As we have celebrated Thanksgiving Day this year, my heart has been full and my mind has been drawn back nearly 400 years ago to those very first European settlers who landed near Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. They were seeking a new home and a new opportunity to worship and live as they saw fit. The following year, they chose to express their thanks to God , having a special time of feasting and praising God. They invited and welcomed the Native American people who had helped them after their arrival in this strange new world, The tradition of a special day of thanks was born in America. Since that time I have come to know that some of my ancestors were on the Mayflower and at that that First Thanksgiving. Using Relativefinder.com I have been able to locate a list of my ancestors who were there when it all began. Below you can find a brief history of the Mayflower and those who attended the first Thanksgiving along with the list of ancestors who were a part of it all. GRATITUDE FILLS MY HEART AND MY SOUL FOR THEIR FAITH, COURAGE, AND SACRIFICE.
PILGRIMS BEFORE THE MAYFLOWER
In 1608, a congregation of disgruntled English Protestants from the village of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, left England and moved to Leyden, a town in Holland. These “Separatists” did not want to pledge allegiance to the Church of England, which they believed was nearly as corrupt and idolatrous as the Catholic Church it had replaced, any longer. (They were not the same as the Puritans, who had many of the same objections to the English church but wanted to reform it from within.) The Separatists hoped that in Holland, they would be free to worship as they liked
In 1608, a congregation of disgruntled English Protestants from the village of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, left England and moved to Leyden, a town in Holland. These “Separatists” did not want to pledge allegiance to the Church of England, which they believed was nearly as corrupt and idolatrous as the Catholic Church it had replaced, any longer. (They were not the same as the Puritans, who had many of the same objections to the English church but wanted to reform it from within.) The Separatists hoped that in Holland, they would be free to worship as they liked
Did You Know?
The Separatists who founded the Plymouth Colony referred to themselves as “Saints,” not “Pilgrims.” The use of the word “Pilgrim” to describe this group did not become common until the colony’s bicentennial.
The Separatists who founded the Plymouth Colony referred to themselves as “Saints,” not “Pilgrims.” The use of the word “Pilgrim” to describe this group did not become common until the colony’s bicentennial.
In fact, the Separatists (they called themselves “Saints”) did find religious freedom in Holland, but they also found a secular life that was more difficult to navigate than they’d anticipated. For one thing, Dutch craft guilds excluded the migrants, so they were relegated to menial, low-paying jobs. Even worse was Holland’s easygoing, cosmopolitan atmosphere, which proved alarmingly seductive to some of the Saints’ children. (These young people were “drawn away,” Separatist leader William Bradford wrote, “by evill [sic] example into extravagance and dangerous courses.”) For the strict, devout Separatists, this was the last straw. They decided to move again, this time to a place without government interference or worldly distraction: the “New World” across the Atlantic Ocean.
THE MAYFLOWER
First, the Separatists returned to London to get organized. A prominent merchant agreed to advance the money for their journey. The Virginia Company gave them permission to establish a settlement, or “plantation,” on the East Coast between 38 and 41 degrees north latitude (roughly between the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Hudson River). And the King of England gave them permission to leave the Church of England, “provided they carried themselves peaceably.”
First, the Separatists returned to London to get organized. A prominent merchant agreed to advance the money for their journey. The Virginia Company gave them permission to establish a settlement, or “plantation,” on the East Coast between 38 and 41 degrees north latitude (roughly between the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Hudson River). And the King of England gave them permission to leave the Church of England, “provided they carried themselves peaceably.”
In August 1620, a group of about 40 Saints joined a much larger group of (comparatively) secular colonists–“Strangers,” to the Saints–and set sail from England on two merchant ships: the Mayflower and the Speedwell. The Speedwell began to leak almost immediately, however, and the ships headed back to port. The travelers squeezed themselves and their belongings onto the Mayflower and set sail once again.
Because of the delay caused by the leaky Speedwell, the Mayflower had to cross the Atlantic at the height of storm season. As a result, the journey was horribly unpleasant. Many of the passengers were so seasick they could scarcely get up, and the waves were so rough that one “Stranger” was swept overboard and drowned. (It was “the just hand of God upon him,” Bradford wrote later, for the young sailor had been “a proud and very profane yonge man.”)
THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT
After two miserable months at sea, the ship finally reached the New World. There, the Mayflower’s passengers found an abandoned Indian village and not much else. They also found that they were in the wrong place: Cape Cod was located at 42 degrees north latitude, well north of the Virginia Company’s territory. Technically, the Mayflower colonists had no right to be there at all. In order to establish themselves as a legitimate colony (“Plymouth,” named after the English port from which they had departed) under these dubious circumstances, 41 of the Saints and Strangers drafted and signed a document they called the Mayflower Compact. This Compact promised to create a “civil Body Politick” governed by elected officials and “just and equal laws.” It also swore allegiance to the English king.
After two miserable months at sea, the ship finally reached the New World. There, the Mayflower’s passengers found an abandoned Indian village and not much else. They also found that they were in the wrong place: Cape Cod was located at 42 degrees north latitude, well north of the Virginia Company’s territory. Technically, the Mayflower colonists had no right to be there at all. In order to establish themselves as a legitimate colony (“Plymouth,” named after the English port from which they had departed) under these dubious circumstances, 41 of the Saints and Strangers drafted and signed a document they called the Mayflower Compact. This Compact promised to create a “civil Body Politick” governed by elected officials and “just and equal laws.” It also swore allegiance to the English king.
PLYMOUTH COLONY AND THE FIRST THANKSGIVING
The colonists spent the first winter, which only 53 passengers and half the crew survived, living onboard the Mayflower. (The Mayflower sailed back to England in April 1621.) Once they moved ashore, the colonists faced even more challenges. During their first winter in America, more than half of the Plymouth colonists died from malnutrition, disease and exposure to the harsh New England weather. In fact, without the help of the area’s native people, it is likely that none of the colonists would have survived. An English-speaking Pawtuxet named Samoset helped the colonists form an alliance with the local Wampanoags, who taught them how to hunt local animals, gather shellfish and grow corn, beans and squash. At the end of the next summer, the Plymouth colonists celebrated their first successful harvest with a three-day festival of thanksgiving. We still commemorate this feast today.
The colonists spent the first winter, which only 53 passengers and half the crew survived, living onboard the Mayflower. (The Mayflower sailed back to England in April 1621.) Once they moved ashore, the colonists faced even more challenges. During their first winter in America, more than half of the Plymouth colonists died from malnutrition, disease and exposure to the harsh New England weather. In fact, without the help of the area’s native people, it is likely that none of the colonists would have survived. An English-speaking Pawtuxet named Samoset helped the colonists form an alliance with the local Wampanoags, who taught them how to hunt local animals, gather shellfish and grow corn, beans and squash. At the end of the next summer, the Plymouth colonists celebrated their first successful harvest with a three-day festival of thanksgiving. We still commemorate this feast today.
John Alden 12th Great Uncle Mayflower
Peter Brown 3rd Cousin 9 times removed Mayflower
Thomas Rogers 1st Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
William Brewster 3rd Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
Myles Standish 4th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Edward Winslow 7th Cousin 10 times removed Mayflower
William White 6th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Henry Sampson 9th Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
John Howland 10th Cousin 10 times removed Mayflower
Isaac Allerton 9th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
William Bradford 9th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Edward Doty 10th Cousin 14 times removed Mayflower
Stephen Hopkins 10th Cousin 14 times removed Mayflower
Richard More 12th Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
William Mullins 12th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Edward Fuller 12th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Samuel Fuller 12th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Francis Eaton 15th Cousin 18 times removed Mayflower
Peter Brown 3rd Cousin 9 times removed Mayflower
Thomas Rogers 1st Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
William Brewster 3rd Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
Myles Standish 4th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Edward Winslow 7th Cousin 10 times removed Mayflower
William White 6th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Henry Sampson 9th Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
John Howland 10th Cousin 10 times removed Mayflower
Isaac Allerton 9th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
William Bradford 9th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Edward Doty 10th Cousin 14 times removed Mayflower
Stephen Hopkins 10th Cousin 14 times removed Mayflower
Richard More 12th Cousin 11 times removed Mayflower
William Mullins 12th Cousin 12 times removed Mayflower
Edward Fuller 12th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Samuel Fuller 12th Cousin 13 times removed Mayflower
Francis Eaton 15th Cousin 18 times removed Mayflower
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