The Pennsylvania Mayflower

Transcription

1 The Pennsylvania Mayflower Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Editor: John M. Hunt, Jr. Phone: (610) Vol ume XX, No. III Fall, 2008 Thanksgiving Service To Be Held In Historic Lititz The 76th Annual SMDPA Thanksgiving Service and traditional dinner will be held in the historic Lancaster County town of Lititz. Our Elder, Debra G. Miller, has arranged for us to celebrate our Thanksgiving memorial service in the Lititz Moravian Church, 8 Church Square, just off East Main Street. We will assemble there on Sunday, November 23, 2008 for a 2 o clock (note the time!) service. All are invited, including our SMDPA children and grandchildren in traditional 17 th century attire. The village of Lititz was laid out in 1756 as a The Lititz Moravian Church Moravian settlement. It was originally named Litiz to commemorate the three-hundredth anniversary of the invitation to the followers of reformer John Hus to make a safe-haven in the Litiz Castle near Kunwald, Moravia. Moravia is now in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. Until 1855 only members of the church could live in the village. Non-members lived on the northern outskirts in Warwick. You may smell the aroma wafting from the Wilbur Chocolate Company just a few blocks to the west. A few doors to the east is yet a different aroma: that coming from the nation s first pretzel bakery, the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery founded on that spot in Another See page 4 for Summer Picnic photos from Conestoga House, Lancaster. landmark is the 1764 General Sutter Inn where we will have dinner following the service. See page 3 for further information. (Continued on next page) Thanksgiving Notice If your children or grandchildren would like to march in the Thanksgiving Service, please contact Junior Membership Committee Chairman Hunter B. Davis ( ) regarding costumes and sizes. Fall

2 Thanksgiving Service (Continued from previous page) The present Moravian Church building was constructed in 1787 and was carefully restored after a 1957 fire that caused the roof to collapse. High above the pulpit is a stained-glass window depicting the Moravian seal and motto: a picture of a lamb representing Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, carrying a flag with a cross. Encircling the image are the words Vicit Agnus Noster Eum Sequamur (i.e. Our Lamb has conquered; let us follow Him. ). Nearby is the Leichen Kappelschen (Corpse House) built in 1786 to preserve members deceased bodies until burial in the cemetery ( God s Acre ) behind the church. The Single Sisters House built in on the east side of the church has become part of the 1746 Linden Hall, the oldest girls boarding school in the US. The Single Brothers House served as a military hospital during the American Revolution. There is also a small museum. Music has always been very important for Moravians. The Lititz church website states that in Colonial America the best place to hear Bach, Mozart and Haydn was not New York or Philadelphia, but in a Moravian Church. Many of our members will have attended, or at least have heard of, the annual Bethlehem Bach Festival held in May at Lehigh University. The Lititz congregation maintains the tradition with Junior and Senior Choirs, a Trombone Choir, a Hand-Bell Choir, and a contemporary Praise Band. Easter morning is Please don t forget our SMDPA tradition of bringing non-perishable foods. In addition to the collection-basket offerings there will also be a check for $1,000 presented from The Governor Winchell Carroll Fund that was established by an anonymous member. announced at 3 A.M. by the Trombone Choir. Elder Miller has been able to schedule members of both the vocal choir and the Trombone Choir to participate in our service, at which the church pastor Dean Jurgen will also participate. Our thanks to the Rev. Pastor Dean Jurgen for permitting us to hold our specialized memorial service in his historic church. SMDPA Lending Library Disbanded Due to negligible use by members during the past eight years, our Board of Assistants approved the transfer of the contents of our Lending Library consisting of nearly 500 items to the State Library of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg. Each item was marked as coming from SMDPA. A few items were retained for research use by our Editorial Committee. The VHS and DVD programs were retained by the Education Committee. Our 1896 facsimile of Bradford s history Of Plimoth Plantation was not part of the Lending Library and will continue to be displayed at our Annual Meetings and as warranted at other times and places, such as schools. 2 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

3 Dinner At The General Sutter Inn Just a hop, skip and a jump for our younger members and guests, our Annual Fall Dinner will be only three blocks west of the Moravian Church at the historic General Sutter Inn on the corner of East Main and South Broad Streets, Lititz. The Inn dates back to 1764 and was originally called Zum Anker (the Anchor). The inn was considered to be one of the best on the north-south route (to Lancaster Borough/City), noted for its feather beds and heated rooms. The innkeeper served good food and would not tolerate dancing, cursing, gossip, or bawdy songs. Now, besides having the restaurant, the inn still takes in lodgers for the night. By the late 1890s it had become the Lititz Springs Hotel named for the Lititz Springs in the park on the west side of Broad Street. In 1930 it was given its present name in honor of Johann Augustus Sutter ( ), the Sutter of Sutter s Mill in Coloma where the California Gold Rush began in He also established Sutter s Fort that later became Sacramento, California. The General retired with his wife Nanette to Lititz and spent his final seven years there. His house still stands nearby and he is buried in the Moravian Cemetery behind the Moravian Church. Mushroom Sauce, over Rice and Vegetable du Jour, Field Green Salad with Raspberry or Ranch Dressing, Warm Bread and Butter, topped off with an Ice Cream & Cake Square, Coffee, Tea, or Iced Tea. The children s dinner will be chicken fingers and French fries with ice cream and cake. The price for dinner is $32 per adult and $15 per child 4-12 with under 4 free. Gratuity is included. RSVP Lois E. Rilling, SMDPA Social Events Co-Chair, on the reservation form provided on this newsletter's cover. Directions are given on the newsletter outer cover. ed to Charlie On arrival at the Inn we will proceed to the Ball Room where we will have cocktails on a cash basis followed by our dinner of a choice of Chicken a La King over White Rice or Tenderloin Tips prepared with traditional Brandy and Fall

