DOCSLIB.ORG

Rebecca Bearce New 2

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rebecca Bearce New 2 Rebecca Bearce Part 2 Chapter 6 POCASSET--WAMPANOAG CORBITANT, WEETAMOO, WEECUM [Note: There are multiple sources that list Weecum as the wife of Benjamin Tuspaquin, and therefore as a progenitor of Rebecca Bearce. Only one source can be found which lists Weecum's parentage. That source is Franklin Ele-wa-tum Bearce's Who Our Forefathers Really Were, A True Narrative of Our White and Indian Ancestors (9.) While this work has been very helpful and contains much material, most of which agrees with other sources, it is noted that this is a family history passed down, partially by word of mouth, until it was written down in 1935. Bearce gives Weecum's parents as Weetamoo, by her husband Quinnapin. It is virtually impossible that Quinnapin could have been Weecum’s father. Weetamoo was first married to Alexander (Massasoit’s son) from 1653 until his death in 1662. (23: p.37) It is not known when she married her second husband, Peter Nannuit, (also: Petonowowett, alias "Ben") but she left him at the outbreak of the King Philip War in the summer of 1675. That fall she married Quinnapin, before December, and died the following August 6, 1676. The fact that she was married to Quinnapin for barely nine months makes it difficult to believe that they had any children. Their entire married life was during the King Philip War, much of which was spent running and fighting. There are descriptions of her, including one by a white woman captive who was sold to Quinnapin, and who lived with Weetamoo during this time. None of these mention her being pregnant or having a baby. 54 Another book, Massasoit of the Wampanoags by Alvin Weeks (available in the Los Angeles City Library, but which I have not been able to obtain) says that Weetamoo had two additional husbands, or a total of five. If this is correct they would have been in this order: 1. Weequequinequa 1651--? (this is an only an estimate of his being the first. He may have been #2 or 3) 2. Wamsutta (Alexander) 1653--1662 3. Quiquequanchett after 1662--? 4. Petownonowitt ? --1675 5. Quinapin 1675--1676 Weecum's husband, Benjamin Tuspaquin, was old enough to fight in the King Philip War. It can be assumed that he was at least in his late teens or early twenties by then. It is not likely that he would have waited for Weecum to grow up if she were only a baby at this time. If Weecum were the daughter of Quinnapin and Weetamoo she would have been born in 1676. Weecum and Benjamin had a granddaughter born in 1695. The 19 year spread is hardly enough time for two generations. It is more likely that Weecum was about Benjamin's age and that their children were born about the time of the King Philip War. If Weecum were Weetamoo's daughter by Alexander she would have been between 13 and 22 years old, certainly of marriageable age and about the same age as her husband Benjamin. She would also have been a part of the royal family which would make her a suitable mate for Benjamin. (It was very common for royal family members to marry their first cousins and keep the sachemships within close family ties.) Most young Indian girls married between ages 15 and 18. If she were the daughter of Weetamoo's other husbands, she would have been less than 10 or 11 years old, or over age 22. It seems most likely that she would have been the daughter of Weetamoo and Alexander but, his can not be verified.] The Pocasset Tribe was one of the largest and most powerful tribes in the Wampanoag Federation. It claimed most of the territory from Tiverton, R. I. to Taunton, Mass. on both sides of the Taunton River. This tribe, along with the Sakonnets, to the south and the Pokanokets, to the west, were the buffer between the Narragansett enemies and the other Wampanoag tribes. It was Corbitant who, in July 1621, shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, contrived a plot to become the Great Sachem of the Wampanoags. He was probably the most powerful, and most respected, Wampanoag Sachem next to Massasoit. He led a larger tribe, with 300 warriors. 