147-631: Josiah Winslow ( c. 1623 in Plymouth Colony – 1680 in Marshfield , Plymouth Colony ) was the 13th Governor of Plymouth Colony . In records of the time, historians also name him Josias Winslow , and modern writers have carried that name forward. He was born one year after the Charter which founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony , bringing over 20,000 English immigrants to New England in
294-494: A Pilgrim leader who made peace with the native peoples and treated them honorably. But his son Josiah, who became the colony's military commander about 1659, did not have a good relations with the Indians, and had a different view of them than his father did. Eventually the colonials no longer held the opinion, as they had for many years, of needing the help of the Indians for their survival. Many younger colonists especially began to see
441-571: A boy named John Billington became lost for some time in the woods around the colony. It was reported that he was found by the Nausets , the same tribe on Cape Cod from whom the Pilgrims had unwittingly stolen corn seed the prior year upon their first explorations. The colonists organized a party to return Billington to Plymouth, and they agreed to reimburse the Nausets for the corn which they had taken in return for
588-625: A central role in King Philip's War (1675–1678), one of several Indian Wars , but the colony was ultimately merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay . Despite the colony's relatively short existence, Plymouth holds a special role in American history. The social and legal systems of the colony became closely tied to their religious beliefs, as well as to English custom. Plymouth Colony
735-584: A change in the law to accommodate his unethical actions. At the time that Josiah Winslow became governor of Plymouth Colony in 1673, he was seen by the local native peoples as the embodiment of all that was unwelcome about the relationship between the Indians and the colonists. By the 1650s, the attitudes of both colonists and Indians in New England was changing – and with only a small part of original Indian lands from those that existed in 1620 remaining, young Indians pressured their leadership to take action against
882-595: A community of their own, or at least be free from the bonds by which the Plymouth colonists were enslaved. A letter addressed to the colonists and signed by thirteen of the merchants recited these facts and urged acceptance of the new comers on the specified terms." The new arrivals were allotted land in the area of the Eel River known as Hobs Hole , which became Wellingsley, a mile south of Plymouth Rock. In September 1623, another ship arrived carrying settlers destined to refound
1029-518: A deed between the Native Americans and a group of purchasers involving Browne and Willett can be found in a history of the town of Swansea. An extensive history of the early land purchases in Pokanoket area, including those involving Willett, has been compiled by Bicknell including a map showing historical names. Willett became a part owner with other prominent men, including his father-in-law and
1176-443: A defensive cannon would be stationed. Also important in choosing the site was the fact that the prior villagers had cleared much of the land, making agriculture relatively easy. Fresh water for the colony was provided by Town Brook and Billington Sea . There are no contemporaneous accounts to verify the legend, but Plymouth Rock is often hailed as the point where the colonists first set foot on their new homeland. The area where
1323-590: A feast which included numerous types of waterfowl, wild turkeys, and fish procured by the colonists, and five deer brought by the Wampanoags. After the departure of Massasoit and his men, Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, such as using dead fish to fertilize the soil. For the first few years of colonial life, the fur trade was the dominant source of income beyond subsistence farming, buying furs from Natives, and selling to Europeans. Governor Carver suddenly died shortly after
1470-464: A formal treaty of peace after exchanging gifts. This treaty ensured that each people would not bring harm to the other, that Massasoit would send his allies to make peaceful negotiations with Plymouth, and that they would come to each other's aid in a time of war. The Mayflower set sail for England on April 5, 1621, after being anchored for almost four months in Plymouth Harbor . Nearly half of
1617-515: A friend to all parties. From the 1650s to 1665–75, the sale of Indian lands to the colonists had increased greatly, from what was fourteen Indian land deeds registered in Plymouth court in the 1650s to a total of seventy-six deeds recorded between 1665 and 1675. Shiwei Jiang has several Plymouth deeds showing that Moses Simmons and his son Aaron, early settlers of Scituate, bought some lands from Josiah Winslow and Constant Southworth. Governor Prence and Assistant Governor Winslow felt they had developed
