flower

Chapter 1: The Mayflower

In the year 1620 a courageous group was willing to sacrifice all on a small ship and endure the treacherous ocean to reach this land, a new land, a new life, in a wild country that we now call home. Wild perhaps by this group, but not to native Americans who called it home.

Boldly this group set out from England on a ship called the Mayflower. We start here because this is where we see some of the first formations of what will become our national government – where people were more than explorers looking to find riches, jewels, treasures and gold. While some early explorers looked for those things, native Americans were currently living and surviving on the continent in tribes. Survival will be essential for those seafarers coming on the Mayflower, and they will need rules to live by.

The Mayflower left England on September 16, 1620, after several attempted starts. One hundred and two people on a small ship. I can’t even begin to imagine what life was like at that time. All in all, there were 50 men, 19 women and 33 children, or 102 total on board. The ship was 25 feet wide and about 100 feet long (the size of six of today’s tractor-trailers – two long, three wide). The make-up was Pilgrims (true religious separatists looking to break away from the Church of England), indentured servants, merchants, craftsmen and orphans, making their way and contributing to a new land and society. [1]

Added to the human load, there needed to be food and water for the voyage. Once they arrived, they would need firearms and powder, gifts for any natives encountered, cattle, animals, plants and tools – saws, hoes, rakes, and shovels to plant to grow food and build shelter

Two Mifflin County military veterans – Jan Snedeker, left, and George Anderson – can trace their ancestry back to indentured servant John Howland, who came to America aboard the Mayflower. Howland is the 17th great-grandfather of both men. (Photo by Mark DeVecchis)

1946- 2022 Stroup-Alexander Post 5935 Veterans of Foreign Wars

76th Year of Service to the Community

The Belleville VFW would like to thank all who support us, and honor our veterans.

against the elements and potential enemies. They set out to cross the ocean recognizing the potential for violent storms, starvation, shipwreck or sinking, attacks by pirates, or falling overboard — not to mention just being on deck on cold, windy, and rainy days to escape the stomach revolting stench below deck, seasickness, illness and death. They did this for almost two months — finally arriving at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620.

A few weeks later they sailed up the coast to Plymouth to an abandoned Wampanoag Village, and realized they needed to create a form of government in what is now Plymouth. This resulted in the Mayflower compact – whether you were a Puritan, a merchant, or an indentured servant, all were given the option to sign, as long as they were of age. How desperate they must have been to take this journey.

This Compact would create laws for both the Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims alike. Consisting of about 200 words, it established a form of government that: 1. The colonists would remain loyal subjects to King James, despite their need for self-governance. 2. The colonists would create and enact “laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices…” for the good of the colony and abide by those laws. 3. The colonists would create one society and work together to further it. 4. The colonists would live in accordance with the Christian Faith. [2]

The original document does not survive. It first appeared in Mourt’s Relation, a pamphlet about the first year of settlement at Plimoth (sp). In 1669 Plymouth’s town historian, Nathaniel Morton, reprinted the agreement in his book, New England’s Memorial. Interestingly, he included a possible list of the men who signed it, even though these men’s names were not included in earlier copies of the Mayflower Compact. According to Morton, the document was signed by 41 of the male passengers — all but one of the freemen, three of the five hired men, and two of the nine servants. [3]

And that really, is where this begins to affect us here in Mifflin County as I am sure it did in other areas.

On that voyage to