55 Corbitant didn't like the English and resented their intrusion on Indian land. When Massasoit became friends with the English, Corbitant met with Canonicus, Great Sachem of the Narragansetts, who also hated the English, and agreed they should first depose Massasoit and then attack the English. They agreed Canonicus would attack and capture Massasoit, thereby winning Aquidneck Island for the Narragansetts without fear of attack from other Wampanoag Tribes. Corbitant would visit the other tribes in the Federation to discredit Massasoit and win support for his newly assumed position. This plot was thwarted when Hobomock and Squanto heard Corbitant's speech to the Nemaskets. The English intervened and threatened Corbitant's life if Massasoit were not released by his captors. The Pokanokets ransomed Massasoit from the Narragansetts by agreeing to give up all claims to Aquidneck Island. The English were determined to execute Corbitant for this plot but it was Massasoit who interceded on his behalf, and refused to allow the English to harm him. Corbitant's signature appears with Massasoit's on a treaty of submission to the English, dated September 1621. In March of 1623, when Massasoit was suffering from his serious illness, Winslow was sent to pay his respects to the dying Sachem. Before he could reach Mt. Hope, Massasoit's principle home, he received word that Massasoit had already died. Believing this to be true, he turned south to go directly to Corbitant's village, near present day Swansea, Mass., as he was sure that Corbitant would be the next Great Sachem. It was well known that Corbitant disliked the English and Winslow felt he should go there immediately to pay his respects to the new Great Sachem. Upon arriving, he learned that Massasoit was not yet dead so hurried on to Mt. Hope. After the miraculous recovery, Winslow was accompanied, as far as Pocasset, by Corbitant who entertained him the whole way with such friendly chatter and jokes that Winslow was truly put at ease and even returned some of the jokes directed at Corbitant. The two men laughed so heartily and enjoyed each other's company so much that Corbitant invited Winslow to spend the night at his lodging. A large supper was spread before the men and they both enjoyed the evening in pleasant conversation. After dinner Corbitant asked Winslow, if it had been Corbitant who was ill, would Governor Bradford have sent medicine and would Winslow have come such a long distance to heal him. Winslow was quick to assure him that they would. Corbitant was pleased and thanked him. He next asked if the English were afraid to come to Mt. Hope, knowing they would have to cross Pocasset country. Winslow boldly proclaimed that where there is true love there is no room for fear. Corbitant replied, "If your love be such and it bears such fruits, how cometh it to pass that when we come to Patuxet (Plymouth) you stand upon your guard, with your pieces (guns) presented toward us?" Winslow had to think for a moment on this and then replied that it was a mark of respect and they treated all people that way when they felt a great respect for them. Corbitant wasn't taken in by this and responded that he didn't care much for that kind of 56 greeting, or respect. Their conversation turned toward religion and they were both surprised that their religions actually had much in common. They differed mostly on their ideas of marriage. The Indians could have many wives as long as they could support them. Marriages could be dissolved simply by one moving out. The women were also free to leave one man's lodge for another’s whenever they chose. The conversation went late into the night and Winslow recorded that it was the most pleasant time he had ever spent with a native since he had arrived in this country. Nothing else is known of Corbitent. He may have died before too long or may have become so accepting of the Engish as to draw no further attention to himself. Little is known of his family other than it can be assumed that he had more than one wife. The names of only two of his children are known, both were daughters. The younger daughter, Wootonekanuske, married Philip shortly before he became Great Sachem of the Wampanoags in 1662. We know of only one son born to this couple about 1667 who, with his Mother, was captured at the end of the King Philip war, (August 1, 1676). Both were sold into slavery in the West Indies following the end of the war. Weetamoo, the older daughter, who at various times was also known as Namumpum and also Tatapanum, (23: p.37) was Corbitant's heir and Squaw Sachem of the Pocassets after her father. She was married to Alexander for nine years, including half of a year while he was the Great Sachem of the Wampanoags following the death of his father, Massasoit, in 1662. During this time, Alexander had at least two sons (35: p.42) and it is quite possible that they also had a daughter, Weecum. [There is no documentation to support the position that Weecum's father was Alexander. The only record of her parentage gives Quinnapin as the father but, as previously discussed, that was virtually impossible.] Following Alexander's death, Weetamoo returned to her home to assume her role as Squaw Sachem of the Pocassets.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Resource 2 Mayflower Passenger List
