THE MAYFLOWER
THE MAYFLOWER
“So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew that they were Pilgrims, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.”Bradford:History of Plymouth Plantation
“So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew that they were Pilgrims, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.”
Bradford:History of Plymouth Plantation
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The little ship Mayflower of about 120 tons burden according to the present register, Capt. Christopher Jones commanding, set sail from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620.
She carried a crowded company: men with their wives and children, young men and maidens, eager with a sober spirit to found a colony, and make their permanent homes in the new world of America. Because of religious differences, they had already separated themselves from the established Church of England, and in consequence had suffered persecution, fines, and imprisonment.
Their small congregations had met in secret that they might worship according to their own principles and ideals.
Some of them had previously left their homes in the villages of York, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire, and had spent twelve years of exile in Holland, where they found hospitable and friendly tolerance in the cities of Amsterdam and Leyden.
But after long and serious debate, it was decided that they must seek greater liberty for themselves and their children; so banding together part of the congregation in Leyden with others in England, the passengers of the Mayflower sailed, not as conquerors of a new province, or adventurers of fortune, but as Pilgrims with a fixed purpose to secure civic and religious freedom in a new land.
“The names of those who came over first inthe year 1620and were by the blessing of God the firstbeginners and (in a sort) the foundationof all the Plantations and Coloniesin New England.”
*Died the first winter
*Mr. John Carver*Katharine, his wifeDesire MinterJohn Howland, servant*Roger Wilder, servantWilliam Latham, a boya maid-servant*Jasper More, a childMr. William BrewsterMary, his wifeLove Brewster, their sonWrestling Brewster, their sonRichard More, a child*His brother, a childMr. Edward Winslow*Elizabeth, his wifeGeorge Soule, servant*Elias Storey, servant*Ellen More, a childWilliam Bradford*Dorothy, his wifeMr. Isaac Allerton*Mary, his wifeBartholomew AllertonRemember Allerton (daughter)Mary Allerton*John Hooke, servantMr. Samuel Fuller (surgeon)*William Button, servant (died at sea)*John CrackstonJohn Crackston, his sonCaptain Myles Standish*Rose, his wife*Mr. Christopher Martin*his wife*Solomon Prower, servant*John Langmore, servant*Mr. William Mullins*his wife*Joseph MullinsPriscilla Mullins*Robert Carter, servant*Mr. William WhiteSusanna, his wifeResolved, their sonPeregrine, their son (born off Provincetown)*William Holbeck, servant*Edward Thompson, servantMr. Stephen HopkinsElizabeth, his wifeGiles HopkinsConstance HopkinsDamaris Hopkins (daughter)Oceanus Hopkins (born at sea)Edward Doty (Doten), servantEdward Lister, servantMr. Richard WarrenJohn BillingtonEllen, his wifeJohn Billington, their sonFrancis Billington, their son*Edward Tilley*Ann, his wifeHenry Sampson, cousin; childHumility Cooper, cousin; little girl*John Tilley*his wifeElizabeth TilleyFrancis CookeJohn Cooke, his son*Thomas RogersJoseph Rogers, his son*Thomas Tinker*his wife*his son*John Rigdale*Alice, his wife*James Chilton*his wifeMary Chilton*Edward Fuller*his wifeSamuel, their son*John Turner*his two sonsFrancis Eaton*Sarah, his wifeSamuel Eaton, their infant son*Moses Fletcher*John Goodman*Thomas Williams*Degory Priest*Edmond MargesonPeter Brown*Richard Britteridge*Richard ClarkeRichard GardinerGilbert WinslowJohn Alden, cooper*John Allerton, seaman*Thomas English, seamanWilliam Trevor, seaman, (hired for one year)—— Ely, seaman, (hired for one year)
“Immortal scroll! the first where men combinedFrom one deep lake of common blood to drawAll rulers, rights and potencies of law.”—John Boyle O’Reilley
“Immortal scroll! the first where men combinedFrom one deep lake of common blood to drawAll rulers, rights and potencies of law.”—John Boyle O’Reilley
“Immortal scroll! the first where men combinedFrom one deep lake of common blood to drawAll rulers, rights and potencies of law.”—John Boyle O’Reilley
“Immortal scroll! the first where men combined
From one deep lake of common blood to draw
All rulers, rights and potencies of law.”
