Volume 17 November 2013 Issue 3 From The Governor’s Desk Autumn Blessings, Fuller Society members! This year the Society received five scholarship applications. Many thanks to Clara Deily, Scholarship Chair, and the entire scholarship committee for their diligent work in selecting the winning essays. The 2014 application will be in the March newsletter. Please encourage the high school seniors in your families to apply. The first place winner receives $1000 to be used towards college expenses. Please keep your email address current with us so that we can stay in touch with you. If you have changed your address and/or email address recently, please send your updates to Secretary Linda Hoffman at: [email protected]. The 21st Annual Meeting held in Alexandria, VA was a success! Despite the government shutdown and the rain, a good time was had by all. We were able to go in to the Capitol gallery and experience the House of Representatives in session, see the Supreme Court and various memorials in Washington, DC. We also visited Mt. Vernon. Our banquet was held at Gadsby’s Tavern in Old Town Alexandria. It was a very entertaining end to a wonderful four days of sightseeing and camaraderie. 1 Next year our meeting will be held in the Lexington/Concord, MA area. A tour to Salem is planned. The meeting is scheduled to begin with registration on 10 September 2014 , followed by two days of tours and a banquet on Saturday, 13 September. Please consider actively supporting your society. If you are interested in serving on the board please email me at: [email protected]. During this Thanksgiving season let us give thanks for our brave ancestors and rejoice in our Pilgrim heritage. Remember to share the Pilgrim story! John and I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Governor Debbie Help Support your Society! Mayflower Festival at St. Mary’s DVD…$15.00 Edward or Samuel Lineage CD ………… $15.00 Edward or Samuel’s record of baptism in St. Mary’s Registers for a donation of $15.00 to the Bridget Lee Fuller Scholarship Fund. Payable to: ‘The Fuller Society’ Deb Yingst, PO Box 531, Boiling Springs, PA 17007 The 2014 Dues Notice will be in the March newsletter. Please keep your membership current. 2 Carol Tucker—NJ Fred Swegles—CA Renee Mizar—WA Jutta Thompson—MN Becky Baumann—RI Denise Dickinson—NY NOTE: Website address change! Website Member Page Sign-On *** All members use the same sign-on info *** Email Address: CONCORD (case sensitive) Password: 2014 If you would like to help the Society save on newsletter expenses and wish to receive future newsletters via email or obtain them from the web site, please contact Governor Debbie The newsletter is more interesting in color! Do you have an interesting story about your ancestor or article you would like to share in a future newsletter? Email: [email protected] 3 Annual Meeting Minutes The 21st Annual Business Meeting of the Fuller Society was held at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, VA on 12 October 2013. Governor Yingst welcomed everyone and Assistant Bill Wenzel gave the opening prayer. Treasurer Report:: Marcia Shaw reported on the 2013 Financial Report stating dues were a little lower than last year at this point possibly because in the last quarter of 2012 we received quite a few lifetime dues payments and we don’t have those figures yet. She also stated that Donations are up considerably from last year most likely due to the sales of the CD and Baptism Certificates. Marcia compared the balance sheets from several years and it looks like the Society is on a good track this year. Skip Hottinger made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. John Kemp seconded. Motion approved. Deputy Governor & Junior Chair Report: Kay Walsh reported that as of 7 October 2013 there were 37 Junior members. Kay stated that there are now 8 new members since our last annual meeting in August, 2012. She has sent a letter along with a copy of the Fuller Scholarship Award Application to the 4 Junior members who turned 18 this year. There was 1 Junior member who wrote an essay for the scholarship award. Kay sent activity packets to new members over the age of 5 and she will put articles in the newsletter to encourage parents and grandparents to purchase Junior membership as gifts. Secretary’s Report: Linda Hoffman reported that the Society currently has a total of 218 consisting of 153 regular members and 65 life members. Linda stated that as of 1 August 2012 there have been 16 new members and 9 reinstatements. 