Were Separatists
From the English Church
They held that any convenient
Number of believers
Might form themselves
Into a church
And choose their own officers
They entered into a
Covenant of the Lord
By which they joined themselves
While in England
Into a church society
In the fellowship
Of the Gospel
To walk in all His ways
Made known or
To be made known unto them
According to
Their best endeavors
Whatsoever it should cost them.
Standish Monument
Duxbury, Massachusetts
1918
(DR. CHARLES W. ELIOT)
THE SUCCESSIVE MEETING HOUSES IN PLYMOUTH
1623–1899
[Sidenote: THE FORT MEETING-HOUSE 1623]
The lower room of the fort, which the Pilgrims toiled to build “in
their time of wants and great weakness,” served as their place of
worship, “and was fitted to that use.”
[Sidenote: FIRST MEETING-HOUSE 1648]
In 1648 the first church was built, on land back of the garden of Gov.
Bradford, fronting that part of the first street which is now the Town
Square.
[Sidenote: SECOND MEETING-HOUSE 1683]
“In 1683, it was decided to build a new structure, larger and handsomer
than the last” at the head of the Town Square. The records state that
“it had an unceiled Gothic roof, diamond windows, and a bell.”
[Sidenote: THIRD MEETING-HOUSE 1744]
After more than 60 years, the society again erected a new building in
the same spot. After its use for 87 years, the last services were held
there on April 10, 1831.
[Sidenote: FOURTH MEETING-HOUSE 1831]
In December, the new building was dedicated “to the worship and service
of God.” To the great sorrow of the community, this was burned to the
ground, November 22, 1892.
[Sidenote: FIFTH MEETING-HOUSE 1896, 1899]
On the 19th of June, 1893, plans were considered for a new church.
The corner-stone was laid June 29, 1896, and the building dedicated
December 21, 1899.
* * * * *
The architecture of the present church is of English Norman type, and
bears some resemblance to the ancient church at Scrooby. The tower
contains the town bell cast by Paul Revere in 1801, which hung in the
old church, and sounded the alarm of fire before it fell among the
blazing ruins.
Gifts came from all parts of the country to help build or beautify the
new church.
Three fine windows of painted glass at the back of the pulpit were
given by the Society of Mayflower Descendants of New York; the central
window represents the signing of the Compact in the cabin of the
Mayflower; on either side are seated figures of Civil and Religious
Liberty. The window opposite the pulpit shows John Robinson delivering
his farewell address to the departing Pilgrims. This window was the
gift of Mr. Edward G. Walker.
Near it is set as a memento, a piece of the doorstep from the ancient
church in Delft-haven.
In the vestibule are windows showing Pilgrim history, and tablets
giving the Elders, the Ministers, and the Covenant of the First church.
The building is a tribute from the spiritual heirs of this Covenant, to
the Pilgrim Congregation of 1620.
One of the hymns sung at the dedication of the new church, was written
by Rev. John Pierpont for the dedication of the previous meeting-house,
December 14, 1831. It contains these lines:
“What have we Lord to bind us
To this, the Pilgrim shore!--
Their hill of graves behind us,
Their watery way before,
The wintry surge that dashes
Against the rock they trod,
Their memory and their ashes,--
Be Thou their guard, O God!”
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Pilgrim Citizen
“These artisan farmers, these Pilgrims,
Steadied by precepts from Robinson,
Trained by their leaders
Who studied their Bibles for guidance,
Shaped here at Plymouth
Liberty’s fabric.
Grappled in small way
Problems of States,
Because of their wisdom
Trusting in God, believing in Man,
Knew not the havoc of Indian warfare;
Taught the new comer
Gain must be theirs
At the price of their labor;
Punished the traitor
Yet pitied the culprit.
This is your heritage
All you Americans.
Do ye maintain it?”
--GEORGE P. BAKER
From “The Pilgrim Spirit,” a pageant written by George P. Baker,
produced at Plymouth during the Tercentenary Celebration of the
Landing of the Pilgrims, 1921.
[Illustration]
The Colony and Town Records
1620
1691
Long antedating the inscriptions of bronze and stone, are the early
written records of the settlement, both of the Colony and of the Town.
From them may be traced the affairs of the Plymouth community from its
beginning.
