USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > The truth about the Pilgrims > Part 3
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Edward Winslow, Jr., great-great-grandson of Governor Edward Winslow, was one of the founders of the Old Colony Club, which was founded in 1769 and which held, in the following year, what was probably the first official celebration of the Landing. On this occasion Winslow de- livered the oration which described the landing on the Rock (T 184-185). Winslow was a contemporary of Deacon Spooner and must also have been associated in his daily life and in the club with many others who had been present when Elder Faunce formally identified the rock. We may assume, therefore, that Winslow was entirely familiar with the story. The first designation of the Rock on record is contained in a document in the second volume of Plymouth Town Records, page 181, dated in 1715, which refers to the "great rock" in a description of boundaries (R 29-30).
In July, 1774, Charles Blaskowitz, a Deputy Surveyor for the King for North America, presented Winslow with a pen and ink map of Plymouth Harbor. Upon this map, which
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is still preserved in Pilgrim Hall, Winslow himself made two notes. Near Clark's Island is written, "On this island the pious settlers of this Ancient Town first landed ..... "
The site of Plymouth Rock is marked "1" and near it is written "No. 1. The place where the settlers above men- tioned first landed upon the main . . upon a large rock "
These notes made by Winslow, and the information thus transmitted, may be regarded as the declaration of Elder Faunce and others, whose information was received from the Pilgrims themselves.
Mrs. Jane Palmer was born November 10, 1706, and lived to the age of 101 years. It was written that she, living but a short distance from the Rock, recollected frequently seeing it when quite young before the building of any wharf. Its form was described by her as being somewhat oval and regular and favorable for the uses which uniform tradition has always assigned it (R 30). The Rock was not buried as Elder Faunce feared it might be. It was raised from its bed so that its top showed above the roadway of the wharf (D 367).
Thacher gives the following story of its removal in 1774:
"The inhabitants of the town, animated by the glorious spirit of liberty which pervaded the Province and mindful of the precious relic of our forefathers, resolved to conse- crate the rock on which they landed to the shrine of liberty. Col. Theophilus Cotton and a large number of inhabitants assembled, with about 20 yoke of oxen, for the purpose of its removal. The rock was elevated from its bed by means of large screws; and in attempting to mount it on the carriage, it split asunder, without any violence. As no one had observed a flaw, the circumstance occasioned some sur- prise. - - - The question was now to be decided whether both parts should be removed, and being decided in the negative, the bottom part was dropped again into its origi- nal bed, where it still remains, (1835) a few inches above the
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surface of the earth, at the head of the wharf." (T 198-199). The upper portion was conveyed to Town Square in front of the church. The lower part remained upon the shore, and it was over this that the canopy was erected in 1859. The upper part remained in Town Square until July 4, 1834, when it was placed in front of Pilgrim Hall (R 21). The following year an iron fence was placed around it for its protection and as a memorial to the Pilgrims. In 1880, the upper part was returned to the shore and was placed on the street level over where the lower part lay (DH 174). Apparently the date "1620" was cut upon it at that time. There is pictorial evidence that the date appeared upon the Rock long before that, but it seems to have been paint- ed upon it. In 1920, the wharves along the shore were re- moved, the Rock was lowered to its original level, and the present portico erected. The upper and lower parts of the Rock have been reunited and cemented together.
WHO LANDED FIRST
This question has been frequently asked, and it has never been satisfactorily answered. Confusion is increased because the landing might refer to several occasions. The first land- ing was at Provincetown on November 21, 1620. On the day of arrival, after the signing of the Compact, fifteen or sixteen men, well armed, were set ashore (MR 8). Their names are unknown. On November 23rd, the women were permitted to go on shore to do their washing (MR 12). On November 25th, the first exploratory expedition landed composed of sixteen men under Captain Myles Standish to whom were added William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins and Edward Tilley for counsel and advice (MR 13-14) (B 98). The shallop having been repaired, a second expedi- tion embarked in it on December 7th composed of twenty- four men and ten sailors (MR 27). Their names are un- known.