—John Boyle O’Reilley
Poem read at the dedication of the National Monument to the Forefathers August 1, 1889.
Poem read at the dedication of the National Monument to the Forefathers August 1, 1889.
The Pilgrims held a charter issued to a member of a company of London merchants who had agreed to support their venture.
They intended to make a settlement somewhat to the north of the already established colony in Virginia, but storms buffeted the little ship, and head winds drove her from her course. When at last land was sighted after a weary voyage, they found themselves many leagues further north than they had intended.
With winter upon them, they knew that they must establish themselves at once, outside of the territory originally granted them, and that their charter would not cover this emergency. They determined to act for themselves.
In the cabin of the Mayflower before they came to anchor in “Cape Codd” bay, on Nov. 21, 1620 (N.S.), the men of the Company drew up and signed a compact for their government, electing their own officers, and binding themselves to work together for their common good and their common faith.
From this simple mutual agreement, took form the first American commonwealth, the beginning “of government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, anno Domini 1620.”
“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names, in the year of the reign of our sovereign lord, King James of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, anno Domini 1620.”
John CarverWilliam BradfordEdward WinslowWilliam BrewsterIsaac AllertonJohn AldenMyles StandishSamuel FullerChristopher MartinWilliam MullinsWilliam WhiteRichard WarrenJohn HowlandStephen HopkinsEdward TilleyJohn TilleyFrancis CookeThomas RogersThomas TinkerJohn RigdaleEdward FullerJohn TurnerFrancis EatonJames ChiltonJohn CrackstonJohn BillingtonMoses FletcherJohn GoodmanDegory PriestThomas WilliamsGilbert WinslowEdmund MargesonPeter BrownRichard BritteridgeGeorge SouleRichard ClarkeRichard GardnerJohn AllertonThomas EnglishEdward DotenEdward Lester
The “Compact” was succeeded, in law, if not in the respect of the colonists, by a regular patent taken out in the name of one of the Adventurers (the English investors) in 1621. This is now in Pilgrim Hall. It was superseded by another, also to the Adventurers; and finally, in 1629, after the colonists had bought out the English investors, by one to “Wm. Bradford and associates,”—that is, the freemen of the colony. By thus transferring the “home office” of the company from London to America, the colony became an all but independent government. Consciously or unconsciously, it had from the beginning exercised most of the functions of a sovereign state, and continued to do so, except during the “tyranny” of Sir Edmund Andros, until it merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.
From Plymouth, England
to
Plymouth, Massachusetts
In England:
“On the 25th of August 1620From the West Quay near this spotThe famous Mayflower began her voyageCarrying the little company ofPilgrim FathersWho were destined to be the foundersOf the New England States of America.”
Memorial tablet at Southampton, England. Placed by the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
Memorial tablet at Southampton, England. Placed by the Massachusetts Society of the Colonial Dames of America.
At Provincetown:
“They established and maintained on the bleak and barren edge of a vast wilderness, a state without a king or a noble, a church without a bishop or a priest, a democratic commonwealth the members of which were ‘straightly tied to all care of each other’s good, and for the whole by every one.’
“With long suffering devotion and sober resolution they illustrated for the first time in history the principles of civic and religious liberty and the practices of a genuine democracy.
“Therefore the remembrance of them shall be perpetual in the vast republic that has inherited their ideals.”
From the inscription written by Dr. Charles W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard, for the Memorial Monument to the Pilgrims in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
From the inscription written by Dr. Charles W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard, for the Memorial Monument to the Pilgrims in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Exploration:
While the Mayflower lay at anchor in Cape Cod bay, two exploring parties had been sent out to search for a suitable place for a settlement.
