November 2023. Located in a beautifully preserved house built circa 1365-1370. (Family photos).

Clockwise from the top: Street views of Beschuitsteeg (Biscuit) Alley), a portrait of Pilgrim Edward Winslow over the fireplace mantle, a view of the storage pantry, the sleeping area*, the museum exterior at the intersection of Beschuitsteeg 9 and Nieuwstraat. *Note: Curiously, in that era, people did not sleep lying down, but instead, slept in a sitting position. Two people and a nursing child would have slept in this nook).

Choosing to Travel to The British Colonies in North America

By 1617, the Separatists were getting anxious to move again. “Their biggest concern after a decade in this foreign land was that their children were becoming Dutch,’ Nathaniel Philbrick, the author of Mayflower explains. ‘They were still very proud of their English heritage. They were also fearful that the Spanish were about to attack again.’

Indeed, a conflict was building between Spain’s Catholic King and European Protestant powers, which would soon embroil the continent in the Thirty Years’ War. Radical Protestants viewed this as a battle between the forces of good (Protestantism) and evil (Roman Catholicism), little short of Armageddon. ‘Everything seemed to be on the edge of complete meltdown,’ Philbrick says. ‘And so they decided it’s time to pull the ripcord once again. Even if it meant leaving everything they had known all their lives.’ ” (NEFTH)

However by then, something had changed, as something had started to shift in their demeanor by living in Leyden, and this affected their views in the future Plymouth Colony —

“They were much more tolerant than people think, particularly for their time,” [Historian Jeremy Bangs] says. ‘They did not require people in the Plymouth Colony to follow Calvinist beliefs. This led to a conscious construction of a society with separation of church and state.’ Bangs, whose extensive research has made him one of the pre-eminent authorities on the Pilgrims, cites a 1645 proposal by the Plymouth Colony leaders that Jews, Catholics, Unitarians and many other sects be accepted in the Plymouth Colony.”

Further, in a Smithsonian magazine interview about her book, The World of Plymouth Plantation, historian Carla Pestana explores Plymouth’s grip on the American historical imagination. She says, “I do think that in Plymouth they tended to be somewhat more tolerant of alternate religious views. Decades later when the Harvard president openly explains that he’s a Baptist and has to leave Massachusetts, he goes to Plymouth. The first Quaker in Massachusetts who gets converted goes to Plymouth. I actually think that’s one reason why Plymouth wins in the sweepstakes for becoming the most important founding moment in the region. They don’t kill witches like Salem. They don’t kill Quakers like Boston. Some of the worst things that people in the late 18th century were starting to be embarrassed about, about their ancestors, didn’t happen in Plymouth.” (Smithsonian, for both Bangs, and Pestana)

We will be writing more about this evolution of their worldviews in the chapter, The Pilgrims — The Native Peoples.

*The Departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Delfshaven on Their Way to America on July 22, 1620.*
by Adam Willaerts, circa 1620. When they left Leyden,“They boarded {canal boats] at the Rapenburg, not far from the Pieterskerk and John Robinson’s house.” (Vita Brevis) From there, they sailed to Delfshaven where the Speedwell was waiting to take them to England.(Image courtesy of The Museum of Fine Arts Boston).

“Brewster and Robinson were the prime movers in the decision to sail for America, but once he was in hiding, the Separatists looked to their deacon John Carver and to Robert Cushman to carry on negotiations with the appropriate officials in London. Brewster returned to the Leiden congregation in 1620, when it was time for the Speedwell to sail to England. He had been hiding out in Netherlands and perhaps even England for the last year. At the time of his return, Brewster was the highest-ranking layman of the congregation and was their designated elder in Plymouth Colony.

When the passengers of the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Colony, Brewster became the senior elder, and so served as the religious leader of the colony in the colony, he became a Separatist leader and preacher, and eventually as an adviser to Governor William Bradford.

As the only university-educated member of the colony, Brewster took the part of the colony’s religious leader until pastor Ralph Smith arrived in 1629. Thereafter, he continued to preach irregularly until his death in April 1644. ‘He was tenderhearted and compassionate of such as were in misery,’ Bradford wrote, ‘but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank and fallen unto want and poverty.’ In 1632, he received lands in nearby Duxbury and removed from Plymouth to create a farm there.”

Our ancestor George Soule, had also done the same. (9)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

(1) — nine records

National Geographic
The Protestant Reformation
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/protestant-reformation/
Note: For the text.

Luther Posting His 95 Theses
by Ferdinand Pauwels
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luther95theses.jpg#file
Note: For the painting.

Reformed Christianity
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformed_Christianity
Note: For the text about John Calvin and The Spread of Calvinism.

Nationalmuseum (Stockholm, Sweden)
Martin Luther (portrait)
by Lucas Cranach the Elder, circa 1527
File:Martin Luther (1483-1546) (Lucas Cranach d.ä.) – Nationalmuseum – 22066.tif
https://collection.nationalmuseum.se/sv/collection/item/22066/
Note: For his portrait.

The Huntington Library
Globalizing the Protestant Reformations
[Title page of the]
Disputatio pro declaration virtutis indulgentiarum
(Disputation on the Power of Indulgences)
by Martin Luther, circa 1519
https://huntington.org/verso/globalizing-protestant-reformations
Note: For the book image.

Encyclopædia Britannica
John Calvin (portrait)
by Artist unknown
https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Calvin#/media/1/90247/113479
Note: For his portrait.

[Title page of the]
Christianae religionis institutio
by John Calvin, circa 1536
File:Christianae religionis institutio (1536).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christianae_religionis_institutio_(1536).jpg
Note: For the book image.

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
The Political Background
https://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/en/page/pilgrim-life-in-leiden-the-political-background
Note: For the text.

The Church of England & Henry VIII | Reformation & Events
https://study.com/academy/lesson/henry-viii-and-the-anglican-church.html#:~:text=Henry%20VIII%20created%20the%20Church,sons%20to%20continue%20his%20dynasty.
Note: For the text from Who created the Church of England and why? and What’s the difference between Catholic and Church of England?

James I and England

(2) — three records

James VI and I and Religious Issues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_VI_and_I_and_religious_issues
Note: For the text.

Collection Museum Prinsenhof Delft / Loan Mauritshuis, The Hague
Portrait of Jacobus I, 1566-1625, (James I)
by Artist unknown.
https://www.lakenhal.nl/en/story/images-and-credit-lines-pilgrims
Notes: For his portrait.
“James I disliked Robert Browne’s followers, who did not care for the episcopal hierarchy of the Anglican state church. The king maintained that God had bestowed upon him his position as absolute ruler, making any criticism of him sacrilege. On James’s orders, the ‘Brownists’, the separatist movement to which the Pilgrims belonged, were fined, imprisoned or banished.”

Historic Labels — Identifying Who “The Others” Are

(3) — six records

The University of York
Pilgrims and Pilgrimage
The Origins of the Terms ‘Pilgrim’ and ‘Pilgrimage’
https://www.york.ac.uk/projects/pilgrimage/intro.html#:~:text=The%20English%20term%20’pilgrim’%20originally,journey%2C%20or%20a%20temporary%20resident.
Note: For the text that is the Latin definition for Pilgrims.

English Dissenters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Dissenters
Note: For the text that defines English Dissenters.

Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims_(Plymouth_Colony)
Note: For the text that defines Separatists.

Washington University Art & Sciences
Pilgrims, Puritans, and the importance of the unexceptional
by John Moore
https://artsci.washu.edu/ampersand/pilgrims-puritans-and-importance-unexceptional
Note: For the text that clarifies the differences between Pilgrims and Puritans, and for the pull-quote by Abram Van Engen.

Brownists
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownists
Note: For the text that defines Brownists.

1600s Pilgrim Couple Kneeling In Prayer
painting by Herbert Paus, via History.com
The Puritans
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/puritanism
Note: For the illustration of 1600s Pilgrim Couple Kneeling In Prayer.

A Radical Notion At The Time

(4) — four records

Caleb Johnson’s MayflowerHistory.com
Church and Religion
http://mayflowerhistory.com/religion
Note: For the text regarding key beliefs of the Pilgrim congregation.

File:Geneva Bible.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geneva_Bible.jpg
Note: For the image of the Geneva edition of the Bible, first published in English in 1560.

File:Lincolnia nottinghamia Atlas.jpg
by Christopher Saxton, 1576
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lincolnia_nottinghamia_Atlas.jpg
Note: For the map of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire from 1576. Atlas created by cartographer Christopher Saxton as part of his ‘Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales’. Contains hand-written marginal notes.

(TPCAP)
The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
by J. Jason Boroughs
http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/jbthesis.html
Note: For the text from the section, Background: The colonization of New England.

William Brewster and the Scrooby Village Congregation

(5) — six records

William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brewster_(Mayflower_passenger)
Note: For the text.

Scrooby
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooby
Note: For the text.

Scrooby Manor House (illustration)
https://christianheritage.info/places/united-kingdom/east-midlands/bassetlaw/site/scrooby-manor-house/
Note: For the illustration.

Daniel Crouch Rare Books
Saxton’s Seminal Atlas of England and Wales in full original colour, circa 1579
https://crouchrarebooks.com/product/atlas/saxtons-seminal-atlas-of-england-and-wales-in-full-original-colour/
Note: For the image of Queen Elizabeth I.

Manor House
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manor_house
Note: For text under the section, Decline of the Manor House.

Fleeing to First to Amsterdam, and Then to Leyden, Holland

(6) — six records

William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brewster_(Mayflower_passenger)
Note: For the text.

Leiden Museum de Lakenhal
Permit from the city council of Leiden for 100 Englishmen
to be allowed to settle in Leiden, dated 12 February 1609.
Pilgrims to America — And The Limits of Freedom (Exhibition)
via Heritage Leiden, Stadsarchief 1574 – 1816
https://www.lakenhal.nl/en/story/images-and-credit-lines-pilgrims
Notes: (Left page only). This is the written agreement that granted permission for the Pilgrims – around 100 men and women – to settle in Leiden. The document was written on behalf of the city council by city secretary Jan van Hout on February 12, 1609. The religious community around John Robinson was probably larger than the hundred people mentioned in the agreement because children weren’t included.

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
Pilgrim Life in Leiden — Coming to Leiden
https://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/en/page/pilgrim-life-in-leiden-coming-to-leiden
Note 1: For the text.
Note 2: Borrowed image, Boats like these sailed from Amsterdam to Leiden. Engraving by Adrian van de Venne, ca. 1630

Family Search Blog
The Life and Legacy of William Brewster
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/william-brewster-legacy
Note: For his portrait.

Map of Holland: According to Astronomical Observations, Measurements of Schnellius & c. and the Superiorly Redesigned Special Maps of F. L. Güssefeld, circa 1791.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_01132/?r=-0.547,0.047,2.094,1.047,0
Note 1: This map of the Netherlands coast is the work of Prussian cartographer Franz Ludwig Güssefeld (1744-1807). It was drawn based on the calculations of the renowned Dutch mathematician Willebrord Snellius (1580-1626), a professor of mathematics at the University of Leiden, who conceived the idea of measuring the earth using triangulation. Snellius’s discoveries helped to determine the radius of the earth as well as led to more accurate ways of measuring the distance between two cities.
Note 2: Adapted to document travel from Amsterdam to Leyden.

Winter Scene on a Canal
by Hendrick Avercamp, circa 1615
https://www.wikiart.org/en/hendrick-avercamp/winter-scene-on-a-canal
Note 1: For this painting.
Note 2: Avercamp was famed for both his winter landscape paintings and for his superior ability as a draftsman. Today, his drawings are highly valued and are considered to be accurate records of Dutch clothing and lifestyles from this time period.

The Brewster Press

(7) — four records

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
Pilgrim Life in Leiden — Leiden, a Fair and Beautiful City
https://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/en/page/pilgrim-life-in-leiden-leiden-a-fair-and-beautiful-city
Note: For the text.

Map of Leiden
by Pieter Bast, circa 1600
(via Geschiedenis)
https://doreleiden.nl/geschiedenis/
Note: For the map.

William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brewster_(Mayflower_passenger)
Note: For the text.

(LAPM)
Leiden Museum de Lakenhal
Pilgrims to America — And The Limits of Freedom (Exhibition)
via Heritage Leiden, Stadsarchief 1574 – 1816
Perth Assembly, 1619
(Image courtesy of David Calderwood, Leiden University Libraries).
https://www.lakenhal.nl/en/story/images-and-credit-lines-pilgrims
Notes: “A year before their departure for America, the Pilgrims published this pamphlet in Leiden. It was immediately banned in England since it criticised royal decisions that had been made during an assembly in Perth, Scotland in 1618. In this pamphlet, the Pilgrims express their dislike of the celebration of Christmas and Easter, the episcopal hierarchy and the practice of kneeling during Holy Communion.”

Pilgrim Occupations in Leyden

(8) — three records

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
The life of man compared to a weaver’s shuttle.
(Copperstitch according to Adrian van Venne), from:
J. Cats “Old age, country life, and court thoughts, on Sorgh-Vliet”
Amsterdam, 1656 (For the title in English).
https://www.abebooks.de/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31525694547&cm_sp=collections-_-2gwY4IoWG3dukN4eR0KkQ0_item_1_37-_-bdp
Note: The original image was obtained form from the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum in November 2023.

(LAPM)
Leiden American Pilgrim Museum
Pilgrim Life in Leiden — Pilgrim Occupations in Leiden
https://leidenamericanpilgrimmuseum.org/en/page/pilgrim-life-in-leiden-pilgrim-occupations-in-leiden
Note: For the text.

Choosing to Travel to The British Colonies in North America

(9) — five records

Smithsonian Magazine
The Pilgrims Before Plymouth
by John Hanc
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-pilgrims-before-plymouth-111851259/
Note: For the text about religious tolerance.

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The Departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from Delfshaven on Their Way to America on July 22, 1620.
by Adam Willaerts, circa 1620
https://www.mfa.org/article/2022/the-departure-of-the-pilgrim-fathers-from-delfshaven-on-their-way-to-america
Note: For the (possibly contemporanious to 1620) painting.

William Brewster (Mayflower passenger)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brewster_(Mayflower_passenger)
Note: For the text.

The Pilgrims — Colonial Pursuits

This is Chapter Two of seven. Here we are examining some of the colonization that England attempted in the decades before the Pilgrims sailed to British North America.

Preface — Show Me The Money

The first wave of European colonization began with Spanish and Portuguese conquests and explorations, and primarily involved with the European colonization of the New World. The Spanish and Portuguese became profoundly rich.“It was not long before the exclusivity of Iberian [Spanish and Portuguese] claims to the Americas was challenged by other European powers, primarily the Netherlands, France, and England.

[Everyone wanted access to the (potential) resources available to them.] “…the English, French and Dutch were no more averse to making a profit than the Spanish and Portuguese, and whilst their areas of settlement in the Americas proved to be devoid of the precious metals found by the Spanish, trade in other commodities and products that could be sold at massive profit in Europe provided another reason for crossing the Atlantic — in particular, furs from Canada, tobacco and cotton grown in Virginia, and sugar in the islands of the Caribbean and Brazil.” (Wikipedia) (1)

*Roanoke Wasn’t America’s Only Lost Colony*, map courtesy of National Geographic, June 2018 issue. ***Note that the yellow arrows designate which three colonies we will profile.***

England Finally Gets In The Game

“In the early 1600s it was finally England’s turn to play the game. Much like the young Spanish conquistadores coming to America a century earlier, young English aristocratics, or for that matter anyone seeking social betterment, looked to America in the hope of finding American gold with which they could buy land and thus social status.” (Colonial Foundations)

“La Virgenia Pars — map of the E coast of N America from Chesapeake bay to the Florida Keys,
with arms of Sir Walter Raleigh, English vessels, dolphins, fish, whales and sea-monsters”
by John White, circa 1585-1593. (Image courtesy of The British Museum).

Virginia Was the Mother of the Colonies —
“The Spanish had established Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565 as a strategic outpost to protect Spain’s Caribbean empire from English privateers. Between Newfoundland and Spanish Florida was a vast unsettled territory. Raleigh named this area Virginia an honor to Queen Elizabeth, (the Virgin Queen), with whom he sought favors. For many years thereafter the vast temperate region of North America was referred to as Virginia. It had no boundaries, and no government.

Each of the other original colonies was directly or indirectly carved out of Virginia. It was the first territory to be claimed by England in North America. At its maximum extent, Virginia encompassed most of what is now the United States, as well as portions of Canada and Mexico.

Virginia was the first of the thirteen original states to be founded and settled. It was generally the tradition of the English during the colonial period to establish large geographic units, and then to subsequently sub-divide them into smaller more manageable units. This two-phase process was conducted in order to establish legal claims to maximum territory.” (See footnotes, How Virginia Got Its Borders – HVGIB) (2)

**The Stuarts,** King James I (reigned 1603 – 1625). *Painting of James VI and I*
*Wearing the Jewel Called the Three Brothers in His Hat*, circa 1605, (after) John de Critz .

