USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > The truth about the Pilgrims > Part 7
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might be employed and paid by the day, week, month, or for a year or a term of years. The contract of employment might be oral or in writing. The writing might be informal or formal. An "indentured servant" meant that the person had been bound by a formal written instrument to serve over a space of time (AM 34/370-392). Such a servant might be someone who wished to be or was forced to sell his service for a period of time; in which event he would be bound during his term of service. Because one is referred to as a servant, it does not mean that he was an indentured servant. There is no evidence that any of the "Mayflower" passengers were indentured servants, and anyone so stating is drawing on his imagination. There were many so-called "servants" on the ship, and no one knows in what manner they were employed.
A civil servant, meaning a person in the civil service, remains in our speech. There is nothing menial about him. The English Common Law of master and servant is still used in this country to refer to employer and employee. Volume 39, Corpus Juris, page 33, gives the legal definition of "servant" as an "employee" as follows: :
"The relation of master and servant is that which arises out of a contract of employment, expressed or implied, between a master or employer upon the one hand and a servant or employee upon the other hand."
It further states that a servant has been defined to be- "an employee." Although sometimes used in the more specific sense of a person hired to assist in domestic matters, living within the employer's house and making part of his family-hired help, the word "servant" has, in general, a broad significance embracing all persons of whatever rank or position who are in the employ and subject to: the direction or control of another in any department of labor or business, and is ordinarily synonymous with "employee."
Our ancestors had definite ideas of rank, which they endeavored to enforce by legislation. Their idea of social
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classes was functional, as in England, rather than hereditary and genetic as in Scotland and France. A gentleman's son did not remain a gentleman if he entered a mean occu- pation. A gentleman might lose the title as a penalty for having committed some offense. During the times of the Pilgrims, persons were very particular not to give a title to any one to which he was not entitled.
Remembering that class distinctions at the time of the Pilgrims were well defined and that the term "gentleman" had a legal and not an ethical or cultural significance, as we now apply it, let us examine the known facts relating to the Pilgrims.
The great leader of the Pilgrims was the Rev. John Robinson. Dr. Brown, a profound student of the Pilgrims, believes him to be a son of the Rev. John Robinson, Archdeacon of Lincoln and Precentor of Lincoln Cathedral (BR 95), but the Dictionary of National Biography can find no evidence to sustain this claim. Alumni Cantabrigienses states positively that the Leyden John was son of John Rob- inson who died at Sturston, Notts, in 1614. The Lincoln John died at Somersham in March 1597/8 so that he was an- other person. Our John Robinson was educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was afterwards a fel- low. Later he became curate of St. Andrews, Norwich, where he was married. The marriage entry is "Feb. 15, 1603, Mr. John Robynson to Mistress Bridget White." He is constantly referred to as "Mr." in contemporary documents. From this fact we know that he belonged to the gentry. In 1607, he became assistant to the Rev. Richard Clyfton in the newly formed church at Scrooby, and he became sole minister of the Church at Leyden. In Leyden, he lived near the university. The following works were written by him: "A Justification of Separation from the Church of England" (1610); "Apologia Brownistarum" (1619); "Defence of the Doctrine Propounded by the Synode at Dort" (1624); "Essayes, or Observations Divine and Morall" (1625) (B 43).
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His letters show him to have been a man of education, character and ability. Nathaniel Morton called him "that famous and worthy man" (Plymouth Church Records). He was unable to sail on the "Mayflower" and died in Leyden, March 1, 1624/5 (BG) (A 5).
Their first Governor, John Carver, was the son of Robert Carver. He was baptized September 9, 1565, at Doncaster, Yorkshire, which is only seven miles from Austerfield (BK 44). He was a well-educated man, who was a leader in the religious discussions at Leyden, where he was a deacon of the church. His wife was a sister of Mrs. John Robinson. He was one of the agents of the church chosen to obtain a charter, if possible, from the king. He also negotiated with the Virginia Company for a grant of lands, and he nego- tiated for transportation and supplies with the Merchant Adventurers (B 52-53). His more remote ancestry is yet to be discovered, but we know that he is constantly termed "Mr." in letters written in England both before and after the coming of the "Mayflower," and that Bradford so terms him. Nathaniel Morton called him a "worthy gentleman" (Y 200) "whoe being one alsoe of a considerable estate spent the maine prte of it in this enterprise." (Plymouth Church Records). His condition in life can be seen from the fact that he and his wife brought with them on the "Mayflower" two men "servants," John Howland and Roger Wilder, also one maid servant. He was a leader among the educated men on the "Mayflower" and became the first Governor of Plymouth Colony. He obviously belonged to the gentry.