    Resource 2. Mayflower passenger list A full list of passengers and crew are listed in this booklet: Edward Tilley, Pilgrim separatist Saints Agnus Cooper, Edward’s wife John Carver, Pilgrim separatist Henry Sampson, servant of Edward Tilley Humility Cooper, servant of Edward Tilley Catherine White, John’s wife John Tilley, Edwards’s brother, Pilgrim separatist Desire Minter, servant of John Carver Joan Hurst, John’s wife John Howland, servant of John Carver Elizabeth Tilley, John’s daughter Roger Wilder, servant of John Carver William Latham, servant of John Carver Jasper More, child travelling with the Carvers Francis Cook, Pilgrim separatist A maidservant of John Carver John Cook, Francis’ son William Bradford, Pilgrim separatist Thomas Rogers, Pilgrim separatist Dorothy May, William’s wife Joseph Rogers, Thomas’ son Edward Winslow, Pilgrim separatist Thomas Tinker, Pilgrim separatist Elizabeth Barker, Edward’s wife Wife of Thomas Tinker George Soule, servant of Edward Winslow Son of Thomas Tinker Elias Story, servant of Edward Winslow Ellen More, child travelling with the Winslows Edward Fuller, Pilgrim separatist Gilbert Winslow, Edward’s brother Ann Fuller, Edward’s wife Samuel Fuller, Edward’s son William Brewster, Pilgrim separatist Samuel Fuller, Edward’s Brother, Pilgrim separatist Mary Brewster, William’s wife Love Brewster, William’s son John Turner, Pilgrim separatist Wrestling Brewster, William’s son First son of John Turner Richard More, child travelling with the Brewsters Second son of John Turner Mary More, child travelling
    [Show full text]
  • Francis Billington
    Francis Billington: Mayflower passenger The names of those which came over first, in the year 1620, and were by the blessing of God the first beginners and in a sort the foundation of all the Plantations and Colonies in New England ; and their families... "John Billington and Ellen his wife, and two sons, John and Francis." William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation 1620-1647, ed. Samuel Eliot Morison (New York: Knopf, 1991), p. 441-3. "The fifth day [of December, 1620] we, through God's mercy, escaped a great danger by the foolishness of a boy, one of ...Billington's sons, who, in his father's absence, had got gunpowder, and had shot off a piece or two, and made squibs; but there being a fowling-piece charged in his father's cabin, shot her off in the cabin; there being a little barrel of [gun] powder half full, scattered in and about the cabin, the fire being within four foot of the bed between the decks, and many flints and iron things about the cabin, and many people about the fire; and yet, by God's mercy, no harm done." Mourt's Relation, ed. Jordan D. Fiore (Plymouth, Mass.: Plymouth Rock Foundation), 1985, p. 27. Francis Billington and the early exploration and settlement of Plymouth "Monday, the eighth day of January ... This day Francis Billington, having the week before seen from the top of a tree on a high hill a great sea [known today as Billington Sea, actually a large pond], as he thought, went with one of the master's mates to see it.
    [Show full text]
  • MAYFLOWER RESEARCH HANDOUT by John D Beatty, CG
    MAYFLOWER RESEARCH HANDOUT By John D Beatty, CG® The Twenty-four Pilgrims/Couples on Mayflower Who Left Descendants John Alden, cooper, b. c. 1599; d. 12 Sep. 1687, Duxbury; m. Priscilla Mullins, daughter of William. Isaac Allerton, merchant, b. c. 1587, East Bergolt, Sussex; d. bef. 12 Feb. 1658/9, New Haven, CT; m. Mary Norris, who d. 25 Feb. 1620/1, Plymouth. John Billington, b. by 1579, Spalding, Lincolnshire; hanged Sep. 1630, Plymouth; m. Elinor (__). William Bradford, fustian worker, governor, b. 1589/90, Austerfield, Yorkshire; d. 9 May 1657, Plymouth; m. Dorothy May, drowned, Provincetown Harbor, 7 Dec. 1620. William Brewster, postmaster, publisher, elder, b. by 1567; d. 10 Apr. 1644, Duxbury; m. Mary (__). Peter Brown, b. Jan. 1594/5, Dorking, Surrey; d. bef. 10 Oct. 1633, Plymouth. James Chilton, tailor, b. c. 1556; d. 8 Dec 1620, Plymouth; m. (wife’s name unknown). Francis Cooke, woolcomber, b. c. 1583; d. 7 Apr. 1663, Plymouth; m. Hester Mayhieu. Edward Doty, servant, b. by 1599; d. 23 Aug. 1655, Plymouth. Francis Eaton, carpenter, b. 1596, Bristol; d. bef. 8 Nov. 1633, Plymouth. Moses Fletcher, blacksmith, b. by 1564, Sandwich, Kent; d. early 1621, Plymouth. Edward Fuller, b. 1575, Redenhall, Norfolk; d. early 1621, Plymouth; m. (wife unknown). Samuel Fuller, surgeon, b. 1580, Redenhall, Norfolk; d. bef. 28 Oct. 1633, Plymouth; m. Bridget Lee. Stephen Hopkins, merchant, b. 1581, Upper Clatford, Hampshire; d. bef. 17 Jul. 1644, Plymouth; m. (10 Mary Kent (d. England); (2) Elizabeth Fisher, d. Plymouth, 1640s. John Howland, servant, b. by 1599, Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire; d.
