THEMAYFLOWER SOCIETY HOUSE

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A NOTABLE accomplishment of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants was the purchase in 1941 of the Edward Winslow House in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a house of great beauty and dignity, with history and atmosphere, perfectly located on North Street, one of the five streets laid out by the Pilgrims, overlooking Plymouth Rock and Cole’s Hill, where lie the bones of many of the Pilgrims.

North Street was laid out before 1633. It was first named New Street, later Queen Street, and for some years was called Howland Street, presumably because Joseph Howland, son of John Howland, the Pilgrim, owned land on the north side. His son Thomas inherited it, and in turn it descended to the latter’s son, Consider Howland, who sold it to Edward Winslow, the great-grandson of Edward Winslow, third Governor of the Colony. The younger Winslow attended Harvard College and then settled in Plymouth. He became Clerk of the Court, Registrar of Probate, and Collector of the Port. He married in 1741, the widow, Hannah Howland Dyer, a sister of Consider Howland, and in 1754 built the house.

Winslow was a Royalist and an outspoken supporter of the King. Although a popular man, the townspeople became infuriated at his lack of patriotism, which eventually cost him his town offices andrevenue. His son joined the King’s forces, and he frequently entertained the British officers at his home. After the evacuation of Boston by the British, Winslow moved his family to New York, and was granted a pension by Sir Henry Clinton.

Later the family went to Halifax, as did thousands of other Tories, where Winslow died the following year, at the age of seventy-two. He was buried in St. Paul’s Churchyard, mourned by all the dignitaries of the city. At this time Canada was actively hostile to the United States.

In order to support his family after losing his offices, Winslow had pledged his house as security for loans of money made him by Thomas Davis, William Thomas, Oakes Angier, and John Rowe. When he left Plymouth the house was sold on an “execution” at a sacrifice to satisfy the creditors, much to Winslow’s indignation. It is often mistakenly stated that his property was confiscated. The house at this time was half its present size and, as was customary in those days, sat close to the ground, as well as to the street. The frame of the house and some of the paneling are said to have been brought from England, although American craftsmen could and did construct similar houses and paneling.

From Winslow’s creditors the house passed into the hands of Thomas Jackson who occupied it as a residence until 1813, when he moved to the so-called Cotton Farm. The house then passed by an execution from Mr. Jackson to his cousin Charles Jackson, who died in it in 1818 and whose son, Charles Thomas Jackson, born 21 June 1805, played an interesting part in the civil history of this country. He had a keen mind, was a student of electricity and magnetism, but medicine was his main study. He graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1827, finishing his studies abroad. He returned to America on the sailing vessel with Samuel F. B.Morse, and their meeting may have helped Morse perfect his telegraphic instrument. It is known that Jackson made and displayed a model of a telegraphic instrument a year before Morse patented the one that made him famous.

CHARLES THOMAS JACKSON WILLIAM T. G. MORTON

Jackson was greatly interested in geology and was the State Geologist of Maine in 1836, Rhode Island in 1839, and New Hampshire in 1840, but his greatest claim to fame is his share in discovering etherization and his association with Dr. W. T. G. Morton, a dental surgeon, fourteen years his junior, who studied medicine in his office. Jackson is believed to have made his first personal experiments with the inhalation of ether in the house at Plymouth, and the chair in which he sat is displayed in Pilgrim Hall. Morton patented the process of anesthesia by ether in 1846 and he sued Jackson for claiming the discovery of the anesthetic effects of inhalation of ether back in the winter of 1841-42. The French Government investigated the matter and decreed Jackson a 2500 franc prize as the discoverer, and a similar prize to Morton for being the first to apply it to surgical operations.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON IN THE EAST ROOM WHERE HE WAS MARRIED

Jackson’s slightly older sister Lydia, sometimes called Lidian, became the second wife of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American poet and philosopher. Their marriage took place in 1835 in the east parlor, later known as the music room.