After the return of the second expedition, a third left
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the ship on December 16th. The names of its Pilgrim mem- bers have been preserved (MR 43). They were Myles Stan- dish, John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley, Edward Tilley, John Howland, Richard War- ren, Stephen Hopkins, Edward Doty, John Allerton, Thomas English, Mate John Clark, Pilot Robert Coppin, also the master gunner and three sailors, whose names are unknown (M 31) (B 9, 100) (T 23). This group eventually landed at Plymouth on December 21st, and this is the oc- casion which is celebrated.
The "Mayflower," having been brought from Province- town Harbor, anchored in Plymouth Harbor on December 26th, and the passengers remained on board on Sunday, December 27th. On December 28th a party landed (MR 61-62), and on the 29th another party landed (MR 63-64). On December 30th, about thirty persons landed, and it was determined to settle there (MR 64). Thereafter as many as possible landed (MR 66).
The claim that their ancestor was the first to land has been made by the descendants of both John Alden and Mary Chilton (T 30), neither of whom was present at the landing of December 21st. Either could have been the first to land at Provincetown, namely John Alden among the men on November 21st and Mary Chilton among the wo- men on November 23rd. There are no records to deny them this honor. Who landed first on December 21st is absolutely unknown except that he must have been one of the mem- bers of the third expedition who have been previously listed. Mary Chilton might have been the first woman to land on the rock when the women were permitted to land there. There are no records to dispute her claim while the authorities supporting her claim, based on tradition, have been collected and printed (LI 6). There are no other claims except for these two.
It seems that the best answer to make to the question is that tradition claims that John Alden was the first man and
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Mary Chilton, the first woman, who landed; that John Alden's landing was probably at Provincetown; that Mary Chilton's landing might have been either at Provincetown or Plymouth.
THE NAME "PILGRIMS"
Why and when were the Separatists called "Pilgrims?" An early mention of "Pilgrims" is in the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews (Chapter XI, Verses, 13-16). "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."
It was obviously this reference which caused Bradford to write, "but they knew they were pilgrimes, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest countries and quieted their spirits" (B 79). This expression was copied by Nathaniel Morton in the Church Records (CR 43). It was copied by Cotton Mather and perhaps other writers. The term "Pilgrims" first began to be used to distinguish the "Mayflower" passengers about 1798 and thereafter came more and more into use in com- mon speech. The "Massachusetts Mercury" for December 27, 1799, contains an account of the Feast of the Sons of the Pilgrims on Forefather's Day, 1799 (M.D. I, 113-114). This subject has been described at length by Albert Mat- thews (MT 293-391).
The Pilgrim Society was organized in Plymouth in 1819 and was incorporated in 1820. Daniel Webster constantly mentioned the Pilgrims in his famous speech delivered at
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the anniversary celebrated in December of the latter year. "America," which refers to "land of the Pilgrim's pride," was written in 1832. Thacher's "History of Plymouth," First Edition, published in 1832, shows that the term had been in common use for some time.
THE PASSENGERS
There is no mystery concerning the last names of the passengers on the "Mayflower" except as to one maid-ser- vant. Bradford has left a complete list (Appendix A). I remember someone telling me with great pride concerning the name of "Green" and that there were five Greens who came over on the "Mayflower." I told her that I regretted to tell her that no Green came over on the "Mayflower." At certain meetings of the Society of Mayflower Descend- ants, the Compact is read aloud, after which the names of the signers are read and each descendant is asked to rise when his or her ancestor's name is called. A large number will arise when John Alden's name is read, but hardly any- one arises when the name of William Mullens, his father- in-law, is read. Of course, everyone descended from Alden is also descended from Mullens. When the name of Edward Tilley is called, before that of John Tilley, a large group will arise even though he left no descendants. Of course, he is confused with his brother, from whom all John How- land descendants are descended. The following is a list of all male heads of families coming on the "Mayflower" from whom descent has been proved. I recommend it being used at Mayflower gatherings, not only because persons who left no descendants have been eliminated, but also because the names of certain persons are included who were children and hence never signed the Mayflower Compact:
John Alden Isaac Allerton John Billington William Bradford
William Brewster
Peter Brown
James Chilton
Francis Cooke
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Edward Doty
Degory Priest
Francis Eaton
Thomas Rogers
Edward Fuller
Henry Samson
Samuel Fuller George Soule
Stephen Hopkins
Myles Standish
John Howland John Tilley
Richard More
Richard Warren
William Mullins
William White
Edward Winslow (M.D. I, 126-127).