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#17328558855171764-411: A house at Wessagussett under the pretense of sharing a meal and making negotiations. Standish and his men then stabbed and killed them. Standish and his men pursued Obtakiest, a local sachem, but he escaped with three prisoners from Wessagussett; he then executed them. Within a short time, Wessagussett was disbanded, and the survivors were integrated into the town of Plymouth. Word quickly spread among
1911-461: A houselot. As the years passed, he assumed more and more responsibility in the colony including becoming the co-captain of the colony's military company (with Myles Standish ) in 1647/8 ; he remained in this post after Standish retired and for almost all of the remainder of his life. His initial appointment as Assistant to the Governor was in 1651; and he was reappointed to that post many times in
2058-726: A land patent from the Plymouth Company in June 1619. They had declined the opportunity to settle south of Cape Cod in New Netherland because of their desire to avoid the Dutch influence. This land patent allowed them to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River . They sought to finance their venture through the Merchant Adventurers , a group of businessmen who principally viewed the colony as
2205-585: A larger group of Native Americans, the Wampanoag .) The colony's desire for more land to accommodate its growing population and the desire for more economic activity, combined with the Pokanokets' desire for English goods, led to a series of land purchases from them, notably in the western part of the colony. Willett's father-in-law, John Browne, was among the founders of Taunton in 1640, and Browne's and Willett's involvement continued in further purchases along and near
2352-589: A leading citizen of the Plymouth Colony, and Browne's wife, Dorothy, in 1636. He moved with the Brown(e) family from Plymouth westward, originally to the Taunton area by the 1650s, and later to the eastern shores of Narragansett Bay to Wannamoisett, near present-day Barrington, Rhode Island. Willett had substantial business dealings with Browne (Sr.) and later increasingly, especially between 1656 and 1660 when Browne (Sr.)
2499-520: A lesser-known disease called leptospirosis . The absence of any serious Indian opposition to the Pilgrims' settlement may have been a pivotal event to their success and to English colonization in America. Popham Colony , also known as Fort St. George, was organized by the Plymouth Company (unrelated to Plymouth Colony) and founded in 1607. It was settled on the coast of Maine and was beset by internal political struggles, sickness, and weather problems. It
2646-568: A letter Winslow wrote to colony Governor Winthrop in 1644, and several years later worked together in England on colony-related business. In England Penelope may have learned about the life of an upper-class gentlewoman from her stepmother. In 1651 Josiah Winslow traveled to England to see his father who, in 1646, had joined the Puritan Protectorate government of Oliver Cromwell . Sometime between 1646 and 1651 Josiah met Penelope in England and it
2793-571: A letter from the Merchant Adventurers chastising the colony for failure to return goods with the Mayflower that had been promised in return for their support. The Fortune began its return to England laden with £500 worth of goods (equivalent to £78,000 in 2010, or $ 118,799 at PPP ), more than enough to keep the colonists on schedule for repayment of their debt. However, the Fortune was captured by
2940-529: A lock of his hair in a mourning ring. After her husband's death, Penelope continued to live at her home, Careswell, with her children Elizabeth and Isaac, who were still quite young. Penelope Pelham Winslow died on December 7, 1703, at age 70. Both Josiah Winslow and his wife Penelope were buried in the Winslow Cemetery in Marshfield, which has a memorial to Josiah's father Edward Winslow, who died at sea, and
3087-404: A man he immensely disliked. He felt that Winslow was connected somehow with the unsolved death of his brother "Alexander" who was mysteriously found dead. Winslow was also involved in the massive sale of Indian lands down to the outright confiscation of Indian-owned real estate. When Winslow had at first found that his real estate actions were deemed not to be legal in Plymouth, he went about forcing
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#17328558855173234-595: A means of making a profit. Upon arriving in America, the Pilgrims began working to repay their debts. Using the financing secured from the Merchant Adventurers, the Colonists bought provisions and obtained passage on the Mayflower and the Speedwell . They had intended to leave early in 1620, but they were delayed several months due to difficulties in dealing with the Merchant Adventurers, including several changes in plans for
