Posted on 11/22/2017 8:09:11 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Americans readily accept two opposing ideas about the first Thanksgiving — one bright and highly idealized, the other gray and somber, but closer to the truth. Jean Leon Gerome Ferris captured the first idea in a painting completed in 1915, some three centuries after the actual event.
In his First Thanksgiving 1621, we see prosperous, black-clad Pilgrims in the company of new-found friends — bare-chested Indians in feathered war bonnets (one of several historical inaccuracies). The “thanks” here are for a bountiful harvest and the early realization of America as a land of milk and honey.
But how could it have been so easy for the settlers to carve a life out of the wildness in a cold and unknown land far from home? Simple answer: It wasn’t, as most people instinctively recognize.
Out of 102 passengers on the Mayflower who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in December of 1620, 51, or exactly half, died from malnutrition or disease within a few months. The bereaved survivors must have been painfully aware of the precariousness of their own existence. They included William Bradford, the author of the classic Of Plymouth Plantation, who went on to become governor of the colony for many years. Gravely ill, his young wife, Dorothy May, either fell or threw herself to her death as the Mayflower lay at anchor in Cape Cod.
The Pilgrims did not build on a record of success. As Donna Curtin, the executive director of the Pilgrim Hall Museum points out, “Many other colonies (in the Americas) had failed terribly.” Set up in 1607, the original English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, had all but collapsed three years later — with 80-90 percent of its inhabitants lost to starvation and disease.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
and it was very radical economic freedom at that, combined with their Christian ethos.
>> Set up in 1607, the original English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, had all but collapsed three years later — with 80-90 percent of its inhabitants lost to starvation and disease.
Wow, that’s a lot of dead. My ancestor was among the survivors.
My paternal ancestor is documented to have come to America in 1616 in Elizabeth City NC . . . he preceded the Pilgrims by five years. I was amazed when I found that out about four years ago. My Dad growing up in southwest Georgia in humble/ poor surroundings, I just assumed we came over with Oglethorpe’s crooks.
One of my ancestors, Stephen Hopkins, survived Jamestown, being ship wrecked in the Caribbean, the May Flower and years after setting in the rugged NE area.
Would this country be a Spanish speaking colony if those hardy former English men, women and children had not survived?
St Augustine, Florida is the oldest city in our country, and it was established by the Spaniards.
St. Augustine:
St. Augustine is a city on the northeast coast of Florida. It lays claim to being the oldest city in the U.S., and is known for its Spanish colonial architecture as well as Atlantic Ocean beaches like sandy St. Augustine Beach and tranquil Crescent Beach. Anastasia State Park is a protected wildlife sanctuary. The Castillo de San Marcos is a 17th-century Spanish stone fortress with views of the St. Augustine Inlet.
Founded: September 1565
Here is the accurate version of this time in our history.
My paternal ancestor is listed on the ship’s manifest of HMS Godspeed, one of the 3 ships to bring the 1607 settlers to Jamestown Virginia. My cousin Alex in Tennessee is the keeper of the family bible that my ancestor brought with him. The last 50-60 pages of the bible were blank sheets intended for births, deaths and marriages. Some fool decided to stop writing new entries in the 1880s, so nothing has been filled out since. Luckily my grandfather parents are listed there. My great grandfather was born about 8 years before the Civil War.
I have actually been aboard the Godspeed, although 2/3 of it is now restoration. I was amazed how small it was.
Wow! What a treasure!! It is a shame that so few know anything at all about their family roots and history. I am not a genealogy sleuth, but I find it fascinating.
I had to go back and look to see if Stephen Hopkins was one of my ancestors. There is a whole list: Roger Williams, Angell, Olney, Waterman, Mowry, and etc. They were founders of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. I grew up with a boy named Stephen Hopkins in Smithfield, RI.
Could be very distantly related.
Thanks for the ping. This is what allows us to wake up on Thanksgiving Day 2017 as free citizens of the greatest nation in our planet’s history.
Rush Limbaugh gives a true rendition of THANKSGIVING, something never learned in public school of my generation. (grad in 1965) The education system has lied to us for a very long time. What a waste of time and money this group seems to be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WW8VvXUv_8Q
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