Governor Bradford wrote his account of the "Mayflower" passengers and their "decreasings and increasings" during the four weeks between March 6, 1651 and April 3, 1651 (new style), (M.D. I, 161-163). Banks claims that Bradford in making his list of passengers forgot two names, namely, Giles Heale and one Master Leaver. I think that Bradford knew better than the late Banks who came over as passen- gers in the "Mayflower." Heale, as ship's surgeon, was a member of the crew and not a passenger. Master Leaver, described as a member of a rescue party on January 12, 1620/21 in Mourt's "Relation" (MR 74), may have been an officer of the "Mayflower" because the name does not re-appear after the vessel returned to England, and some of the other mates are also referred to therein as Master when they similarly accompanied the Pilgrims on their ex- peditions. Certain authorities, however, believe that the name was a misspelling of Carver. There is no just ground for questioning the correctness of Governor Bradford's list.
MISREPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE PILGRIMS
Detractors of the Pilgrims have seized upon several events which have been used as a basis for misrepresentations. A few years ago an opera was produced by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City which depicted the rene- gade Thomas Morton of Merry Mount as a royalist hero and the Pilgrims as Puritan persecutors of royalists and Shakers, the latter a sect organized in England in 1758 and
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which came to America in 1774, long after all the Pilgrims were dead. Needless to say, the whole plot was imaginary and not similar in any important particular to what really occurred.
In 1628, at Mount Wallaston (near present Quincy), renamed "Merry Mount," one Thomas Morton gathered about him a dissolute group of men servants, who had left their masters, and who took part in drunken carousals with Indian women, causing scandal among their neighbors. The Pilgrims could have closed their eyes to this situation, but when Thomas Morton engaged in the business of supply- ing guns and ammunition to the Indians, the situation was serious (B 237-243). Standish with men from Plymouth ar- rested Morton, and he was returned a prisoner to England. The merits of the matter may be appreciated when one learns that practically every settlement contributed toward the expense of sending him back to England (M.D. VI, 207-211). His supplying guns and ammunition to the In- dians made him a menace, and all of the settlements united to get rid of him in their own defense. At the time all this occurred, there were no royalists as such in America, and the Shaker or even the Quaker movement had not been born.
Another matter which detractors have misrepresented is what happened between the Pilgrims and the Massachu- setts Indians in 1623. News had come of the massacre of 347 of the colonists in Virginia by Indians (B 139) (HL 165) on March 22, 1622. When Winslow had cured Massasoit from an illness, that chieftain divulged that the Massachu- setts Indians were arranging to exterminate Weston's colony and the Plymouth colony thereafter. He advised that the Pilgrims strike the first blow. The matter was considered at length by the Plymouth colonists with the result that Standish and eight men with their friend Hobomak went against the Massachusetts Indians in order to secure their leader, the arch conspirator Wattamat. Pecksuot and other Indians joined the latter in threatening the Pilgrim group
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with knives and with insulting speeches and gestures. The situation was serious, and Standish did what seemed to him the best that could be done. Standish arranged so as to get Pecksuot, Wattamat, the latter's brother, and another Indian into a room in which were about an equal number of his own men. Locking the door, Standish killed Pecksuot in a fair fight with the Indian's own knife while Standish's com- panions killed two of the others. The brother was taken prisoner and later hanged. With his army of nine, Standish again attacked in another place, killing one more Indian. Later, meeting a file of Indians, he put them to rout, chal- lenging the sachem to a single combat, which was refused (Y 310-311; 337-339) (T 55-56). The facts of the conspiracy were fully substantiated by later confessions. Standish, by killing the few conspirators, saved the lives of all the whites from certain destruction. This was the last real trouble that the Plymouth people had with the Indians until King Philip's War, over fifty years later. This is a remarkable record (MD XXVI 129).