King James I and the Virginia Company of 1606

Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, and the continued development of colonies in the Americas then fell to her successor. “It would have to wait for a new monarch before colonization would become a reality. That monarch was King James I, Elizabeth’s successor. In 1606, he chartered two joint stock companies for the purpose of establishing colonies in Virginia.” (See footnotes, HVGIB)

In Renaissance England, wealthy merchants were eager to find investment opportunities, so they established several companies to trade in various parts of the world. Each company was made up of investors, known as merchant adventurers, who purchased shares of company stock. Profits were shared among the investors according to the amount of stock that each owned. More than 6,300 Englishmen invested in joint-stock companies between 1585 and 1630, trading in Russia, Turkey, Africa, the East Indies, the Mediterranean, and North America.

Example colonial promotions for investors and settlers by The Virginia Company — *The New Life of Virgin*ea, circa 1612, from the University of Glasgow Library. *A Good Speed to Virginia*, circa 1609, and *A True Relation*, circa 1608, from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

The Virginia Company emerged at a time when European empires chartered corporations for their imperial efforts. The English East India Company and Dutch East India Company had both recently received royal charters by their governments. (See also The DeVoe Line, A Narrative — One, Holland & Huguenots). The Virginia Company represented a new strategy that relied less on protected trade and ports — this strategy was settler colonialism.

Images left to right: The front and back of the royal seal of James I of England as the president of the Council of Virginia, the inscriptions signifying: *Seal of the King of Great Britain, France and Ireland*, and *For his Council of Virginia*, circa 1606. The Virginia Company Coat of Arms and flag, circa 1620, the original seal of the London Company of Virginia. (Wikipedia)

Therefore, the English King James I needed money to continue England’s struggle against Spain and was very willing to charter two new colonization efforts to the New World, for the area (at that point) known overall as Virginia. For this effort he created The Virginia Company on April 10, 1606. It was an English trading company chartered with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. “The [initial] Charter of 1606 [which] did not mention a Virginia Company or a Plymouth Company; these names were applied somewhat later to the overall enterprise.” (Wikipedia) Hence, the Virginia Company eventually became two companies:

The Virginia Company of Plymouth was funded by wealthy investors from Plymouth, Bristol, and Exeter such as Sir John Popham. It was responsible for the northern part of Virginia (roughly what was to become New England). On August 13, 1607, the Plymouth Company established the Popham Colony along the Kennebec River in Maine. However, it was abandoned after about a year and the Plymouth Company became inactive. A successor company eventually established a permanent settlement in 1620 when the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, aboard the Mayflower.

The Virginia Company of London was responsible for the southern colony. It was primarily focused on the Chesapeake Bay area of today’s Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland. The company established the Jamestown Settlement in present-day Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. (Overall several sources utilized, see footnotes).

It is quite an understatement to say that establishing a new colony in The Americas took much in terms of resources, and quite honestly, a lot of luck too. Each country was literally building an entire new system for their explorations, along with an ambitious, concurrent new economic model. Hence, the results, whether they understood this or not, were quite new societies.

In summary, Spain, Portugal, and France moved quickly to establish a presence in the New World, while other European countries moved more slowly. The English did not attempt to found colonies until many decades after the explorations of John Cabot, and early efforts were failures—most notably the Roanoke Colony, which vanished about 1590. (3)

Left image: Sir Walter Raleigh, portrait by William Segar.
Right image: **The House of Tudor**, Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558 – 1603).

The Roanoke Colony, 1587 — ?

We learned from How Virginia Got Its Boundaries, that back “when Sir Walter Raleigh founded the first English settlement on Roanoke Island, there was no Virginia. There was only America… [and that] the failure of Roanoke Island was a financial disaster for Queen Elizabeth. She refused to invest further in colonial enterprises. Virginia remained in name only.” (See footnotes, HVGIB)

Some background —
From Wikipedia, Raleigh “was an English statesman, soldier, writer, and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonization of North America. He helped defend England against the Spanish Armada. He rose rapidly in the favour of Queen Elizabeth I and was knighted in 1585. He was granted a royal patent to explore Virginia, paving the way for future English settlements. In 1591, he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, without the Queen’s permission, for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London. After his release, they retired to his estate at Sherborne, Dorset.”

Observation: In addition to the cost of her war with Spain, Raleigh’s subterfuge of a marriage was another reason that Queen Elizabeth I decided not to further invest in his colonial adventures.

*The Lost Colony*, by William Ludwell Sheppard. This illustration from the 1876 textbook,
*A Popular History of the United States*, by William Cullen Bryant.

England’s desire for empire building finally started emerging — “Roanoke Colony was founded by the governor Ralph Lane in 1585 on Roanoke Island in present-day Dare County, North Carolina. Lane’s colony was troubled by a lack of supplies and poor relations with some of the local Native American tribes. A resupply mission by Sir Richard Grenville was delayed, so Lane abandoned the colony and returned to England with Sir Francis Drake in 1586. Grenville arrived two weeks later and also returned home, leaving behind a small detachment to protect Raleigh’s claim.

A second expedition led by John White landed on the island in 1587 and set up another settlement. Sir Walter Raleigh had sent him to establish the ‘Cittie of Raleigh’ in Chesapeake Bay. That attempt became known as the Lost Colony due to the unexplained disappearance of its population.”

John White illustrations of the Secoton Indians, circa 1585. “…in one of many scenes painted by John White, the Lost Colony’s artist governor. White’s realistic portraits of Native American life… became one of the earliest lenses through which Europeans saw the New World.”

From left to right: *An Indian girl shows off an English doll*, *Equipment for curing fish* used by the North Carolina Algonquins, *Ritual dances*, and the *Village of the Secoton*. (Images courtesy of The Trustees of The British Museum, and National Geographic).

“The ship was unable to return right away however, because the English at this point were deeply engaged in this struggle for their very survival against the mighty Spanish Armada. Not until [after] the English survived this danger, three years after originally depositing the settlers in America, was a ship able to send supplies back to the colony. But upon the ship’s arrival, the settlers were nowhere to be seen — nor was there any indication of where they might be or what had happened to them. The cryptic word ‘CROATOAN’ was found carved into the palisade, which White interpreted to mean that the colonists had relocated to Croatoan Island. Before he could follow this lead, rough seas and a lost anchor forced the mission to return to England.”

The news of the Lost Colony put a serious chill on any further thoughts about another such venture — until another generation came along at a time when the lure of gold seemed to be greater than the fear of failure.” (Overall several sources are utilized, see footnotes). (4)

Left image with inset: A fresh clue to the lost colonists’ fate emerged when curators backlit this 16th-century map of what is now coastal North Carolina and discovered a star-shaped symbol under a patch. Some researchers believe it may mark the location of a fort where the colonists fled after abandoning their settlement on Roanoke Island. (Image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum). Right image: Portrait of John Smith via History.com.

The Roanoke Colony in the Popular Imagination

In today’s world, it seems that almost everyone has heard something along the way about the legend of Roanoke Island. One might think that this is a somewhat new phenomena due to the current omni-presence of social media and clickbait alternative reality programming. However, interest in this mystery goes back much further — nearly 200 years .

“United States historians largely overlooked or minimized the importance of the Roanoke settlements until 1834, when George Bancroft lionized the 1587 colonists in ‘A History of the United States’. Bancroft emphasized the nobility of Walter Raleigh, …the courage of the colonists, and the uncanny tragedy of their loss. He was the first since John White to write about Virginia Dare, calling attention to her status as the first English child born on what would become US soil, and the pioneering spirit exhibited by her name. The account captivated the American public.” (Wikipedia)

George Bancroft’s *History of the Colonization of the United States*,
originally published in 1841.

There were investigations, but those were done in the very early days of the English presence in North America. Nothing conclusive was then determined about the fate of the colonists. Intriguingly, “Two decades later the English established their first permanent beachhead in the Americas, a hundred miles to the north on the James River, in what is now Virginia. Captain John Smith, the leader of the Jamestown colony, heard from the Indians that men wearing European clothes were living on the Carolina mainland west of Roanoke and Croatoan Islands.” (National Geographic)

Modern scholarship combined with many archeological excavations have all but concluded that the Roanoke Colonists were in the area, but had chosen to integrate into the local tribal cultures to survive.

“They say that the colony vanished and they left behind this cryptic message on a tree, ‘Croatoan,’ and no one knows what it means…
The reason they do this is mystery sells, right?
But Croatoan is Hatteras Island. It’s clearly labeled on the maps.”
Scott Dawson, President, Croatoan Archaeologist Society,
Lost Colony Museum on Hatteras Island

Most recently, Dawson revealed that “archaeologists found ‘buckets’ of hammer scale, a leftover material from blacksmithing… ‘This is showing a presence of the English working metal and living in the Indian Village for decades —We’re finding this whole metalworking workshop on the site and natives didn’t do that…’ and ‘The Lost Colony is a marketing campaign that started in 1937 and it created this myth of a colony that vanished, and none of that is real…” (WHRO Public Media)

Playbills from 1937 and 1938 productions of *The Lost Colony* play.

The marketing campaign from 1937 was a play — We learned that, “The Lost Colony is an historical outdoor drama, written by American Paul Green and produced since 1937 in Manteo, North Carolina… The play was written during the Great Depression by Paul Green, who had earlier won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.”

“The drama attracted enough tourists to stimulate the economy of Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Their hotels, motels, and restaurants thrived despite the bleak depression economy. The village of Manteo renamed its streets after historic figures in the drama. Originally intended for one season, the drama was produced again the following year and has since become a North Carolina tradition. Since 1937, more than four million visitors have seen it.”

Mystery sells. Mystery solved. (5)

John Hunt’s map of Fort George, at the failed Popham colony.
(Image courtesy of the Island Institute, The Working Waterfront).

The Popham Colony, 1607-1608

“The Popham Colony—also known as the Sagadahoc Colony—was a short-lived English colonial settlement in North America. It was established in 1607 and was located in the present-day town of Phippsburg, Maine, near the mouth of the Kennebec River. It was founded a few months after its more successful rival, the colony at Jamestown. (See Jamestown below).

Popham was a project of the Plymouth Company, which was one of the two competing parts of the proprietary Virginia Company that King James chartered in 1606 to raise private funds from investors in order to settle Virginia. At the time, the name “Virginia” applied to the entire east coast of North America from Spanish Florida to New France in modern-day Canada. That area was technically under the claim of the Spanish crown, but was not occupied by the Spanish.

The colony lasted just 14 months. It is likely that the failure of the colony was due to multiple problems: the lack of financial support after the death of Sir John Popham, the inability to find another leader, the cold winter, and finally the hostility of both the native people and the French. The settlement of New England was delayed until it was taken up by refugees instead of adventurers.” (Wikipedia) (6)

*Jamestown settlement on the James River, Virginia*, as it may have been in 1615, by Sidney E. King.
(Image courtesy of the National Park Service).

The Jamestown Settlement, 1607

In the beginning, the Jamestown Colony was yet another English disaster. On May 14, 1607, a group of roughly 100 members of the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English settlement in North America on the banks of the James River. (Note: The two key words here are English and permanent). It was “known variously as James Forte, James Towne and James Cittie, the new settlement initially consisted of a wooden fort built in a triangle around a storehouse for weapons and other supplies, a church and a number of houses.

The settlers… suffered greatly from hunger and illnesses like typhoid and dysentery, caused from drinking contaminated water from the nearby swamp. Settlers also lived under constant threat of attack by members of local Algonquian tribes, most of which were organized into a kind of empire under Chief Powhatan.

Images from left to right, Portrait of Captain John Smith, Chief Powhatan, Map detail described “*Powhatan held this state & fashion when Capt. Smith was delivered to him prisoner 1607”. Cropped detail of John Smith’s Map of Virginia used in various publications, first in 1612.* (See footnotes).

An understanding reached between Powhatan and John Smith led the settlers to establish much-needed trade with Powhatan’s tribe by early 1608. Though skirmishes still broke out between the two groups, the Native Americans traded corn for beads, metal tools and other objects (including some weapons) from the English, who would depend on this trade for sustenance in the colony’s early years.

After Smith returned to England in late 1609, the inhabitants of Jamestown suffered through a long, harsh winter known as “The Starving Time,” during which more than 100 of them died. Firsthand accounts describe desperate people eating pets and shoe leather. Some Jamestown colonists even resorted to cannibalism. George Percy, the colony’s leader in John Smith’s absence, wrote:

“And now famine beginning to look ghastly and pale in every face that nothing was spared to maintain life and to do those things which seem incredible, as to dig up dead corpse out of graves and to eat them, and some have licked up the blood which hath fallen from their weak fellows.”

In the spring of 1610, just as the remaining colonists were set to abandon Jamestown, two ships arrived bearing at least 150 new settlers, a cache of supplies and the new English governor.” (History.com)

Tobacco was a key crop that saved Jamestown, although with later, unintended consequences. Left image: *A School History of the United States, 1878* by David B. Scott. Notice how the residents of Jamestown were so eager to plant this crop, *that they even planted it in the city streets*. Right image: *Petum Tabaccam, Plate 14B* from the National Library of Medicine. (See footnotes).

Tobacco became Virginia’s first profitable export —
“A period of relative peace followed the marriage in April 1614 of the colonist and tobacco planter John Rolfe to Pocahontas, a daughter of Chief Powhatan who had been captured by the settlers and converted to Christianity. (According to John Smith, Pocahontas had rescued him from death in 1607, when she was just a young girl and he was her father’s captive.) Thanks largely to Rolfe’s introduction of a new type of tobacco grown from seeds from the West Indies, Jamestown’s economy began to thrive.

*Pocahontas Saving The Life of Capt. John Smith*, Credited to the New England Chromo. Lith. Company, circa 1870. This is the same Captain John Smith who was the famous cartographer, (see his map near the end of this chapter).

This “genre artwork” lithograph is typical for the period with its historical inaccuracies. The scene is idealized; there are no mountains in Tidewater Virginia, for example, and the Powhatans lived in thatched houses rather than tipis.

In 1619, the colony established a General Assembly with members elected by Virginia’s male landowners; it would become a model for representative governments in later colonies. That same year, the first Africans (around 50 men, women and children) arrived in the English settlement; they had been on a Portuguese slave ship captured in the West Indies and brought to the Jamestown region. They worked as indentured servants at first (the race-based slavery system developed in North America in the 1680s) and were most likely put to work picking tobacco.” (History.com)

Observation: A number of historians actually document that this event — Tobacco fueled English colonization, the use of slave labor — was the true beginning of slavery for the future United States, despite the indentured servitude designation written above. (Historic Jamestowne).

*Jamestown 1660s*, by artist Keith Rocco.

“Also in 1619, the Virginia Company recruited and shipped over about 90 women to become wives and start families in Virginia, something needed to establish a permanent colony. Over one hundred women, who brought or started families, had arrived in prior years, but 1619 was when establishing families became a primary focus.” (Historic Jamestowne)

Wikipedia points out this grim fact about colonial life during this period, “Of the 6,000 people who came to the [Jamestown] settlement between 1608 and 1624, only 3,400 survived.” (7)

Captain John Smith and His Love of Maps

Captain John Smith was an ardent and skilled map maker. He published two maps in England of the east coast of North America, one in 1612, and the other in 1614. These early actions had much impact in how North America was eventually settled. Author Peter Firstbrook wrote in his book, A Man Most Driven: Captain John Smith, Pocahontas and the Founding of America —

“When Smith was mapping New England, the English, French, Spanish and Dutch had settled in North America. Each of these European powers could have expanded, ultimately making the continent a conglomerate of similarly sized colonies. But, by the 1630s, after Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay Colony were established, the English dominated the East Coast—in large part, Firstbrook claims, because of Smith’s map, book and his ardent endorsement of New England back in Britain.”

“Were it not for his authentic representation of what the region was like, I don’t think it would be anywhere near as popular,” says Firstbrook. “He was the most important person in terms of making North America part of the English speaking world.” (Smithsonian)

John Smith’s *Virginia* was originally published (separately) in London in 1612 and then in the 1612 Oxford publication of John Smith’s *A Map of Virginia: With a Description of the Countrey, the Commodities, People, Government and Religion*. Subsequently it appeared in several other works by Smith and other commentators on Virginia. It remained the most influential map of Virginia until the last quarter of the 17th century and many of the place names used by Smith remain in use.

Although our ancestors at Plymouth may have felt they were isolated in a new mostly Native world, they were in fact part of an incredibly complex and inter-connected European network of trade and ideas. (8)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Preface — Show Me The Money

(1) — one record

First Wave of European Colonization
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_wave_of_European_colonization
Note: For the text.

England Finally Gets In The Game

(2) — six records

National Geographic
Roanoke Wasn’t America’s Only Lost Colony
by Matthew W. Chwastyk
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/lost-colony-roanoke-virginia-mystery-map-interactive
Note: For the Colonial Pursuits map from the June 2018 issue.

List of North American Settlements by Year of Foundation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_North_American_settlements_by_year_of_foundation

Colonial Foundations
The Virginia Colony, Early 1600s
by Miles Hodges
https://spiritualpilgrim.net/02_America_The-Covenant-Nation/01_Colonial-Foundations/01c_Virginia.htm
Note: For the text.