4 Good Things Come in Threes FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, AND THE THIRD TIME SINCE 2001, due to overwhelming demand, our summer picnic was held at Conestoga House and Gardens just west of the City of Lancaster and within walking distance of President James Buchanan s retirement home, Wheatland. As you may have read in past issues of this newsletter, the grounds feature a paved picnic area under tall trees next to a full length pool and beautiful floral gardens and topiary. The manager had set up tables and chairs for all and also, as insurance against bad weather, he had set up more tables in the old Carriage House. Social Event Co-Chairs Aldys Davis, Lois Rilling and Lois husband Fred are again to be celebrated for arranging this event. What had been forecast for nearly a week as a dismal day with showers and thunderstorms turned out to be a glorious day. Lord knows why the bad weather did skirt Lancaster City to the north (Mary Kurtz encountered a pull-off-the-road downpour coming from Gwynedd on the PA Turnpike) and to the south. There was only a less than five-minute interval when a thunderstorm passed a few miles to the west and the life guard ordered Out of the pool. Approximately 60 Mayflower cousins and guests gathered for fellowship from near and afar. From literally around the block were Barbara and Don Gillis. From afar came Barbara Frable and daughter Linda Hartzell from Clarks Summit north of Scranton; SMDPA Webmaster Joseph Howland Wood with wife Holly and life member 17-month old Harlan from Forest Hills, NY, who spent the weekend with Joe s Philadelphia parents in a nearby motel; and the Norman J. Greenes from (Continued on next page) 4 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

5 Ellenton, FL, who were visiting daughter Anne Hain. Naturally, since Conestoga House is in the Susquehanna Colony/Central Pennsylvania catchment area, twenty-five of that colony s members made up 42 percent of the total. From the Main Line (i.e. those residing in the towns of Overbrook to Paoli along the old Pennsylvania Railroad Paoli Local line now SEPTA) came 25%. Unfortunately, the Western Colony, which is some five hours away by car, was not represented this year. Descendants of at least ten Pilgrims were in attendance. Winning by a landslide was John Alden, with 26 descendants. To continue in order of most to least were Bradford 16, Howland and Samson 14, Doty 12, Edward Fuller, Hopkins, Standish, and Warren 2, Brewster 1. Of course some of those present may have other Pilgrim ancestors whose lines they have not yet proven. Among the attendees were 11 Gov. William Bradford descendants who, through Mary LeBaron Stoddard, who was born and raised in Plymouth across Court Street from Pilgrim Hall, have proven lineage to seven other Pilgrims. By a quirk of fate (meeting as passengers in 1892 aboard a trans-atlantic steamer), she married James Hansell Ritter of Philadelphia, a descendant of the Colonial New York Printer William Bradford ( ). This printer to the Crown is known as the first Colonial to stand trial for seeking freedom of the press when in 1692 he was accused of sedition for supporting the Scottish Quaker George Keith. Thus the two Bradford lines became united. No earlier connection in England is known, Pilgrim Bradford having been born in Yorkshire and the New York Bradford in Leicestershire. Those descendants attending the picnic were the Bennetts, DeNunzios, Mary Kurtz, Ritters and Woods. Attendees were Gov. Norman and wife Susie Robinson and faithful dog Nickie from Bryn Mawr; Lois Rilling and husband Fred from Lititz; Kerma and Bill Reiss with children Rachel and Matthew of Wrightsville; Assistant Treasurer David Hunt, of Denver, PA; Aldys Davis and son Junior Membership Fall

6 Chair Hunter from Bryn Mawr; Barbara and Don Gillis from Lancaster; Stacy and Susanne Wood from Philadelphia; SMDPA Webmaster Joe Wood and wife Holly and son Harlan of Forest Hills, NY; Pam Bennett of Uwchland with daughter Kristen and Pam s friend Geoff McConnell; Philip and Barbara Ritter and daughter Susan DeNunzio with husband Tony and children Maria, Tia and Catherine, all of Lancaster Co.; Mary Kurtz of Gwynedd; Don Solenberger of Media and Marcia Martin of Swarthmore, whose late husband Bill was our Treasurer for ; Immediate Past Gov. Win Carroll of Bryn Mawr; Ann Etris and Andy, Sam Mary Jane and Janet O Leary from Berwyn; Assistant Secretary Val Cullen from Paoli; Historian Mimi Connelly from Berwyn and son Stephen from Bayonne, NJ; Barbara Frable and daughter Linda Hartzell from Clarks Summit; Treasurer Debbie Yingst and husband John from Boiling Springs; Secretary Layton Fireng and guest Joan Stanford from Wayne; Education Chair Jim Buckner from Marietta; Membership Officer and Susquehanna Colony Governor Joan Miller with daughter, Elder Deb and Joan s grandchild Emma and friend Allyssa Dehoff from York; and Marjorie and Kenneth Almy of Lancaster. Some members wore T-shirts that illustrated both the Mayflower and a modern boat propeller under the words Original Mayflower Propellor [sic]. Also printed on the shirts were 1492 and Salem, Massachusetts making sport of the inane answers that might be given by today s man/woman on the street as to when did the Mayflower arrive and where did it land. Among the missing was our Pennsylvania Mayflower Editor John Hunt. He was greatly missed. Filling in for him behind cameras, and some of whose photos appear herein, were Jim Buckner, Win Carroll, Steve Connelly, and Dave Hunt. The Main Line Times and the Philadelphia Bulletin (back in business again) had reporters there and published articles. One wonders if perhaps good things come in fours. 6 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