John Howland is termed a "servant" of Governor Carver. As already shown, the meaning of the word differed from its meaning at the present time and meant employee. The Governor's servant was not necessarily a person of mean social position.
John Howland was a son of Henry Howland, a prosper- ous yeoman, of Fen Stanton, Lancashire, England. I have in my possession a card which seems to have been printed
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about one hundred years or more ago, and which states the following:
"Copy from the ancient records in the Herald's College, Bennetts Hill, London. (These Arms were confirmed to Richard Howland, D.D. son & heir of John Howland of London, Gent. and allowed to him, and all the posterity of John Howland, Father of the said Richard, under the hand and seal of Robert Cooke. Clarencieux, King of Arms by patent, dated 10th June 1584, Act 27, Elizabeth.)" Thereafter follows the Howland Coat-of-Arms after which appears the following:
"An ancient copy of this Coat of Arms is in possession of some of the descendants of Gideon White of Shel- burne, Nova Scotia, whose mother was Joanna Howland, great-grand-daughter of John Howland, the Pilgrim, who came over in the 'Mayflower' in 1620."
John Howland is thought to be connected with this family, but the connection has not been definitely proved. It is significant that the coat-of-arms was used by his early descendants.
Bradford does not refer to John Howland as "Mr." but John Howland is so referred to in a letter from James Sherley, Merchant Adventurer, dated June 14, 1642, quoted in Bradford's "History" (B 369). He is constantly termed "Mr." in public records. (MD 11 70-73). He was a man of outstanding character, a Magistrate and one of the dis- tinguished leaders of the Colony. Certainly he was recog- nized as a member of the gentry after the settlement at Plymouth. He is an ancestor of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
John Howland married Elizabeth Tilley who came on the "Mayflower" with her parents, John and Elizabeth Tilley.
Of William Bradford, it is written that "he was a thoughtful, studious boy and acquired an excellent educa- tion." The Rev. Cotton Mather wrote "He had a comfort-
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able inheritance. ... He was a person for study as well as action; . .. he attained a notable skill in languages; the Dutch tongue was become almost a vernacular to him as the English; the French tongue he could also manage; the Latin and the Greek he had mastered; but the Hebrew he most of all studied; ... he was also well skilled in history, in antiquity and in philosophy."
Governor Bradford was the author of the first history written in English in America. His signature is shown in R 43. He was elected Governor thirty-one times and left a library containing 275 volumes when he died. Concerning his family, the genealogist Banks shows that he was de- scended from Robert Bradfourth of Bentley, Parish of Arksey, County of York, England, born about 1450 and died in 1523. Robert's son, Peter Bradford of Bentley, was born about 1475 and died in 1542. His son, Robert Brad- ford, was born about 1500, lived in Wellingly in the Parish of Tickhill but owned land in Bentley, Arksey, Tickhill, Stansell, Wilsyke and Wadsworth, all of which were adjoin- ing parishes, and died in 1553 (BK 32). It is recorded that at the subsidy of 1575, the only laymen of sufficient prop- erty to be rated at Austerfield were William Bradford, son of said Robert, and John Hanson, paternal and maternal grandfathers respectively of the future Governor. His grand- father, William, was buried in Austerfield on January 10, 1595/6. The Governor's father, William, born in 1557, was buried in Austerfield on July 15, 1591. He married Alice Hanson on June 28, 1584 (HS II 103-110).