Nothing can give a more vivid description of the details of Pilgrim
life, or the self-reliance with which the infant colony attacked the
problems of an independent state, than the yellowed manuscripts in the
handwriting of Gov. Bradford and Gov. Winslow. They record questions
debated and decided by the assembled freemen of the Colony, who chose
their officers of government, and made their laws, under the Compact
framed by the Pilgrims before leaving the Mayflower.
The first dated record is a rough drawing of the First Street, with the
intersecting path crossing the brook. (This intersection is now the
Town Square.) This diagram gives a partial list of the house lots, or
meersteads, portioned out of the different families, and the names of
the builders of the first houses.
By another memorable record, the system of trial by jury is established.
“Dec. 17, 1623. It was ordained by the court that criminals, debtors,
and trespassers should be tried by the verdict of 12 honest men,
impanelled by authority in form of a jury upon their oaths.”
Only two cases of witchcraft were ever brought to trial in Plymouth.
In both, the accused was acquitted; in one, moreover, the accuser was
found guilty of defamation of character, and obliged to apologize and
pay the costs of the case.
Many of the records deal with agricultural matters. The first entry
on the Town records describes the earmarks of the cattle, the first
of which were brought by Winslow from England in March 1623. Bounties
were voted for killing blackbirds who stole the sprouting grain in
the cornfields. Bounties were also granted for the pelts of marauding
wolves.
Petitions soon appeared for grants of lands in distant parts of the
colony.
In 1691, when the Plymouth colony was merged with the colony of
Massachusetts Bay, it was voted “that the Books, Records and Files of
the General Court of the late Colony of New Plymouth be committed to
the care of the Clerk of the Inferior Court, to be kept and lodged in
Plymouth.”
These early records consist of eighteen manuscript volumes, in which
may be traced the handwriting of Gov. Bradford, and Gov. Edward
Winslow, as well as those of Nathaniel Morton and other Clerks of the
Colony. They cover such matters as the proceedings of the General Court
and Court of Assistants; Deeds; Wills and Inventories; Judicial Acts
of the Court; Treasurers’ Accounts; Laws; and Births, Marriages, and
Deaths. They begin with the year 1633.
They are now deposited in the Plymouth Registry of Deeds, on Russell
St. In 1820 a commission was chosen to copy such portions as they
thought desirable, and these are kept in the office of the Secretary
of the Commonwealth in the State House in Boston. In 1855, they were
published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Plymouth Colony’s copy of the proceedings of the New England
Confederacy, a federation of the New England colonies which in many
ways foreshadowed our present Federal Union, is deposited in the
Registry of Deeds. The New England Confederacy was undertaken in 1643
for mutual protection against the Indians, and was dissolved by the
Royal Governor, Sir Edmund Andros in 1685.
The early records of the Town, as distinct from the Colony, are kept
by the Town Clerk in the Plymouth Town House. In 1889, the Records,
from 1636 to 1783, were published by the order of the Town, and may be
consulted in the Public Library and elsewhere.
All these early records will repay the research of the student of
American history.
“But this must stand above all fame and zeal:
The Pilgrim Fathers laid the ribs and keel.
On their strong lines we base our social health--
The man--the home--the town--the Commonwealth.”
--JOHN BOYLE O’REILLY
Poem read at the dedication of the National Monument to the
Forefathers August 1, 1889
[Illustration]
The Pilgrim Society
“This society was established in 1820 by the descendants of the
first settlers at Plymouth and by such others as are desirous of
perpetuating their principles, and commemorating their virtues,
... The stated meetings of the society are held in Pilgrim Hall,
...”
--JAMES THATCHER, M.D.
_History of Plymouth._
1832.
On the 9th of November, 1819, a meeting of a number of Plymouth
gentlemen was held at the house of Mr. Joshua Thomas, “to take into
consideration the expediency of forming a society to commemorate the
landing of the Fathers in the town of Plymouth.”
It was there voted that such a society be formed; the Pilgrim Society
was incorporated, and the first meeting held at the Court House in
Plymouth, May 18th, 1820.
The purpose of the Society was to do honor to the memory of their
ancestors, the Pilgrim Fathers; its object, to hold property, to
provide a suitable site for a monument, and “to erect a public building
to accommodate the meetings of the associates.”
Mr. Thomas was elected President in 1820, and Mr. John Watson followed
him in 1821. Thus began a succession of prominent citizens and able men
to hold that office.