7 Lititz For A Night Don t wish to drive home after 5? If you would like to attend our Thanksgiving service and dinner but think that you would not wish to drive home in the dark, perhaps you would like to spend the night in Lititz and do some sight-seeing the next day. There are places to stay in Lititz that are as close to the Moravian Church as The Alden House B&B at 0.2 miles (two of its rooms are on the ground floor but there is no known connection to Pilgrim John Alden!); the General Sutter Inn 0.3 miles (get up from dinner and hit the hay!); and the Lititz House B&B 0.6 miles (with a ground floor room). The back cover has driving directions to Lititz, and below you will find websites and phone numbers. Lititz is a peaceful, tree-lined community of historic homes, and has the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, Lititz Springs Park, The Linden School, the Moravian Church Museum, the Wilbur Chocolate Factory, boutiques, cafes, cozy shops, and art galleries. The surrounding areas of Lancaster County have much to offer besides the Amish, even in the off season. To list some: There are the Landis Valley (farm) Museum; the Heritage Center (decorative arts) Museum and the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, both in Lancaster City; the Lancaster County Historical Society (genealogy); the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and the historic Strasburg Railway (steam train rides), both in Strasburg with the National Toy Train Museum nearby; and the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, which is our nation s largest such museum (one of our past governors was its first director/curator.). First have a look at the Venture Lititz website at and then the PA Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau website at Why not come Friday or Saturday and make a long weekend of it when tourists are fewer and rates are generally lower? Where To Stay in Lititz Lodging Miles fr. Church Address Phone On the Web General Sutter Inn 0.3 miles 14 East Main Street (717) Holiday Inn Express 1.6 miles 101 Crosswinds Dr. (717) The Alden House 0.2 miles 62 E. Main St. (717) The Lititz House 0.6 miles 301 N. Broad St. (717) Fall

8 The Governor s Message I bring to your attention the report on the 2008 Classroom Visits Fund Drive, and the need for your continued support of this major educational activity of SMDPA. Chairman of the Fund Drive, Stacy B.C. Wood, Jr., reports as follows: Last year we raised approximately $4,300 for this signature SMDPA education program through a direct mailing. This year we hoped to double that amount or at least raise it by 50% to $6,450. To save on printing and mailing costs we decided to include the appeal letter in our summer Pennsylvania Mayflower newsletter along with an envelope. Unfortunately, the response as of September 11 is only $2,365. Five days of classroom visits to 600 children by a Plimoth Plantation re-enactor cost over $5,500. It is interesting to note that $1,000 of the amount received this year has again come from two individuals who usually regularly donate $500 to the program. Also, of interest is a gift of $100 from the charity trust of a deceased SMDPA past Governor. Your gift of any size will be greatly appreciated especially by the elementary school children who will benefit for a life time by a re-enactor s visit made possible by you. This is too important of an opportunity for SMDPA to not provide a correct historical picture what our Pilgrim forebears lived through in those years surrounding Those of you who have visited Plimoth Plantation know how impressive and effective the re-enactors are in conveying the Pilgrim message especially to children. Please, I appeal to you, if you have not already given this year send your check payable to SMDPA with the memo line marked Classroom Visits, and mail to: Classroom Visits c/o Stacy Wood, 1530 South Juniper St., Philadelphia, PA Thank you for your support. Norman P. Robinson Governor SMDPA Electronic Edition Of The Pennsylvania Mayflower As mentioned in previous issues, if you would like to receive our quarterly newsletter, The Pennsylvania Mayflower, in living color by instead of by USPS, and haven t done so already, please send us an request to PAMAYFLOWER@SAIL1620.org with PA Mayflower on the subject line. By doing so you will save us printing and postage fees that can then be directed to our educational programs. Remember, however, that you must keep us informed if you change your address. 8 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

9 Jane Fletcher Fisk To Receive Kitty Little Award Jane Fletcher Fisk has accepted our invitation to accept our 11 th Katharine Fox Little Distinguished Mayflower Scholarship Award at our January 24, 2009 Annual Meeting. Jane is a former editor of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society Register. Pilgrim Henry Samson descendants will recognize her name as the compiler of the GSMD Five Generations Volume 20, Parts 2 and 3. More information in your Winter Pennsylvania Mayflower. In Memoriam Harriet Childs Demott Betner Harriet DeMott Betner, widow of the late Thomas Eugene Betner, died on July 11, 2008 in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Harriett served on our SMDPA Board of Assistants as an Assistant-at-Large in 2004, the same year that her brother, the late Dick DeMott, was our Assistant Treasurer. descendant from Pilgrim Richard Warren, Harriet was elected to membership in June 1944 and had SMDPA number 626. She often attended many of our social events. At the 2007 Annual SMDPA Membership Meeting she appeared in a photo with other Warren cousins along with Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Mayflower, who had just received our Kitty Little Award. She was also a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America. Harriet was the last of her DeMott Warren line in the SMDPA. She was born in New Jersey in 1917, the daughter of Richard Hopper DeMott and Harriet Childs DeMott. She graduated from the Dwight School in Englewood, New Jersey and Finch College in New York City. An eleventh-generation Har riet Betner and her brother, Dick DeMott, both Board members in their tiome, served the Society in many capacities. She is survived by three daughters: Barbara Betner Lang, Sandra Mayfield Betner, and Harriet Betner Benckert and four grandchildren. Harriet is fondly remembered. Fall

10 GSMD Five-Generation Volume Availability The General Society has a project that has been underway since The goal is to provide documentation from primary sources, whenever possible, for all statements, and of publishing the findings for the use of the Historian General, the State Historians, the membership, and the general public of the first five generations of each Mayflower passenger for whom there are known descendants. As of now there are volumes for each with the exception of Brewster, Fletcher, and Soule. Some are not quite complete and additional parts (e.g., of Howland) are being compiled. Soft-cover publications known as the Mayflower Families In Progress (MFIP) have been published for the first four generations while the fifth generation is being compiled. Examples are the Brewster and Soule families. Some of the five generations, and even the MFIP, go as far as naming the seventh or even later generations. MFIPs have also been published for closely related early Plymouth Colony families such as Bartlett, Church, Cushman, and Delano. Both the five-generation books and MFIPs are listed, and available, in the GSMD Mayflower Quarterly and on its website To make these works available to SMDPA members who do not wish to own copies, and to the public, over the years the SMDPA has distributed and maintained complete, up-to-date sets of the hard-cover five-generation volumes to a number of libraries within Pennsylvania. We currently support collections in 16 libraries. They may be examined in the cities/towns of Allentown (Allentown Public Library); Bryn Mawr (Ludington Library); Butler (Butler Area Library); Easton (Easton Public Library); Erie (Erie County Public Library); Greensburg (Westmoreland County Historical Society); Harrisburg (State Library of Pennsylvania); Lancaster (Lancaster County Historical Society); Philadelphia (Free Library of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania); Pittsburgh (Carnegie Library); Scranton (Albright Memorial Library); Washington (Citizens Library and District Center); West Chester (Chester County Historical Society); Wilkes-Barre (Wyoming Historical & Genealogical Society); and York (York County Heritage Trust). In Waynesburg the Alden-descended Breese family, as a memorial to, and in honor of, that family, presented and maintains the volumes in the Cornerstone Genealogical Society with the intent of promoting the greater good of our SMDPA. For exact addresses please visit the Society Page on our website, 10 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