Governor Josiah Winslow, when referring to lands ob- tained from the Indians, said, "we do not claim an acre of land, not fairly purchased of the Indians: or for which we had not their free consent." President John Adams and James Otis confirmed this statement in 1770 (NT 437).
Mention has been made that the Pilgrims brought beer on the Mayflower. This they did according to English cus- tom, but its use seems to have been discontinued when they found they could get pure water. There is no record of their ever having a brewery or of sending to England for any more beer.
Another matter that has been misrepresented has been the relations of the Plymouth people with the Quakers. The Pilgrims had never persecuted anyone because of his religion. Equally they desired to be left undisturbed in the practice of their religion. The Quaker movement began about 1656, and its adherents soon got into trouble with
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the authorities. Some of them went about urging the people not to patronize the existing churches, alleging the min- isters taught lies. Sometimes some of them went to the Plymouth churches in order to break up the meetings by disputing with the clergymen during their services. They refused to pay tithes or to take an oath of allegiance. They refused to serve in the army though the Indian danger made compulsory military service necessary. Some of them reviled the magistrates when brought before them. Most of what they did that was objectionable would be punished today under the head of disorderly conduct and contempt of court. Their treatment in Plymouth was due to their con- duct and not to their religion.
It has been said that the Pilgrims objected to taking oaths. The Pilgrims had not only no objection to taking oaths, but even made them obligatory. In a memorandum to Sir John Wolstenholme, a member of the Virginia com- pany, the Reverend John Robinson and Elder William Brewster wrote that their group would take the oath of supremacy if the oath of allegiance did not suffice. (B 56). In Plymouth the Pilgrims required an oath of allegiance, another from every resident and an additional oath from every office holder.
"For eighteen years all laws were enacted in a general assembly of all the colonists. The Governor, chosen annu- ally, was but president of a council, in which he had a double vote. It consisted first of one, then of five and finally of seven counselors, called assistants.
"The constitution of the Church was equally democratic. For the first eight years there was no pastor, unless Robin- son, still in Holland, might be considered in that light. Brewster, the ruling elder, and such private members as had the gift of prophecy, officiated as exhorters. On Sun- day afternoons a question was propounded, to which all spoke who had anything to say" (HL 175).
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THE FIRST PARISH CHURCH
The First Parish Church in Plymouth is the Church of the Pilgrims, who arrived in Plymouth on the "Mayflower," December 21, 1620.
In the early history of the Plymouth Colony, the town and Parish were one. By the setting off of parts of the original territorial parish as separate precincts and parishes, it be- came the First Precinct, or Parish, in Plymouth. Since 1786, it has been a corporation by virtue of a statute of the General Court. (From the Preamble to the By-Laws of the First Parish in Plymouth).
THE CHURCH COVENANTS SCROOBY - 1606
"As ye Lord's free people, we joyne ourselves, by a covenant of the Lord, in ye fellowship of ye gospell, to walke in all his ways, made known, or to be made known unto us, according to our best endeavors, whatsoever it shall cost us, the Lord assisting us." (Adapted from Bradford) (B 31).
HOLLAND - 1620
"We promise and covenant with God and one with an- other to receive whatsoever light or truth shall be made to us from his written word." (Adapted from Winslow).
PLYMOUTH - 1676
'In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ & in obedience to his Holy will and divine ordinances:
"We being by the most wise & good Providence of God brought together in this place & desirous to unite ourselves into one congregation or church under the Lord Jesus Christ, our Head, that it may be in such sort as becometh
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all those whom He hath redeemed & sanctified to himself, Wee do hereby solemly & religiously (as in his most holy presence) avouch the Lord Jehovah the only true God to be our God & the God of ours & doe promise & binde ourselves to walke in all our wayes, according to the Rule or the Gos- pel & in all sincere conformity to His holy ordinances & in mutual love to, & watchfulness over one another, de- pending wholy & only upon the Lord our God to enable us by his grace hereunto." (The Records of the First Church) (RC I 148).
