First Thanksgiving
Pilgrims share with Native Indians
- Fall of 1621 -
The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America,
were fleeing religious prosecution in their native England. In
1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom
in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years
their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached
to the dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They
considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their
children's education and morality.
So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World.
Their trip was financed by a group of English investors, the
Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the Pilgrims would
be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working
for their backers for 7 years.
On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a
ship called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England
and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called themselves the
"Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the "Strangers."
The long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there
was the danger of fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be
eaten cold. Many passengers became sick and one person
died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.
The long trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints"
and the "Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held
and an agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower
Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two groups.
They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims."
Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not
settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by
Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there that the Pilgrims
decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A large
brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern
was attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets
were a peaceful group and did not prove to be a threat.
The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow
and sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as
they tried to construct their settlement. March brought warmer
weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved, but many had
died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left
England, less that 50 survived the first winter.
On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event
took place, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement.
The Pilgrims were frightened until the Indian called out "Welcome"
(in English!).
His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had
learned English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed
off the coast. After staying the night Samoset left the next day.
He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto who spoke
better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his
voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain.
It was in England where he had learned English.
Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can
be said that they would not have survived without his help. It was
Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for
sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which
had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian
corn by heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds
and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized the corn.
He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn.
The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims
found themselves with enough food to put away for the winter.
There was corn, fruits and vegetables, fish to be packed in salt,
and meat to be cured over smoky fires.
The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the
wilderness, they had raised enough crops to keep them alive
during the long coming winter, they were at peace with their Indian
neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate.
The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of
thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring
Native Americans. They invited Squanto and the other Indians to
join them in their celebration. Their chief, Massasoit, and 90 braves
came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played games,
ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated
their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated
their musket skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain,
but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October.
The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they
were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also
shared their stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short
of food.
The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry
with the crops dying in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day
of fasting and prayer, and it was soon thereafter that the rain came.
To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a day of
thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning
of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the
harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution
(late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the
Continental Congress.
In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an
annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states
also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day. In 1863 President Abraham
Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then each
president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually
designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
Our Clarke connection: Captain Jeremiah Clarke b:1607
and wife, Francis Latham b:1609-d:1677
married about 1636
Immigration date: about 1637 to Rhode Island.
1635 ship Elizabeth and Ann, ships captain Roger Cooper (or Cowper) took on
passengers for New England from April to mid-May 1635 at London. Hotten [54–78] transcribes Elizabeth and Anne passenger lists from the London port book that are dated 13, 15, 17, and 29 April, and 6, 9, 11, 12, and 14 May. Surnames represented among the Elizabeth and Anne passengers include:
JOHN WHITNEY 1592-1673, Wife Elinor (_____) and son John, Jr 1621-1692
John Whitney was baptized 20 Jul 1592 at St. Margaret, Westminster, Middlesex, and died 1 Jun 1673 at Watertown. He emigrated to New England in Apr 1635 with his family aboard the Elizabeth and Ann, Roger Cooper, master, and settled at Watertown.
- Song Title: Native Spirit -
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