4 She also stated there were 56 dropped members in 2013. Linda reported that although the total number is down from last year, the number of life members are up, bringing in more income for the Society and welcomed our newest member, Denise Dickinson. Governor’s Report: Governor Yingst introduced our three Assistants, Bill Wenzel, Donna Wenzel and Jane Keys. She stated that she called for an audit of the Treasurer’s books which was conducted by Ralph and Cindy Miller. Governor Yingst thanked Jane Engleman who found the tour company and started the arrangements for the meeting. She stated that the Board met on Wednesday evening and approved Donations of $125 for the Samuel Fuller School and $125 for Plimoth Plantation. Ralph Miller made a motion to accept the donations. Skip Hottinger seconded. Motion approved. Governor Yingst stated that she has appointed a Nominating Committee consisting of Larry Shaw, Donna Wenzel and John Yingst and that the slate of Officers will be published in the July newsletter. She also stated that the position of Governor and an Assistant are open if anyone is interested in serving on the board. Donna Wenzel is stepping down as an Assistant and Governor Yingst has served two terms as Governor and is not able to continue according to our By-Laws. She also reported that our next meeting will be based in Lexington/Concord MA area and will be held September 10-13, 2014. According to our By-Laws, the Society must meet In Plymouth, MA or within a 100 mile radius of 5 Plymouth each third year to coincide with the Triennial Congress of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Governor Yingst stated that there were 5 applicants for the Scholarship this year and asked that those families with high school seniors encourage them to apply for next year’s scholarship. The application will be published in the March newsletter. Governor Yingst stated that she had received an email from our founder, Mary Lee Merrill, who sent love and well wishes to all. She also reported that our website address is now www.thefullersociety.org and we will no longer be using the .com address. Audit Report: Ralph Miller reported that everything balanced out and wondered if there wasn’t some way to compensate the Treasurer for the daunting task they do in keeping the books straight. He also thanked Debbie and John Yingst for the wonderful job they did on the arrangements for the meeting. A motion was made by Marilyn Hottinger and seconded by John Yingst to adjourn. Meeting adjourned. 6 As we approach another Thanksgiving perhaps it's time to attempt to dispel some myths and rumors about the Pilgrims of New Plymouth. As a proven descendant of five signers of the Mayflower Compact, one of whom fell overboard at sea and was rescued, I am extremely tired of seeing the black-and-white-clad figures purported to be "Puritans" or "Pilgrims." Perhaps the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony dressed that way but the Pilgrims of New Plymouth Colony (separate colonies for close to 50 years) did not. Here is a partial list of the clothing the Pilgrims brought with them to the New World: William Mullins took 126 pairs of shoes and 13 pairs of boots. Clothes of all sorts had to go: oiled leather and canvas suits, stuff gowns and leather and stuff breeches, shirts, jerkins, doublets, neckcloths, hats and caps, hose, stockings, belts, piece goods, and what was nicely called "haberdasherie." The predominating colors were russet or deep green but many of the women had saffron or dark-blue dresses, fairly low- necked with wide white collars and split or deeply cuffed sleeves and William Brewster had a violet coat, a red cap, a quilted cap, a lace cap, and a pair of green drawers among his belongings. Myles Standish wore a rust-brown doublet with shoulder caps, braid stripes down the sleeves and buttoned tie fastenings with white cuffs ("Cromwell's Russet-coated captain") and all the men wore knee-britches with knitted stockings and buckled shoes. The older women had caps tied under their chins but the girls (including my ancestor, Mary Chilton - age 16) pinned their caps to their hair. The children with almost three centuries to go before clothes would be 7 specially designed for them dressed like tiny copies of their elders. Now, when was the first Thanksgiving? No one knows for sure but it was definitely not the fourth Thursday in November! It was held sometime between the first of October and the first week of November. The celebration was over some time prior to November 10th 1621 because it was on that date that the first ship - the "Fortune" - to return to Plymouth Colony landed. (Abraham Lincoln set the date as the last Thursday in November in 1863 - over 240 years later!) Again quoting from the book "The MAYFLOWER" by Kate Caffrey (who in turn was quoting): “The harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.