11 Contests and Prizes at the... Susquehanna Colony s Third Annual Picnic The Susquehanna Colony's Third Annual Picnic was held on Saturday, 23 August 2008, at the home of Pilgrim Samuel Fuller descendant Debbie Yingst and husband John Yingst who live at Mayflower Meadows, Boiling Springs, PA. Visualize if you will a debut, a picture-perfect picnic, an invitation to feast upon an enticing display of food prepared by Susquehanna Colony members and guests. Wish you were here! Look at our Spring 2009 newsletter, The Scoop, for next year s picnic date so you can put the date on your calendar. Susquehanna Colony Elder Alice Boucher read the invocation prior to feasting. Members and guests were: Past GSMD Governor General Robert Davis and his wife, Jeanne Davis, Governor of the Fuller Society Jack Hoffman and his wife Bea Hoffman (parents of Debbie Yingst), Past Regent Catherine Hoffman and her affable husband, Larry Hoffman, Past Susquehanna Colony Governor and SMDPA Assistant Treasurer, David Hunt, Governor Susquehanna Colony Joan Miller and husband Don Miller, Merchant Adventurer (parents of Deb Miller), Susquehanna Colony Treasurer, Robert Fuller, Elder Susquehanna Colony, Alice Boucher, Victoria Orlando (granddaughter of Elder Boucher), Nia Sherony, Susquehanna Colony Archivist, Mary King and husband John King, Susquehanna Colony members, Elsie and Alden Wagner, Susquehanna Colony members, Barbara Gillis, Richard Mix and son Scott Mix, John Hoffman and wife Brenda Hoffman, Amy Goodling and husband Brent Goodling and daughter Alyssa Goodling. Deb Miller, our Susquehanna Colony Assistant Governor and descendant of ten Mayflower Pilgrims shared with us the opportunity to be the very first SMDPA members to glimpse at her Mayflower and Me curriculum, which will be presented at the GSMD Education Committee meeting during the Triennial in September. Check for further details. Our fun time was guessing the number of paper clips in a jar. And the winner was Debbie Yingst who guessed 257. Debbie came pretty close, as the total number in the jar was 262. Most everyone who knows Debbie s husband John knows one of his major hobbies is owning rare breeds of chicken. John agreed to have guests secretly write a name for one of his latest chickens, a Cuckoomam of French extraction. Four prizes were given. Third runner up went to Alice Boucher for the name of Ophelia; second runner up went to Bea Hoffman for the name Esther; first runner up went to Bob Davis for the name picnic and the winner was hostess Debbie Yingst for the name, Misty May-Flower. One of our Susquehanna Colony Members, Bob Fuller confessed in all the years he has been a SMDPA member this is the first picnic he ever attended, adding he had no idea what he had been missing. At the suggestion of Bob Fuller, a William Bradford descendant, by a show of hands many Mayflower Pilgrim ancestors were represented. Truly, this was a picture perfect picnic. Thank you John and Debbie for opening your home to your Pilgrim cousins and friends. We appreciate your generosity. Dates to remember: 27 September Susquehanna Colony members will have two Plimoth Plantation interpreters, Mike Weber, as Goodman Francis Cooke and Chris Messier as Elder Brewster, attending our harvest feast. And Saturday, 4 October we meet with our Central Northern Susquehanna Colony cousins at the Country Cupboard, Lewisburg, PA. Respectfully submitted, Joan C. Miller Governor, Susquehanna Colony Fall

12 The Cook's Corner MARY KURTZ SUBMITS INDIAN PUDDING, A LONG-TIME Thanksgiving FAVORITE NEW dessert ENGLAND Toll House Tried and from True the Recipes by the late Ruth Wakefield. Ruth Wakefield opened a restaurant on Court Street in Plymouth in the 1920s and then in 1930, with her husband, purchased a 1709 Cape Cod style toll house in Whitman and opened a restaurant that became a New England favorite, The Toll House. It was there that she invented the famous Toll House Indian Pudding Scald 3 cups [whole] milk Mix together 3 tbls Indian [or yellow] corn meal and 1/3 cup molasses Stir into hot milk and cook until thickens Stir constantly to prevent scorching Remove from fire Add ½ cup sugar, 1 beaten egg, butter the size of a walnut, ¼ tsp salt [not necessary], ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp cinnamon Mix thoroughly Pour into buttered baking dish Put in 300 oven In ½ hour pour over it 1 cup milk [do Not stir!] Continue baking 2 hrs Serves 8 Mary says serving with vanilla ice cream on top makes a great hot/cold experience. Crunch Cookie which was the first chocolate chip cookie. The restaurant was unusual in that seconds on anything, including the entrée, were offered. Mary s brother Stacy Wood fondly remembers dining The Cook Mary Kurtz there because of the clown dessert: a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a waffle cone on top as a hat and the face of a clown made of raisins and maraschino cherries and a collar of whipped cream. Children who finished their meal and behaved were given a toy on departure and the adults were given a bag of Toll House cookies. The Wakefields sold the business in 1966 and the Toll House burned down in Cooking Quote I can't cook. I use a smoke alarm as a timer. Carol Siskind, American Comedienne 12 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

