Part 3

“In ye name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in obedience to his holy will and devine ordinances, wee being by ye most wise and good providence of God brought together in this place, and desirous to unite ourselves with this congregation or church under the Lord Jesus Christ our head, that it may be in such sort as becometh all those whom he hath redeemed and sanctified to himself, wee doe hereby solemnly and religiously as in His most holy presence, avouch the Lord Jehovah ye only true God, to be our God and ye God of ours, and do promise and bind ourselves to walk in all our ways according to ye rules of ye gospel and in all sincere conformity to his holy ordinances, and in mutual love to and watchfulnesse over one another.”

ELDERS OF THE FIRST CHURCH

WILLIAM BREWSTER 1620–1644

THOMAS CUSHMAN 1649–1691

THOMAS FAUNCE 1699–1746

[Illustration]

THE CONGREGATION

The Pilgrim Fathers 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.)