The Pennsylvania Mayflower
Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
SMDPA Governor: Scotti Sawyer-Kershner www.SAIL1620.org Volume: XXVI, No. 2 [email protected] Editor: Debra G Miller Co Editor: Joan Miller Summer 2014 Sue Allan is SMDPA 2014 Scholar of the Year This Distinguished Achievement Award will be presented to Sue Allan, on August 23, 2014, at the Doubletree Hilton in Lancaster, ur Society’s, “Katharine F. Little Pennsylvania. Distinguished Mayflower Scholarship Award” for 2014, goes to our dear friend and neighbor Sue Allan’s Story: “I became interested in the across the Mayflower Pilgrims story relatively late in life Atlantic in when in the summer of 2002, at the age of 47, I England, Sue unexpectedly found myself moving to Allan. The Lincolnshire. Within weeks I then discovered national Gainsborough Old Hall just a few miles away and award is learned that a Separatist congregation was once given to those sheltered there. I had not heard of the individuals Separatists before nor had I been taught about who are not the Mayflower Pilgrims in school. I was members of immediately intrigued. But more than this, I the State somehow felt strangely ‘connected’ to both them Society in and matriarch of the family who had protected recognition them at Gainsborough Old Hall – Lady Rose of their
Hickman. Lady Rose would soon feature in my meritorious work in enhancing understanding of first novel, ‘Mayflower Maid’ which I began to the Pilgrims and the Pilgrims’ contributions to write one year later. (I had never been an author American life, in particular, Sue’s continuing research at "Scrooby Manor" surpasses beyond before). In the meantime I had found myself words of gratitude for her efforts and devouring anything and everything that I could accomplishments. read about the Old Hall, the Separatists and the Mayflower. Continued Page 2
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During that time I had also come to realize how little even local people knew about this momentous story, much of which had played out in this part of England. The main stream story of the ‘Mayflower Maid’ was quite simply my response to that and was never intended as a purely ‘commercial venture’. I had instead envisaged this hard-hitting tale as acting as a ‘hook’ with which to draw local people towards visiting the Old Hall and into learning more about the Mayflower Pilgrims.
Over the coming years I quickly became involved across the county border from Lincolnshire into Nottinghamshire. Firstly with the formation of the Pilgrim Father’s (UK) Origins Association with its primary aim of promoting and perpetuating the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims in the area from which many of them came. By that time I had also begun guiding visitors around the Mayflower Trail but was sadly unable to get onto the Scrooby Manor site itself which was private property. Neither had I been able to answer questions about the existing building such as what was it exactly or if indeed William Brewster had ever actually lived in it. This was not through my own ignorance but simply because the accepted experts simply did not seem to know. And the fact that I could not answer those questions for visiting descendants and witnessed their subsequent look of disappointment it bothered me deeply. How could we not know? I asked myself?
In 2009 at a book signing of my latest novel ‘Tudor Rose’ (about Lady Rose Hickman) I came face to face with a new fan, Julie Dunstan, who with husband, David, owns Scrooby Manor. In that instant we became the best of friends. Encouraged and aided by Julie Dunstan, and in the wake of having had cancer, in 2012 I decided to focus my attention into marshalling all of my own research on Scrooby Manor together in one place in the hope of being able to answer these questions. Also thanks to the generosity of the Dunstan’s I now had unlimited access to Scrooby Manor and its outbuildings. I am delighted to say that the result was my book ‘In Search of Scrooby Manor’. “
August 23, 2014, Sue Allan will be giving a riveting presentation about Scrooby Manor and her incredible journey with Julie Dunstan to try and unlock the secrets of Scrooby Manor. Sue will talk about how she trawled through archives in order to piece together tiny scraps of information and countless documents in order to build upon an idea of what the lost part of Scrooby Manor was once like and the highs and lows encountered during that process. Sue will include a power point of photographs taken inside the Manor itself, of the Chapel, the music room, and places people rarely get to see.
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August 24, 2014, Reservation Form is at the end of the newsletter.
Please complete and return as soon as possible.