In the Parish of Bentley-cum-Arksey, there lived an- other Bradford family, which was armigerous (entitled to a coat-of-arms), but there is no known connection be- tween the two families though it is possible that they had a common ancestor many generations back of the Gov- ernor's line (BK 34). It is written that "from extracts of Wills and other records, we learn that the Bradfords were men of good repute and were associated with the best of
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society" (BW 19). Governor Bradford has been termed repeatedly "Mr.," "Gentleman," "Gent," "Gn.," and "Esq." His wife is termed "Mistris" in the Plymouth Records, and his son, Major William Bradford, was also termed "Esq." (MD IV 25). The social standing of Governor Bradford may be shown by his marriage because previous to the American Revolution our ancestors seldom married out of their class. His first wife, Dorothy May, is alleged to have belonged to an armigerous family in Cambridge, England. It is believed that she was probably the daughter of John and Cornelia (Bowes) May, and grand daughter of John May, Bishop of Carlisle in 1577, but this lacks confirmation (BW 26). In Plymouth, after the death of his first wife, the Governor married Mrs. Alice Southworth, daughter of Alexander Carpenter of Wrington, Somersetshire, England, and widow of Edward Southworth. "This lady was well- educated and brought considerable property into the coun- try .... Mrs. Bradford was highly eulogized by Elder Faunce for her exertions in promoting the literary improvement and the deportment of the rising generation, according to reports which he had received from some of her contem- poraries." (T 108).
It is claimed that the Southworths obtained their name from the Manor of Southworth in the Parish of Winwick, Lancashire, England, belonging to the Barony of Newton and through the centuries members of the family had held a distinguished position among the gentry. (SG 405). Governor Bradford was obviously an educated gentleman and was considered as one of the gentry.
The life of Edward Winslow was described by his friend, Nathaniel Morton, in "New England's Memorial." The following portion is taken from Rev. Thomas Prince's copy of the first edition (1669) as published in MD IV, 1.
"This year (1655) that Worthy and Honourable Gentle- man, Mr. Edward Winslow deceased; of whom I have had occasion to make honourable mention formerly in
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this Discourse. He was the son of Edward Winslow Esq .; of the Town of Draughtwich (Droitwich) in the County of Worcester; He travelling into the Low-Countreys, in his journeys fell into acquaintance with the Church of Leyden in Holland, unto whom he joyned, and with whom he continued until they parted to come into New England, he coming with that part that came first over, and became a very worthy and useful Instrument amongs them, both in place of Government and otherwise."
Edward Winslow and his brother Gilbert Winslow were sons of Edward Winslow, Esq., and Magdalene Olyver, his second wife. His father's first wife is said to have been Eleanor Pelham, daughter of Sir Herbert Pelham (AM 19/534). The brothers were grandsons of Kenelm Winslow, Esq., of an old Worcester County family from Droitwich, England (MD XXIX 122), which had existed in Worcester- shire since before 1500 (BK 98).
Edward Winslow was, according to Hutchinson, "of a very reputable family and of a very active genius," "a gentle- man of the best family of any of the Plymouth Planters, his father, Edward Winslow, Esq., being a person of some figure at Droitwich, in Worcestershire." Winslow is said to have used a coat of arms, but the basis of his right to use it is unknown. It is, however, probable that he never would have used it had he not been entitled to it (MD V, 224). It is written of Edward Winslow that "he belonged to the gentry and was an educated and accomplished man"; that he was "of high social standing" (MD V, 224) that his "family was ancient and honorable" (T 90). He has been described as an "able and educated young English gentle- man." His large estate in Marshfield was named "Cares- well," after the name of an ancestral estate in Staffordshire, England. It is therefore no tradition but history that while traveling in Europe on pleasure, he visited Leyden and there became acquainted with the Rev. John Robinson and joined the Pilgrim community in 1617 (MD XXIX
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Photographs courtesy Pilgrim Society
SCROOBY CHURCH
122). He brought two "servants", George Soule and Elias Story, with him on the "Mayflower." He served several times as Governor of Plymouth Colony and as agent both for the Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay at the English Court. It is written that "for foreign employment his better birth and breeding gave him advantages. Among the gentle- men of the British Parliament, Winslow moved as one of themselves, and his address and winning qualities no less than his sagacity and diligence justified the choice which when he went abroad for the last time the larger Colony (Massachusetts) overlooked her own statesmen to make."ยท Hutchison says of Winslow in England "by his prudent management, and the credit and esteem he was in with many members of Parliament and principal persons then in power he prevented any prejudice to the colony" from either of Gorton's Applications (H I, 127).
Cotton Mather calls him a gentleman who was "in great favor with the greatest persons then in the nation." (MD XXIX 122). While in England he published "Good News from New England" in 1624, and while there for the fourth time in 1646, he published "Hypocrisie Unmasked" and the next year "New England's Salamander." His signature appears in R 43.