On Forefathers Day, 1820, Daniel Webster delivered a famous oration
before the newly formed Pilgrim Society; and at their invitation on
that anniversary eloquent addresses have been given by statesmen,
orators, and scholars, in honor of the Pilgrims.
The building planned as a Memorial was begun in the summer of 1824. The
corner stone was laid Sept. 1. The Hall was finished and dedicated on
Forefathers’ Day of the same year.
In 1880, it was remodeled and made fireproof through the generosity of
Mr. Joseph Henry Stickney of Baltimore, and in 1904 a wing was added
to house the very valuable collection of documents, books, and papers
pertaining to the Pilgrims.
The architect of the original building was Alexander Parris, who
designed the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston in 1820.
On July 8, 1922, a granite facade and portico replaced the earlier
one of wood, and was then dedicated and presented by the New England
Society in the City of New York. It was accepted by the President, Hon.
Arthur Lord, who gave an interesting account of the work accomplished
during the century of the Society’s existence.
This work, invaluable alike to Plymouth, to the student of history,
and to the people of the nation, has been the preservation, the
restoration, and the care of localities and objects connected with an
important episode of American history. It includes with the help of
generous gifts and subscriptions, the provision of a site for a great
National Monument to the Pilgrims; the building of Pilgrim Hall, and
the formation of its collections; the grading of Cole’s Hill and Burial
Hill; and the assumption of ownership and trusteeship to maintain
these in order and dignity; also for many years, the observance with
addresses and orations of the anniversary of the Landing of the
Pilgrims.
ITS COLLECTIONS
The collections of the Pilgrim Society are of great historical value.
In Pilgrim Hall are preserved personal and household belongings of the
Pilgrims, documents with their signatures, their books and Bibles,
and the only known portrait of one of their number. Here is the
patent issued to the Plymouth Colony in 1621, and the swords of their
Governor, Carver, and their Captain, Myles Standish. Near by, a bit of
woman’s embroidery, a baby’s shoe--great things and small,--the human
element of a great transitional epoch, saved by reverential descendants
to become an inheritance for another epoch.
A copy of the Bible translated for the Indians by John Eliot; an
agreement with an Indian Sachem, drawn up and signed by John Alden; and
a large collection of Indian relics and arrowheads, bear witness here
to the life of the wilderness which the Pilgrims assailed with treaty,
faith, and sword.
The handsome library contains books, documents, and pamphlets relating
to Pilgrim history, with many original records, and affords great
opportunities for quiet research. Its windows look down into a shady
garden belonging to the Hall, where visitors may rest and refresh
themselves by a little fountain presented to the Pilgrim Society by the
General Society of the Daughters of the Revolution on September 20th,
1921.
As they loiter, they may mark the flight of time on a sun dial,
presented by the Society of the Colonial Daughters of the 17th Century.
It was dedicated in September, 1921.
The collections can best be studied with the help of the curator and
the catalogue, but some of the most interesting objects connected with
the early Pilgrims are those which belonged to:
GOVERNOR CARVER--His sword and armchair.
GOVERNOR BRADFORD--His “Dialogue” in his own handwriting.
A book given to him by John Robinson, and afterwards given by
him to the First Church.
A Bible printed in Geneva in 1592.
A plate.
ELDER BREWSTER--His sword, christening bowl, and a copy of Seneca from
his library.
CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH--His sword, with an Arabic inscription which was
translated in 1881 by Prof. James Rosedale, to read--“With peace God
ruled his slaves, and with the judgement of his arm, He troubled the
iniquity of the wicked.” An iron pot and pewter trencher, a fragment of
a quilt which belonged to his wife, Rose Standish, and an embroidered
sampler worked by his daughter, Lora; her baby’s cap and bib.
GOVERNOR EDWARD WINSLOW--Part of a chest, a mortar, a silver canteen,
and several pewter plates, bearing the family coat of arms, his
portrait painted in England, and the great table which stood in the
Council Chamber when Winslow governed the Colony.
MISTRESS SUSANNAH WHITE, _afterward wife of_ GOVERNOR WINSLOW--A cape
and a slipper.
WILLIAM WHITE--A cabinet, and a candlestick.
PEREGRINE WHITE--Signature on a deed.
JOHN ALDEN--His Bible printed in 1661, a halberd found in his house in
Duxbury, a deed with his signature.