Due to Room Capacity, Space is Limited - We anticipate 200 to 300 people Sue Allan "In Search of Scrooby Manor" August 23, 2014 Join fellow Mayflower Descendants, Historians, Genealogists, England Researchers, and History Teachers…open to all interested… Mark your calendars! World renowned author, historian, documentary advisor, consultant on English history and genealogy, Sue Allan will be crossing the Atlantic for a one time presentation and book signing in Lancaster PA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tables: Silent Auction, Free Book Signing with Sue Allan, Debbie Yingst, GSMD Insignia Chair, Andrew Cameron Bailey and Connie Baxter Marlow writers/documentary filmmakers -"The First Fifty Years”, Masthof Press, Free Giveaways at door, Lunch Buffet, and much more…
When: August 23, 2014
Where: DoubleTree by Hilton 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster PA
Order books online at http://www.domtom.co.uk/buy_books_online.htm Domtom assures us we will have Sue’s book by August 23, 2014 Contact Domtom Publishing By Mail By Phone by email: [email protected] Domtom Publishing Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1444 247766 *When ordering let Domtom know you Edward House Fax: +44 (0)1444 250333 are ordering for the August 23,2014 Marchants Way, Burgess Hill presentation in Lancaster PA USA West Sussex, RH15 8QY, UK
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From the Governor’s Desk SMDPA Governor Scotti Sawyer-Kershner
Norman P. Robinson Remembered
On March 26, 2014, Past SMDPA Under Norm’s leadership, the Norm was very active in community Governor Norman P. Robinson was company became an innovator in affairs, including Ardmore Rotary taken from us. His presence, long a corrugated packaging, grew rapidly, (President, 1992-1993), Corinthian resource to all of the Society is and eventually was acquired by Yacht Club (Commodore, 1999- sorely missed and the loss is felt by Greif Bros. Corp., a large multi- 2000), and Society of Mayflower many in the Society in many format packaging supplier and S&P Descendants in the Commonwealth different ways. 400 company. Norm then followed of Pennsylvania (Board member He was the youngest of three his passion for German engineering and Governor, 2008-2010), First children born to Andrew F. and and subsequently formed Robinson Church of Christ, Scientist (Board, Anita P. Robinson in Philadelphia, Merit Leasing Corporation, a car 1970’s-2014), Union League, and PA on November 22, 1928. Norm leasing business which he ran until Merion Cricket Club. grew up in Swarthmore, PA and his retirement. Norm became a member of the graduated from Friends Central General Society of Mayflower High School in 1946. After Descendants and SMDPA in 1988. graduating from Principia College in He became a member of the Board Elsah, IL in 1951, he entered the of Assistants eventually was elected U.S. Army serving at Fort Benning, Deputy Governor where he dutifully GA and Fort Knox, KY where he wrote letters of welcome to the taught land mine removal to young newly admitted members and saw recruits. Norm was honorably to their receiving their certificates. discharged in 1954 as a 2nd In 2008, he assumed Governorship Lieutenant and became an office of the Society, where he served until equipment salesman with the Shaw- 2010. Norm chaired the finance Walker Agency in Philadelphia. committee for many years, Recognizing the commercial continuing up to his last few days. opportunity of corrugated paper in protective packaging, Norm formed More than anything what will be Corrugated Inner Pak Corporation in missed will be Norm, who just being 1961. Norm was an avid tennis and who he was, was a resource, he squash player, sailor, photographer, brought his years of business to the Porsche Model 356 fan, and snow Society and difficult problems were skier. Norm was a dedicated easily dealt with. He knew when to Philadelphia Orchestra supporter, hold them and when to fold them, often attending the orchestra’s and that was the difference. Norm performances in Europe and Vail, will be greatly missed. Colorado. He was also an adventurous traveler visiting Layton Fireng numerous countries in five SMDPA Board of Assistant continents, including his most recent trip to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos within the past year.
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Megan Winagle of Orford, New Hampshire was chosen as the winner of the Elizabeth Tilley Howland Mayflower Descendant Scholarship
SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDANTS IN PENNSYLVANIA Report of the Scholarship Chair Billie J. Gailey
Since I assumed this position in March, my focus has been the scholarship entries to the Society’s two annual scholarship contests. As you know, the contests are the Elizabeth Tilley Howland Mayflower Descendant Scholarship and the Massasoit (Supreme Sachem) Wampanoag Scholarship.
There was a small group of talented students who sought the Elizabeth Tilley Howland Mayflower Descendant Scholarship. No one applied for the Wampanoag Scholarship.
Three reliable friends served as judges. Megan Winagle of Orford, New Hampshire was chosen as the winner of the Elizabeth Tilley Howland Mayflower Descendant Scholarship. Miss Winagle has an outstanding record of academic achievement and service to others. She will be attending Quinnipiac University. Billie J. Gailey, Scholarship Chair Megan Winagle
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SOCIETY OF MAYFLOWER DESCENDANTS In the Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania
Reminder – if you have not Paid your 2014
YOUR 2014 ANNUAL SMDPA DUES ARE NOW DUE PLEASE PAY TO ENSURE YOUR MEMBERSHIP STATUS
PLEASE SEND YOUR CHECK PAYABLE TO SMDPA TO:
DOROTHY Y. LEES, SMDPA TREASURER, P.O. BOX 123, WELLSVILLE, PA 17365 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dates to Remember Next Meeting Date Activity Dates
Special Event: August 23, 2014 Sept 13, 2014 Sue Allan from England
Thanksgiving: Nov 23, 2014
Annual Meeting: April 18, 2015
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Tea at “Winterthur” in Pictures
May 18, 2014
Photographer Joan Stanford
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The Saviour of Austerfield Manor House © 2014 By Sue Allan
The wider Doncaster area has two iconic names linked to American history – Scrooby and Austerfield. Each village can boast a Mayflower Pilgrim’s home.
