PILGRIM HOPKINS HERITAGE SOCIETY ATLANTIC CROSSINGS ENGLAND ~ BERMUDA ~ JAMESTOWN ~ ENGLAND ~ PLYMOUTH Mayflower Sea Venture VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1 www.pilgrimhopkins.com JUNE 2013 From Plymouth to Pokonoket by Judith Brister and Susan Abanor n the spring of 1621, Pilgrims tion of a peace accord I Stephen Hopkins and Edward Wins- with Massasoit during his low were sent out on an official mission March 22, 1621 visit to by Governor Bradford which entailed a Plymouth. Known by the two-day trek from Plymouth to the Pok- Pilgrims as simply Mas- onoket village of the Great Sachem, or sasoit (which was really Massasoit, of the Wampanoag Confed- his title; he had other eracy. The village was likely located in names among his people, what is now Warren, Rhode Island, including Ousamequin), some 40-50 miles from Plymouth. this leader presided over The path from Plymouth to the site of the Pokanokets, the head- the Pokonoket village traverses the exist- ship tribe of the various ing towns of Carver, Middleboro, Taun- tribes that constituted the ton, Dighton, Somerset and Swansea, in Wampanoag nation. Massachusetts, and Barrington and War- When the Mayflower ren, Rhode Island. Today, except for a arrived, the Wampanoags small patch, the ancient Native American had been devastated by path has been covered by paved roads two recent outbreaks of that wind through these towns and outly- smallpox brought by pre- ing areas. In 1621, the region was un- Pilgrim Europeans, and known territory for the Pilgrims, whose despite misgivings and explorations until then had been limited some internal dissension, to Plymouth and Cape Cod. they concluded that an The mission of Hopkins and Winslow alliance with the Pilgrims was carried out shortly after the negotia- would make them less “Gifts for Massasoit, Spring, 1621.” Oil on Canvas 30”x 40” by Ruth Major, Alden, Mullens, Howland and Tilley descendant. vulnerable to possi- ney to Pokonoket the Habitation of the ble threats from the Great King Massasoit,” was published in strong Narragansett London in 1622. The term “Pokonoket,” tribe to the West, also called “Sowams,” referred to a dis- which had been trict including several villages and unoc- unaffected by cupied land, now the Rhode Island towns smallpox epidem- of Warren, Bristol, Barrington and East ics. Under the original March 22 accord, Providence, and Swansea, Seekonk and the two parties agreed to abstain from Rehoboth in Massachusetts. Also in this issue: mutual aggression, to deliver offenders, According to Winslow, an impor- Governor’s Message ................. 2 and to assist each other if either were tant purpose of their assignment was Tax-exempt Status ..................... 2 unjustly attacked. strategic, as it would allow them to “… The Hopkins/Winslow mission was a Mysteries of Caleb II ................ 5 follow-up to this initial accord. Wins- continued on page 3 Next Meeting ............................ 8 low’s account of the mission, “A Jour- ATLANTIC CROSSINGS Message from the Governor o preserve information for the future, both for the T PHHS descendants and for my family, we needed to walk the walk. On April 2 and 3 of this year my family and I trekked from the location of Stephen Hopkins’ house in Plymouth to the site of Massasoit’s spring in Warren, R.I., following the route we supposed Hopkins and Winslow took to visit Massasoit nearly 400 years ago. The paths the Pilgrims traveled have become the roads and bridges we traversed. The fish that supplied the roe they ate still return to spawn in the rivers and streams. There are still wooded places that have not been developed and ponds that may have existed at the time of their journey. We passed through villages that have formed since 1621, saw museums that preserve the history of the area and viewed cranberry bogs that are now part of the region's in- dustry, covering 40 some miles, just as Hopkins and Wins- low did. We were very tired at the end of our walk, but not nearly as exhausted as the Pilgrims must have been! We knew where we were going, didn't have to ford streams, sleep in a field, or return to Plymouth in two days. Many thanks to my family for their support and for going along with another of my adventures. Day two, just before dark, destination reached! On other matters, it is celebration time! We finally re- Left to right: Susan Abanor, Sarah Abanor, Harold Woolley, Evan Woolley. ceived our tax-exempt status from the IRS, thanks espe- cially to the stellar job done by Rod Fleck. Thank you Rod! needed to step down. Please let us know if you can help out (See details below.) with some of these duties until the next election in 2014. The next meeting for the PHHS will be in New Orleans. Thanks to Linda Hart and to Kenneth Whittemore! It should be fun and I hope to see many of you there. Kenneth Whittemore is standing in as secretary for the Sincerely, PHHS. Linda Hart, who has served us so well in that job, Susan