TWO BABY’S CRADLES, one belonging to Peregrine White, the first child
born in the Colony, and the other to the Fuller family.
Among the books and documents are:
A copy of John Eliot’s Indian Bible.
A volume of John Robinson’s “Observations,” printed in Leyden in
1625.
A copy of the Psalms, with paraphrases and music; compiled by
Henry Ainsworth, and used by the Pilgrim congregation in Holland
and at Plymouth.
A pamphlet by Sir Edwin Sandys, marking a noted ecclesiastical
controversy. Sir Edwin Sandys was a patron of New England
colonization.
A Commission from Oliver Cromwell to Edward Winslow, 1654.
Deeds and bonds with the signatures of John Alden and Peregrine
White.
State Document--The oldest in New England and probably in the
United States;--the charter granted to the Plymouth colonists by
the Northern Virginia Company, dated June 1, 1621. Granted to
John Pierce and sent over in the Fortune.
Indian arrow heads and relics.
Paintings of the Mayflower, and a beautiful modern model of the ship.
Paintings, drawings, and photographs illustrative of early Pilgrim
history, and hundreds of objects showing the growth and continuance of
the Colony.
[Illustration]
The Old Colony Club
A bronze tablet affixed to a boulder on the lawn of the Old Colony Club
declares:
The Old Colony Club
Organized January 13 1769
Founders
Isaac Lothrop
Pelham Winslow
Elkanah Cushman
John Thomas
Edwards Winslow Jr.
John Watson
Corneilius White
Alexander Scammel
Thomas Mayhew Jr.
Samuel Adams
This Club had the distinction of holding the first public observance of
Forefathers’ Day, on Dec. 22, 1769. At one of the first meetings it was
voted: “that Friday, December 22 be kept by this Club in commemoration
of the landing of our worthy ancestors in this place.”
The day was celebrated by the firing of a cannon, the display of
a handsome flag upon the Club house, a procession of the members,
who were greeted by a volley of small arms and a patriotic song by
assembled school children, a dinner, and an evening entertainment.
The next year, 1770, at the anniversary celebration, Edward Winslow Jr.
delivered a short address, which may be considered the first public
commemoration of the Pilgrims. This inaugurated a series of speeches
and orations given for many years by prominent men, sponsored at
first by the Old Colony Club, later by the town and the parish of the
First Church, and continued by the Pilgrim Society and the Plymouth
Antiquarian Society.
Due to an error in reckoning the date, December 22 was long celebrated
as Forefathers’ Day. The anniversary actually falls on December 21, and
is now so observed.
The Old Colony Club was dissolved just before the Revolution, due to
the conflicting politics of its members. It was later reorganized, and
is one of the leading clubs of the town.
[Illustration]
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society
The Plymouth Antiquarian Society was founded in 1920 by a group of
women whose aims are:
“To preserve buildings and personal and household property of
Antiquarian value;
To acquire knowledge of their original use, and of the records and
unwritten traditions of Plymouth;
And so far as is possible by accurate representation of the life,
surroundings, and pursuits of bygone generations, to give the Present a
better understanding of the Past.”
In pursuance of these aims, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society has
established and maintains two museum Houses, the Antiquarian House
1809–30 and the Harlow House 1677. Each is arranged to give visual
expression to whatever can be learned, by record, by tradition, and by
the preservation of household luxuries and necessities, of the daily
life of a Plymouth family at the time in which it was built. Each
endeavors also, by the accumulation of notes, publications, photographs
etc., to be a useful source of information on the subjects within its
field.
The first undertaking of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society, was to
preserve the fine old house, built in 1809 by Maj. William Hammatt, and
later occupied for nearly a hundred years by Mr. Thomas Hedge and his
family.
In 1920, this estate had been lately bought by the Town as a site for
a Memorial Hall, and it was necessary to remove or tear down the house
and its picturesque barn and outbuildings. The Society was willing to
undertake their preservation, and accepted all the buildings as a gift
from the Town, to be used for this purpose. They were successfully
moved to their present position on Water St., and are maintained by the
Society as a typical example of a prosperous Plymouth home of the early
19th century.
A few years later, the Antiquarian Society undertook the restoration
and preservation of the Wm. Harlow House, long one of the Pilgrim
landmarks of the town, on account of the fact that it contains beams
and timber from the Fort on Burial Hill. These were granted to Serj.