3381-564: A member of the congregation. Such limited religious tolerance evidently was not extended to Quakers; Willett reportedly was among a group of magistrates condoning a severe whipping of two Quakers in 1658. After having lost his first wife, Willett married Joanna Boyse in September 1671. Willett was a given a "halbert" ( halberd ) in December 1673 when an expedition against the Dutch in New Orange
3528-613: A much more aggressive approach. Alexander, Massasoit's eldest son who had become the leader of the Pokanokets, died while in the custody of Winslow in 1662. Philip, the next eldest son, then became the Pokanoket's leader; relations eventually deteriorated to the point of open warfare between the English colonies and most of the New England tribes in 1675. This became known as King Philip's War . After his first term as New York mayor, Willett apparently spent time in Rehoboth in early 1667 where he
3675-477: A patent to settle this area, and some passengers began to question their right to land, objecting that there was no legal authority to establish a colony and hence no guarantee of retaining ownership over any land that they had improved. In response to this, a group of colonists drafted and signed the Mayflower Compact while still aboard the ship as it lay at anchor, which became the first governing document for
3822-584: A retaliatory raid by Pequot warriors on the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut , where some 30 English settlers were killed. This led to a further retaliation, where a raid led by Captain John Underhill and Captain John Mason burned a Pequot village to the ground in Mystic , killing 300 Pequots. Plymouth Colony had little to do with the actual fighting in the war. When it appeared that the war would resume, four of
3969-510: A settlement site. They rejected several sites, including one on Clark's Island and another at the mouth of the Jones River , in favor of the site of a recently abandoned settlement which had been occupied by the Patuxet tribe. The location was chosen largely for its defensive position. The settlement would be centered on two hills: Cole's Hill, where the village would be built, and Fort Hill, where
4116-511: A skirmish with Indians known as the "First Encounter" near Eastham, Massachusetts . The colonists decided to look elsewhere, having failed to secure a proper site for their settlement, and fearing that they had angered the Indians by taking their corn and firing upon them. The Mayflower left Provincetown Harbor and set sail for Plymouth Harbor. The Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth Harbor on December 16 and spent three days looking for
4263-423: A slave for a group of Spanish monks, then as a freeman in England. He had returned to New England in 1619, acting as a guide to explorer Capt. Robert Gorges , but Massasoit and his men had massacred the crew of the ship and had taken Squanto. Samoset returned to Plymouth on March 22 with a delegation from Massasoit that included Squanto; Massasoit joined them shortly after, and he and Governor Carver established
4410-546: A son-in-law, John Saffin, of a large development consortium, the Atherton Company , leading to interests in properties in a number of the early New England towns. Willett was appointed with others to settle a dispute between the colonies of Plymouth and Rhode Island over ownership of Hog Island in Narragansett Bay in 1658/9. Willett's trade with New Nederland led to further involvement with that colony. In 1650 he
4557-459: A state of readiness that was previously unknown in the colony. On September 9, 1675, he signed a Declaration of War made by the commissioners against the Indian leader known as King Philip . King Philip's War , also known variously as "Metacomet's War or Rebellion" was between various Indian groups in New England and English colonists and their Indian allies and lasted between 1675–1678. King Philip
Josiah Winslow - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-507: A successful negotiating party north to the Iroquois to secure for the English the excellent relations that the Iroquois had maintained with the Dutch. Colonel Richard Nicholls, who was given command of the transfer from Dutch to English governance, sent a request to Thomas Prence , then governor of the Plymouth Colony, that Willett be relieved of his duties to that colony so that he could assist in
4851-499: A vessel named the Sparrow arrived carrying seven men from the Merchant Adventurers whose purpose was to seek out a site for a new settlement in the area. Two ships followed shortly after carrying 60 settlers, all men. They spent July and August in Plymouth before moving north to settle in Weymouth, Massachusetts , at a settlement which they named Wessagussett . The settlement of Wessagussett