13 Delays Have Dangerous Ends By Stacy B. C. Wood, Jr. The title of this paper is from King Henry VI, Part 1, Act. III, Scene 2. A similar quote, Delay always breeds danger, is found in Cervantes Don Quixote, Book IV, Chapter 2. (Motteux translation). Many of our Mayflower ancestors may have sensed the danger as their departure from England for the New World kept getting delayed in the summer of How would you have reacted if you had been part of the group of Separatists who left Leiden, Holland, in late July? (Some had lived there for a dozen years and some had been born there.) At Delfshaven you would have boarded the ship purchased for the trip, the Speedwell. You would have waved goodbye to friends who would remain there knowing that you probably would never see them again. The first stop was Hampton (Southampton), England, where you would join other Separatists and strangers recruited by the merchants who were funding the voyage and the initial settlement in America. A larger ship, the Mayflower, had been chartered to take on board some of those on the Speedwell and those waiting in Hampton. You might have wondered how what was intended to be a completely Separatist plantation transplanted from Leiden to America with its pastor John Robinson could possibly function with the addition of Puritans, Church of England members, and other strangers. Was the colony to be doomed? A merchant adventurer Thomas Weston and Robert Cushman, one of the Leiden members, had obtained the all important patent from the Separatists nemesis, King James, permitting them to leave England and to settle in northern Virginia near the mouth of the Hudson River. This was far removed from the small settlement in Jamestown and hopefully far enough that the Church of England would not hound them again. Weston and Cushman had arranged for provisions consisting of food, drink, clothing, tools, etc., to be waiting to be loaded on the ships in Hampton for the journey. All knew that there would be no welcoming party awaiting them on their arrival. They knew that the area would be inhabited by native people but they had no idea if they would be friendly or hostile. There would be no shelter except that which they could construct themselves. The only additional supplies that they might obtain would be from later ships that might happen to reach them. Christopher Martin, a Puritan from Billericay (Great Burstead) in Essex, had been appointed governor of the Mayflower with Robert Cushman to be his assistant on the Speedwell. In early August they were ready to begin their voyage. As the ships left the quay Separatist and strangers alike realized that this would likely be the last time that they laid eyes on those left behind and their homeland. But their voyage was to be short, for (Continued on next page) Fall

14 Delays Have Dangerous Ends (Continued from page 13) the master of the Speedwell reported that leaks had been discovered and both ships returned to Hampton. They would return to Hampton a second time for the same reason. Again the Speedwell s watertight integrity failed and this time the ships put in at Dartmouth, slightly to the west. It was now the second week of August. Writing from Dartmouth on August 17 th, Robert Cushman vented his frustration and disgust. William Bradford includes the letter in his history Of Plymouth Plantation (Morison/Knopf modernized edition) and it is quoted here in part: Our pinnace [the Speedwell] will not cease leaking, else I think we had been half way at Virginia. Our voyage hither hath been as full of crosses as ourselves have been of crookedness. We put in here to trim her; and I think, as others also, if we had stayed at sea but three or four hours more, she would have sunk right down. And though she was twice trimmed at Hampton, yet now she is as open and leaky as a sieve; and there was a board a man [who] might have pulled off with his fingers, two foot long, where the water came in as at a mole hole. We lay at Hampton seven days in fair weather, waiting for her, and now we lie here waiting for her in as fair a wind as can blow, and so have done these four days, and are like to lie four more, and by that time the wind will happily turn as it did at Hampton. Our victuals will be half eaten up, I think, before we go from the coast of England, and if our voyage last long, we shall not have a month s victuals when we come in the country. Near 700 hath been bestowed at Hampton, upon I know not; Mr. Martin [governor of the Mayflower] saith he neither can nor will give any account of it, and if he be called upon for accounts, he crieth out of unthankfulness for his pains and care, that we are suspicious of him, and flings away, and will end nothing. Also he so insulteth over our poor people, with such scorn and contempt, as if they were not good enough to wipe his shoes. It would break your heart to see his dealing, and the mourning of our people; they complain to me, and alas! I can do nothing for them. If I speak to him, he flies in my face as mutinous, and saith no complaints shall be heard or received but by himself, and saith they are forward and waspish, discontented people, and I do ill to hear them. There are others that would lose all they have put in, or make satisfaction for what they have had, that they might depart; but he will not hear them, nor suffer them to go ashore, lest they should run away. Of course they soon left Dartmouth and had gone about 300 miles when they once again had to return, this time to Plymouth, Devonshire. There it was resolved that the Speedwell would go no farther. Goods for which there was space were transferred to the Mayflower and those individuals that were believed to be unfit for the voyage were left behind to come eventually on another ship. In many cases only the male heads of families and teenage boys went. One-hundred-two passengers were taken aboard, and the ship finally set sail on Wednesday, September 6 th. Neither Robert Cushman nor pastor John Robinson were among them. Cushman did come on the next ship, the Fortune, that arrived just after the 1621 harvest fest now known as the First Thanksgiving. It brought other family members and friends previously left behind but no supplies. His visit was short: he returned with the Fortune. Robinson died in 1625 before he could make the voyage. 14 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

