Girls on the Mayflower
Girls on the Mayflower http://members.aol.com/calebj/girls.html (out of circulation; see: https://www.prettytough.com/girls-on-the-mayflower/ http://mayflowerhistory.com/girls https://itchyfish.com/oceanus-hopkins-the-child-born-aboard-the-mayflower/ ) While much attention is focused on the men who came on the Mayflower, few people realize and take note that there were eleven girls on board, ranging in ages from less than a year old up to about sixteen or seventeen. William Bradford wrote that one of the Pilgrim's primary concerns was that the "weak bodies" of the women and girls would not be able to handle such a long voyage at sea, and the harsh life involved in establishing a new colony. For this reason, many girls were left behind, to be sent for later after the Colony had been established. Some of the daughters left behind include Fear Brewster (age 14), Mary Warren (10), Anna Warren (8), Sarah Warren (6), Elizabeth Warren (4), Abigail Warren (2), Jane Cooke (8), Hester Cooke (1), Mary Priest (7), Sarah Priest (5), and Elizabeth and Margaret Rogers. As it would turn out however, the girls had the strongest bodies of them all. No girls died on the Mayflower's voyage, but one man and one boy did. And the terrible first winter, twenty-five men (50%) and eight boys (36%) got sick and died, compared to only two girls (16%). So who were these girls? One of them was under the age of one, named Humility Cooper. Her father had died, and her mother was unable to support her; so she was sent with her aunt and uncle on the Mayflower.
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