4998-405: A war, whether on purpose or not, managed to work against Philip instead of helping him with the support he badly needed to keep his warriors in check. And Winslow had actually made matters worse when he prosecuted Tobias, a senior counselor to Philip, for the murder of an English-educated favorite – an Indian named John Sassamon, who the Indians may indeed have killed upon discovering he was a spy for
5145-518: A young widow, Elizabeth Harlakenden. In 1643 Herbert Pelham was appointed treasurer of Harvard and in 1645 became Assistant to Governor Thomas Dudley . In late 1646 the Pelham family returned to England, where he had retained extensive family properties in England and Ireland. On the same ship going to England, they encountered Edward Winslow, who a few years later would be Penelope's father-in-law. Winslow and Pelham had known each other, Pelham having witnessed
5292-549: Is believed they were married in 1651, which is when they, and Edward Winslow, all had portraits painted, seemingly as companion pictures. These paintings hang today in the Pilgrim Hall Museum . Josiah and Penelope returned to Plymouth from England in 1655, the same year his father died at sea as part of a Caribbean naval expedition. In the 1660s the Winslows took up residence at the family estate of Carswell in Marshfield, which
5439-410: Is believed to have been in England, with Browne's two sons, John (Jr.) and James. Another family connection was with Willett's early co-worker in the fur trade, John Howland . Howland's daughter, Lydia, married James Browne and Howland's widow, Elizabeth , was living with James and Lydia Broowne's family when she died. Both John Browne (Sr.) and John Browne (Jr.) died in 1662, the son ten days before
5586-528: Is estimated that the entire population of the colony at the point of its dissolution was around 7,000. For comparison, it is estimated that more than 20,000 settlers had arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony between 1630 and 1640 (a period known as the Great Migration ), and the population of all New England was estimated to be about 60,000 by 1678. Plymouth was the first colony in the region, but it
5733-509: Is next to that of Thomas Willett. Little mention is found of her in the records; what is there includes her marriage to Thomas on July 6, 1636, and she is also mentioned in connection with her father's will which was hastily written while he was ill in the short period between his son's death and his own. The will of John Browne (Sr.) made scant reference to his daughter, Mary, no significant bequest to her, and none at all to her offspring. Browne's objective may have been to leave his property to
5880-473: Is now Kingston, Rhode Island. He married Ann Coddington, daughter of William Coddington, a governor of Rhode Island. Thomas Willett's interests in the Atherton Company led to ownership of land in this area of Rhode Island, then known as the "Boston Neck", along with other company shareholders who over time banded together as merchants, which included Thomas Willett's son, Andrew. Some confusion exists in
6027-527: Is probably that of William Bradford regarding the establishment of a second main trading post for the Plymouth Colony on the Penobscot River in what is now Maine in 1629. The Plymouth Colony was reluctantly joining in this effort, initiated by Isaac Allerton , in order to protect their established trading post on the Kennebunk River. Willett is thought to be the "honest young man" recently arrived with
Josiah Winslow - Misplaced Pages Continue
6174-617: The Dictionary of National Biography describes him as the fourth son of the English clergyman Andrew Willet . The germ of this description may have come from the pedigree of Willett's descendants published in 1848, which offered the theory that this Thomas may have descended from Andrew Willet because the Willett name is rare. A differing opinion exists in Dexter's compilation of the Leyden congregation in
6321-593: The Jamestown Colony . It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith . The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts . At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of what is now the southeastern portion of Massachusetts . Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore , including
6468-411: The Mayflower returned to England. William Bradford was elected to replace him and went on to lead the colony through much of its formative years. As promised by Massasoit, numerous Natives arrived at Plymouth throughout the middle of 1621 with pledges of peace. On July 2, a party of Pilgrims led by Edward Winslow (who later became the chief diplomat of the colony) set out to continue negotiations with
