PILGRIMS REMEMBERED: Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims seem to go together like the turkey and stuffing that many of us enjoy at our holiday feasts. The first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by President George Washington, was celebrated on Nov. 26, 1789, and Thanksgiving has been an official annual holiday in America since 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln set the date as the last Thursday in November. However, this American holiday dates back to the beginning of our country's settlement by the English -- to the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, and to those settlers who stepped shore Dec. 4, 1619, at what became Berkeley plantation near present-day Charles City, Virginia. In accordance with the Berkeley proprietor's instructions that ``the day of our ships' arrival ... shall be yearly and perpetually kept as a day of Thanksgiving,'' these Virginia settlers celebrated what actually was the first Thanksgiving Day in this country by more than a year before the Pilgrims arrived in New England. While a great deal of information is known and has been published about first settlers of Massachusetts, scant genealogical information has survived pertaining to those pioneers of Virginia who first celebrated Thanksgiving there. Settled in 1619 as Berkeley Hundred, this small community was wiped out by the natives in 1622. This area later became part of Charles City County. To find a list of those so-called ancient planters of Virginia -- those who are known to have come to Virginia before the end of 1616, and who survived the 1622 conflict, consult the introduction in Volume I of Nell Marion Nugent's `Cavaliers and Pioneers,'' where a list of those living in Virginia in 1624-5 appears. For genealogical accounts of all known pre-1620 Virginians, see ``Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1625,'' by Annie L. Jester and Martha W. Hiden, widely available in libraries. If your ancestry leads you back to Plymouth Colony, then you will want to read ``Plymouth Colony: Its History & People, 1620-1691,'' by Eugene Aubrey Stratton. In it, the author reveals that of the 99 Mayflower passengers who stayed, only 52 were still living when the ``Fortune,'' which was the next ship to the colony, arrived there in November 1621. Although Spanish families were in St. Augustine, Florida, before 1600 and in the Southwest as early as 1615, and while the Jamestown settlement in Virginia dates from 1607, the Pilgrims who came on the Mayflower are probably the best-known progenitors of those tracing their early American roots because so much has been written about them. These settlers are fully listed in Governor William Bradford's "History of Plimoth Plantation, 1620-1647." Of the Mayflower passengers, only 23 families or individuals survived that difficult first winter and left American descendants, while at least one other passenger -- Moses Fletcher -- left progeny in Holland. However, it is estimated that the contemporary progeny of these Pilgrims probably numbers more than 30 million. For genealogists who can make the connections across nearly 400 years and 10 to 14 generations to an ancestor who came on the Mayflower, the historical adventure into American records can be rewarding. But regardless of when your ancestors came to America, remember them as you enjoy your Thanksgiving Day feasts. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can read ``The Truth About the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving'' at: <http://pilgrims.net/plymouth/index.htm > THE MAYFLOWER AND THE FIRST THANKSGIVING: The Mayflower carried 102 passengers and a crew of 26 plus the captain. There were 32 children aboard. During the trip one person died and one was born. What were the accommodations aboard ship like some 350 years ago? Here are a few ideas. For 30 days of the 66 day voyage, passengers had to stay huddled below, between the decks. They could not use candles or lanterns because of fire hazard. They could not cook between decks unless it was a calm day. Cold food might be biscuits, pickled eggs, salted or smoked meat, fish, dried fruits and vegetables. Adults and children alike would drink a weat beer called "small beer". There was no privacy. No one ever bathed or changed clothes. Of the Mayflower passengers, only 23 families or individuals survived that difficult first winter and left American descendants, while at least one other passenger, Moses Fletcher, left progeny in Holland. It is estimated that the progeny of these Pilgrims probably number more than 30 million today. Passengers on the Mayflower with living descendants today are John Alden, Isaac Allerton, John Billington, William Bradford, William Brewster, Peter Brown, James Chilton, Francis Cooke, Edward Doty, Francis Eaton, Edward Fuller, Samuel Fuller, Stephen Hopkins, John Howland, Richard More, Degory Priest, Thomas Rogers, Henry Sampson, George Soule, Myles Standish, John Tilley, Richard Warren, William White and Edward Winslow. There are also American descendants of some of the members of the Mayflower crew but their descendants are not entitled to membership in the Society of Mayflower Descendants. John White of Virginia was one such crewman. George Enregt Bowman (1860-1941) founded the Society of Mayflower Descendants and became the first editor of the Mayflower Descendant. A massive collection of genealogical data on Mayflower families is available and there is a Mayflower web page at <http://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html>. The first national Thanksgiving Day, proclaimed by President George Washington, was celebrated on Nov 26, 1789 and Thanksgiving has been an official annual holiday in America since 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln set the date as the last Thursday in November. Thanksgiving is an American holiday with roots dating back to the beginning of this country's settlement by the English, to those settlers who stepped ashore Dec 4, 1619 at what became Berkeley Plantation near present-day Charles City, VA and to the better-known group who settled at Plymouth, MA in 1620. In accordance with the Berkeley proprietor's instructions that "the day of our ships' arrival.... shall be yearly and perpetually kept as a day of Thanksgiving," those Virginia settlers celebrated what was the first Thanksgiving Day in this country by more than a year before the Pilgrims arrived in New England. Even though Spanish families were in St. Augustine, FL before 1600, and in the Southwest (New Mexico) by 1615, and the Jamestown, VA settlement from 1607, it is the Mayflower families who are intertwined with this annual November celebration. Click here to go to the <http://members.aol.com/calebj/mayflower.html> - The MAYFLOWER WEB PAGE. You will find a complete list of the "Mayflower" passengers, links to every passenger's genealogical and biographical information plus some early Plymouth passenger lists such as the "Fortune" in 1621 and the "Anne" in 1623. There is also a history of the "Mayflower", its dimensions and images as well as information about the crew and much more. Shirley Hornbeck - [EMAIL PROTECTED] My Home Page: <http://www.s-hornbeck.com/home.htm> HORNBECK SURNAME RESOURCE CENTER: <http://www.s-hornbeck.com> THIS & THAT GENEALOGY TIPS: <http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~hornbeck> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the htdig mailing list, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the single word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message.