15 Governor Christopher Martin and his family died the first winter. As you know, the delays did have dangerous ends : The late departure placed them on the ocean during the stormy season making a sixty-six day voyage that took at least twice as long as it should have. It possibly caused them to make landfall at Cape Cod, north of their intended northern Virginia destination. It caused them to arrive in November instead of September, the worst of timing during the little ice age (c.1300-c.1850). They were constantly soaked by rain and frozen by snow and ice. Their only major shelter was the Mayflower until the following spring. Fifty of the 102 died the first winter leaving only twelve of the heads of families and four of the dozen unmarried men and boys. Bradford states that only seven individuals, including Myles Standish and their Elder, William Brewster, were unaffected by the sickness and had to care for the rest, willingly and cheerfully, without any grudging in the least, showing herein their true love unto their friends and brethren. Those who have not read William Bradford s history Of Plymouth Plantation, the 1622 journal Mourt s Relation, and Edward Winslow s 1624 Good News From New England are urged to do so. Nathaniel Philbrick s 2006 Mayflower and 2007 The Mayflower Papers - Selected Writings of Colonial New England are excellent histories of the Plymouth Colony. All are in print and would make excellent Christmas gifts. Don t Miss The Last Four Pages! The last four pages of our newsletter are designed for members up to their 25 th birthday. You may find them interesting even if you are older than that. Don t let the title Junior PA Mayflower dissuade you. The current issue features Pilgrim George Soule. You will also find some Outrageous Pilgrim Riddles : For still the ancient riddles mar our joy in man, in leaf, in star. Sir William Watson ( ), England to Ireland, Stanza 3. COMING EVENT SMDPA s 112 th Annual meeting and Luncheon will take place on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the Corinthian Country Club in Essington (south of Philadelphia near airport) on the shore of the Delaware River. The meeting will begin at 11:00 AM, the luncheon at 1:00. More details in the next newsletter. Fall

16 Highlights of the 2008 GSMD Triennial Congress A complete report of this year s GSMD Triennial Congress will most likely be published in the December issue of the Mayflower Quarterly. Highlights of those matters immediately concerning our SMDPA are: The GSMD Historian General examination fee for both new and supplemental lineage papers will rise from the current $30 to $75 on January 1, Our SMDPA received a surprise award from the General Society that reads In recognition Hors Concors [without equal; beyond competing; excluded from competing] for sustained extraordinary high standards of performance for several years in all facets of the public Relations program in the best interests of meeting all objectives of the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. This includes our Publicity efforts (Janet A. Springer and Winchell S. Carroll successive Chairs), our Pennsylvania Mayflower newsletter (John M. Hunt, Jr., Editor and Frederick T. J. Clement, Jr., Production Manager), and our website (Joseph Howland Wood, Webmaster). At the 2005 Triennial we were given the first ever best GSMD Public Relations Award for the same three areas. The award was then retired and replaced with a most improved award for these three areas. GSMD presented us with a check for $500 in appreciation of our Plimoth Plantation Classroom Visits program, a program that has brought nearly 18,000 Pennsylvania school students exposure to what the Pilgrims were really like. GSMD also complimented us on our taping of our Thanksgiving meeting, our newsletter s special Juniors pages (Stacy B. C. Wood, Jr., Editor), and our Katharine F. Little Distinguished Mayflower Scholarship Award. Elder Debra G. Miller was appointed Chair of the GSMD Juniors Committee. She also introduced her Mayflower and Me K-12 Pilgrim Curriculum for teachers, other interested individuals, and organizations. Our delegation consisted of Deputy Governor General Robert J. Heinsohn, Assistant General and SMDPA Membership Officer Joan C. Miller, Governor Norman P. Robinson, Treasurer Deborah A. Yingst, Elder Debra G. Miller, Education Committee Chair James R. Buckner, and Assistant Patricia A. Hill. 16 The Pennsylvania Mayflower

17 JUNIOR PA MAYFLOWER Society of Mayflower Descendants in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania VOL. 8 NO. 3 Fall 2008 I George Soule of the Mayflower descendants who belong to the Soule Kindred of America with their own website a quarterly Soule Kindred Newsletter, hold annual reunions, and award two scholarships each year. The first editor of our Pennsylvania Mayflower newsletter, George Soule, was a descendant of Pilgrim George Soule. Currently we have no members with the last name Soule and no Junior members claiming Pilgrim George as an ancestor. George was born probably between 1595 and We Image from William Bradford s list of the passengers on the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower in his history Of Plimoth Plantation and in his own handwriting. The number at left indicates the number of individuals in that family group. n our last issue we discussed the children on board the Mayflower and focused on Richard More. You may remember that his brother Jasper and sisters Ellen (also called Ellinor) and Mary came too but neither of their parents came. Instead they were assigned to three of the other families. Ellen was with Edward and Elizabeth Winslow. Some passengers brought along man-servants. Two came with the Winslows: George Soule and Elias Story. It is George Soule that we will talk about this time. Manservants means that they were not boys. You might wonder how you would pronounce the name Soule. Does it rhyme with pool or hole? Or is it soo-ly or soul-e? Do you remember in the last issue about the More children that girle is just the old way of spelling girl? Have a look at the image from Bradford s list of Mayflower passengers again on this page. Just ignore the e on the end and you have soul as in heart and soul. Vital records are official records of the birth, marriage and death of individuals. George eventually settled in Duxbury and the Vital Records of Duxbury up to the Year 1850 published in 1911 include the following variant spellings of Soule: Sole, Soul. Are you a descendant of George Soule? You might be. Although only 18 of our current Pennsylvania Society s 770 members have chosen him to prove their line, he has many living descendants. There is a group of about 400 Powder Point (A), location of some of George Soule s land in Duxbury. Note that Plymouth is due south near the bottom of the map. For those who are descended from John Howland and his son Joseph, their farms were at Rocky Nook also shown. still don t know where George Soule came from or the names of his parents. One researcher, Caleb H. Johnson, thinks that the best bet for George s home village is Tingrith in Bedfordshire, England. Even today there are only about 155 residents in this parish where the church is St. Nicholas. This village is about 14 miles west-southwest of Henlow, the home of Pilgrims Henry Samson and John Howland s future wife Elizabeth Tilley. (see map) If so, perhaps George knew them even though they were a few years younger than he. The Mayflower Society hopes to find Y-DNA matches in England. So far they have indication of a northern European origin, probably of Danish