However what is not widely known is how close in the recent past Austerfield came to losing theirs. And how, if not for the swift action of a spinster from Bawtry, Austerfield Manor House - the home of leading Mayflower Pilgrim William Bradford - might have been bull-dozed.
Orphaned at a tender age, William Bradford is thought to have been brought up in the Manor House by his grandfather and uncles. After hearing enigmatic minister Richard Clifton preach, as a mere teenager Bradford had joined the Separatist cause, which eventually led to the voyage of the Mayflower in 1620.
A map in Sheffield Archives, believed to date from 1767, shows the Manor House and its adjoining land still in the ownership of the Bradford family long after William had left for the New World. However, according to entries in St Helena’s parish registers soon after this the Bradfords appeared to have moved away from the village. In the 1890’s the Manor House seems to have been in good repair. Victorian Historian, Dr Alexander Mackennal, described the house in detail in his book ‘Homes and Haunts of the Pilgrim Fathers’, even down to the cellars beneath the kitchen. He said that it was a ‘comfortable house now divided into two cottages.’
Austerfield Manor House 1890
However by the mid 1930’s the Manor House was no longer inhabited and appears to have slithered to the depths of a terminal decline. It was then that it was condemned as ‘unfit for human habitation’ and earmarked for demolition. Word of its imminent demise reached the ears of the American Ambassador in London, Mr Bingham. In newspapers as far away as the Aberdeen Post, an article was published on May 2nd 1936 reporting that Bingham was supporting moves to save it. Later on May 26th the Nottingham Post reported that ‘efforts are being made to save the Manor House Austerfield, near Bawtry, the birthplace of William Bradford Pilgrim Father. The
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house has been condemned and Austerfield is eager to prevent its demolition or transfer of it piecemeal to America for re-erection in the States which has been hinted at’. Ideally the local community hoped to preserve the building as ‘a show place at Austerfield for all time’.
However, and despite Mr Bingham’s good intentions, financial help seems not have materialized quickly enough. By the following year demolition seemed inevitable.
Like countless American’s before him, in the summer of 1937 American pastor J Harry Hooper made his own ‘pilgrimage’ to visit Austerfield Manor. Hooper was in England on a three month exchange with the minister of Park Street Church in Hull.
Having drawn up outside in a borrowed Wolsey and ignoring the ‘No Trespass’ signs on the gate Hooper entered the closed field to the side of the house. Tools were strewn about and builders were busy at work.
Peeking through a window, Hooper was surprised to see a young gentlewoman inside wearing a broad-brimmed hat and busily joining in the restoration work. Her name was Ethel Brown Pennington and she lived with her parents in High Field House in Bawtry. Ethel was a product of her times. In the wake of a dreadful war that had seen a huge proportion of the eligible young men of her own generation slaughtered, she like countless other young women was doomed to remain unmarried. Nonetheless this was a woman determined to live life to the full. On seeing Hooper, Pennington came out and after brief introductions were made over a friendly cup of tea, she told him how she came to be at the Manor House.
Ethel’s family owned a lot of land close by and had known the building since childhood. Passing the house some three months before, she had seen a foreman and his wrecking crew inspecting the building. He then told her that the following week he planned to move his heavy machinery and tools onto the site in readiness to demolish it. Spurred on by urgency, Ethel Pennington immediately approached the owner. By the end of the day the Manor House had been transferred into her possession.
‘It seemed a pity’ she had told Hooper, ‘that the old house had to be destroyed’. Ethel also explained how she had become interested in the Pilgrim Fathers after visiting America a few years before and having been asked so many questions about them. She also explained to Hooper that for the previous two months much restoration work had been done but there was so much more to do. Small outlying buildings had been taken down as well as later unsightly additions and much rotted out timber had been replaced with new. 8 Ethel Brown Pennington Although costs kept spiralling upwards, her determination was to permanently halt the building’s deterioration and to bring it back to as close as it had been when originally built. Ethel had also planned to convert the existing stable into a care -taker’s cottage.