    [Show full text]
  • New England‟S Memorial
    © 2009, MayflowerHistory.com. All Rights Reserved. New England‟s Memorial: Or, A BRIEF RELATION OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AND REMARKABLE PASSAGES OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD, MANIFESTED TO THE PLANTERS OF NEW ENGLAND IN AMERICA: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE FIRST COLONY THEREOF, CALLED NEW PLYMOUTH. AS ALSO A NOMINATION OF DIVERS OF THE MOST EMINENT INSTRUMENTS DECEASED, BOTH OF CHURCH AND COMMONWEALTH, IMPROVED IN THE FIRST BEGINNING AND AFTER PROGRESS OF SUNDRY OF THE RESPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS IN THOSE PARTS; IN REFERENCE UNTO SUNDRY EXEMPLARY PASSAGES OF THEIR LIVES, AND THE TIME OF THEIR DEATH. Published for the use and benefit of present and future generations, BY NATHANIEL MORTON, SECRETARY TO THE COURT, FOR THE JURISDICTION OF NEW PLYMOUTH. Deut. xxxii. 10.—He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness he led him about; he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Jer. ii. 2,3.—I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown, etc. Deut. viii. 2,16.—And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee this forty years in the wilderness, etc. CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY S.G. and M.J. FOR JOHN USHER OF BOSTON. 1669. © 2009, MayflowerHistory.com. All Rights Reserved. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL, THOMAS PRENCE, ESQ., GOVERNOR OF THE JURISDICTION OF NEW PLYMOUTH; WITH THE WORSHIPFUL, THE MAGISTRATES, HIS ASSISTANTS IN THE SAID GOVERNMENT: N.M. wisheth Peace and Prosperity in this life, and Eternal Happiness in that which is to come.
    [Show full text]
  • The Legacies of King Philip's War in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1987 The legacies of King Philip's War in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Michael J. Puglisi College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Puglisi, Michael J., "The legacies of King Philip's War in the Massachusetts Bay Colony" (1987). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623769. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-f5eh-p644 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS While the most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. For example: • Manuscript pages may have indistinct print. In such cases, the best available copy has been filmed. • Manuscripts may not always be complete. In such cases, a note will indicate that it is not possible to obtain missing pages. • Copyrighted material may have been removed from the manuscript. In such cases, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, and charts) are photographed by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is also filmed as one exposure and is available, for an additional charge, as a standard 35mm slide or as a 17”x 23” black and white photographic print.
    [Show full text]
  • Massasoit of The
    OUSAMEQUIN “YELLOW FEATHER” — THE MASSASOIT OF THE 1 WAMPANOAG (THOSE OF THE DAWN) “NARRATIVE HISTORY” AMOUNTS TO FABULATION, THE REAL STUFF BEING MERE CHRONOLOGY 1. Massasoit is not a personal name but a title, translating roughly as “The Shahanshah.” Like most native American men of the period, he had a number of personal names. Among these were Ousamequin or “Yellow Feather,” and Wasamegin. He was not only the sachem of the Pokanoket of the Mount Hope peninsula of Narragansett Bay, now Bristol and nearby Warren, Rhode Island, but also the grand sachem or Massasoit of the entire Wampanoag people. The other seven Wampanoag sagamores had all made their submissions to him, so that his influence extended to all the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, all of Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Elizabeth islands. His subordinates led the peoples of what is now Middleboro (the Nemasket), the peoples of what is now Tiverton (the Pocasset), and the peoples of what is now Little Compton (the Sakonnet). The other side of the Narragansett Bay was controlled by Narragansett sachems. HDT WHAT? INDEX THE MASSASOIT OUSAMEQUIN “YELLOW FEATHER” 1565 It would have been at about this point that Canonicus would have been born, the 1st son of the union of the son and daughter of the Narragansett headman Tashtassuck. Such a birth in that culture was considered auspicious, so we may anticipate that this infant will grow up to be a Very Important Person. Canonicus’s principle place of residence was on an island near the present Cocumcussoc of Jamestown and Wickford, Rhode Island.