6615-457: The Mayflower . It remained with the Pilgrims when the Mayflower returned to England. On November 15, Captain Myles Standish led a party of 16 men on an exploratory mission, during which they disturbed an Indian grave and located a buried cache of Indian corn. The following week, Susanna White gave birth to son Peregrine White on the Mayflower . He was the first child born to the Pilgrims in
6762-464: The Narragansett Bay and completely omitted most of the New England coast. European fishermen had also been plying the waters off the New England coast for much of the 16th and 17th centuries. Frenchman Samuel de Champlain had explored the area extensively in 1605. He had specifically explored Plymouth Harbor , which he called "Port St. Louis", and he made an extensive and detailed map of it and
6909-451: The Speedwell forced the expedition to return again to England, this time to the port of Plymouth . The Speedwell was found to be unseaworthy; some passengers abandoned their attempt to emigrate, while others joined the Mayflower , crowding the already heavily burdened ship. Later, it was speculated that the crew of the Speedwell had intentionally sabotaged the ship to avoid having to make
7056-418: The Speedwell suffered significant leakage, which required the ships to immediately put in at Dartmouth . The leakage was partly caused by being overmasted and being pressed too much with sail. Repairs were completed, and a further delay ensued as they awaited favorable winds. The two ships finally set sail on August 23; they traveled only 200 miles (320 km) beyond Land's End before another major leak in
7203-525: The indentured servants . Among the Strangers were Myles Standish , who was the colony's military leader; Christopher Martin , who had been designated by the Merchant Adventurers to act as shipboard governor during the trans-Atlantic trip; and Stephen Hopkins , a veteran of a failed colonial venture that may have inspired Shakespeare 's The Tempest . The group who later became the Leiden Leaders after
7350-554: The "Adventurers" which provided investment in the Massachusetts Bay Company (later Colony) at its beginnings in 1630. Pelham advocated new settlement in New England and came to that colony with his family in 1638, being involved with the new Harvard College at Cambridge . At that time he was a young widower, his wife Jemima having just died, leaving him with four children including 5 year-old Penelope. Pelham soon married
7497-851: The 1630s. Josiah was the Harvard College -educated son of Mayflower passenger and Pilgrim leader and Governor Edward Winslow and was Governor from 1673 to 1680. The most significant event during his term in office was King Philip's War , which created great havoc for both the English and Indian populations and changed New England forever. Josiah was the first governor born in a "New England" colony. Josiah Winslow's parents were Edward Winslow (d. 1655) and his second wife, widow Susanna White . Her first husband had been Pilgrim William White , who died in February 1621, with whom she had sons Resolved and Peregrine White , all of whom were Mayflower passengers. The wedding of Edward Winslow and Susanna White
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#17328558855177644-536: The American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock . Plymouth Colony was founded by a group of Protestant Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims . The colony established a treaty with Wampanoag Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure its success; in this, they were aided by Squanto , a member of the Patuxet tribe. Plymouth played
7791-960: The Council of War refused to honor such assurance and the council decided, on August 4, that all surrendered Indians should be considered guilty whether or not they had been part of the attack in which they were captured. Within several months, all captured Indians from Plymouth and Dartmouth had been shipped as slaves to the Spanish at Cadiz. Josiah Winslow married Penelope Pelham by 1651 and had four children. Children of Josiah and Penelope Winslow, all born in Marshfield, Plymouth Colony: Josiah Winslow married Penelope Pelham in England in 1651, she being born about 1633. Her parents were Herbert Pelham, Esq., and Jemima (Waldegrave). Both parents had extensive noble lineage from England and elsewhere in Europe. Herbert Pelham, as well as his father-in-law Thomas Waldegrave were members of
7938-561: The Dutch in settling the area. Other tribes in the area sided with the English, including the Narragansetts and Mohegans , who were the traditional enemies of the Pequots. The event that sparked formal hostilities was the capture of a boat and the murder of captain John Oldham in 1636, an event blamed on allies of the Pequots. In April 1637, a raid on a Pequot village by John Endicott led to