There can be no question about the social standing of Edward Winslow. Some writers have seized on the fact that he made a deposition in London in 1624 calling himself "yeoman" (BK 99), but this can be easily explained if one analyzes the facts. His father and grandfather being "Esq." show that his ancestry was from the gentry. Before and at the time of the sailing of the "Mayflower," he was constantly called "Mr." In 1624, when he made the deposition, he had been engaged for over three years in the most arduous kinds of manual labor on his farm in the wilderness, and he legally was then a yeoman. Later the farm became a wonderful estate, and he is again referred to as "Mr." and eventually as "Esq.," (MD IV 12) as his father and grand-
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father. Winslow, in 1654, was appointed First Commis- sioner by Oliver Cromwell to arbitrate and determine the value of English ships seized and detained by the King of Denmark in 1652. He was appointed by Cromwell Grand Commissioner in 1655, in charge of a British expedition against the Spanish in the West Indies, during which service he died.
Persons who know nothing concerning the social status of the Pilgrims have sought to criticize them by saying that there was no "blue blood" on the "Mayflower." Whatever "blue blood" may mean, the fact remains that the Winslows were not only outstanding in England, but the family was socially one of the best in the Colonies.
In order that the reader may understand the high posi- tion of these Winslows in the colonial society of those days, I shall describe somewhat at length the immediate ancestors of Edward Winslow, who caused the Mayflower Society house to be built. His great-grandfather was the Pilgrim Edward Winslow. His grandfather, Josiah Winslow, was born in Plymouth Colony in 1628. He was well educated and as soon as he was eligible, he was elected a member of the General Court from Marshfield. He was chosen an Assistant in 1657. In 1659, he was appointed Major or Chief Military Commander of the Colony. He was for many years a Commissioner of the Confederated Colonies. On the death of Governor Thomas Prence, he was elected Governor on March 29, 1673, and he continued to serve as such until his death on December 18, 1680. He was Commander-in-Chief of the troops raised in 1675 to defend Plymouth Colony from attacks of King Philips Indians and he commanded the English army at the Great Swamp fight in 1676. His wife was Penelope, a daughter of Herbert Pelham, Esq., a gentleman of ancient family and distinc- tion who was graduated from Oxford in 1619 and was the first Treasurer of Harvard College. Penelope Pelham was a grand-daughter of Herbert Pelham who married Penelope
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West, daughter of Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. Penelope West was descended from a sister of Queen Anne Boleyn and was of Royal descent through her mother Anne Knollys (AG 18-138, 210). It has been written that "in his native colony, Governor Winslow stood on the highest ground of society. Civic honors awaited him in his earliest youth; he reached every elevation which could be attained; and there was nothing left for ambition to covet, because all had been gained. He lived on his ample paternal domain, and his hospitality was not only generous, but magnificent. In addition to his military and civic distinc- tions, he had acquired that of being the most accomplished gentleman, and the most delightful companions, in the colony, and the attractions of the festive and social board at Careswell were not a little heightened by the charms of his beautiful wife." (T 139-141). He was greatly beloved. His piety and his social virtues endeared him to the whole colony.
His only son, Isaac Winslow, was also eminently dis- tinguished. He was born in Marshfield in 1671 and inher- ited the Careswell estate of his father lying near the bounds of Duxbury and first occupied by Governor Edward Wins- low as early as 1628. It was a large tract which many years later was acquired by Daniel Webster. Isaac Winslow in- herited also the virtues of his ancestors, the two governors. He had a good education and devoted himself largely to public service. In his day Plymouth had become a part of Massachusetts. He had a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives for several years. It is said that he "was eminently distinguished, having sustained the chief places of power and honor in the colony, as chief military com- mander under the governor, and for several years chief Justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, Judge of Probate of Wills, and one of his Majesty's Council for the Province of Massachusetts Bay for more than twenty years, and for several years President of that body." (T 141). He
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built about 1700 the Winslow House which is still standing in Marshfield, a short distance from the site of his father's house long since gone. On July 11, 1700, he was married to Sarah Wensley, daughter of Captain John Wensley of Boston, and Elizabeth Paddy, his wife. Her father, Deacon William Paddy, was one of the most prominent of the early merchants of Plymouth and Boston. Her mother was Alice, daughter of Edmund Freeman of Sandwich. Another daughter of John Wensley, Mercy, married Joseph Bridg- ham of Boston and was the grandmother of Mercy Bridg- ham, wife of Dr. William Thomas, who is mentioned herein.