18 Page 2 The Junior Pennsylvania Mayflower Fall 2008 Viking or Norse heritage The General Society of Mayflower Descendants states Y- DNA test results of those men with the last name Soule and its variant spellings are very congruent, with the majority of over 15 participants having identical test results! As several of these men have lineages which have been examined and Location of Tingrith (A) and Henlow (B) in Bedfordshire, England. The villages are about 14 miles apart. proven by the Mayflower Society back to George Soule, we are certain that the most recent common male ancestor known for all these men is George Soule of the Mayflower in George s age is based on the fact that he signed the Mayflower Compact in November 1620 and therefore must have been at least 21. Because he was still a servant, it is probable that he was under the age of 25. The fact that he was married by 1627 also helps to establish a probable year of birth. The name of his wife is also based on assumption. There is no surviving record of his marriage but in 1627 there was a distribution of cattle among the Pilgrims and those who had followed them to New Plymouth up to that year. In the distribution list George has a wife named Mary. Because there was only one unmarried Mary living in Plymouth between the 1623 division of land to the residents and the distribution of cattle, and her name in 1623 was Mary Buckett, it is assumed that she became his wife. A variant spelling of her maiden name is Becket. What else do we know of George? Other than his mention in Governor William Bradford s passenger list and decreasings and increasings list, George does not appear in Bradford s history Of Plimoth Plantation or in the journal of the first year believed to have been written by both Bradford and Edward Winslow that is known as Mourt s Relation. He may have been on some of the early explorations to find a settlement site but his name does not appear among those named. The land he was given outside the original settlement in 1627 was one acre. He eventually acquired land in 1637 in Duxbury to the north of Plymouth. Some of his acreage was at Powder Point (see map). Probably of interest today is that he was one of two on a committee that wrote one of the earliest Colonial no-smoking laws. At this point it wasn t a question of the dangers of second-hand smoke, but rather the danger of fire to crops and buildings. Otherwise, George seems to have lived a law-abiding and quiet life. It is recorded that he volunteered in June 1637 to fight in the Pequot War but the Colony did not take part in it. He died in Duxbury before 22 January 1679 (New Style). Mary died in Duxbury in December You can read his will and the inventory of his belongings taken at his death at the Pilgrim Hall website Gov. Bradford states that George and Mary had 8 children but records show there were 9: Zachariah (married Margaret Ford?), John (married 1st Rebecca Simmons, 2nd Hester/Esther Delano), Nathaniel (married Rose/Rosamond Thorn), George (married Deborah Thomas), Susanna (married Francis Waste/West), Mary (married John Peterson), Elizabeth (married Francis Walker), Patience (married John Haskell) and Benjamin (unmarried). If you are a descendant, do you know which child is your ancestor? The General Society of Mayflower Descendants has published the genealogy of the first five generations. You can read more about George Soule and his children in Caleb H. Johnson s 2006 The Mayflower and Her Passengers. There is a marker for George Soule at Duxbury which reads: "Nearby Rests George Soule, Pilgrim, A signer of The Mayflower Compact on Nov 11th 1620, who died in January Erected by Soule Kindred 1971." George Soule memorial stone in Standish Cemetery, Duxbury, MA Paul S. Bumpus photo Any comments about this newsletter? The editor would like to hear them. Please address them to Stacy B. C. Wood, Jr., Editor, JR PA Mayflower at 1530 S. Juniper St., Philadelphia, PA or by to sbcwjr@comcast.net.

19 Page 3 The Junior Pennsylvania Mayflower Fall 2008 OUTRAGEOUS PILGRIM RIDDLES Match the following pictures with the riddles below. A E B F I J K L M The Outrageous Pilgrim Riddles, none of which are true. Everyone should know the first one. Some answers are a stretch! 1. If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? 2. What was the first Pilgrim car dealership? 3. Name another car dealership. 4. What did Pilgrim George Soule add to his house? 5. What animal was the first to step on Plymouth Rock? 6. Who was the Pilgrim French chef? 7. Who was the 1st Pilgrim to finish his turkey dinner? 8. Where did the Pilgrims rabbits live? 9. Why did the Pilgrims bring two castanets? Answers: 1 - Pilgrims; 2 - Plymouth (made by Chrysler between ); 3 - Brad Ford s (Ford Motor Co. started in 1903); 4 - A solarium; 5 - The Plymouth Rock Chicken; 6 - Francis Cooke (say it slowly!); 7 - John Alden (say the last name all... ); 8 - In the Warrens (Pilgrim Richard Warren); 9 - As they might have to be fishermen, they would need to cast a net. Matching pictures: 1- A & L; 2- D & G; 3 - F; 4 - H; 5 - C & J; 6 - E; 7 - M; 8 - K; 9 - B C G D H GEORGE SOULE 16 X 20 WORDSEARCH C B L U J C O K H E N T P T E C R O E M G P R A I C N T E M I M N I N E O F B H O N L R E E T L A A N T O I R O N N V T E C B H R L E H W A S E T S E R R R R A N S E P R E C L N L A I E N I G N S K R J N R E E D M Y E N M U B N E I R A E R A M W S O T H H O O I R R N N O T E V O B I R N H F U X M S I P L O I H T N Y O N B D A M W I U T C T R I L S A G I A N I O R L E O W C O E L E F I Y S A C M B T V E L N R L E R Y S R H G C T N A A T R O N O E M S Y L R S N P T E D L I T E U A E O A H T R E S I E S A O H I N R W M P G W C L O E O V K N E A O R I S E D N R P H C L O E L I R T P T T E L E G B I H E M I S E S H A L S O R L O L R R U O I S C R T N U L N H A O U L R L S A A N E T T L U M P T N P Y V E I F I O A X C A N I S E I A A N C R R G A N I T N E G D I N A I R S R T O L Z N E D G S G B O N R N L L E I S G T T H Y N E B S A N H R H C L J E R A S A V W E N E D A R U C T E P M U A N E H C T S E D B S A N Z A I W L V E T A B G H A E G N B S M A R E Y P G V O I L R A G E I N N E I G A T M H I O X C E L S M S N C E C M O O M Y L E O C T S S Z I A R C B H L A O R B I L A U H T P S T T I E I K I C E U N B R N R O O S T R S E E D C N N A A L D C E N S H C F E F N I D D A R N A T C D T A H R C Y T U E D U R O O F D P A E R A B N Y D N P A E L T W E O R H S O N M SOULE 16 X 20 WORDSEARCH The following 44 words are found in this issue: ACREAGE, ANCESTOR, ASSUMP- TION, BEDFORDSHIRE, BENJAMIN, BUCKETT, COLO- NIAL, COMPACT, CONGRUENT, DEBORAH, DESCEN- DANT, DUXBURY, ELIAS, ELIZABETH, EUROPEAN, FORD, FRANCIS, GENEALOGY, GENERATIONS, HEN- LOW, HENRY, MANSERVANTS, MARRIAGE, MARY, MAYFLOWER, NATHANIEL, NICHOLAS, PARTICI- PANTS, PENNSYLVANIA, PETERSON, PLANTATION, POINT, RELATION, RESEARCHER, ROSAMOND, SER- VANT, SOULE, SPELLINGS, THORN, TINGRITH, VARI- ANT, VOLUNTEERED, WEST, ZACHARIAH. The unused letters spell out the answer to the question Where is George Soule is buried? LET S HELP GEORGE SOULE FIND HIS TURKEY COMPACT DAY What is Compact Day? Perhpas this is the holiday that isn t. On November 11, 1620 (now November 21 on our modern calendar) all the male passengers aboard the Mayflower who were at least twenty-one years of age gathered to write their signatures on the document that is now known as the Mayflower Compact. This document was an agreement that all individuals would submit to majority rule by those that they would select. It was necessary because the Pilgrims had not arrived in northern Virginia where they had a charter from King James I, but instead to the north in Cape Cod Bay. Some state Mayflower Societies such as New Jersey celebrate the day at their Fall meeting. Of course you can celebrate both Compact Day and Veterans Day together!