B W Abanor, Governor PHHS Tax-Exempt Status Granted by Rod Fleck ig news!! Finally, after some 12-14 months, the IRS sent taken. Further, the Society has to ensure its activities lead to B notice that the Pilgrim Hopkins Heritage Society has no substantial private compensation or benefit to its officers, been officially granted 501(c)(3) status! While this may directors, key employees or members. Here, we will be fol- sound like a simple “given,” for a handful of PHHS Board lowing the simple rule of “when in doubt, let’s find out.” members, it has been a “long journey into the unknown.” In addition, our treasurer will be asked to submit an an- The first step was to incorporate the PHHS, and thus make nual report on the PHHS’s financial dealings. What in the it a legal entity. This was accomplished in 2011, when the past was a rather forgiving report has become the focus of a Society became a Massachusetts corporation. Next, Board great deal of attention in the past five years. In this context, it members sought tax exempt status from the IRS, submitting will be extremely important that those who fill the post of the relevant application in the Spring of 2012, with various PHHS treasurer be familiar with financial documents. attachments explaining the financial operations of the organi- What all this means to you, loyal members of the PHHS, zation since its founding. Ed Flaherty provided numerous is that your donations to the Society are henceforth tax de- detailed reports that were used by Rod Fleck to fill out the ductible. As noted above, such donations need to be made application. The Board of Directors and the Membership had with the understanding that they cannot create a private bene- to make some adjustments to the various founding documents fit to the donor or specific individuals. The IRS uses the or adopt specific conflict of interest provisions. When the very large packet was submitted to the IRS, we were told it phrase that the Society would be “prohibited from allowing would be reviewed in the next four to six months. In fact, it more than an insubstantial accrual of private benefit” to spe- took over a year, but in early June we received the long- cific individuals. While dues would not be tax deductible, the awaited IRS letter confirming that we were granted tax- donations made to help fund plaques, monuments, markers, exempt status as a 501(c)(3)! I emailed the news in all caps to etc., can qualify as tax deductions. As the Society grows, we Governor Abanor. may even look into creating a scholarship program, with the With this letter, the IRS determined that the PHHS is a appropriate advance consultation. “public charity” under the federal tax code. As such, the To all who received the many frantic emails, odd requests, PHHS is specifically limited in engaging in political activities, and detailed documents which resulted in this decision – and these activities need to be reviewed prior to being under- thank you and congratulations! PAGE 2 VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1 Photo by Susan Abanor by Susan Photo From Plymouth to Pokonoket From page 1 see their [the Pokonokets’] strength, discover the coun- try…”. On the diplomatic side, Governor Bradford charged them with giving Massasoit a lace-trimmed red coat, “…in witness of the love and good will the English bear unto him.” Another gift to Massasoit was a copper chain, which they requested be carried by any of his people he authorized to visit Plymouth, thus stemming the stream of Native Americans who came to Plymouth expecting hospitality from the food-strapped Colony. Next, they invited Mas- sasoit to bring them skins for trading. They then offered restitution for the buried corn they had taken on “Corn Hill” in Truro shortly after their arrival on the Mayflower. Finally, they asked Massasoit for some corn seed, “…that we might make trial which best agreed with the soil where we live…”. While the diplomatic achievements of this mission were Taunton River at "Sqawbetty" quite significant, so too were the many carefully described discoveries Hopkins and Winslow made about the land and do spawn later – April through June – when the water its peoples during their journey. reaches about 57 degrees). Winslow states that he and Hopkins departed “…the Finally, given the starvation the Pilgrims suffered during tenth of June at nine o’clock.” Archaeologist Maurice Rob- their first winter, Robbins suggests, they would have been more bins, in his 1984, “The Path to Pokonoket: Winslow and likely to have requested corn seed to plant in April rather than Hopkins Visit the Great Chief” (containing background, in June, when the corn should have been already “in leaf.” maps and modern-day directions and a critical reading of the The village by the wading place over the Nemasket River Winslow account), points out that this date might have been which the two Englishmen and their guide Squanto an error made by an English printer.