On Wednesday, Dec. 16 (N.S.) the third expedition sailed along the shore in the shallop owned by the Pilgrim company. There were eighteen men on board: two officers, the master-gunner, and three seamen from the Mayflower, and ten Pilgrim volunteers. These were Gov. Carver, Capt. Standish, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Dotey, Richard Warren, and two of the Pilgrims’ own seamen, John Allerton and Thomas English.
The weather was cold and rough, and the voyage proved an adventurous and memorable one.
On the second day, they escaped unharmed a sudden and violent attack from a band of Indians on the shore. When they resumed their voyage a storm arose, and in the blinding snow, with high winds and a rough sea, they were nearly shipwrecked.
At last in the darkness they found shelter in the lee of a small island at the mouth of Plymouth harbor, and passed the night safely on shore.
When the sun shone the next morning, they dried their soaked clothing, looked after their firearms, repaired the damaged shallop, and gave thanks to God “for his mercies in their manifold deliverances.” “And this being the last day of the week, they prepared there to keep the Sabbath.”
Plymouth Rock:
On Monday, December 21, they crossed to the mainland, finding a channel “fit for shipping” and a sheltered harbor. There they made their first landing on a rock on the shore.
The situation seemed promising. They marched into the land and found deserted corn fields “and little running brooks.” “A place fit for situation; at least it was the best they could find.” “So they returned to their ship again, with this news to the rest of their people, which did much comfort their hearts.”
The Mayflower then weighed anchor for Plymouth, where three days were spent in anxious deliberation. They asked Divine Guidance on the momentous question of the settlement, and it was at last decided to accept the first site considered, and build their houses on the bank of the brook running into the sea, near the rock where they first landed.
Thus Plymouth Rock became “the stepping-stone of a nation.” The Rock has long been fully identified; notably in 1741 by Elder Thomas Faunce, who, at the age of ninety-five, in the presence of his sons and many spectators, declared his knowledge of it was received from his father and the Pilgrims still living in his boyhood.
For the 300th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America built a beautiful portico of Doric columns over the Rock.
This replaced the “monumental canopy,” whose corner stone had been laid Aug. 2, 1859, under the care of the Pilgrim Society.
At the beginning of the Revolution, a large section, split from the main rock, had been carried by the patriots of Plymouth with great ceremony and enthusiasm to the Town Square, and there placed beneath a Liberty Pole to rouse and maintain patriotic feeling.
In 1834 this fragment was removed to the front of Pilgrim Hall, and surrounded by an iron railing inscribed with the names of the Pilgrim Fathers. It was returned to the shore again in 1880, and the severed fragment fitted into its original position.
Finally in 1921, all parts of the Rock were strongly cemented together, and now rest, where the tide reaches it, under the new portico on the shore.
The park reservation surrounding the Rock, from the roadway eastward to the water, is the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is cared for and controlled by the State.
“Plymouth Rock does not mark a beginning or an end. It marks a revelation of that which is without beginning and without end, a purpose shining through eternity with a resplendent light, undimmed even by the imperfections of men, and a response, an answering purpose from those who oblivious, disdainful of all else, sought only an avenue for the immortal soul.”—Calvin CoolidgeAddress read at the opening of the Tercentenary Celebration at Plymouth, Dec. 21, 1920.
“Plymouth Rock does not mark a beginning or an end. It marks a revelation of that which is without beginning and without end, a purpose shining through eternity with a resplendent light, undimmed even by the imperfections of men, and a response, an answering purpose from those who oblivious, disdainful of all else, sought only an avenue for the immortal soul.”
—Calvin Coolidge
Address read at the opening of the Tercentenary Celebration at Plymouth, Dec. 21, 1920.
Address read at the opening of the Tercentenary Celebration at Plymouth, Dec. 21, 1920.