William Harlow for use in building his “new house” when the Fort was
dismantled at the close of King Philips’s war. The Society uses this
house as the background for a study of the living conditions and
household industries of the last quarter of the Pilgrim century. Not
only is the visitor here introduced to the spinning, weaving, dyeing,
cooking, and candle-making which made up so much of the daily lives of
the pioneer women of New England, but demonstrations are given, and
classes held, both for children and for older students who find the
knowledge of these homely arts gives a stimulating background to their
study of colonial history.
The facilities of the Antiquarian Society are much used by the Plymouth
Schools, and also by other schools, sometimes at a considerable
distance. Both houses also give much pleasure, and a better
understanding of Plymouth and New England, to the many visitors who see
them each summer.
“Advance then, ye future generations! We would hail you, as you
rise in your long succession to fill the places which we now
fill.
We bid you welcome to this pleasant land of the fathers. We bid
you welcome to the healthful skies and the verdant fields of New
England. We greet your accession to the great inheritance which
we have enjoyed.
We welcome you to the immeasurable blessings of rational
existence, and the light of everlasting truth!”
DANIEL WEBSTER
Plymouth, Dec. 22, 1820.
[Illustration: THE ANTIQUARIAN HOUSE]
[Illustration]
The Antiquarian House
The Antiquarian House, which serves as headquarters for the Plymouth
Antiquarian Society, was built in 1809 by Maj. William Hammatt, a
successful merchant and ship owner. Soon after the house was built,
the Embargo Act temporarily interrupted New England commerce, and Maj.
Hammatt suffered financial reverses. The house was sold, and about 1830
was purchased by Mr. Thomas Hedge, whose family occupied it for nearly
a hundred years.
The architecture of the house has the characteristic grace and delicacy
of the Federal period, and its interesting octagonal plan shows the
influence of the fashion set by Thomas Jefferson, who was not only a
statesman but an observant and original architect.
Inside the house, the furniture, the books, papers, and ornaments,
the glass, china, and household utensils, of a family of the period,
are all in their proper places, and are shown by a hostess in the
charming dress of the 1830’s. There is also a handsome and interesting
collection of dresses and accessories of the 19th century, and a
library where books, papers, newspapers, and personal letters make a
valuable record of the time.
The house is surrounded by handsome grounds, and a garden of the old
fashioned flowers in favor when it was built.
Thus in architecture, decoration and furniture, even in such details as
the clothes in the closets, the toys in the nursery, and the roses in
the garden, the Antiquarian House presents a lively and human picture
of the opening years of the 19th century, and shows the influence of
growing industry and commerce, the adventurous “China Trade,” and all
the hopeful activity and expansion of a nation, founded in hardship,
but destined to great prosperity and achievement.
[Illustration: THE WM. HARLOW HOUSE]
[Illustration]
The Wm. Harlow House
A 17TH CENTURY HOME
“_As one candle may light a thousand, so the light here
kindled hath shown to many, yea, in some sort to our whole
nation._”
The dim lights burning in the few houses first built by the Pilgrims
on the banks of the Town Brook, increased to the brighter lights of a
small town by the close of the 17th Century. (Population, 1620--102;
1700--1200.)
Ships came from England bringing new colonists, who were always
welcomed, though at times there was hardly food enough to spare from
the scanty harvests. “In weariness and painfulness, in watchings
often,” but with reliance upon themselves and faith in the help
of God, the Pilgrims and their descendants established at last a
self-supporting and respected commonwealth, still owning allegiance to
the King of England.
They built permanent homes on the edge of an unbroken wilderness; they
built a church and a free school; they inaugurated the town meeting,
where every freeman, or householder, had a voice in the affairs of
the community. They elected their own Governor and selectmen and town
officials, and maintained a small band of soldiers under a Captain and
military officers. They made treaties with the Indians, and agreements
for trade with their neighbors, the Dutch of Manhattan. Most important
of all, they established freedom of speech and conscience in their
religion, and liberty for their civil rights.
Cattle, sheep, and goats were early brought from England. Woolen cloth
was woven on cottage looms, and linen spun from the flax raised in the
fields.
Though the first houses were too rudely built to be long lasting,
they soon became more substantial and comfortable, and many had “trim
gardens.”