With the onset WW2 hoped for financial support from America did not materialise. With men, money and materials in short supply, work on the house was halted and Ethel Pennington’s dream of turning Austerfield Manor into a protected heritage site died. However, during the course of the war thousands of American servicemen came to Austerfield to pay their respects at William Bradford’s former home.
On Friday November 18th, 1949 The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury reported that Austerfield Manor House had been purchased by Lieutenant Colonel W Forrest Bracewell, a native of Ecclesall Bierlow, Sheffield. Bracewell restored the Manor House into a comfortable home and lived there until his death in September 1977 at the age of 76. However the real saviour of Austerfield Manor House was Ethel Brown Pennington, whose single minded determination and passion had saved the house from destruction. After a lifetime plagued by bouts of ill health, Ethel Brown Pennington died in 1951. She was aged just 50.
Austerfield Manor House today.
Susquehanna Colony will be facilitating this Special Event We are asking ALL members to email and Facebook information to all your friends and family about this exciting event. Won’t you volunteer your time?
We need Volunteers for our Silent Auction, (to raise much needed funds for our Plimoth Plantation classroom visits), emails, welcome basket for Sue Allan, and much more… Thank You for your consideration to be a Team Leader. Please contact Deb G- Miller at [email protected] 9
Western Colony Spring Meeting
St Clair Country Club was the site of the Western Colony’s May 17th spring meeting. The Colony celebrated the end to a long, cold winter with delicious luncheon arranged by our hosts, St. Clair members, Evelyn and Bill Ruschel.
New members: David Doty, Sandra McKissock and Beth Ruh were welcomed by the group. Reed Kneale took the helm as the newly elected Colony Governor, providing news and information about upcoming society events. In addition to the Western Colony’s July picnic, Colony Governor Kneale also encouraged the membership to attend the state sponsored lunch and lecture with Brewster researcher and author, Sue Allan in August and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Triennial Congress in Plymouth in September.
The speaker for the afternoon was Darvin L. Martin, who drove from Lancaster, Pennsylvania to deliver the program. Mr. Martin, who holds degrees in agriculture and chemistry, has a lifelong interest in genealogy. He developed the oneDNAtree.com as a pilot project of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society. His talk, "DNA Traces the Origins of Darvin L. Martin chats with Bill and Evelyn Ruschel Mayflower Descendants back to Continental Europe" captivated the audience. New Western Colony Members
Sandra McKissock David Doty Beth Ruh
Join Us For Summer Merriment! The Western colony cordially invites members and friends from across the state to attend our summer picnic at Patricia Hill’s farm in Cabot, Pennsylvania - On July 19th 2014. The day begins with a new member workshop, led by Mrs. Hill, at 10:00 a.m. Food, Games and Conversation begin at noon.
You may Call Patricia at 724-352-2223 for details 10
August 23, 2014 Registration Form Keynote Speaker- Sue Allan -- “In Search of Scrooby Manor”
Doubletree Hilton, Lancaster PA
*Space is Limited to First 300 Registered*
Mail this form with Check or Money Order Payable to SMDPA to: Debra G Miller - 2807 Candlelight Drive, York, PA 17402 Registration Fee ONLY $22.00 per person Includes: o Lunch Buffet o Invaluable historical and genealogical presentation o Sue Allan’s riveting account of her experience and expertise o Sue Allan’s FREE book signing o Silent Auction to raise much needed funds for our Plimoth Plantation Pennsylvania classroom visits o FREE Giveaways o Meet GSMD Insignia Chair, Documentary filmmakers and writers, Masthof Press, and much more!
11:00 to 12:00 Social Hour 12:00 to 1:00 Lunch Buffet 1:00 to 2:00 Key Note Speaker Sue Allan 2:00 to 3:00 Free Book Signing
Name(s):______Address:______Email:______City:______State:______Zip code:______Home Phone:______Cell:______Number Attending:______Amount Enclosed:______
Will you be staying at the Doubletree Hilton? Hilton will be holding rooms until July 23, 2014. A two day minimum is required to receive the following special group rates: Single/Double @189.00, Triple @199.00 and Quad @ 209.00. DoubleTree Hilton - 2400 Willow Street Pike, Lancaster, PA 17602 – (717) 464-2711. Ask for Mayflower Society group rate.
Order books online at http://www.domtom.co.uk/buy_books_online.htm Domtom assures us we will have Sue’s book by August 23, 2014 Contact Domtom publishing by email: By Mail By Phone Email: [email protected] Domtom Publishing Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1444 247766 *When ordering let Domtom know you Edward House Fax: +44 (0)1444 250333 are ordering for the August 23,2014 Marchants Way, Burgess Hill presentation in Lancaster PA USA West Sussex, RH15 8QY, UK
We look forward to seeing you in Lancaster, Pennsylvania!
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