(HVGIB)
How Virginia Got Its Boundaries
by Karl R. Phillips
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/boundaryk.html
Note: For the text.

Virtual Jamestown
Virginia (map)
by John Smith, circa 1612
http://www.virtualjamestown.org/jsmap_large.html
Note: Virginia was originally published (separately) in London in 1612, and then in the 1612 Oxford publication of John Smith’s A Map of Virginia: With a Description of the Countrey [sic], the Commodities, People, Government and Religion.
Note: For the map image.

History.com
Mayflower Compact
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/mayflower-compact
Note: For the text.

King James I and the Virginia Company of 1606

(3) — nine records

Painting of James VI and I Wearing the Jewel Called the Three Brothers in His Hat, circa 1605
by (after) John de Critz
File:Portrait of James I of England wearing the jewel called the Three Brothers in his hat.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_James_I_of_England_wearing_the_jewel_called_the_Three_Brothers_in_his_hat.jpg
Note: For the portrait of James I.

(HVGIB)
How Virginia Got Its Boundaries
by Karl R. Phillips
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/boundaryk.html
Note: For the text.

Colonial Foundations
The Virginia Colony, Early 1600s
by Miles Hodges
https://spiritualpilgrim.net/02_America_The-Covenant-Nation/01_Colonial-Foundations/01c_Virginia.htm
Note: For the text.

Virginia Company
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Company
Note: For the text, map, and images.

Plymouth Company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Company
Note: For the text.

Virginia Company of London
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Company_of_London
Note: For the text and images.

Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Virginia Company of London
https://virginiahistory.org/learn/virginia-company-london
Note: For the text and images.

University of Glasgow
Special Collections of the Glasgow University Library
Americana
https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/Americana/17th_century.html
Note: For image, The New Life of Virginea.

Jamestown, Virginia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia
Note: For the text.

The Roanoke Colony, 1587 — ?

(4) — twelve records

Walter Raleigh (portrait)
by William Segar
https://www.worldhistory.org/Walter_Raleigh/
Note: For his portrait.

Encyclopædia Britannica
Elizabeth I, Queen of England (portrait)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-I
Note: For her portrait.

(HVGIB)
How Virginia Got Its Boundaries
by Karl R. Phillips
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/boundaryk.html
Note: For the text.

Walter Raleigh
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Raleigh
Note: For the text.

The Lost Colony, by William Ludwell Sheppard.
Illustration from the 1876 textbook, A Popular History of the United States
by William Cullen Bryant, circa 1876
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_popular_history_of_the_United_States_-_from_the_first_discovery_of_the_western_hemisphere_by_the_Northmen,_to_the_end_of_the_first_century_of_the_union_of_the_states;_preceded_by_a_sketch_of_the_(14781233224).jpg
Notes: “This image depicts John White returning to the Roanoke Colony in 1590 to discover the settlement abandoned. A pallisade had been constructed since White’s departure in 1587, and the word “CROATOAN” was found carved near the entrance. White explained to his men that this was a prearranged signal to indicate that the colony had relocated, but was unable to search Croatoan Island for further information.”
Roanoke Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony
Note: For the illustration.

Roanoke Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony
Note: For the text.

National Geographic
It Was America’s First English Colony. Then It Was Gone.
by Andrew Lawler
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/lost-colony-roanoke-history-theories-croatoan
Note: For the text and illustrations.

(HVGIB)
How Virginia Got Its Boundaries
by Karl R. Phillips
http://www.virginiaplaces.org/boundaries/boundaryk.html
Note: For the text.

The Roanoke Map Collage —
The British Museum
La Virginea Pars map
by John White, circa 1585-1590
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1906-0509-1-3
and
The First Colony Foundation
Hidden Images Revealed on Elizabethan Map of America
by Brent Lane
https://www.firstcolonyfoundation.org/news/hidden-images-revealed-elizabethan-map-america/
Note: Detail of ” La Virginea Pars” by John White showing the area of one of two paper patches (the northern patch) stuck to the map.
and
History.com
John White
By Artist Unknown
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/john-smith
Note: For the John White portrait.

Roanoke in the Popular Imagination

(5) — seven records

Roanoke Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony
Note: For the text.

History of the Colonization of The United States
by George Bancroft, circa 1841
https://archive.org/details/historyofcoloniz00banc/page/n7/mode/2up
Book pages: 36-45, Digital pages: 66-74/568
Note: For the text and images.

National Geographic
It Was America’s First English Colony. Then It Was Gone.
by Andrew Lawler
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/lost-colony-roanoke-history-theories-croatoan
Note: For the anecdote about John Smith and stories of the Roanoke Colony.

WHRO Public Media
New Artifacts on Hatteras Point to the Real Fate of The Lost Colony
by Lisa Godley
https://www.whro.org/arts-culture/2025-01-20/new-artifacts-on-hatteras-point-to-the-real-fate-of-the-lost-colony?utm_source=enewsletter&utm_medium=enews&utm_term=text&utm_campaign=241213
Note: For the text.

The Lost Colony (play)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Colony_(play)

File:Playbill for the 1937 Federal Theatre Project production of Samuel Selden and Paul Green’s The Lost Colony.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Playbill_for_the_1937_Federal_Theatre_Project_production_of_Samuel_Selden_and_Paul_Green’s_The_Lost_Colony.pdf
Note: For the playbill cover artwork for the first year of the production of the play.
and
Library of Congress
The Lost Colony, Playbill from the 1938 production
by Paul Green and Samuel Selden
The Federal Theatre Project
https://www.loc.gov/resource/music.musftpplaybills-200221035/?st=gallery
Note: For the playbill cover artwork for the second year of the production of the play.

The Popham Colony, 1607-1608

(6) — two records

Island Institute, The Working Waterfront
Mysteries of Maine’s First European Colony
by Phil Showell
https://www.islandinstitute.org/working-waterfront/mysteries-of-maines-first-european-colony/
Note: For the text, and John Hunt’s map of Fort St George (Popham Colony).

Popham Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popham_Colony
Note: For the text.

The Jamestown Settlement, 1607

(7) — twelve records

The National Park Service
1492–1800 Colonial & Early National Period
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/fossils/1492-1800-colonial-early-national-period.htm
Note: For this painting, “Jamestown settlement on the James River, Virginia,” as it may have been in 1615, by Sidney E. King.

History.com
Jamestown Colony
https://www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/jamestown
Note: For the text.

Encyclopedia Virginia
Powhatan (d. 1618)
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/powhatan-d-1618/
Note: For image of Captain John Smith.
and
Legends of America
Chief Powhatan – Wahunsunacawh
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/chief-powhatan/
Note: For the image of Chief Powhatan.
and
File:Powhatan john smith map.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Powhatan_john_smith_map.jpg
Note: Map detail described “Powhatan held this state & fashion when Capt. Smith was delivered to him prisoner 1607”. Cropped part of John Smith’s Map of Virginia used in various publications, first in 1612.
Note: For the map detail.

File:Pocahontas Saving the Life of Capt. John Smith – New England Chromo. Lith. Co. LCCN95507872.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pocahontas_saving_the_life_of_Capt._John_Smith_-_New_England_Chromo._Lith._Co._LCCN95507872.jpg
Note: For the lithographic print.

For the tobacco illustrations —
A School History of the United States,
from The Discovery of America to the Year 1878
by David B. Scott
https://archive.org/details/schoolhistoryofu00scot/page/40/mode/2up
Bool page: 40, Digital page: 40/431
Note: For tobacco crop illustration.
and
NIH, The National Institutes of Health
National Library of Medicine
Petum Tabaccam, Plate 14B
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/14/some-of-the-most-beautiful-herbals/page14b/
Note: For the tobacco plant illustration.

A Short History of Jamestown
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm
Note: Regarding brides and families, 1619.

Historic Jamestowne
A Short History of Jamestown
https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/a-short-history-of-jamestown.htm
Note: For the text.

Jamestown, Virginia 1660s (painting)
https://keithrocco.com/product/jamestown-virginia-1660s/
Note: For his painting image of Jamestown.

Jamestown, Virginia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamestown,_Virginia
Note: For text regarding statistical survivals.

Captain John Smith and His Love of Maps

(8) — one record

The Pilgrims — Saints & Strangers

This is Chapter One of seven. We have written seven opening chapters about the history of The Pilgrims. They are structured around certain themes which frame the context(s) of the times within which these people lived. Think of them as a multi-lane highway where all lanes point in one direction — forward in time. At certain points, some lanes are more important than others, but together, they all inform the future, where we live.

In American culture, many people think that they have heard so much over the years about the Pilgrims, that there is nothing more they need to know. We disagree, because they haven’t met our family yet.

Two of our ancestors—
Pilgrim George Soule and Pilgrim Edward Doty, were on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower. They and their fellow travelers, occupy a very prominent space in the collective consciousness of American mythology.

We highly recommend that these chapters be read before taking a look at The Soule Line, A Narrative, or The Doty Line, A Narrative. As with all of our ancestral families, this research honors them. Simply put, that is why we write and share this blog — because sometimes we have to go back, to go forward.

Atlantic Overture

When our Grandmother Lulu Mae (DeVoe) Gore died in 1975, we had to clean her house out of all its possessions. To be honest, although her home was quite neat and tidy, we just weren’t very efficient in getting rid of things. She had lived in that home for 55 years and most things that she owned meant something special to someone, so we took our time and distributed things carefully. We’re glad that we did.

Lulu was the genealogist of the family, and from her research, there had been whispers going on that we had a Mayflower ancestor — we just didn’t know who exactly. Then this book was found tucked amongst others, next to her favorite sitting chair in her dining room. When flipping through the pages, we came across a notation that she had made in the index at some moment in the past.

Who was this person named Soule, George? Is this the ancestor who had been whispered about? Our mother Marguerite (Lulu’s daughter), then took over the genealogy work and completed the history which led her back to our ancestor, Pilgrim George Soule. After Marguerite passed on, Susan (Marguerite’s daughter), took up the mantle as the family genealogist and was able to develop many more family lines because the world had changed. (Much more information was now readily available on the internet). Susan determined that we also had an additional Mayflower ancestor, Pilgrim Edward Doty.

We are descended from two of the original Plymouth Pilgrim families, from the 1620 voyage
of the Mayflower. Both of these lines meet with our 2x Great Grandparents, through
the marriage of Peter A. Devoe (for Edward Doty), and Mary Ann Warner (for George Soule).
Background image, *Isolation: The Mayflower Becalmed on a Moonlit Night*, by Montague Dawson.

To understand some things about our Pilgrim ancestors, it is important to first understand the times in which they lived. For example, they were coming from the Old World (their known worldviews), to the New World (a strange, unknown place). (1)

The Columbian Exchange

Historically, this time period had an over-arching theme which came to be known as: “The Columbian Exchange is… [a] widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemisphere, from the late 15th century on. It is named after the explorer Christopher Columbus and is related to the European colonization and global trade following his 1492 voyage. Some of the exchanges were deliberate while others were unintended.” (Wikipedia) Another aspect of this period is the natural advent of cultural clashes which we will touch upon about in The Pilgrims — The Native Peoples.

*Christopher Columbus Arriving in The New World*, illustration in
Il Costume Antico et Moderno, i.e. *The Ancient and Modern Costume* (1817–26).
(Image courtesy of Encyclopædia Britannica).

Observation: Maybe it is due to Hollywood movies, or perhaps it is just a natural way that the human mind works, but… it seems as if everyone, (with us included), tends to have a manner in which we project the consciousness of the present period back upon the times when our ancestors lived. They were not like those of us in the present day, because their eras were very much different from ours. To help understand their worldviews, we are going to outline three ways in which The Pilgrims were unlike people who are living today. (2)

Theirs Was A Pre-Scientific World

Our Pilgrim ancestors were living in a pre-scientific world in which religion was still the dominant player. That point-of-view might be a little hard for those of us in the modern world to understand. Before us, people didn’t have the perspective to comprehend things which we take for granted: stars and planets, germ-theory, equal opportunity, democratic rule, freedom of religion, etc.

New worlds were being discovered, but their world was still the Britain of their ancient forebears. What was ahead was a century of continued ongoing conflict in which royalty and the church were pitted against each other for control of the English people.

“The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England from the early 16th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century. As in most of the rest of northern Europe, England saw little of these developments until more than a century later. Renaissance style and ideas, however, were slow to penetrate England, and the Elizabethan era in the second half of the 16th century is usually regarded as the height of the English Renaissance.

*Shakespeare and his Friends at the Mermaid Tavern*, by John Faed, circa 1850.
(Image courtesy of Meisterdrucke Fine Art Prints)

The English Renaissance is different from the Italian Renaissance in several ways. The dominant art forms of the English Renaissance were literature and music. Visual arts in the English Renaissance were much less significant than in the Italian Renaissance. The English period began far later than the Italian…” (Wikipedia)

To understand how much change was afoot in the world — here are just a few of the people who were alive during the century of 1530-1630 outside of England — artists, scientists, philosophers: Michelangelo, Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, René Descartes. Inside of England, it was a virtual hit parade of politicians, but also some explorers and writers: Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, Sir Francis Drake, William Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh, Oliver Cromwell.

Our forebears lived during a time at the very beginning of scientific invention, even though much of this information took decades to develop and disperse across the world. The Enlightenment and the Age of Reason were yet to come. As an example, when our ancestors gazed with wonder upon the stars of the night sky, their conception of the world was very different from our understanding today… (3)

*The Astronomer*, by Johannes Vermeer, circa 1668. This painting was completed almost 50 years after the Pilgrims had already been in Plymouth, New England. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

The Earth Was The Center Of Their Universe

We think about what their journey on the Mayflower must have been like — sailing under the vastness of the night sky, with just the cool light of the stars to guide them. Or perhaps standing on the shores of the new Plymouth, staring out at a universe, something they may have wondered about — but then, they barely knew how to think about it like we do. In their world, the Earth was the center of the universe. This is called the Copernican Heliocentric model and what this means is, “…the Sun [is positioned] at the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular paths… at uniform speeds.” (Wikipedia)

This of course, changed in the decades that followed, but few of the Pilgrims likely knew this. Ironically, the telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608 while they were living in Leyden [Leiden]. Through subsequent refinements and improvements, the telescope became fundamental in helping Galileo Galilei develop his theories, published in the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), which was a rejection of the Copernican Heliocentric model.

Galileo Galilei at His Trial by the Inquisition in Rome in 1633., i.e. *Galileo pushes away the Bible*. (Courtesy of The Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons).

This “was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and from some astronomers. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations. Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632), which appeared to attack and ridicule Pope Urban VIII, thus alienating both the Pope and the Jesuits, who had both strongly supported Galileo up until this point. He was tried by the Inquisition, found ‘vehemently suspect of heresy’, and forced to recant. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest.” (Wikipedia) (4)

Top left: Title page of Galileo Galilei’s *Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems*, published by Giovanni Battista Landini in 1632. Top right: Early depiction of a ‘Dutch telescope’ from the *“Emblemata of zinne-werck”* by Johan de Brune, in 1624. Bottom image: It was nearly 350 years before we saw the first images of the Earth taken from the moon.“This photo was taken from the Apollo 11 Columbia command module, shortly before the lunar module was dispatched to the surface…July 1969″.

They Had No Concept of Germ Theory

We can thank our lucky stars* that we now live in a time when medicine has evolved beyond the ideas that were once widely believed in the time of these ancestors.

“In Tudor times, the understanding of medicine and the human body was based on the theory of the four bodily humours. This idea dates back to ancient Greece, where the body was seen more or less as a shell containing four different humours, or fluids: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. The humours affect your whole being, from your health and feelings to your looks and actions. The key to good health (and being a good person) is to keep your humours in balance. However, everyone has a natural excess of one of the humours, which is what makes us all look unique and behave differently. Shakespeare even mentions them on his plays: how medicine formed part of people’s lives and thoughts.” (Tudorworld.com)

Left image: From *Humoralism and The Seasons*— There were a number of things that could disrupt [the balance of the humours], including the kind of food you ate, whether or not you were getting enough sleep, and, of course, the changing of the seasons. Spring meant there might be an excess of blood in the body, yellow bile was dominant in the summer, black bile rose to prominence with autumn, and phlegm was associated with winter. Right image: Woodcut print of *“Quinta Essentia,”*
by Leonhart Thurneisser zum Thurn, circa 1574.

As shown in the images above, the belief then was that humours were tied to the different seasons, and hence, their corresponding astrological signs. [Observation: *Lucky Stars — The use of this funny expression seems to imply that our belief in Astrology is still ok, no?]

“Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 17th century and it was definitively disproved in the 1850s with the advent of germ theory, which was able to show that many diseases previously thought to be humoral were in fact caused by microbes.” (Wikipedia)

“The English of that era really couldn’t bathe even if they wanted to, notes V. W. Greene, a professor of epidemiology at the Ben Gurion Medical School in Beersheva, Israel. “There was no running water, streams were cold and polluted, heating fuel was expensive, and soap was hard to get or heavily taxed. There just weren’t facilities for personal hygiene. Cleanliness wasn’t a part of the folk culture.” (Lies My Teacher Told Me – LMTTM; See footnotes, V. W. Greene)

“Queen Isabella boasted that she took only two baths in her life,
at birth and before her marriage.”