Isaac Winslow was much given to hospitality and was universally beloved. He died at his home in Marshfield on September 7, 1738, leaving several children.
His eldest son, a young gentleman of great promise, by the name of Josiah, engaged in military service, received a captain's commission, and was killed in battle, with thirteen of his company, after a most gallant resistance against a superior force of French and Indians in 1724. General John Winslow, the eldest of the surviving sons of Isaac, was a distinguished and successful commander. In 1740, he com- manded a company in the expedition against Cuba, and afterwards rose to the rank of Major General in the British . service. In 1755, an expedition against Nova Scotia was undertaken by the British government, of which General Monckton was commander-in-chief, and General (then Colonel) John Winslow, second in command. So great was the popularity of Colonel Winslow, that in an incredible short time he raised for this expedition two thousand men. The two French forts were captured with scarcely any loss on the part of the conquerors, and the whole Province completely reduced, chiefly through the enterprise and good conduct of Colonel Winslow; to him too was entrusted the difficult and delicate task of removing the French neutrals. In 1756, (as General and Commander-in-chief of Provincial troops), he commanded at Fort William Henry,
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on Lake George. (T 142-143). In 1757, he was commis- sioned to be Major General in the King's service and in 1759, he acted as such in the expeditions against Canada. He served as President of the Old Colony Club in 1769. He was also a counsellor of the Province. He died at Marshfield in 1774, at the age of seventy-three years.
I have already described the excellent social standing of Edward Winslow, builder of the old house. The foregoing record of these Winslows amply proves that there was a "blue blooded" family on the "Mayflower" and there were others.
George Soule is believed to be the son of John Soule of Eckington County, Worcester, England, and probably kinsman to Robert Soule, a wealthy London salter, who died in 1590, a native of Eckington (BK 80). His autograph is in existence (MD IV 98) (R 43).
Myles Standish was a professional soldier who had served in Holland as an officer in the English Army. Nathaniel Morton was born in Leyden in 1613 and was in a position to obtain first-hand information concerning him. In his "New England Memorial" he says of Standish, "He was a gentleman, born in Lancashire and was heir apparent unto a great estate of lands and livings, surreptitiously detained from him." The historian, Rev. William Hubbard, wrote before the close of the 17th century that he "was allied to the noble house of Standish, in Lancashire, inheriting some of the virtues of that honorable family as well as the name. His family dated back to 1222, and in his will he mentioned a claim to lands to which he was entitled by descent in seven localities." (MD III, 153-156). His Ameri- can estate was in Duxbury, and he assumed the arms and crest of the English Standishes of Duxbury in England. His statements in his will identify him as a member of the Ormskirk branch of the Standish family in Lancashire (BK 82) (Wilson's Chorley Church). That branch of the family held lands as described in the will (SA 344). He is
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referred to as "gent" and obviously belonged to the English landed gentry.
Samuel Fuller was a physician who has been described as "eminent in his profession, devoutly pious and wise in counsel in the affairs of the Colony." Edward Fuller was his brother. It is claimed in "New Light on the Pilgrim Story" that they were sons of Nicholas Fuller of Stepney who was a barrister admitted to Grays Inn in 1587 and who became Treasurer of the Inn in 1591 and in 1601 a member of Parliament, but this book seems to be wrong in this regard. It seems proved beyond question that the father was Robert Fuller, a butcher (FE) (FS).
The father is elsewhere called Robert Fuller, a "yeoman." Irrespective of his father's occupation, Bradford terms Samuel Fuller "Mr." (B 407-411). He brought a "servant" William Butten with him on the "Mayflower" and was a distinguished surgeon and physician (B 302) whose fame extended over New England. When the first Puritan con- tingent arrived at Salem, there was much sickness and many died. Hearing of the reputation of Dr. Fuller, the Salem settlers asked Governor Bradford to permit him to come to Salem which request was granted. In a letter of thanks to Bradford from John Endicott, dated May 11, 1629, the latter said "I acknowledge my selfe much bound to you for your kind love and care in sending Mr. Fuller among us." (B 260). Dr. Fuller was obviously considered a member of the gentry. His letters in Governor Bradford's Letter Book show that he was a well educated man (M.D. VII 79-82). His signature is shown in R 43.
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