    [Show full text]
  • Physical Accomplishment, Spiritual Power, and Indian Masculinity in Early-Seventeenth-Century New England
    Ethnohistory ‘‘Ranging Foresters’’ and ‘‘Women-Like Men’’: Physical Accomplishment, Spiritual Power, and Indian Masculinity in Early-Seventeenth-Century New England R. Todd Romero, University of Houston Abstract. Through an examination of seventeenth-century English sources and later Indian folklore, this article illustrates the centrality of religion to defining mascu- linity among Algonquian-speaking Indians in southern New England. Manly ideals were represented in the physical and spiritual excellence of individual living men like the Penacook sachem-powwow Passaconaway and supernatural entities like Maushop. For men throughout the region, cultivating and maintaining spiritual associations was essential to success in the arenas of life defining Indian mascu- linity: games, hunting, warfare, governance, and marriage. As is stressed through- out the essay, masculinity was also juxtaposed with femininity in a number of important ways in Indian society. In seventeenth-century New England, colonial observers often derided In- dian men, contending that ‘‘these ranging foresters,’’ as William Wood once termed them, failed to work and act as men should and offered a potentially dangerous example to the disorderly elements of Anglo-American society. In a typical seventeenth-century English assessment of Indian gender roles, Wood claimed that Indian wives were ‘‘more loving, pitiful, and modest, mild, provident, and laborious than their lazy husbands.’’1 Examining these conceits, scholars have often stressed that such views tell us more about English gender ideals than they reveal about the structure of Indian society. Correctly casting the English hostility toward male Indian gender roles as ethnocentric bias, such work takes special pains to stress the comparative egalitarianism of Native American gender relations.
    [Show full text]
  • Vital Allies: the Colonial Militia's Use of Indians in King Philip's War, 1675--1676
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Spring 2011 Vital allies: The colonial militia's use of Indians in King Philip's War, 1675--1676 Shawn Eric Pirelli University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Pirelli, Shawn Eric, "Vital allies: The colonial militia's use of Indians in King Philip's War, 1675--1676" (2011). Master's Theses and Capstones. 146. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/146 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VITAL ALLIES: THE COLONIAL MILITIA'S USE OF iNDIANS IN KING PHILIP'S WAR, 1675-1676 By Shawn Eric Pirelli BA, University of Massachusetts, Boston, 2008 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In History May, 2011 UMI Number: 1498967 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 1498967 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC.