“Colonial America’s leaders deemed bathing impure, since
it promoted nudity, which could only lead to promiscuity.”
excerpts from an article written by Jay Stuller
titled “Cleanliness has only recently become a virtue”
Smithsonian Magazine, February 1991

It’s no wonders perfumes were highly coveted possessions.

A representation by Robert Seymour of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century depicts the spread of the disease in the form of deadly air via *miasma*. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons).

It took another 230 to 300 years for the understanding of germ theory to take hold in the popular consciousness. As explained by Encyclopædia Britannica, “Developed, verified, and popularized between 1850 and 1920, germ theory holds that certain diseases are caused by the invasion of the body by microorganisms. Research by Louis Pasteur, [and others] contributed to public acceptance of the once-baffling theory, proving that processes such as fermentation and putrefaction, as well as diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis, were caused by germs.

Before germ theory was popularly understood, the methods taken to avoid illness and infection were based on guesses rather than facts. After germ theory’s development and popularization, effective sanitation practices resulted in cleaner homes, hospitals, and public spaces— as well as longer life spans for the people who had never before known how to avoid getting sick.” (Encyclopædia Britannica) (5)

There Was No Concept of An Inherent Bill of Rights

Despite what many people think, the Mayflower Compact was not a democratic declaration of rights. (This is covered in the chapter, The Pilgrims — A Mayflower Voyage). What we want to convey here is that the day-to-day personal rights and freedoms which now exist and which many take for granted didn’t exist at that time.

Much later than 1620, when the young United States adopted the Bill of Rights as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in 1791, they began with the “First Amendment and Religion. The First Amendment has two provisions concerning religion: the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. The Establishment clause prohibits the government ‘establishing’ a religion. The precise definition of ‘establishment’ is unclear. Historically, it meant prohibiting state-sponsored churches, such as the Church of England.” (See footnotes, United States Courts)

American statesman Patrick Henry (1736-1799) delivers his patriotic “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech before the Virginia Assembly in 1775. Henry was the leading proponent of the Bill of Rights as a bulwark against government overreach. (Original Artwork, printed by Currier & Ives).

For The Pilgrims and all of their forebears, they lived their entire lives under the rule of a Monarch. We understand from their history that The Pilgrims desired to have religious freedom to worship as they saw appropriate. This was certainly a minority opinion when you live under a King who took a strong interest in religious matters. That said, British law had been taking an ever so slow drift toward some personal rights, but the freedom of religious choice and worship was not among them.

However, in the long history of English common law, there were some milestones which came to eventually influence the future American Bill of Rights. These same developments were likely heard as the background music of the Pilgrims’ experiences in both England and Holland. As such, they may have been thinking about, or debating them occasionally, especially when new emigrants from England entered their community.

Three Key Documents From English Law, and One From Colonial Law

The Teaching American History website, helps us understand how these rights came to be — In the England of 1215, “the most important contribution of the Magna Carta is the claim that there is a fundamental set of principles, which even the King must respect. Above all else, Magna Carta makes the case that the people have a ‘right’ to expect ‘reasonable’ conduct by the monarch. These rights are to be secured by the principle of representation.” (See footnotes, Teaching American History – TAH )

It is interesting to observe that the Magna Carta is about equally distant in time from The Pilgrims, as they are from us today. Outcome: 7 out of the 26 rights in the U.S. Bill of Rights can be traced back to the Magna Carta.

Magna Carta, 1297: Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy. Courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Gallery at the National Archives.

The Pilgrims were English citizens who, even though they were in the New World, they were required to abide by British law. Soon after they left on the Mayflower, “The 1628 Petition of Right is the second of the three British documents that provided a strong common law component to the development of the American Bill of Rights. In the thirteenth century, the nobles petitioned the King to abandon his arbitrary and tyrannical policies; four centuries later, [and most importantly] it was the commoners who petitioned the King to adhere to the principles of reasonable government bequeathed by the English tradition.”

“The third British contribution to the development of the American Bill of Rights is the 1689 English Bill of Rights… several ancient rights of Englishmen are reaffirmed: the right to petition government for the redress of grievances, the expectation that governmental policy shall confirm to the rule of law… the freedom of speech and debate and that there were to be frequently held elections. Not included, however, in the declaration of rights [is] that Englishmen have are the right to the free exercise of religion and the right to choose their form of government.” (See footnotes, TAH)

Click the link to see a two minute video of the actual 1689 document: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bill-of-Rights-British-history/images-videos

Outcome: 7 of 26 rights in the U.S. Bill of Rights can be traced to the English Petition of Rights, and 7 more to the English Bill of Rights. However, with some duplication, these net out to be 10 rights.

From Colonial Law — The Massachusetts Body of Liberties of 1641

“The Massachusetts Body of Liberties, adopted in December 1641, was the first attempt in Massachusetts to restrain the power of the elected representatives by an appeal to a document that lists the rights, and duties, of the people. The document, drafted and debated over several years, combines the American covenanting tradition [to make an agreement; a covenant] with an appeal to the common law tradition.

*Pilgrims Going To Church*, by George Henry Boughton, circa 1867. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

Even more importantly, there is a distinctively qualitative difference in the emerging Colonial American version of rights. Unique is the emergence of the individual right of religious worship, the political rights of press and assembly, and what became the Sixth Amendment in the U.S Bill of Rights dealing with accusation, confrontation, and counsel. These are home grown.” (See footnotes, TAH)

Outcome: There is a strong relationship between the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Colonial past. 18 of 26 rights in the U.S. Bill of Rights, or 70%, can be traced directly to the Colonial tradition. And 15 of 26 rights, or 60%, come from one source alone: the Massachusetts Body of Liberties of 1641.

The currents for these reforms began with, and continued to thrive with, our ancestors when they came to this part of the world. This process still continues to evolve, even to this very day. (6)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Atlantic Overture

(1) — two records

Saints and Strangers: Being the Lives of the Pilgrim Fathers & Their Families
by George F. Willison
https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.13804/page/509/mode/2up
Book page: 509, Digital page: 509/513

Isolation: The Mayflower becalmed on a moonlit night
by Montague Dawson, (British, 1890-1973)
https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Isolation–The-Mayflower-becalmed-on-a-m/FD8D6C1A6976C620
Note: For the image of the Mayflower painting.

The Columbian Exchange

(2) — two records

Columbian Exchange
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange
Note: For the text.

Encyclopædia Britannica
Columbian Exchange
Columbus Arriving in the New World
by Unknown Artist
https://cdn.britannica.com/08/142308-050-B404CF9D/Christoper-Columbus-New-World-worlds-Western-Hemisphere-1492.jpg
Note: Christopher Columbus Arriving in The New World, illustration in
Il Costume Antico et Moderno, i.e. The Ancient and Modern Costume (1817–26).

Theirs Was A Pre-Scientific World

(3) — two records

English Renaissance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Renaissance
Note: For the text.

Shakespeare and his Friends at the Mermaid Tavern
by John Faed, circa 1850
https://www.meisterdrucke.ie/fine-art-prints/John-Faed/281952/Shakespeare-and-His-Friends-at-the-Mermaid-Tavern.html
Note: For the image of the painting.

The Earth Was The Center Of Their Universe

(4) — eight records

The Astronomer
by Johannes Vermeer
File:Johannes Vermeer – The Astronomer – 1668.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Vermeer_-_The_Astronomer_-_1668.jpg
Note: For the image of the Vermeer painting.

Copernican Heliocentrism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernican_heliocentrism
Note: This model positioned the Sun at the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular paths, modified by epicycles, and at uniform speeds..

History of The Telescope
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_telescope
Note: “The history of the telescope can be traced to before the invention of the earliest known telescope, which appeared in 1608 in the Netherlands“.

Galileo Galilei at His Trial by the Inquisition in Rome in 1633, i.e. Galileo pushes away the Bible.
Courtesy of The Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galileo_Galilei_at_his_trial_Wellcome_V0018717.jpg#/media/File:Galileo_Galilei;_Galileo_Galilei_at_his_trial_at_the_Inquisi_Wellcome_V0018716.jpg
Note: For the image of the trial of Galileo Galilei.

Galileo Galilei
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei
Note: For the text.

File:Galileos Dialogue Title Page.png
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Galileos_Dialogue_Title_Page.png
Note: “Frontispiece (by Stefan Della Bella) and title page of Galileo Galilei’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published by Giovanni Battista Landini in 1632 in Florence.”

File:Emblemata 1624.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Emblemata_1624.jpg
Note: “Early depiction of a ‘Dutch telescope’ from the “Emblemata of zinne-werck” (Middelburg, 1624) of the poet and statesman Johan de Brune (1588-1658).”

Science — 50 Photos Taken on The Moon
by Jessica Learish
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/apollo-11-50th-anniversary-50-photos-taken-on-the-moon/
Note: For the July 1969 image, “This photo was taken from the Apollo 11 Columbia command module, shortly before the lunar module was dispatched to the surface.”

They Had No Concept of Germ Theory

(5) — eight records

What Were the Four Humours?
https://tudorworld.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Four-Humours-Information.pdf
Note: For the text.

Humoralism and The Seasons
by Elisabeth Brander
https://becker.wustl.edu/news/humoralism-and-the-seasons/
Note: For the text.

Humorism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorism
Note: For the text.

Book illustration in “Quinta Essentia”
by Leonhart Thurneisser zum Thurn, circa 1574
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quinta_Essentia_(Thurneisse)_illustration_Alchemic_approach_to_four_humors_in_relation_to_the_four_elements_and_zodiacal_signs.jpg
Note: Woodcut print of the Alchemic approach to four humors in relation to the four elements and zodiacal signs.

V. W. Greene quoted in:
English-Word Information, Ablutions or Bathing, Historical Perspectives
https://wordinfo.info/unit/2701
Notes: “Colonial America’s leaders deemed bathing impure, since it promoted nudity, which could only lead to promiscuity.”
and
“The English of that era really couldn’t bathe even if they wanted to, notes V. W. Greene, a professor of epidemiology at the Ben Gurion Medical School in Beersheva, Israel. “There was no running water, streams were cold and polluted, heating fuel was expensive, and soap was hard to get or heavily taxed. There just weren’t facilities for personal hygiene. Cleanliness wasn’t a part of the folk culture.”

[LMTTM]
Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen
https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Lies_My_Teacher_Told_Me/5m23RrMeLt4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
Book pages: 70-92
Note: Cited in LMTTM, by author Jay Stuller, — “Cleanliness has only recently become a virtue… Queen Isabella boasted that she took only two baths in her life, at birth and before her marriage.”
Cited in this article by author Jay Stuller —
Smithsonian Magazine
Cleanliness Has Only Recently Become a Virtue
by Jay Stuller
February 1991, pages 126-135

File:Cholera art.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cholera_art.jpg
Note: A representation by Robert Seymour of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century depicts the spread of the disease in the form of deadly air via miasma.

Encyclopædia Britannica
What Was Life Like Before We Knew About Germs?
https://www.britannica.com/story/what-was-life-like-before-we-knew-about-germs
Note: For the text.

There Was No Concept of An Inherent Bill of Rights

(6) — four records

United States Courts
First Amendment and Religion
https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/first-amendment-and-religion
Note: For the text.

(TAH)
The Origin of the Bill of Rights
by Natalie Bolton
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/resource/lessonplans/the-origin-of-the-bill-of-rights/
Note: For the text.

The National Archives
Magna Carta
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/magna-carta
Note: For the image of the Magna Carta document.

Pilgrims Going To Church
by George Henry Boughton, circa 1867
File:George-Henry-Boughton-Pilgrims-Going-To-Church.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George-Henry-Boughton-Pilgrims-Going-To-Church.jpg
Note: For the image of Pilgrim church gathering.

The Gore Line, A Narrative — Seven

This is Chapter Seven of eight. We have been covering many interesting centuries of the Gore Family and their forebears, but now we are coming up on these modern times. For the most part, our ancestors are now firmly established in Ohio, living as either farmers, tradesmen, or keeping house.

Where Did These Things Come From?

Tucked in among the paperwork and family ephemera we went through when our Grandmother Lulu Gore died in 1975, were several different anti-slavery newspapers. They both surprised and baffled us because our family stories were silent on the subject of slavery — we wondered how these things had come into the family.

A clue was hiding in plain site on the top of one of the newspapers, where the name Wm Munn had been written in with a quill pen. (This was not really a surprise, because the local Munn family had been in the area as long as our family had, and perhaps, even a bit longer. However, we didn’t see the connection yet). Almost 50 years later, the mystery was solved when we wrote The Gore Line, A Narrative — Six, our previous chapter. In that section, we learned that our Great-Great-Grandfather Luke Gore had been a town clerk in Newbury township, Ohio for the years 1842 and 1844. Looking more closely we observed that William Munn, had served in the same role in 1843 and 1845. It seems then they must have been friends and alternated in this role over the four years.

These newspapers are, the —

Geauga Republican & Whig, March 18, 1845
National Anti-Slavery Standard, July 22, 1847
National Anti-Slavery Standard, May 13, 1852

This got us to thinking about the role that the people of the Western Reserve played in the years leading up to and including the Civil War. In the early part of the 18th century, the Ohio Country was frequently referred to as the West, and from the perspective of New Englanders who settled it, it was indeed pioneer country. By the 1850s and 60s, the Western Reserve wasn’t thought of as a frontier anymore, but actually, it still was — that frontier being a psychological perspective, a state-of-mind about what it meant to be a good citizen in this newly-created country. (1)

The New England of The West

From an article written in 1957, titled The Connecticut Reserve and The Civil War, we learned several interesting perspectives about the area. “Within this region [of] some three million acres, approximately the size of Connecticut herself… [and] modified only slightly by contact with the frontier, the area became more like New England then New England itself.”

This meant that there was a moral fervor, conditioned by the churches of Protestant Puritanism, which had been transplanted from the New England states, to this new area. Furthermore, the “leveling tendencies” of the frontier experience had deepened the ideas of New England “democracy” within the population of settlers.

This resulted in an emphasis on “the democracy of the town… [and] Eastern culture provided a new synthesis in the field of popular education… social mobility and a re-affirmation of individual worth, equality, and dignity of man in general.” [Lottick] In other words, their state-of-mind, their ethos of hard work, having an education, using a democratic voice, and righteous behavior, was the desired standard. This was an empowering shift from of the previous generations who had chaffed under the rule of a capricious king in the British Colonies.

In the 19th century, the Western Reserve “was probably the most intensely antislavery section of the country”.
John Brown Jr. called it, in 1859, “the New England of the West.”
Wikipedia article on the Connecticut Western Reserve,
discussing John Brown, Jr.

Twenty years before the Civil War, “According to the theory of Boston’s Wm. Lloyd Garrison and the American Anti-Slavery Society (1833), slavery was a personal and social sin requiring immediate repentance of slaveholders and all others who had failed to witness against the institution.” [Case Western]

The Western Reserve College and Oberlin College became centers of Abolitionist agitation. In truth, Oberlin’s abolitionist viewpoint “was strengthened further when recruits from the Lane Theological Seminary…joined its fold.” [Lottick] Abolitionism then, grew out the mingled influences of both religion and education in the area where our ancestors lived. “People known as abolitionists believed that slavery should not exist and fought to end it. Northeast Ohio was a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Men and women, Black and White, free and enslaved, worked together for their cause.” [Cuyahoga Valley National Park article]

In contrast, the Southern states during this period had flourished under a very different system that most New Englanders (and their transplants) found to be very strange. It was a way of life built upon the use of slaves — essentially, upon a class-and-caste system of belief. As such, the possibility of “social mobility and a re-affirmation of individual worth” were not part of the equation.

Top section, left image: Participants from the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue. Center image: Leg shackles used in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Right image: A painting of fugitives smuggled during winter, The Underground Railroad (1893 ) by Charles T. Webber. Lower section, left image: the National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper, July 22, 1847, family document. Right image: April 24, 1851 “CAUTION!! Colored People of Boston” broadside warning of watchmen and police acting as kidnappers and slave catchers. [Please see the footnotes for specifics.] (2)

“Routes of the Underground Railroad.”
The Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad, but a network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada.
*(Observation: There are so many red line over Ohio, that it looks like a cardiac diagram).*

The Underground Railroad in the Western Reserve

The battles of the Civil War did not have a profound effect upon the Western Reserve territory, but the existence of the Underground Railroad did. In fact, initially there were many people in Cleveland who were not particularly concerned about the plight of slaves. This changed when “The completion of the Ohio Canal in 1832 enhanced the strategic importance of the city…” because this became one of the most direct routes from the slave-holding South, to freedom in Canada.