8085-645: The Dutch language and customs, and some also entered the Dutch Army. They also were still not free from the persecutions of the English Crown. English authorities came to Leiden to arrest William Brewster in 1618 after he published comments highly critical of the King of England and the Anglican Church . Brewster escaped arrest, but the events spurred the congregation to move farther from England. The congregation obtained
8232-428: The English on September 7, 1664. Willett had informed the Dutch that an expedition by the English was pending, and he was a member of the English party that entered New Amsterdam under a flag of truce on September 2 to attempt to persuade Governor Stuyvesant and the Dutch to surrender peacefully. This eventually happened. Largely because of his knowledge of the native languages, Willett very soon thereafter accompanied
8379-400: The English. The initial outbreak of violence that led to years of war was primarily caused by Winslow refusing to recognize that Philip's problems were actually also his own problems too. And in the end, Governor Josiah Winslow was the person most responsible for King Philip's War, possibly more than King Philip or anyone else. Initially, Governor Winslow did have a chance, while the fighting
8526-574: The English; a subsequent effort to recapture it using a ship commanded by a Captain Girling was futile, and the colony gave up the Penobscot post permanently. An account of the expulsion of the English from Penobscot and the subsequent attempt to regain it from the French point of view exists in a letter from Sieur D'Aulney to Governor John Endecott of Massachusetts. Willett's early and continuing experiences in
8673-640: The French before she could deliver her cargo to England, creating an even larger deficit for the colony. In July 1623, two more ships arrived: the Anne under the command of Captain "Master" William Peirce and Master John Bridges, and the Little James under the command of Captain Emanuel Altham. These ships carried 96 new settlers, among them Leideners, including William Bradford 's future wife Alice and William and Mary Brewster's daughters Patience and Fear. Some of
8820-421: The Indians are run away from their habitations". The only positive effect of Standish's raid seemed to be the increased power of the Massasoit-led Wampanoag tribe, the Pilgrims' closest ally in the region. A second ship arrived in November 1621 named the Fortune , sent by the Merchant Adventurers one year after the Pilgrims first set foot in New England. It arrived with 37 new settlers for Plymouth. However,
8967-421: The Indians as an impediment to the development of the lands that they largely now saw as their own. King Philip began his relationship with the English with the best interests of all at heart, but greed played a part in his thinking and he eventually was involved in a large scale transfer of native lands to the colonists, helped by a questionable character, Leiden-born Thomas Willet , who wrongly portrayed himself
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#17328558855179114-524: The Indians) until 1672. On October 2, 1658, he was commissioned as major-commandant of the colony's militia forces which were consolidated on that same date into a regiment under Winslow's command. He held this position until June 3, 1673, when, having been elected Governor of the Colony, he was succeeded by William Bradford Jr. On June 2, 1685, Plymouth Colony was divided into three counties (Plymouth, Barnstable and Bristol), and each county had its own regiment of militia. In 1643, his father, Edward Winslow,
9261-560: The Indigenous tribes of Standish's attack; many Natives abandoned their villages and fled the area. As noted by Philbrick: "Standish's raid had irreparably damaged the human ecology of the region ... It was some time before a new equilibrium came to the region." Edward Winslow reports in his 1624 memoirs Good News from New England that "they forsook their houses, running to and fro like men distracted, living in swamps and other desert places, and so brought manifold diseases amongst themselves, whereof very many are dead". The Pilgrims lost
9408-450: The Kennebunk River trading post given his other activities, but Winthrop recorded one incident where a potential theft or worse by some Native Americans was thwarted by Willett in 1639. Willett was "Admitted to the freedom of this society" (i.e., recognized as a full citizen, or "freeman") in 1633/4 and married Mary Browne on July 6, 1636. He received several grants of land from the colony in 1638/9 and 1640 plus six acres in 1640 for
9555-430: The New England colonies (Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut , New Haven , and Plymouth) formed a defensive compact known as the United Colonies of New England . Edward Winslow was already known for his diplomatic skills, and he was the chief architect of the United Colonies. His experience in the United Provinces of the Netherlands during the Leiden years was key to organizing the confederation. John Adams later considered
