Plymouth Colony and Plimoth Plantation

Last month while on a visit to Cape Cod, I was able to visit Plymouth and Plimoth Plantation.

Plymouth Colony was home to the Mayflower colonists who landed in 1620.  Although I do not have Mayflower ancestry, my children and grandchildren do.  Their ancestors who arrived on the Mayflower were John Alden and Priscilla Mullins.  John Alden came as a single man and was the ship's cooper, responsible for maintaining the ship's barrels.  Priscilla Mullins came with her family, although her father, William Mullins, step-mother, and brother all died that first winter.  John and Priscilla married on 12 May 1622 and were the parents of 10 children.  My children descend through their eldest daughter, Elizabeth Alden, who married William Pabodie.

John Alden and Priscilla Mullins Info

Plymouth Rock is known as the point where the Mayflower passengers first set foot on their new homeland.  Plymouth Rock is much smaller than I imagined.  Supposedly, over time pieces of the rock were chipped off as souvenirs. So, when the Pilgrims landed almost 400 years ago the rock was somewhat larger than it is now.

Plymouth Rock

Plimoth Plantation was our next stop.   "Plimoth" is an old-fashioned spelling of the word Plymouth used by Governor William Bradford in his history of the colony.  Plimoth Plantation is a living history museum located in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  

Plimoth Plantation

John Alden Home at Plimoth Plantation

Guess who got to meet his ancestor "John Alden"?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about the romance between Priscilla Mullins and John Alden called The Courtship of Miles Standish.  The poem focuses on the love triangle between Priscilla Mullins, John Alden, and fellow Mayflower passenger Miles Standish.  Both Alden and Standish vied for Priscilla's affection, but in the end Priscilla chose John Alden to marry.  

Priscilla Mullins, Illustration from The Courtship of Miles Standish, 1903 printing

Descendants can find their Mayflower ancestors on the big world family tree at FamilySearch.  First find great-grandma Dawn.  From her parents follow the ancestry back: Hazel > Cynthia McClellan > Juliette Chase > Ezra Chase > Timothy Chase > Jonathan Simmons > Joseph Simmons > William Simmons > Mercy Pabodie > Elizabeth Alden > John Alden & Priscilla Mullins.

Edward Winslow, the brother of another direct ancestor Kenelm Winslow, was also a Mayflower passenger.  It is thought that ancestor Kenelm Winslow came to America on the second Mayflower in 1629.  Kenelm Winslow lived in Plymouth Colony once he arrived.

James Cole, an ancestor from grandma's side of the family, also lived in Plymouth.  To read about his story, click here.