Furthermore, the indifferent attitude of some people changed dramatically when The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850. This law lit a white hot fire under the Abolitionists. “The severity of this statute inspired an increased number of abolitionists, the development of a more efficient Underground Railroad, and the establishment of new personal-liberty laws in the North. These personal liberty laws were enacted in eight Northern States and prohibited state officials from assisting in returning fugitive slaves to the South…” [Case Western]

Our ancestors, being settlers from New England, and as evidenced by the anti-slavery newspapers, were likely concerned about and involved with, the abolitionist movement. We know for certain, that this branch of our family did not own slaves. (3)

The 1870s in Geauga County, Ohio

Luke Gore died in 1868, but several of his children continued to live in the area. When we reviewed the 1870 census, it showed that Dorr B. Gore is 18 and listed as living with his mother Electa, and his brothers Milan and Otto. They have a domestic servant, Myra Fowler — it turns out that she eventually married Dorr B.’s older brother Milan Gore on July 4, 1870. Observation: Perhaps this family liked holiday themed weddings? (Maybe it was budget-friendly and helped them save on decorations.)

Engraving of the Geauga County Courthouse reproduced from the
History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio, by the Williams Brothers, circa 1879.

We observed that Luke Gore’s oldest son, Crockett Gore, was living with his wife Etta and their young family in Russell township. He was working as a farmer on land that his father had previously farmed (see The Gore Line, A Narrative — Six). From the Russell township Historical Society newsletter, March 1999: “Luke enlarged the farm, adding land in Russell to a total of 163.5 acres. After he died, his eldest son Crockett Gore, farmed the land.”

“He married a neighbor, Lois Havens, and they had Luke W., Dana and Ralph C. Luke W. is listed in our old school records as a student in the brick school in 1872. He died at the age of 17 in Russell, and Ralph C. also died young, aged 21. Both are buried with their parents in Munn cemetery in Newbury.”

“In 1882 Crockett built the home that is still there. He quarried sandstone for the foundation from a quarry on the farm, and cut and used wood from his own woodlot. He died in 1900 in Clio Michigan, but is buried in Munn cemetery in Newbury, with his parents, his wife Lois and a son who died at the age of 17.” (4)

The Kids Get Married! Dorr B. Gore Marries Ann Susan Booth

As always, times change, but love blooms eternal — starting the new year off right (!), our young Great-Grandfather Dorr B Gore (at just 21), married our Great-Grandmother, (even younger at 19), Ann Susan Booth, on January 1, 1872 in Burton, Geauga County, Ohio.

1872 Antique Victorian Home Insurance Company, promotional calendar.

Dorr B. Gore, born September 8, 1851 Newbury, Geauga County, Ohio – died June 11, 1930 Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Ann Booth was born October 30, 1852 Burton, Geauga, Ohio – died March 11, 1908 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio.

Ann’s parents are James Monroe Booth (March 12, 1827-July 8, 1889) and Adelia Rose (March 31, 1827-January 25, 1910), whose families were among the very first pioneers to settle in the Western Reserve area.

They had four children:

Nettie Belle (Gore) Robinson, born December 24, 1873 Geauga, Ohio – died April 20, 1922 Oblong, Crawford, Illinois.
Clara Edna (Gore) Matthews, born July 3, 1876 Auburn, Geauga, Ohio – died March 26, 1933 Russell, Geauga, Ohio (Note: it is interesting to observe that she is a centennial baby).
Forrest Munroe Gore, born August 11, 1878 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio – died January 31, 1930 Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

On the 1880 census, Dorr B. is 28 and also on the census are: Ann 28, Nellie 6, Clara 3, Forrest 1, his mother Electa 58, and the farm hand Elmer E. Brewer.

Harley William Gore, born June 7, 1881 Russell, Geauga, Ohio – died November 24, 1941 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio. (We are descended from Harley). (5)

Dorr B. Gore Had Two Wives

The Gores continued to live their lives mostly as farmers. Dorr B. Gore’s wife Ann Booth died on March 11, 1908 of heart failure after having had pneumonia for three weeks. Eighteen months later he married for a second time, to Amelia Harnden on October 12, 1909. A local resident, Amelia was born January 1, 1863 – died July 8, 1947, having outlived her husband Dorr B. by seventeen years.

Ann Susan (Booth) Gore death notice, March 1908. Source unknown.

A transcription of Ann Susan (Booth) Gore death notice:
August 7 — Ann Susan Booth, daughter of Monroe and Adelia Booth was born in Burton, Ohio, Oct. 30, 1851 where she lived until Jan. 1, 1872 when she married Dorr B. Gore of Newbury, where she lived the rest of her life. She had heart trouble for years and after a sickness of a little over three weeks with heart trouble and pneumonia she passed away Thursday morning, March 12, 1908, aged 56 years, 4 months, 12 days. She was a true kind and sweet disposition carrying love and sunshine where ever she went. She leaves a husband and four children who loved her and will miss her more than words can tell. Nettie B. Robinson, Clara E. Mathews, Harley W of Russell, and Forest M, who lives at the old home in Newbury, also an aged mother, Mrs. Adelia Booth, Burton. Three sisters, Mrs. P. D. Bishop, Andover, Mrs. Chas Stickney and Mrs. Carl Wicks of Burton, and her twin brother, Wm Booth of Midland, Mich. (6)

Tiny, but mighty. The modest and unassuming Union Chapel located in Newbury township, Ohio, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Union Chapel and “Equal Rights in Newbury”

Our Grandmothers never had the right to vote until the year that our mother Marguerite (Gore) Bond was born — in 1920. That’s still rather astonishing today, but her mother Lulu was 38 years old, before she had the right to vote. Here is how women’s suffrage happened in our local community.

When the Abolitionist movement was birthed, “Many were entering the political arena for the first time. Women in Northeast Ohio organized female anti-slavery societies, circulated petitions, served as delegates to state and national antislavery conventions, and drafted editorials that were published in local papers such as The Anti-Slavery Bugle. In time, growing political experience and awareness of the plight of enslaved people, inspired women to consider their own freedom more critically; the women’s suffrage movement grew from the ranks of the abolitionist movement.” [Cuyahoga Valley National Park article]

The Union Chapel “was built between 1858-1859 by outraged citizens after members of the Congregational Church across the street refused to allow future President James A. Garfield to speak, fearing his topic would be controversial.”

“At the time the area was a vibrant settlement with a grist mill, tannery, tavern wagon and blacksmith shops, a post office and other shops. The population was described as liberal… In retaliation for the church’s snub, Anson Matthews, a store owner and the man who had invited Garfield to speak at the church, donated a one-acre plot of his land across the street for the Union Chapel. Today, both of the buildings continue to face each other.”

“The Union Chapel’s premise was for a “public hall or meeting house for literary, scientific, moral and religious purposes and lectures on all useful subjects,” according to its deed. It was to be open and free and not to be used to the exclusion of anyone. Numerous important social reform movements were launched from within its walls.” [cleveland.com article]

Gallery, left image: James A. Garfield. Right image: Susan Brownell Anthony Images courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

Famous among the many speakers at the Union Chapel were James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, and Susan B. Anthony.“She is known as a staunch advocate for women’s suffrage, [but] Anthony also participated in a wide spectrum of social reform movements.”

Here, community reformers—mostly women, but men, too—pushed for progress considered radical for its time. Newbury, like other nearby towns, had been settled by travelers from the East, many from Massachusetts, then considered the center of culture and “advanced thinking.”

The unconventional truth is, the women of Newbury township started to get people’s attention when some of them rightly decided that-corsets-were-just- not-at-all-sensible. “The first reform movement, in 1870, called for women to dress without ‘unnatural and unhealthy’ corsets, bustles and sweeping skirts. ‘Dress reform’ advocate Ellen Munn caused quite a stir when she showed up at a community picnic in trousers.” [Esmont]

“Ruth Fisher was born on January 25, 1809 in Newbury, Ohio. She married William Munn on April 18, 1833.” [Northeast Ohio Suffrage article] We have met William Munn in the introduction to this chapter, as he was a friend and colleague of our Great-Great-Grandfather Luke Gore.

[The year 1871] “witnessed the most significant crusade in the chapel’s history—to secure the right of women to vote.” [Esmont]

“The dress reform organization led to the formation of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage Political Club… [It] was established after a group of women, including Munn, presented themselves at the polls to vote in a previous election, but were refused. The chapel served as an incubator for the budding suffrage movement, and became home to the second-oldest women’s suffrage group in Ohio. In 1871, Munn was one of nine women to illegally cast a ballot in a local election at the Chapel, becoming one of the first female voters in Ohio’s history.” [Northeast Ohio Suffrage]

“More women would show up at subsequent elections to cast ballots. An account in the Geauga Republican newspaper from 1873 stated the election judges were “courteous and gentlemanly, as usual” but declined the votes. The women—and the men who supported them—inscribed 50 ballots: “People’s Ticket. Equal Suffrage for all Citizens of the United States, an Inalienable and Constitutional Right. Knowledge and Truth in Opposition to Ignorance and Prejudice.” [Esmont]

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the United States, on July 4, 1876, the Suffrage Club members planted a tree which came to be known as the Centennial Oak.

Top row, left image: Ruth (Fisher) Munn. Center image: Illustration of typical corsets worn in the 1880s. Right image:Dr. Julia Porter Green, shown August 23, 1919. She was the only surviving charter member of the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage and Political Club to attend the August 23, 1919 procession at the South Newbury Union Chapel, as shown in the bottom image —”On Aug. 23, 1919, suffragists marched from South Newbury Union Chapel to a wreath-laying at the nearby Centennial Oak to commemorate the 19th Amendment”, via [Valiant Visionaries of the Vote].

A full report of the adoption of a constitution for the South Newbury Woman’s Suffrage and Political Club, including committee members, can be found in the book: 1798 – 1880, Pioneer and General History of Geauga County, with Sketches of Some of the Pioneers and Prominent Men by The Historical Society of Geauga County. (Please see the footnotes).

“The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote”. [archives.gov]

“Planted by the Newbury Women’s Political Suffrage Club on July 4, 1876, the tree, just like the suffrage movement, survived and grew larger and stronger. It was a symbolic move, planting the roots of a movement that would go on to change America’s face forever”.

In the next chapter, which is our last chapter for The Gore Line, we will be writing about our Gore grandparents, our uncles and our mother, during their times in the 20th century.

We have found, like other genealogical researchers, that so much deep history is recorded mostly about men — that when we find records for our female ancestors, our premise became…sometimes our ancestral grandmothers are more interesting than our ancestral grandfathers. And as always, these women, the foremothers, are quietly there… and in our family, we’re thinking about Lulu and Marguerite. (7)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Where Did These Things Come From?

(1) These newspapers are items from our family collection and have been donated to the Geauga County Historical Society.

The New England of The West

(2) — seven records

Connecticut Western Reserve
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Western_Reserve
Note: For the contemporary map image.

Western Reserve Including the Fire Lands 1826
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Reserve_Including_the_Fire_Lands_1826.jpg
Note: On this map, Geauga County is still combined with the future Lake County and Russell township is not yet named.

JSTOR
History of Education Journal, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Spring, 1957), pp. 92-104
The Connecticut Reserve and the Civil War
by Kenneth V. Lottick
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3692620?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

John Brown Junior
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brown_Junior

Abolitionism
https://case.edu/ech/articles/a/abolitionism

Underground Railroad in Ohio
http://touringohio.com/history/ohio-underground-railroad.html

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/federal/fugitive-slave-act-of-1850/

The Underground Railroad in the Western Reserve

(3) — three records

The National Park Service, article —
Cuyahoga Valley’s Ties to the Underground Railroad
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/cuyahoga-valleys-ties-to-underground-railroad.htm

Underground Railroad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad

Abolitionism
https://case.edu/ech/articles/a/abolitionism

The 1870s in Geauga County, Ohio

(4) — three records

History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio
https://archive.org/details/oh-geauga-lake-1879-williams/page/n9/mode/2up
Digital page: 9/443
For: Image of the Geauga County Courthouse.

Dorr Gore
Census – United States, Census, 1870
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-68V3-RZY?view=index&action=view&cc=1438024
Book pages: 10-11, Digital page: 504-505/733, Entries 15-20, page center.

From our family documents:
Russell Township Historical Society Newsletter
March 1999, Volume 10, Issue 8, page 1

The Kids Get Married! Dorr B. Gore Marries Ann Susan Booth

(5) — twelve records

The Box SF
1872 Antique Victorian Home Insurance Company
Promotional 12 Month Calendar
https://theboxsf.com/products/00-205

Dore Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZZ1-PZQ
Book page: 86, Digital page: 58/169, Left page, top entry
Note: For Dorr Gore marriage to Ann Susan Boothe.

Dorr B Gore
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69080449/dorr-b-gore
Note: For death reference, June 11, 1930.

Anne Susan Booth Gore
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69080314/anne-susan-gore

James Monroe Booth
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63806292/james-monroe-booth

Adelia “Delia” Rose Booth
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63806271/adelia-booth

Nellie Belle Gore Robinson
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100710304/nettie-belle-robinson

Forest M Gore
Death – Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8RV-847
Digital page: 780/3377.

Clara Matthews
Death – Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6QS-TZV
Digital page: 600/3322

Dorr B. Gore
Census – United States, Census, 1880
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8MJ-371
Digital page: 145/794, Entries 26 through 32.

Harley Gore
Listed in the Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003
in Newbury, Geauga County, Ohio
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GT7G-915K?cc=1932106
Book page 134, Digital page: 100/469, Left page, entry 2, #2845.

Harley W Gore
Death – Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X89M-9C2
Digital page: 1422/3314

Dorr B. Gore Had Two Wives

(6) — three records

Amelia Harnden Gore
Death – Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6V7-GXB
Digital page: 1856/3542

Don B Gore
Census – United States Census, 1910
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MLXS-J3P
Book page: 6, Digital page: 283/1,152, Entries 92 and 93.

Dorr B Gore
Census – United States Census, 1920
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDBV-YRC
Book page: 4, Digital page: 772/1,105, Entries 56 and 57.

The Union Chapel and “Equal Rights in Newbury”

(7) — nine records

The National Register of Historic Places
Ohio — Geauga County
South Newbury Union Chapel (added 2012 – – #12000033)
https://nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/oh/geauga/state.html

South Newbury Union Chapel Honored:
Was key to women’s suffrage movement
https://www.cleveland.com/west-geauga/2012/10/south_newbury_union_chapel_hon.html

The National Portrait Gallery
James Garfield
by Ole Peter Hansen Balling
https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.65.25
Note: For his portrait.

The National Portrait Gallery
Susan Brownell Anthony
by Carl Gutherz
https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.2019.6
Note: For her portrait.

Cradle of Equal Suffrage
South Newbury Union Chapel
By Erin Esmont
https://geaugaparkdistrict-org.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/30082618/ohio-history-connection-echoes-magazine-marchapril2020.pdf
Note: For history and photo images.

Northeast Ohio Suffrage
Valiant Visionaries of the Vote
https://www.neohiosuffrage.org/Valiant-Visionaries/geauga-county-suffrage#
Note: For history and photo images.

The Landscape I Love
Beverly Ash, Michael Fath & Sandra Woolf
https://www.tclf.org/sites/default/files/microsites/LandscapeILove/union-chapel.html
Note: For image of the Centennial Oak.

The National Archives
Milestone Documents
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920)
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment#:~:text=Passed by Congress June 4,decades of agitation and protest.

The Gore Line, A Narrative — Six

This is Chapter Six of eight. In this chapter, we will spend all of our time with our family in the 19th century, almost entirely in an area known as the Connecticut Western Reserve located in the Ohio Country.

Family

So much work in genealogy is about looking backward and trying to make sense of whatever history, stories, family anecdotes — are receding into the rearview mirror. For these family history narratives, we are attempting to look forward into the future — to a future that we know we will not be part of someday. We are creating and crafting a resource for the benefit of future generations.

“During the years when my ancestors went West, so did millions of other people… Many families moved again and again;
only a few headed back East across the mountains…

A French observer said that a true American’s life was like a soldier’s, here today and tomorrow fifty miles off…
Old America seems to be breaking up, and moving westward… towards the Ohio…”
Ian Frazier, author of Family
page 60

In 1994, the great American writer Ian Frazier published a wonderful book called Family, in which he criss-crossed the United States beautifully writing about the past and present histories of his family — from both sides —his mother’s, and his father’s. Much of the book took place in the Western Reserve of Ohio. It inspired us then and still does today! It was such joy for us to read, and with our encouragement, several of our siblings also read it. (In those years, our parents were in much declined health, and even though we told them how much we enjoyed Mr. Frazier’s Family, neither of them were able to read the book.)

We have excerpted a few Family quotes from Mr. Frazier’s book to use in this chapter. We hope he doesn’t mind — with thanks to you, Ian!

“In 1790, almost all
Americans lived along
the coast in the original
thirteen colonies;
by 1850, only half did.”
— Ian Frazier,
author of Family,
page 61

The last place we were with our grandfather Luke Gore, was in Belleville, Jefferson County, New York in the years after the War of 1812. From his generation, he and most of his siblings spread out across the young United States. We continue his story. (1)

Luke Gore Marries his First Cousin Mila

Our Grandfather Luke Gore married twice, but first-things-first, we’ll write about his first marriage to his first cousin Mila Gore.