20 Page 4 The Junior Pennsylvania Mayflower Fall 2008 A PAGE TO COLOR (You may writes George Soule under the one you think might be him.) FROM THE PILGRIM STORY - A PICTURE BOOK FOR COLORING BY CHARLES H. OVERLY COURTESY OF PLIMOTH PLANTATION

21 Directions To Lititz Moravian Church Ad dress: 8 Church Square, Lititz, PA Tel: (717) Park ing is in the back of the church From the East and North...Take the Penn syl va nia Turn pike to exit 286 (old 21). Pro ceed south on Route 222 for ap prox i mately 10 miles. Exit Rte. 222 to Rte. 772 west to Lititz. As you en ter Lititz, Route. 772 be comes East Main Street. The front of the church is lo cated at East Main Street. Turn LEFT onto CHURCH AVE. Park ing is in the rear of the church. From the West and North...Take the Penn syl va nia Turn pike to exit 266 (old 20). Pro ceed south on Rte. 72 into Manheim. Turn left on High Street, which be comes Doe Run Road at the rail road tracks. Fol low Doe Run Road which be comes Lin coln Av e nue in Lititz. At the traf fic light, turn right on Broad Street. Go to the Square and turn left on East Main Street. The front of the church is lo cated at East Main Street. Turn LEFT onto CHURCH AVE. Park ing is in the rear of the church. From Phil a del phia: Merge onto I-76 W to ward VAL LEY FORGE (Por tions toll). Take EXIT 286 to ward US-222/READ ING/LAN CAS TER. Merge onto READ ING IN TER CHANGE (Por tions toll). READ ING IN TER CHANGE be comes COL O NEL HOWARD BLVD/SPUR RD. Merge onto US-222 S via the ramp on the LEFT. Take the PA-772 exit to ward BROWN STONE/ROTHSVILLE. Turn RIGHT onto PA-772/NEW PORT RD. Con tinue to fol low PA-772. Turn LEFT onto CHURCH AVE. Park ing is in the rear of the church. Get your own di rec tions on line: Go to Use 8 Church Square, Lititz, Pa (Lititz Moravian Church) and 14 East Main Street, Lititz, PA (Gen eral Sutter Inn) as the ad dress of your des ti na tion. Di rec tions from the Church to Gen eral Sutter Inn: See Map (other side) From the back of the church go to wards the cem e tery and turn right onto Ce dar Street, then left onto Main Street (772). Gen eral Sutter Inn is.15 miles on your left. You can drop off any one in the front of the Gen eral Sutter Inn. You have three op tions for park ing: One: on the street, Two: across the street in the bank park ing lot, or Three: be hind the Gen eral Sutter Inn in the Lititz El e men tary School park ing lot on Ju ni per Street. OR turn left onto Main street (772) in front of the church and the Gen eral Sutter Inn will on your Left. Res er va tion Form SMDPA Annual Thanksgiving Worship Service and Dinner Date: Service: Sunday, November 23, 2008, 2:00 NOTE HOUR: TWO Lititz Moravian Church, 8 Church Square (just off East Main Street), Lititz, PA Dinner: Immediately following, The General Sutter Inn, 14 East Main Street, Lititz, PA Re serve: I / We reserve place(s) for traditional turkey dinner at The General Sutter Inn at $32 per adult; place(s) at $15 per child (ages four to twelve). Name(s) Telephone no. Amount en closed: $ Please re ply by November 16 to (check pay able to SMDPA) Lois E. Rilling 215 Owl Hill Road Lititz, PA Telephone: lrilling@dejazzd.com

22 Lititz is an historic town, an easy drive, and it has plenty of charming places to stay overnight for those so inclined. So ci ety of May flower De scen dants 1001 Av e nue C Apt B2 Bayonne, NJ Ad dress Ser vice Re quested First Class Mail R S V P for Thanksgiving Ser vice En closed