ROOM WHEREIN LYDIA JACKSON MARRIED RALPH WALDO EMERSON

The house was sold by the Charles Jackson heirs in 1872 to Lucia J. Briggs, the wife of the Rev. George W. Briggs, who occupied it as a summer residence until 1898, when it was purchased by Charles L. Willoughby, of Chicago, for a summer home. Gardens were planned and planted. Joseph Everett Chandler, authority on the restoration of New England houses and author of books on the subject, was retained to supervise the work, and it is he we have to thank that so much was saved when it was converted into a gentleman’s estate. He it was who saw to it that the new windows, inner shutters, paneling, and many details, are in keeping with the original structure. He even saw to it that the Tory chimney, with its coping painted black, was saved and that the two lovely linden trees, said to have been planted by Edward Winslow’s daughter Penelope, were protected during the alteration. In tearing off the ell on the north side, a board was uncovered on which was painted “Built by William Drew 1820,” which indicates additions were made that year. The house was moved back thirty feet, raised five, porches were built, side doors, new rooms, and a cupola or, as some erroneously call it, a Widow’s Walk, were added.

FRONT HALL WITH CHARMING TWO-WAY STAIRCASE

To own an old house is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility. No amount of money could have made the Winslow house so interesting as its association with events of history and famous people has made it.

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S BEDROOM WHICH HAS A GLORIOUS VIEW SEAWARD

Improvements were continued after Mr. Willoughby’s death. Adjoining houses were purchased and razed, improving the view of the Rock and the ocean, and the land they were on was added to the already extensive garden.

ONE OF THE TWIN CORNER CUPBOARDS AND RECESSED WINDOWS IN THE MAHOGANY DINING ROOM

A five-car garage was built to the far side of the garden, arranged so that it would be possible to use it as a charity theatre, with quarters overhead for the gardener and his family. As protection against the elements and the public, a six foot red brick wall of Colonial design was erected on the south and east sides of the estate.

REAR GARDEN TEA HOUSE AND CONSERVATORY FROM THE SOLARIUM

After Mrs. Willoughby’s death, her daughter offered the property for sale. It is fortunate that it passed into the hands of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants (31 December 1941). It might have become a Tea Room, a Road House, or something worse. The Society immediately took up the work of restoration and preservation where Mr. Chandler had left off, but before work could even be started, World War II broke out and the entire Winslow House was turned over to the Plymouth Chapter of the American Red Cross for the duration without charge of any kind. Due to confusion, especially of legal nature, likely to arise, and which in fact had arisen, by the existence of a Winslow House in nearby Marshfield, it was decided at the Seventeenth Congress of the General Society held in Plymouth September 1946, and so voted, to change the name of the Edward Winslow House to the Mayflower Society House.

THE PIAZZA WITH IMPOSING PILLARS. A BEAUTIFUL VIEW ACROSS THE BAY

CANOPY OVER PLYMOUTH ROCK. A VISTA THROUGH THE TREES. DEDICATED IN 1920

The house today is far different from the one Edward Winslow built in 1754, but, as the headquarters of a large society, it is better adapted. The interior is being brought back to something of its original appearance with paint and replicas of old wall paper and by gifts and purchases of furniture of the 18th Century period. Members of the Mayflower Society and any interested in preserving the best of the 18th century are asked to contribute items of furniture, wearing apparel, books or other items of the period. All gifts and loans, before being accepted, are passed on by a competent committee. To have an item accepted and exhibited in the Mayflower Society House will some day be a distinction.

SIMILAR VIEW TO THE FRONTISPIECE BUT SHOWING SOLARIUM

The Mayflower Society House is not only a show place of Plymouth, but of the entire country. This lovely and famous house is owned, free and clear of indebtedness, by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. To insure its perpetual care through generations to come, an endowment is sought to which the public is asked to and should contribute.

FROM THE FRONT GATE—LOOKING TO THE LANDING

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