In 1834, when Luke was 28 years old, he traveled to Bernardston, Massachusetts to visit his cousins — his paternal uncle, Ezekiel Gore’s family. Ezekiel was married to Miriam Strate and they had three daughters: Anna, Esther, and Mila. The History of The Town of Bernardston, Franklin Co., Massachusetts 1739-1900, wryly describes his visit:

“Mila m.[married] Jan 19, 1834, Luke Gore (a cousin) of Black River, N.Y., after a long and tedious courtship of three days.”

Mila was born in Halifax, Windham, Vermont and was living with her parents in Bernardston, Massachusetts. At that time Luke was living in Jefferson County, New York. The Bernardston book describes him as being from Black River, a small village in Jefferson county, named after the local river.

How were they cousins, you ask? In the previous generation, (see The Gore Line, A Narrative — Five), Luke Gore’s father Samuel Gore (4) and Mila Gore’s father Ezekiel Gore, were brothers. Observation: It’s reasonable to assume that marrying first cousins would not be allowed in today’s time, but things were different then…

We have a letter from a distant cousin, Pearl Avia Gordon Vestal, written on January 25, 1940, to our Grandmother Lulu (DeVoe) Gore, a portion of which further discusses this trip:

From the above letter it seems clear that Pearl thought Rebeckah (Barney) Gore moved to Ohio.
We are not so sure, since Rebeckah is buried in Belleville, New York.

Luke Gore is our Great-Great-Grandfather, born April 1, 1805, Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died October 2, 1868, Newbury, Geauga, Ohio. He married Mila Gore on January 19, 1834 (as written above). She was born circa 1813 Bernardston, Franklin, Massachusetts – died September 29, 1848, Newbury, Geauga, Ohio. They had three children:

Crockett Gore, born 1839 Brattleboro, Windham, Vermont – died December 9, 1900 Vienna, Genesee, Michigan. On January 16, 1866 he married Lois Haven.
Eliza (Gore) Richmond, born May 1846 Russell, Geauga, Ohio – died June 9, 1917 Allapattah, Dade, Florida. On August 10, 1867 she married Cassius Richmond.
Milan R. Gore, born January 6, 1847 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio – died February 20, 1920 Newton Falls, Trumbull, Ohio. On July 4, 1870 he married Myra Fowler.

Luke Gore married a second time about one year after Mila died. He was a widower with three young children. His second wife is Electa Stanhope, who is our Great-Great-Grandmother. They married September 20, 1849 in Claridon, Geauga, Ohio. Electa was born September 13, 1822 in New York – died January 6, 1907 in Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Her parents are Asahel Redington Stanhope born July 11, 1793 Gill, Franklin, Massachusetts – died September 8, 1879 Mantua, Portage, Ohio and Mary Finch. She was born May 21, 1798 in New York State – died 1873, unknown location.

Marriage license for Luke Gore and Electa Stanhope, September 20, 1849.

Electa and Luke had two sons:

Dorr B. Gore, born September 8, 1851 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio – died June 11, 1930 Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. (We are descended from Dorr B.)
Otto S. Gore, born September 1854 Newbury, Geauga, Ohio – died April 17, 1941, same location. Otto married Charlotte (Luce) Reed in 1902. (2)

What Was Going On In “The Ohio Country”?

We grew up in the Western Reserve of Ohio and it was puzzling for us when visitors would go-on-and-on about how beautiful New England was in the Autumn. And this: OH My! The Maple Syrup! From our viewpoint, things around us looked just like Connecticut, and our maple syrup was a matter of esteemed civic pride. It all makes sense now, that where we grew up really is New England’s child.

“As a colony, and then as a state, Connecticut had never accepted the finality of her western boundary… After the war, when other states were giving up their western lands, Connecticut said she would yield all but a strip of the Ohio country 120 miles long and 50 miles wide. She said she reserved this section for herself, which is how it got the name Western Reserve. Congress finally accepted this reserve… maybe because Connecticut was so persistent it was just easier to let her have her way.” [Frazier, page 54]

The area was the first gateway westward for the Northwest Territory, and became critical for settlement after President Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase of 1803. From Wikipedia.org: “The Ohio Lands were the several grants, tracts, districts and cessions which make up what is now the U.S. state of Ohio The Ohio Country was one of the first settled parts of the Midwest, and indeed one of the first settled parts of the United States beyond the original Thirteen Colonies.”

From the Western Reserve Historical Society, “The Connecticut Western Reserve was the area of northeast Ohio that Connecticut had reserved for her citizens in 1786 in exchange for ceding all western land claims to the U.S. government. The area comprised all land south of Lake Erie to 41′ latitude and within 120 miles of Pennsylvania’s western border. The Connecticut Land Company (1795-1809) was authorized by Connecticut to purchase and resell most of the Western Reserve, and received title to all Reserve land except for the 500,000-acre Firelands on the extreme west which was reserved for Connecticut victims whose lands were burned by the British in the Revolution. Gen. Moses Cleaveland, a company director and its general agent, led the first company survey party to the Reserve in 1796 and founded the settlement of Cleveland at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.”

Because of many problems, the Connecticut Land Company failed to return a profit and was dissolved in about 1809. With the advent of the War of 1812, progress was further delayed, but eventually, settlers started to move into the region.

“There were two routes to the Western Reserve. One was through the Mohawk
Valley, crossed New York to Buffalo and entered Ohio either by boat or along the
lakeshore to Conneaut. The other crossed Pennsylvania, climbed the mountains and down to Pittsburgh, following the trails to Youngstown and into the Reserve from the southeast. Travel time for both was about the same.” [A Mini-History of Newbury]

Ohio became a state in 1803. Geauga County originated as part of Trumbull County, then partitioned and reorganized as Geauga County in 1806. In 1840, the northern part of the county was partitioned off to become Lake County. Since that time, Geauga County has had 16 townships. (3)

Those Two Younger Sisters

Perhaps it was the zeitgeist, or the spirit of the age, that propelled our ancestor Luke Gore with the urge to move west and settle in the Western Reserve of Ohio. It could also simply be because his two younger sisters (and his aunt) had gotten there first.

Belinda (Gore) Barton married Horace Barton in Chardon township, Geauga County, Ohio in 1835. Belinda lived in that area until she died in Lake County in 1900. Additionally, Mary Genette (Gore) Brayman married Lewis Brayman in Claridon township, Geauga, Ohio in 1837 and at some point the Brayman family then continued west to Iowa.

We also know that Luke Gore’s Aunt Sarah (Gore) Slater and her husband John were living in Chardon township at this time. They are listed as residing there for both the 1840 and 1850 censuses, so they must have arrived before 1840. Therefore, we think that all of these family members arrived in the area at about the same time.

Many of his children were born there…
We know that our grandfather Luke Gore was living in Geauga County in the 1840s, as four of his five children were born there, starting in 1846 with Eliza, then Milan in 1847, Dorr in 1851 and finally, Otto in 1854.

Tax assessments
He was also paying tax assessments from 1838 through 1852. One particular tax record of 1838 through 1852, for Newbury township, includes the name of his brother, Hart Gore.

His oldest son Crockett Gore, was born in 1839, Brattleboro, Windham, Vermont, so we know that Luke and Mila were not living in Ohio yet — but after Crockett was born, he and Mila were on their way! Observation: So Luke was likely an investor and probably influenced by the choices of his relatives: his aunt, his younger sisters, and their husbands. (4)

Our Great Great Grandfather Luke Gore is listed as the Newbury township Clerk in 1842 1nd 1844.
From *1798 – 1880, Pioneer and General History of Geauga County, with Sketches of*
*Some of the Pioneers and Prominent Men*, page 237.

“1798-1880 Pioneer and General History of Geauga County”

Below are excerpts from the book, 1798-1880 Pioneer and General History of Geauga County, which paint a picture of what life was like in that area from 1810 until the 1840s. It seems that initially, it was quite a wilderness.

Detail showing Newbury township, Geauga County, Ohio in 1847.
Reproduced from the foldout map endpiece, ***Historical Collections of Ohio***,
published in one volume in 1847 by Henry Howe.

“When the lands composing the Western Reserve were first surveyed [the 1790s], they were all covered by a dense forest, and were considered of little value, so were surveyed very carelessly. They connected but few or no lines. Many of the townships were surveyed by the job, as it is called… The townships of our county are called five miles square…”

“In the month of July, 1810, Mr. Lemuel Punderson and wife moved from Burton (where they had lived most of the time since their marriage in 1808) and settled where the Punderson homestead now stands, near the foot of the lake, and commenced improvements in earnest, where he had previously built their mill and distillery.” Mr. Punderson had been an agent for the Connecticut Land Grant Company. We were taught in school that our township of Newbury was among the first places to be surveyed in the area due to the large lakes there providing excellent sight-lines for the later surveyors. Today, those lakes are an Ohio state park named after Mr. Punderson.

Reproduced from the ***Historical Collections of Ohio***,
published in one volume in 1847 by Henry Howe, page 189.

“From [about] that time [1810] the settlement of Newbury became a reality, and family after family came into town from the eastern States. — In the year 1812 the State road was cut through to Chardon. [the County Seat] The contract was to cut all timber less than eight inches, and clear out the road. The larger timber was girdled so it would die. —In the year 1817 the present township of Newbury was set off from the township of Burton by the commissioners…“

“In 1819 Joshua M. Burnett returned to Massachusetts, received pay for property sold, and came back, bringing with him material for building, and that season employed David Hill, of Burton, to erect him a frame house, it being the first frame house in the township. [Prior to this time, settlers lived in log cabins] People gathered from all this and neighboring townships to the raising. They came early and stayed late, it being a new era in the new settlement. The building was named, after the custom of those days, “The Farmers’ Delight,” by Mr. Hamlet Coe, after which the bottle of whiskey was thrown from the top of the house to the center of the road without breaking, which was considered a good omen, and called forth loud huzzas.”

Reproduced from the ***Historical Collections of Ohio***,
published in one volume in 1847 by Henry Howe, page 125.

“In 1820, Welcome Bullock, J. M. Burnett, Lemuel Punderson, Jonah Johnson, and others blazed the trees and cut the brush from Burnett’s tavern to Chagrin Falls, there meeting a company from Cleveland at work on the same undertaking. They all camped a few rods north and east of the Falls. The next morning, after breakfast, they separated, each company going home over their own road.“
Observation: This roadway was very likely the street that we grew up on.

In fact, right next to the home we grew up in, was located the Morton Home. It was famous for who married there. From A Mini-History of Newbury: “Brigham Young married Mary Ann Angel, one of his numerous wives [wife number two], on the front porch of this house. She was a cousin of Mrs. Morton and a convert to Mormonism. Abraham Morton opposed the marriage and would not let Brigham Young into the house so the marriage took place on the front porch. That was in February 1834, and Brigham Young was 24 and Mary Ann Angel was 18.” (5)

The 1857 Library of Congress Map of Geauga County

Since 1838, Luke Gore had been paying taxes on properties he owned in various townships. Some of the names are localized designations within each township: Auburn Corners, Bainbridge, and South Newbury. Old tax records helped to locate some of the properties.

This incredible map provides a guide to exact locations in townships where Luke and some of his other family members owned property in the year 1857. This link provides a high resolution file which is zoomable:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4083g.la000628/?r=0.306,0.936,0.098,0.047,0

From the high resolution map link above, we were able to locate the property he owned in Auburn Corners and South Newbury, situated on the border of the two townships. [See L. Gore 81a, 129a, 96-1/2a just below.] (6)

Map detail from the 1857 Smith map indicating property owned by Luke Gore in 1857.

“After That, Mushrooms Were Never Served in the Home”

When we quizzed our mother Marguerite about what she knew of her Great-Grandfather Luke Gore, one of her stories always ended with the words, “After that, mushrooms were never served in the home.” Apparently, Grandfather Luke died on October 2, 1868 — from being poisoned by mushrooms. (Since the best season to forage for mushrooms in northeastern Ohio is late March and early April, perhaps the ones that killed him were mushrooms which had been stored for the winter? We will never know for certain…)

There are many types of mushrooms available for foraging, but the likely culprit here is probably Amanita phalloides. From Wikipedia.org: “These toxic mushrooms resemble several edible species (most notably Caesar’s mushroom and the straw mushroom) commonly consumed by humans… The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics [a fungus of this style], including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide, as well as some well-regarded edible species. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning…”

Luke Gore death record, October 2, 1868.

Luke’s wife Electa lived on after him for another 38 years, dying in 1907 in Newbury, Geauga, Ohio. In the next chapter, we are following the life of the son of Luke Gore, the uniquely-named Dorr B. Gore, our Great-Grandfather. After what seems like centuries of Thomas(s), Richard(s), and William(s) — it’s very refreshing to have a uniquely named relative! (7)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Family

(1) — one record

Family
by Ian Frazier
Farrar Straus Giroux, New York publishers
1994, First edition
Note: We have excerpted material from pages 54, 60, and 61.

Luke Gore Marries his First Cousin Mila

(2) — sixteen records

History of the Town of Bernardston, Franklin County, Massachusetts. 1736-1900. With genealogies
Lucy Jane Cutler Kellogg
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofb00kell/page/398/mode/2up
Book page: 399, Digital page: 398/581

Luke Gore
Vital – Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFVV-SNP
and here:
Mila Gore
Vital – Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFVV-SN5
Digital page: 2136/3631
Note: For their marriage.

Black River, New York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_River,_New_York

Personal letter from Pearl Avia Gordon Vestal, written on January 25, 1940,
to our Grandmother Lulu (DeVoe) Gore. Note: Pearl is the Great-Granddaughter of Mary Gennette (Gore) Brayman, the sister of our Great-Great-Grandfather, Luke Gore.

Electa Stanhope
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDK1-1XM
Book page: 98, Digital page: 51/304, Left page, bottom entry.
Note: For their marriage record.

Electa Gore
in the U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/33908463:60525?tid=&pid=&queryId=01e68cb856b290befd25d11e71fc4700&_phsrc=tde1&_phstart=successSource
and here:
Electa Stanhope Gore
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69080516/electa-gore

Asahel Redington Stanhope
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K4YX-CQH
Note: For information on Electa Stanhope’s father, mother, siblings, etc.

Crockett Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZZ1-3HW
and
Crocket Gore
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/99BS-9CJ

Eliza E. Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZZ1-C4Q
and
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LYV5-LBS

Milan Gore
Vital – Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDN7-MLV
and
Milan R Gore
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/99Y1-5FL

Otto S Gore
Death – Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZDC-TDL

Otto S. Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XDL9-6JP

What Was Going On In “The Ohio Country”?

(3) — fifteen records

Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
A Map of the Connecticut Western Reserve, from actual Survey, circa 1798
Surveyed by Seth Pease
Updated by Abraham Tappan
http://emuseum.chs.org/emuseum/objects/16111/a-map-of-the-connecticut-western-reserve-from-actual-survey;jsessionid=3FC242D53A8EC28FBD414CE74F33B0D2

WRHS
Western Reserve Historical Society
Manuscripts Relating to the Early History of the Connecticut Western Reserve (MS0001)
https://wrhs.saas.dgicloud.com/islandora/object/wrhs:MS0001?solr_nav[id]=d7c76b828d9b67d7021f&solr_nav[page]=0&solr_nav[offset]=1

Ohio Lands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Lands#:~:text=The Ohio Lands were the,beyond the original Thirteen Colonies.

Conneticut Land Company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_Land_Company

Annual Report of the Western Reserve Historical Society 1916
The Western Reserve, article
https://archive.org/details/connecticutlandc00west/page/68/mode/2up?view=theater
Book pages: 69-70, Digital pages: 68-70/234

A Mini-History of Newbury
Marian Gould Bottger and the Newbury Bicentennial Committee, 1976
https://www.newburyohio.com/Newbury_MiniHistory.pdf
Downloadable .pdf document.

There are multiple tax records for Luke Gore in the Geauga County area, in three locations:
Auburn Corners, Auburn township
Bainbridge, Bainbridge township
South Newbury, Newbury township
https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?f.collectionId=1473259&q.anyDate.from=1798&q.anyPlace=Geauga,%20Ohio,%20United%20States&q.givenName=Luke&q.surname=Gore

“1798-1880 Pioneer and General History of Geauga County”

(4) — four records

Geauga County, Ohio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geauga_County,_Ohio

1798 – 1880, Pioneer and General History of Geauga County, with Sketches of Some of the Pioneers and Prominent Men
by The Historical Society of Geauga County
https://archive.org/details/oh-geauga-1880-historical-society/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater
Notes: Topics researched as follows —
Surveying work, Book page: 56, Digital page: 55/821
Mr. Lemuel Punderson, Book page: 228, Digital page: 227/821
1810 in Newbury, Book page: 228, Digital page: 227/821
State road to Chardon, Book page: 229, Digital page: 229/821
Township clerk listing, Book page: 237, Digital page: 237/821

Historical Collections of Ohio…
by Henry Howe
https://archive.org/details/historicalcollec00howe_4/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater
Notes: Topics researched as follows —
Geauga County, Book pages: 187-190, Digital pages: 186-190/593
Chagrin Falls, Book pages: 125-126, Digital pages: 124-126/593
View in Chardon, Book page: 189, Digital pages: 189/593
Note: “…is a work of history published in one volume in 1847 by Henry Howe (1816–1893). Howe had spent more than a year traveling across the state of Ohio making sketches, interviewing people, and collecting data.”