    [Show full text]
  • Alyson J. Fink
    PSYCHOLOGICAL CONQUEST: PILGRIMS, INDIANS AND THE PLAGUE OF 1616-1618 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAW AI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN mSTORY MAY 2008 By Alyson J. Fink Thesis Committee: Richard C. Rath, Chairperson Marcus Daniel Margot A. Henriksen Richard L. Rapson We certify that we have read this thesis and that, in our opinion, it is satisfactory in scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in History. THESIS COMMITIEE ~J;~e K~ • ii ABSTRACT In New England effects of the plague of 1616 to 1618 were felt by the Wampanoags, Massachusetts and Nausets on Cape Cod. On the other hand, the Narragansetts were not affiicted by the same plague. Thus they are a strong exemplar of how an Indian nation, not affected by disease and the psychological implications of it, reacted to settlement. This example, when contrasted with that of the Wampanoags and Massachusetts proves that one nation with no experience of death caused by disease reacted aggressively towards other nations and the Pilgrims, while nations fearful after the epidemic reacted amicably towards the Pilgrims. Therefore showing that the plague produced short-term rates of population decline which then caused significant psychological effects to develop and shape human interaction. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................... .iii List of Tables ...........................................................................................v
    [Show full text]
  • •Œa Country Wonderfully Prepared for Their Entertainmentâ•Š The
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council --Online Archive National Collegiate Honors Council Spring 2003 “A Country Wonderfully Prepared for their Entertainment” The Aftermath of the New England Indian Epidemic of 1616 Matthew Kruer University of Arizona, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcjournal Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons Kruer, Matthew, "“A Country Wonderfully Prepared for their Entertainment” The Aftermath of the New England Indian Epidemic of 1616" (2003). Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council --Online Archive. 129. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcjournal/129 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the National Collegiate Honors Council at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council --Online Archive by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. MATTHEW KRUER “A Country Wonderfully Prepared for their Entertainment” The Aftermath of the New England Indian Epidemic of 1616 MATTHEW KRUER UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA formidable mythology has grown up around the Pilgrims and their voyage to Athe New World. In the popular myth a group of idealistic religious reformers fled persecution into the wilds of the New World, braving seas, storms, winter, hunger, and death at the hands of teeming hordes of Indians, carving a new life out of an unspoiled wilderness, building a civilization with naked force of will and an unshakable religious vision. As with most historical myths, this account has been idealized to the point that it obscures the facts of the Pilgrims’ voyage.
    [Show full text]
  • CHILDREN on the MAYFLOWER by Ruth Godfrey Donovan
    CHILDREN ON THE MAYFLOWER by Ruth Godfrey Donovan The "Mayflower" sailed from Plymouth, England, September 6, 1620, with 102 people aboard. Among the passengers standing at the rail, waving good-bye to relatives and friends, were at least thirty children. They ranged in age from Samuel Eaton, a babe in arms, to Mary Chilton and Constance Hopkins, fifteen years old. They were brought aboard for different reasons. Some of their parents or guardians were seeking religious freedom. Others were searching for a better life than they had in England or Holland. Some of the children were there as servants. Every one of the youngsters survived the strenuous voyage of three months. As the "Mayflower" made its way across the Atlantic, perhaps they frolicked and played on the decks during clear days. They must have clung to their mothers' skirts during the fierce gales the ship encountered on other days. Some of their names sound odd today. There were eight-year-old Humility Cooper, six-year-old Wrestling Brewster, and nine-year-old Love Brewster. Resolved White was five, while Damans Hopkins was only three. Other names sound more familiar. Among the eight-year- olds were John Cooke and Francis Billington. John Billington, Jr. was six years old as was Joseph Mullins. Richard More was seven years old and Samuel Fuller was four. Mary Allerton, who was destined to outlive all others aboard, was also four. She lived to the age of eighty-three. The Billington boys were the mischief-makers. Evidently weary of the everyday pastimes, Francis and John, Jr.
    [Show full text]
  • JOHN BILLINGTON of the MAYFLOWER Which Child Of
    JOHN BILLINGTON OF THE MAYFLOWER Among those on board the ship Mayflower when it finally arrived in New England in November, 1620 was John Billington. He was born in England about 1579 and married Ellinor (----). John died by hanging in Plymouth Colony in September, 1630, after he was convicted of murdering John Newcomen. This was the only hanging in the early history of the Colony. Usually the penalty was confinement to the stocks, a structure which locked the hands and head in an uncomfortable position in public view. His wife Ellinor slandered a Plymouth man, and she was sentenced to sit in the stocks and be whipped. John was a strong supporter of the revolt against Governor Bradford. He and his sons John and Francis often got into trouble during the first decade of the colony’s existence. While the Mayflower was anchored off Cape Cod, Francis Billington fired a musket on board the ship . According to tradition, Francis climbed a tree soon after arrival in Plymouth and spotted what he called a "great sea," believing it to be the Pacific Ocean. He and one of the Mayflower's crew members went to explore the sea, but became alarmed when they saw some abandoned Native American houses. They were alone with only a single gun. In memory of Billington's error, the pond was called "Billington's Sea.” And son John did his share of mischief as well. In 1621, he wandered off and went missing for five days. Native Americans from Nauset eventually found him. The Pilgrims left to intervene, but John was returned peaceably without any threat of war or attack.
    [Show full text]