Until 1744 town meetings handled matters of the Church. The word "Unitarian" does not appear in the Church records earlier than June, 1828 (CRI Int. XLVI).
A question has arisen whether the First Church at Plymouth should take 1620 as its date of origin, or whether it was the original congregation which was organized in Scrooby in 1606, fled to Holland and later came to Ply- mouth. The historian Arthur Lord in "Plymouth and the Pilgrims," pages 103-104, gives the following reason for selecting the 1620 date:
"One other problem waited solution and that was to determine who of the Leyden Church were to go and who to remain.
"It was further determined that those who went should become an 'absolute' or independent church, and those who remained should continue the existing organization."
The date, therefore, of the organization of the first church in Plymouth has been fixed as in the year 1620, and not in the year 1606, when the first members of the con- gregation assembled at Scrooby. "In accordance with the congregational way, it was agreed, if any returned to Leyden or if any from Leyden thereafter went to America, no letters of dismissal or testimonial would be necessary to enable them to unite either with the church at Leyden or with the church in America."
This means that the Plymouth Church is an offshoot of
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the original church, but the question may well be asked 1 as to why the Plymouth Church, as more and more mem- bers of the Leyden congregation joined it, did not become the main and only church when the Leyden Church ceased to have any existence.
EDUCATION OF CHILDREN
The first allusion to education was on January 25, 1623, when some of their adversaries residing in London said of them, "Children not catechized nor taught to read." This was answered as follows: "Neither is true; for diverse take pain with their owne as they can; indeede, we have no commone schoole for want of a fitt person, or hitherto means to maintaine one, though we desire now to begine." (B 170). The record states that all the charges were an- swered and duly sent to London, greatly to the shame and confusion of all those who had been instrumental in so groundless a slander. (R 176). The same matter of educa- tion appears in the Church Records (CR 52-53).
The Colony originally was principally indebted for the means of education to the learned and venerable clergy. On February 11, 1635, the Old Colony Records state that "Benjamin Eaton, with his mother's consent, is put to Bridget Fuller (the widow of Dr. Samuel Fuller) being to keep him at school two years, and employ him after in such service as she saw good, and he may be fit for." In June, 1662, the court recommended to the consideration of the several towns some preparations for schools; and in 1663, it made the following enactment: "It is proposed by the Court unto the several township in this jurisdiction, as a thing they ought to take into their serious considera- tion, that some course may be taken that in every town there may be a schoolmaster set up to train up children in reading and writing." (R 176-178). In 1668, John Morton offered "to teach children and youth of the town to read and write and cast accounts on reasonable considerations."
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In 1670, a grant was made for a free school. In August, 1671, John Morton appeared at a town meeting and re- newed his proposal to erect and keep a town school which was accepted. In 1672, the profits of the Cape Cod fishery and other ventures were paid to Thomas Hinckley, steward and treasurer of the school toward its maintenance. It is thought that this was perhaps the first free school ordained by law in New England. (T 302). The Massachusetts Bay Colony law of 1647, providing for schools, provided for a reasonable tax on the scholars at the discretion of the towns.
In 1672, a Mr. Corlet was the instructor, and he gave a higher standard of instruction including Latin and Greek. Notice was again taken of the free school by the General Court in 1675. Thereafter the town records show the con- tinued maintenance of the free school where all children could be educated without expense to them.
It may be seen that from the earliest times the inhabitants of Plymouth appreciated the necessity of education and that they strove to overcome obstacles so as to have proper schools.
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PILGRIM SPELLING
Some persons have tried to show that nearly all of the early settlers, including the Pilgrims, were uneducated be- cause they did not spell correctly.
Such statements are historically untrue.
Attempts were made in the late sixteenth century to standardize spelling, and a good deal of regularity was achieved, especially by printers, so that by the middle of the seventeenth century our present spelling practices had . become generally established for published books. There was, however, if one can judge from the letters and manu- scripts of many people of the time, no strong sense of "right" and "wrong" in spelling, and inconsistencies occur frequently in documents written by educated people.
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