Those Two Younger Sisters

(5) — ten records

Bilindy Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
Book page: 99, Digital page: 54/247, Right page, center entry.
Note: For Belinda Gore 1835 marriage to Horace Barton, in Chardon, Ohio.

Mary G. Gore
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8F4-BRM
Book page: 1100, Digital page: 519/658 Left page, bottom entry
Note: For Mary Genette Gore 1837 marriage to Lewis Brayman, in Portage County, Ohio.

John Slater
in the 1840 United States Federal Census
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2631001:8057?tid=&pid=&queryId=bdbd843f14af9ad72653b54ed1691fcf&_phsrc=akv29&_phstart=successSource
Digital page: 5/20, Entry 3 from the end (last entry).
Note: For Sarah (Gore) Slater and her husband John Slater, in Chardon township, Geauga County, Ohio.
and
John Slater
in the 1850 United States Federal Census
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D8MW-6BK?view=index&personArk=/ark:/61903/1:1:MXQS-2RZ&action=view
Digital page: 276/448, Entries 5 and 6.

Luke Gore
Tax – Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850
https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?f.collectionId=1473259&q.anyDate.from=1798&q.anyPlace=Geauga, Ohio, United States&q.givenName=Luke&q.surname=Gore

Luke Gore, Tax – Ohio Tax Records, 1800-1850
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2RG-S4GP
Note: The actual record is for 1838-1852 and includes the name
of his Uncle Hart Gore.
Digital page: 172/735, Left page, lower middle.

A Mini-History of Newbury
Marian Gould Bottger and the Newbury Bicentennial Committee, 1976
https://www.newburyohio.com/Newbury_MiniHistory.pdf
Downloadable .pdf document.

Brigham Young and Mary Ann Angell Young Family Portrait
(Image courtesy of familysearch.org).

Brigham Young
Marriage – Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X86K-5V3
Book page: 34, Digital page: 24/312, Left page, middle entry.

Brigham Young
in the Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/2148305:61378?tid=&pid=&queryId=a76b4bcd-5e77-4f2e-95ab-f328b13b6739&_phsrc=DBV1&_phstart=successSource
cd-5e77-4f2e-95ab-f328b13b6739&_phsrc=DBV1&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 42, Digital page: 22/391, Left page, bottom entry

The 1857 Library of Congress Map of Geauga County

(6) — two records

Library of Congress
1857 Map of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio
by Robert Pearsall Smith, 1827-1898, Philadelphia : S.H. Matthews [1857]
https://www.loc.gov/item/2012591126/
and here:
This link provides a high resolution file which is zoomable:
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4083g.la000628/?r=0.306,0.936,0.098,0.047,0

“After That, Mushrooms Were Never Served in the Home”

(7) — four records

Ohio State University Extension
Wild Mushrooms
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-gen-11#

Amanita
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita
and
Amanita phalloides
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides#:~:text=Amanita%20phalloides%20is%20the%20type,Amanita%20species%20thus%20far%20identified.

Luke Gore
Vital – Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997
Film # 004016916
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6ZP-L59
Book page: 8, Digital page: 210/469, Left page, entry #73.

The Gore Line, A Narrative — Five

This is Chapter Five of eight. In this chapter we will be writing about how our ancestors migrated first into New York State, and then how the next generation spread into other states and territories to the west, outside of New England. This was an era of much conflict with the French and Indian War, the War for Independence, and the War of 1812.

When we were younger, our Grandmother Lulu Gore lived near us for much of our childhood years. As a creative, can-do type of Grandma, she inspired us with her gardens, her interesting holiday decorations, and her interest in family history. We lived in a rural Ohio area, and Lulu was the wife of our Grandfather Harley Gore. He had passed away years before we were born. However, before his death she helped him begin his Gore genealogy work. Toward the end of his life in 1941, as he was dying of heart disease, he asked his wife if she could begin the story of his family’s origins. The work was never finished, (as genealogy work never is…) However, we feel honored to continue what she began.

Grandma Moses Certainly Knew How to Paint The Rural Life

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, also known as “Grandma Moses” was a prolific American painter of the last century. From Wikipedia: “Moses painted scenes of rural life from earlier days, which she called “old-timey” New England landscapes. Moses said that she would “get an inspiration and start painting; then I’ll forget everything, everything except how things used to be and how to paint it so people will know how we used to live.” Grandma Moses artwork has appeared in museums and galleries the world over, and often, she painted scenes of New England life.

*Moving Day on the Farm,* circa 1951.
Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known as “Grandma Moses”
(Courtesy of wikiart.org).

We know that our ancestors didn’t live in a pastoral, problem-free world, but the work of Anna May Robinson Moses inspires us to reconnect with our many ancestors who lived before our time. (1)

Elijah Gore Sr., and Desire Safford Have a Big Family

As the third son of Samuel Gore (3) and Desire (Safford) Gore, Elijah Gore Sr., was born on February 11, 1743 in Norwich, Connecticut Colony – died about 1794, probably in Halifax, Windham, Vermont. He married Sarah Little December 11, 1767 in Voluntown, Connecticut Colony, when he was 24 and she was 18. She was born September 5, 1749 in Sutton, Worcester, Massachusetts Colony – died August 26, 1805 in Halifax, Windham, Vermont, aged 60.

*see The 1790 “Census” of Vermont (below)

The birth registrations for Sarah Little and her older brother Moses.
Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001.

Sarah (Little) Gore was the daughter of Ezekiel and Margret (Fitts) Little. She is buried at Stafford Cemetery in Halifax , and it is assumed that Elijah is buried next to her, even though there is no headstone, nor record of his death.

Before 1779, Elijah Gore Sr. and his family left Connecticut for Vermont. They settled in Halifax, Windham (county), Vermont. Here he owned land located on Vermont’s southern border with Massachusetts. As is often the case, as pioneers moved from place to place they named their new towns and counties after the places they had previously lived. As a result, Windham County is in both Connecticut, and Vermont. Some of their family records also cite the adjacent location of Guilford township, which borders Halifax on its eastern side.

McClelland’s Map of Windham County, Vermont, circa 1856.
Inset image: Halifax and Guilford townships from Vermont’s southern border.
(Image courtesy of the Library of Congress).

Elijah and Sarah Gore had ten children. Their first born, Elijah Jr., was born in Killingly, Connecticut Colony, the next four were born in Voluntown, Connecticut Colony, and the rest in Halifax, Vermont Colony. (2)

Elijah Gore Jr., born (Killingly, Connecticut Colony), September 5, 1768 – died 1798
Ezekiel Gore, born November 20, 1770 – died May 14, 1847 in Bernardston, Franklin, Massachusetts
Margaret (Gore) Stafford, born February 10, 1773 – died March 10, 1864 in Monroe, Franklin, Massachusetts
Samuel Gore (4), born, April 10, 1775 – died August 10, 1815 in Belleville, Jefferson, New York (We are descended from Samuel 4).
Obadiah Gore born November 20, 1777 – death date unknown

Hannah (Gore) Starr, born September 1, 1779 – died 1819 in Halifax, Windham, Vermont
Lucy (Gore) Bennett, born May 21, 1781 – death date unknown
Daniel Gore, born October 30, 1783 and died April 10, 1859 in Monroe, Franklin, Massachusetts
Desire (Gore) Bixby, born November 8, 1786 – died December 8, 1833 in Guilford, Windham, Vermont
Sarah (Gore) Slater, born August 12, 1789 and died September 19, 1858 in Chardon, Geauga, Ohio

The French and Indian War

Like the previous narrative, The Gore Line — Four, wars were an elemental part of history in the new American Colonies. In 1666, France claimed “Vermont” as part of New France. From Wikipedia: “French explorer Samuel de Champlain claimed the area of what is now Lake Champlain, giving the name, Verd Mont (Green Mountain) to the region he found, on a 1647 map.”

British forces under fire from the French and Indian forces.

“The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years’ War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on their native allies. French Canadians call it the guerre de la Conquête — ‘War of the Conquest’.“

“Following France’s loss in the French and Indian War, the 1763 Treaty of Paris gave control of the whole region to the British... The end of the war brought new settlers to Vermont. The first settler of the grants was Samuel Robinson, who began clearing land in Bennington in 1761.. In the 28 years from 1763 to 1791, the non-Indian population of Vermont rose from 300 to 85,000.

The Elijah Gore Family were living in a territory that was a disputed frontier, likely quite rugged, and similar enough to other areas their forebears had lived in — that it was filled with opportunity. Indeed, this family was living in “Vermont” before Vermont was Vermont. (3)

Many People Had Tried to Claim Land in Vermont

It’s a complicated situation which played out over several decades and involved different English monarchs, Colonial Governors and various legal representatives, as the borders of Vermont were always in dispute — not only with the French, but also with the neighboring colonies, whose settlers seemed to continually want to expand their land holdings. Some of our ancestors probably got up in the morning and thought to themselves, “I feel a bit betwixt and between — wonder who is in charge today?”

From Wikipedia, on the History of Vermont: “A fort at Crown Point had been built in 1759, and the road stretched across the Green Mountains from Springfield to Chimney Point, making traveling from the neighboring British colonies easier than ever before. Three colonies laid claim to the area. The Province of Massachusetts Bay claimed the land on the basis of the 1629 charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Province of New York claimed Vermont based on land granted to the Duke of York (later King James II & VII) in 1664. The Province of New Hampshire, whose western limits had never been determined, also claimed Vermont, in part based upon a decree of George II in 1740.”

Engraving depicting Ethan Allen at the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org).

There was a lot of acrimonious behavior: “In 1770, Ethan Allen—along with his brothers Ira and Levi, as well as Seth Warner—recruited an informal militia, the Green Mountain Boys, to protect the interests of the original New Hampshire settlers against the new migrants from New York… The American Revolution changed the face of these various conflicts after the battle of Bennington, Vermont became important. “The battle was a major strategic success for the American cause…”

In Guilford, the township adjacent to Halifax, we learn from the website, We Are Vermont: “There was so much controversy between Yorkist and Vermont factions at the beginning of the Revolutionary War that 2 sets of officials were fighting for control in Guilford. The fighting escalated to a point where, in 1783, the Vermont government sent Ethan Allen with a Militia to the town to enforce martial law and collect taxes. This was known as the “Guilford War” and eventually those who opposed Vermont’s laws moved to settle in New York.” (4)

*The 1790 “Census” of Vermont

According to the National Archives: “Vermont became a state on March 4, 1791, [as the 14th state] so the census was taken in Vermont in 1791…” Specifically, “The Census was taken in Rhode Island on 7-5-1790 and in Vermont on 3-2-1791 [March 2, 1791], after they ratified the constitution.” [USGenWeb] Even though Vermont had a census, it was after everyone else’s census, and it continues to be mistakenly referred to as the “1790” census.

Our research has concluded that our ancestor Elijah Gore, even though we do not know his exact death date, was still alive after March 1791. We analyzed the census and believe this for the following reasons:

Heads of Families first Vermont census, Page 50, conducted on March 2, 1791.

Their son Elijah Jr. married Susannah Barney on August 17, 1789, in nearby Guilford, so he was likely no longer living with his parents. (When the census was done, it would be highly improbable that his household numbers could match up with the 1791 census data.) Even though he has the same name as his father Elijah Sr., there is only one listing for a man with this name in Halifax Town, Windham County, Vermont, at this time.
The “Free White Males of 16 years and upward including heads of families” would be Elijah Gore Sr., our grandfather, and his son Ezekiel, age 20 years.
The categories show only one “Free White Males under 16 years” living in the home. That would likely be our ancestor Samuel Gore (4), who was 15 at the time.
The “Free White Females including heads of families” indicates one person, who is likely our grandmother Sarah Little.
“All other free persons” are everyone else who was living in the home. That number is 8, which corresponds exactly to everyone else, from Margaret through Sarah.
Lastly, there are no slaves listed. We would expect this from people who identified as Puritans.

Unfortunately, there is scant evidence on the life activities of this ancestor. Elijah’s occupation is unknown, but it’s very likely, he was a farmer. (5)

Two Locations in Windham County?

This branch of the Gore family, owned land in Windham county in two adjacent townships: Halifax and Guilford. (This explains why family records intermix the two locations). The Official History of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961, cites the sale of land in Guilford, as illustrated below.

Note that Lot 168 is mentioned as being “on the Halifax line.” It also appears that Elijah Gore may have also owned a portion of Lot 167.

A plan of Guilford, drawn by Nathan Dwight, surveyor, in 1765, showing the original 50-acre and 100-acre lots. The names of many of the earliest settlers have been added, according to the best information available in existing records. From the *Official History of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961*, Digital pages, Inset: 309/585 and for Map: 396/610.

Even though these two townships are next door neighbors, because they were in disputed areas, the records are a bit complicated. Initially, the Royal Governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, was in charge of the area. From Wikipedia: “Halifax was the second town chartered, west of the Connecticut River on May 11, 1750 by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, meaning Halifax is the second oldest town in the state after Bennington…” and also, Guilford was “Chartered as Guilford New Hampshire in 1754… chartered [again] “as Guilford, Vermont in 1791″ when Vermont became an official state. Additionally, Guilford is “the most populous town in Vermont from 1791-1820.”

This may also help explain that our research turned up that Elijah Gore Sr. is recorded as having served in the American Revolutionary War, under the banner of Captain Samuel Fillbrick’s Company in (oddly enough) New Hampshire. From the Official history of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961, page 135:

This puzzled us at first, but it makes sense that some militias would be organized under the names of other Colonies, since Vermont did not technically exist until after the war, in 1791. (6)

Samuel Gore (4) and Rebeckah Barney Marry

Our ancestor, Samuel Gore (4), born April 10, 1775 Voluntown, Windham, Connecticut Colony – died August 10, 1815 in Belleville, Jefferson County, New York. He married Rebeckah Barney on February 22, 1798, in a ceremony at Halifax, Vermont, officiated by Darius Bullock. She was born April 6, 1782 Guilford, Windham, Vermont – died October 26, 1860 in Belleville, Jefferson, New York. They likely met socially through family or friends because their home townships, Halifax and Guilford, were adjacent to each other.

Rebeckah was the daughter of Deacon Edward Barney, who was a physician and Baptist Deacon. He was born August 18, 1749 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Colony – died August 9, 1839 in Ellisburg, Jefferson, New York. Rebeckah’s mother was Elizabeth Brown, born October 3, 1750 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut – died March 5, 1793 in Guilford, Windham, Vermont. Elizabeth died in childbirth with her 12th pregnancy at the age of 42 — her newborn infant daughter Mabel was buried with her. [William Barney and Familysearch.com footnotes] Together the Barneys had twelve children, with Rebeckah being the 7th child.

Our 4x Great-Grandmother, Rebeckah (Barney) Gore.

Samuel (4) and Rebecca had seven children. The first five were born in Halifax, Windham, Vermont and the youngest two were born in Belleville, Jefferson County, New York.

Observation: Quite notable about this family group, is that these are the first ancestors of whom we have photographic portraits! We’ll meet their children in just a moment, but first, we need to discuss this newly invented portraiture… (7)

The Waking Century — The Advent of Portrait Photography

Suddenly, a new age was upon us…

“Getting painted portraits done used to be exclusive to families in the upper classes of society. That all changed when photography came into existence. In 1839, Robert Cornelius shot the first successful portrait, a self-portrait (a selfie, no less), using the venerable daguerreotype. Cornelius took advantage of the light outdoors to get a faster exposure. Sprinting out of his father’s shop, Robert held this pose for a whole minute before rushing back and putting the lens cap back on.”

“You see, shooting with the daguerreotype required between 3 to 15 minutes of exposure time depending on the available light — making portraiture incredibly impractical if not impossible.” [Soriano, A Brief History of Portrait Photography]

*Robert Cornelius’s Self-Portrait, 1839.*

Did you ever wonder why the ancestors in many old photographs are not smiling, which is our custom today? From Time Magazine: “Experts say that the deeper reason for the lack of smiles early on is that photography took guidance from pre-existing customs in painting—an art form in which many found grins uncouth and inappropriate for portraiture. Accordingly, high-end studio photographers would create an elegant setting and direct the subject how to behave, producing the staid expressions which are so familiar in 19th century photographs. The images they created were formal and befitted the expense of paying to have a portrait made, especially when that portrait might be the only image of someone.” Indeed, these are the scant few images we have of these ancestors…

Observation: It is quite notable that this generation, born after the Revolutionary War, began heading west and moved into new states and territories: Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin — none of them died in Vermont.

Shown below are each of the Samuel and Rebeckah Gore children, with their families and respective portraits.

Gratia (Gore) Cook, born September 27, 1800, Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died, February 16, 1876, Winneconne, Winnebago, Wisconsin.
Left to right: Gratia (Gore) Cook; her sons Eugene Kincaid Cook, and Malcolm G. Cook.

