State Newsletter

Spring 2010

spring1024.pdf

Toledo Colony

Spring 2010

mayflower chronicle spring 10.pdf

Summer 2010

Mayflower chronicle summer 2010.pdf

Western Reserve Colony

From the Governor

Dear Ohio Mayflower Family,

Over the years, I’ve been led to think about human nature and in reading articles published in the Mayflower Quarterly in the New England Ancestors or New England Historic Genealogical Society magazines I started thinking about those long ago folks who came and some who followed them in the settling of New England.

These are really stories about how some of those who lived way back then were treated or regarded by those around them. Take the case of Ann Burden (NEHGS Jan. 2001). Ann was one of those Quakers who came to the attention of the authorities in Massachusetts Bay (remember they were more Puritanical than the folks at Plymouth). She had a tough life if you consider that she gave birth to eight children and only two daughters survived to adulthood. An interesting part of her life had to do with the efforts of many women who came to the aid of Alice Tilly, a midwife who was charged “with malpractice by Susanna Phillips. Her name along with 217 other women was on the petition supporting Alice against Susanna’s accusation. As she moved closer to the Quaker position she found herself excommunicated from First Church, Boston. Check out the story for more details.

Churches, as might be expected given that we humans make up the memberships are prone to disagreements that sometimes result in “church fights.” This was the case regarding some litigation in Plymouth County “between 1725-1825” (The Mayflower Quarterly – Feb. 1971). The authors of the article “The Third Church of Christ in Plymouth, Massachusetts” quote a certain William E. Nelson who stated “that the goal of the church was to encourage disputants ‘to lay aside Contention…and to forgive one another for Cxt{Christ’s} sake.’” Contentions have continue to our day, sorry to say.

Our good friend, William Brewster “organized the Pilgrim Press, or as it was sometimes known, the Choir Alley Press, his principal financial backer was Thomas Brewer an Englishman living in Leyden, but not a member of the Pilgrim Church.” In Brewster’s case it was good King James who was after him for his writing entitled Perth Assembly! Perhaps, James had good reason as the Perth Assembly was highly critical of King James. You’ll recall that Brewster made the trip to New Plymouth as a certain Mr. Williamson. Check this out in The Mayflower Quarterly – Aug. 1974).

One last article from The Mayflower Quarterly dated May 1969. The article is entitled “A Potpourri of Pilgrim Punishments by Judge Robert E. Jones. You’ll recall that Edward Doty got into a fight with Edward Leister at some point and the two decided to fight a dual! The punishment for these two citizens of Plymouth was as follows, “They were tied together by their heads and heels and so left until they cooled off.” Wouldn’t that be an interesting way to met out punishments for some fighting behaviors today?

Agape,

Dr. Donald N. Nichols

Governor