The historic voyage of the Mayflower began on Wednesday, September 6 (new style the 16th) as it departed Plymouth harbor in England. There was now one ship, the Speedwell having been sold and twenty remaining in England, probably returning to London or Leyden. Bradford writes: “These troubles being blown over, and now all being compact…
Historian and Director Emeritus of the Pilgrim Society Peggy Baker has noted, “Family is at the heart of the Pilgrim story….that makes Plymouth Colony unique amid a sea of other settlements – English, Dutch, French, and Spanish alike – that were almost exclusively masculine… The Separatist movement, from its earliest beginnings, was built around strong…
Though a few women had gone on previous explorations, the Plymouth Colony was unique in that the family was designed to be the foundation of the colony from the start. There were 24 family units on the Mayflower with 18 adult women (and 7 younger girls). Three of the women, Elizabeth Hopkins, Susanna White and…