Hart Gore [twin of Clark], born December 13, 1802, Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died February 11, 1892, Rushford, Fillmore, Minnesota.
Top Row, left to right: Hart Gore, his wife Miranda Goodenough, their son Leslie Gore, Bottom row, left to right: Their son Charles W. Gore, his wife Martha E. (Bartley) Gore, and their daughter Mary Jeanette (Gore) Valentine.

Clark Gore [twin of Hart] born December 13, 1803 in Halifax, Windham, Vermont. He married Lydia Burge and they had three children: Martha Lydia Gore, Myron Gore, and Alice Gore.

Luke Gore, born April 1, 1805, Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died October 2, 1868, Newbury, Geauga, Ohio (We are descended from Luke.)
Top Row, left to right: Luke Gore, his second wife, Electa (Stanhope) Gore (our grandmother). Milan R. Gore,* Bottom row, left to right: Crockett Gore*, his wife Lois (Haven) Gore, and Crockett’s son Dana D. Gore.
*Milan and Crockett are the children of Luke Gore and his first wife: Mila Gore. She was born in 1813 in Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died September 29, 1848 in Newbury, Geauga, Ohio. Luke and Mila were first cousins.

Belinda (Gore) Barton, born July 15, 1807, Halifax, Windham, Vermont – died August 15, 1900, Madison, Lake, Ohio
Top row, left to right: Belinda (Gore) Barton, her husband Horace Barton, and their son Hanford Barton. Bottom row, left to right: Their daughter Frances (Barton) Cook, and her husband Eugene Kincaid Cook. Note: Frances (Barton) Cook married her first cousin Eugene Kincaid Cook [see Gratia (Gore) Cook above].

Susan (Gore) Bishop, born February 27, 1812, Belleville, Jefferson, New York – died August 15, 1897, Jefferson County, New York.
Left image: Susan (Gore) Bishop and Center image: Her daughter Emogene Matilda Birdy Bishop.

Mary Genette (Gore) Brayman, born June 18, 1814, Belleville, Jefferson, New York – died February 28, 1891, Farmington, Van Burn, Iowa.
Top Row, left to right: Mary Genette (Gore) Brayman, her daughter Victoria Icebenda (Brayman) Goodenough, and Victoria’s husband Gilbert Clark Goodenough. Bottom row, left to right: The Brayman children — their sons Andrew Jackson Brayman, Edward Barney Brayman, and their daughter Flora Arabella (Brayman) Orr. (8)

Ellisburgh, and Belleville, Jefferson County, New York

After his wife Elizabeth died in 1793, Deacon Edward Barney eventually remarried. He and his second wife Phebe Bennett had six more children. They also moved from Vermont to New York just after the turn of the 19th century.

From the book, The Growth of A Century: “Deacon Edward Barney came from Guilford, Vermont, about 1803 and settled in the town of Ellisburgh. He was a physician and farmer. He died in 1835, aged 86 years. Three of his sons, substantial business men, settled and raised families in that town, and were foremost in efforts to repel invasion during the War of 1812, especially in defence of Sackets Harbor.” [More on this area below.]

So, it’s clear that he relocated his family to New York State, and it was quite a move(!) They relocated up near the border with Canada at the eastern edge of Lake Ontario. Apparently, Samuel Gore (4) and his wife Rebeckah also followed sometime between 1807 when Belinda was born in Vermont, and 1812 when Susan was born in New York.

Ellisburgh and Belleville are located at the eastern edge of Lake Ontario, as indicated by
the inset image. *Map of New York 1814* by Mathew Carey from “Careys General Atlas”
(Image courtesy of http://www.old-maps.com).

We often wondered what made them decide to emigrate to a new area after spending generations in New England. The article The Coming of the Pioneers from newyorkgenealogy.org helped explain what had been in the air: “By 1800 the tide of immigration towards Northern New York had definitely set in. The lure of cheap lands in a new country brought settlers by the hundreds from the New England states and the still new settlements in the vicinity of Utica. Marvelous tales were told there of the fertility of the lands in the Black River Country, of corn planted in the ground without plowing growing to over eleven feet in height and of wheat yielding from twenty-five to thirty-five bushels to the acre. A traveling missionary commenting on the universal contention of the pioneers in their new homes along the Black river said that he had not “seen an unhappy person for 90 miles on that river.”

“These tales and others brought sturdy, young men and their families from Vermont and Plattsburgh over the woodland trail into Chateaugay and finally to the infant settlements springing up along the St. Lawrence, the Grass and the St. Regis rivers. They brought others, their household goods laden on crude wood sleds, drawn by oxen, up through the trackless woods of the Black River Country…”

To this day, according to Wikipedia, Ellisburgh, New York is still considered a village, and Belleville, (just north of Ellisburgh even smaller), is considered a hamlet. Most of our ancestors who were there, left the area, or didn’t stay there for very long. The only exception was Susan (Gore) Bishop, who was a lifelong resident. (9)

The War of 1812

Like his father Elijah before him, Samuel Gore (4) participated in the new country’s war efforts, as a private in Captain Jonathan Scott’s Company of Colonel Anthony Sprague’s Regiment Jefferson County Militia, New York. (Curiously, his wife Rebeckah never claimed his war pension, likely because he survived unhurt: “All pensions granted to veterans of the War of 1812 and their surviving dependents before 1871 were based exclusively on service-connected death or disability.”)

We had always thought that the War of 1812 was fought because England was rather cranky and upset that they had lost the American Revolutionary War a generation earlier. [Honestly, it just wasn’t deemed to be that important in American high school history classes.] However, there was much more to the conflict.

From the USS Constitution Museum.org: “The War of 1812 pitted the young United States in a war against Great Britain, from whom the American colonies had won their independence in 1783. The conflict was a byproduct of the broader conflict between Great Britain and France over who would dominate Europe and the wider world.” If you recall, in The Gore Line, A Narrative — Four, we had commented on the fact that England had crafted an economic model that benefited them by extracting resources from their Colonies. This changed after the War For Independence, and was aggravated further when President Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807 in retaliation for what was happening to America’s ships and sailors at sea. The embargo was hard on American farmers because it reduced the market for their products, but they weathered the storm, so to speak.

“In Britain’s effort to control the world’s oceans, the British Royal Navy encroached upon American maritime rights and cut into American trade during the Napoleonic Wars. In response, the young republic declared war on Britain on June 18, 1812. The two leading causes of the war were the British Orders-in-Council, which limited American trade with Europe, and impressment, [read as: kidnapping and forced servitude] the Royal Navy’s practice of taking seamen from American merchant vessels to fill out the crews of its own chronically undermanned warships. Under the authority of the Orders in Council, the British seized some 400 American merchant ships and their cargoes between 1807 and 1812.”

It’s hard to believe this today, but in the expansionist era our ancestors lived in, and with everything else that was going on… There were many Hawks in the Continental Congress who believed, The War would allow them to expand American territory into the areas of Canada, which were defined as Upper Canada (essentially Ontario), and Lower Canada (present day Quebec).

“The acquisition of Canada this year, as far as the neighborhood of Quebec, will be a mere matter of marching; and will give us experience for the attack of
Halifax the next, and the final expulsion of England from
the American continent.”
Thomas Jefferson to William Duane, 4 August 1812

According to the National Park Service: “…many Americans assumed that the Canadian population would welcome the arrival of American forces. In reality, the inhabitants of Canada—a mix of French settlers, American loyalists who had fled north during the War of Independence, and a growing population of ambivalent American transplants – had little reason to embrace an incursion from the south.”

Indeed, “Jefferson also overestimated the readiness of the American armies. Optimists assumed that the U.S. army could be effective as an invading and occupying force… Jefferson also misjudged the effectiveness of the British army. Their own success fighting and defeating the British redcoats during their War of Independence proved a deceptive lesson. Unlike the British troops Americans faced during the Revolution, the British army that arrived in Canada was better led and battle-hardened by twenty years of experience fighting against Napoleonic France.”

However, with our ancestors living where they lived, it was a prime area for much conflict. “Jefferson County early became the theater of active military and naval operations. Sackets Harbor was then the most important point on Lake Ontario. It was made the headquarters of the northern division of the American fleet, and here were fitted out numerous important expeditions against the British in Canada.”[RootsWeb, Child’s Gazetteers 1890]

Furthermore, “The war started in 1812 and lasted until 1815, though a peace treaty had been signed in 1814. Over 2200 US soldiers died and over 1600 British. Jefferson County played a central role in the war, from beginning to end. It was the headquarters of Commodore Isaac Chauncey and the US Navy of the Great Lakes. Six armed engagements were fought in Jefferson County during the war, more so than any other county on American soil. The successful campaigns against York and Niagara (1813) were launched from Sackets Harbor, as were the not so successful campaigns on Montreal and Niagara (1814). Perry’s victory on Lake Erie was also directed from Jefferson County under the command of Isaac Chauncey.” [Jefferson County NY Wiki]

As far as we know, it’s a miracle that none of our family members in this line, died during this time. In Part Six we are writing about our ancestor Luke Gore and his family, as they move west from New England — perhaps following other family members who led the way. (10)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

A Special Note About This Chapter
There is a wealth of well done documentation completed by other fellow researchers about this family line, in the Familysearch.org website. We would like to bring this work to your attention, as follows:

Note 1: For an excellent traditional muti-generational classical family tree which includes names, dates, marriages, and children, see —
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LQ5C-1D1

Note 2: The research also contains a robust amount of detail and source information for those researchers who would like to research their ancestors beyond the classical “family tree” level.

Note 3: Here is an example — again from this link: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LQ5C-1D1 , then click on the name Samuel Gore found within the center screen block above his wife’s name, Rebeckah Barney. This will open a biography box on the right side of your screen.

From there, click on the PERSON box, just below Samuel’s birth and death information. This will open a new window which displays useful links such as Details, Sources, etc.

Here is the path: Pedigree landscape view (classical tree) > Samuel Gore biography page > PERSON link > Useful links

Grandma Moses Certainly Knew How to Paint The Rural Life

(1) — two records

Moving Day on the Farm
Painting by Anna Mary Robertson Moses, known as “Grandma Moses”
https://www.wikiart.org/en/grandma-moses/morning-day-on-the-farm-1951

Grandma Moses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Moses

Elijah Gore Sr., and Desire Safford Have a Big Family

(2) — eight records

Elijah Gore
Birth – Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74J-LJY
Note: This is his christening record, one week after his birth.

Sarah Little
Vital – Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4FR-L9K
Book page: 117, Digital page: 65/544. Right page, last entry.
Note: For her birth registration.

Elijah Gore and Sarah Little marriage
Marriage – Connecticut, Vital Records, Prior to 1850
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPQ7-57TX
Digital page: 8822/10,566

Sarah Little Gore
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57390841/sarah-gore

Elijah Gore
in the Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Voluntown Vital Records 1708-1850
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/225419:1062?tid=&pid=&queryId=1d2415c4e44686d563db8be245d11749&_phsrc=DZs10&_phstart=successSource
Book page: 180, Digital page: 52/122, Lower portion of page.
Note: For the Gore family children born in Voluntown, Connecticut.

The Descendants of George Little Who Came to Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1640, from the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
by George Thomas Little, A.M., 1892
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/10376/images/dvm_GenMono000214-00002-0?ssrc=&backlabel=Return&pId=2000000000
Book pages: 53-54, Digital pages: 73-74/664 Under Entry 200
Note: This file lists a Joseph Gore born 1797, a child which we have not included because we believe that it is an error.

Elijah Gore
in the Geneanet Community Trees Index
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/6873371156:62476
Note: This file lists a Joseph Gore born 1797, a child which we have not included because we believe that it is an error.

Library of Congress
McClellan’s Map of Windham County, Vermont
by J. Chace, C. McClellan & Co.
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3753w.la001192/?r=-0.491,0.249,1.604,0.777,0
Note: For map image.

The French and Indian War

(3) — three records

History of Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vermont

French and Indian War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

We Are The Mighty
Today in Military History: George Washington spills first blood of French and Indian War
https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/today-in-military-history-george-washington-spills-first-blood-of-french-and-indian-war/
Note: For the illustration.

Many People Had Tried to Claim Land in Vermont

(4) — four records

History of Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Vermont

Battle of Bennington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bennington

File:Fort Ticonderoga 1775.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Ticonderoga_1775.jpg
Note: For the Illustration of Ethan Allen

Vermont.com
Vermont.com Guide to Guilford
https://vermont.com/cities/guilford/

*The 1790 “Census” of Vermont

(5) — four records

1790 Census: Heads of Families at the First Census of the United States
Taken in the Year 1790
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1907/dec/heads-of-families.html
Note 1: 5 Downloadable .pdf files
Note 2: Click on Vermont, Published in 1907 > Download All Vermont [21.0 MB]

The National Archives
1790 Census Records
https://www.archives.gov/research/census/1790

USGenWeb Free Census Project Help, HISTORY of the United States – Federal Census, 1790-1920
http://www.usgwcensus.org/help/history.html

Elijah Gove Jr
in the Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720-1908
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/345462:4661
Digital page: 2859/4084

Two Locations in Windham County?

(6) — four records

Official History of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961.
With Genealogies and Biographical Sketches
Edited by National Grange, Vermont State Grange, Broad Brook Grange No. 151, Guilford
https://archive.org/details/officialhistoryo00unse/page/308/mode/2up
Note 1: Gore farm sale, Book page 309, Digital page: 308/585
Note 2: Tipped-in, foldout map of original property lots, Digital page 396/610

Halifax, Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax,_Vermont#External_links

Guilford, Vermont
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilford,_Vermont

Official History of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961.
With Genealogies and Biographical Sketches
Edited by National Grange, Vermont State Grange, Broad Brook Grange No. 151, Guilford
https://archive.org/details/officialhistoryo00unse/page/308/mode/2up
Note: Elijah Gore Revolutionary War service, page 135.

Samuel Gore (4) and Rebeckah Barney Marry

(7) — three records

Genealogy.com
Re: Barneys and Potters and Briggs, Oh My:-)
By William Barney
https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/barney/776/
Note: Home > Forum > Surnames > Barney

Mrs Elizabeth Barney
Vital – Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFFT-335
Digital page: 2891/4008
Note: For her death record.

Source for the Gore Family Photograph Portraits:
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LQ5C-1D1

The Waking Century — The Advent of Portrait Photography

(8) — two records

Photography by Jay
A Brief History of Portrait Photography
by Jay Soriano
https://jaysoriano.com/a-brief-history-of-portrait-photography/

Time
Now You Know: Why Do People Always Look So Serious in Old Photos?
by Merrill Fabray
https://time.com/4568032/smile-serious-old-photos/

Ellisburgh, and Belleville, Jefferson County, New York

(9) — six records

Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894
by John A. Haddock https://archive.org/details/growthofcenturya00hadd/page/n749/mode/2up
Note: For information on the Barney family and Deacon Edward Barney

NY Genealogy
The Coming of the Pioneers
Franklin County, Jefferson County, Lewis County, Oswego County, Saint Lawrence County
by New York Genealogy
https://newyorkgenealogy.org/franklin/the-coming-of-the-pioneers.htm

Map of New York 1814 by Mathew Carey from “Careys General Atlas”
by Mathew Carey
http://www.old-maps.com/NY/ny-state/NY_1814_Carey-web.jpg
Note: For map image.

ThoughtCo.
History of American Agriculture
American Agriculture 1776–1990
by Mary Bellis
[Under the subhead] Agricultural Advances in the United States, 1775–1889
https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-american-agriculture-farm-machinery-4074385
Note: For the farm scene image.

Ellisburg, New York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellisburg,_New_York
and
Belleville, New York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belleville%2C_New_York

The War of 1812

(10) — nine records

USS Constitution Museum
The War of 1812 Overview
https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/war-of-1812-overview/#:~:text=The%20two%20leading%20causes%20of,its%20own%20chronically%20undermanned%20warships.

Samuel Gore
Military – United States War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5Z8-9GNM?view=index&action=view&cc=1916219
Digital page: 2210/2843

Samuel Gore
in the U.S., War of 1812 Pension Application Files Index, 1812-1815
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/72654:1133
Digital page: 740/946

National Archives and Records Administration
Bounty-Land Warrants for Military Service, 1775–1855
https://www.archives.gov/files/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/2012/handouts/war-of-1812-bounty-lands.pdf
and
Publication Number: M-313
Publication Title: Index to War of 1812 Pension Application Files
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/army/dc/m313.pdf

Britannica.com
Embargo Act , United States [1807]
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Embargo-Act

The National Park Service, article —
“The acquisition of Canada this year will be a mere matter of marching”
https://www.nps.gov/articles/a-mere-matter-of-marching.htm

Jefferson County NY Wiki
War of 1812
https://jeffcowiki.miraheze.org/wiki/War_of_1812#:~:text=Jefferson%20County%20played%20a%20central,other%20county%20on%20American%20soil.

WAR OF 1812
(from Child’s Gazetteer(1890) – pp. 141-171)
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~twigs2000/genealogy/warchilds.html

The War of 1812 Gallery images:
From various Google search sources.