9702-455: The New World. The shallop was finished on November 27, and a second expedition was undertaken using it, under the direction of Mayflower master Christopher Jones . Thirty-four men went, but the expedition was beset by bad weather; the only positive result was that they found an Indian burial ground and corn that had been intended for the dead, taking the corn for future planting. A third expedition along Cape Cod left on December 6; it resulted in
9849-421: The United Colonies to be the prototype for the Articles of Confederation , which was the first attempt at a national American government. Metacomet was the younger son of Massasoit and the heir of Massasoit's position as sachem of the Pokanokets and supreme leader of the Wampanoags. He was known to the colonists as Philip, and he became sachem upon the sudden death of his older brother Wamsutta in 1662, who
9996-459: The appendix of his work, England and Holland of the Pilgrims . This indicates that Willett was the son of Thomas and Alice Willet of the Leyden congregation. The respective merits of these opinions are discussed by Burgess. There is general agreement that Willett came over to the Plymouth Colony with the second wave of the Leyden congregation in 1629. There is disagreement however over whether or not he went back to England shortly thereafter for
10143-435: The approval of the English and Dutch alike; he had apparently maintained a residence in New Amsterdam for some years in addition to his long-establish trading relationships. The next year he was elected alderman, and became mayor again for another year in mid-1667. He was a member of the New York governor's executive council at times from 1665 to 1672 under Francis Lovelace . One of the greatest services Willett provided to
10290-401: The best way to manage Indian affairs, with Thomas Willet being involved as King Philip's contact with Josiah Winslow. Prence and Winslow tried to emulate the relationship that Bradford and Standish had with the Indians in 1622, but, as recorded by Hubbard, fell short of that goal. When Prence died in 1673 and Winslow became governor, King Philip was very displeased to have to conduct business with
10437-526: The boy. This negotiation did much to secure further peace with the tribes in the area. During their dealings with the Nausets over the release of John Billington, the Pilgrims learned of troubles that Massasoit was experiencing. Massasoit, Squanto, and several other Wampanoags had been captured by Corbitant , sachem of the Narragansett tribe. A party of ten men under the leadership of Myles Standish set out to find and execute Corbitant. While hunting for him, they learned that Squanto had escaped and Massasoit
10584-415: The building progressed, 20 men always remained ashore for security purposes while the rest of the work crews returned each night to the Mayflower . Women, children, and the infirm remained on board the Mayflower , and many had not left the ship for six months. The first structure was a common house of wattle and daub , and it took two weeks to complete in the harsh New England winter. In the following weeks,
10731-521: The bulk of his estate to be divided among his sons (including Samuel Hooker, married to his daughter, Mary), along with more minor bequests to his unmarried daughters, grandchildren, an old servant, schools, churches, and the pastor, John Myles. Willett's will was made in April 1671, prior to his second marriage. The origins of Thomas Willett are not known for certain and are subject to some debate. The most commonly encountered description of his early life from
10878-420: The chief. The delegation also included Squanto, who acted as a translator. After traveling for several days, they arrived at Massasoit's village of Sowams near Narragansett Bay . After meals and an exchange of gifts, Massasoit agreed to an exclusive trading pact with the Plymouth colonists. Squanto remained behind and traveled throughout the area to establish trading relations with several tribes. In late July,
11025-412: The colonial adult male population is estimated to have died during the war, a rather large percentage by most standards. The impact on the Native Americans was far higher, however. So many were killed, fled, or shipped off as slaves that the entire Indigenous population of New England fell by 60 to 80 percent. Thomas Willett Thomas Willett ( c. 1607 – August 29, 1674)
11172-506: The colonists learned the Native Americans' method of raising corn and beans, cattle were imported from England and multiplied, and some trade in wampum and other goods was established. However, the major contribution to placing the colony on a firm financial basis and finally paying its debt to its financial "Adventurers" in London was made by exporting furs, primarily of beaver to be used in making hats. The first record of Willett's long career
11319-405: The colonists settled had been identified as "New Plymouth" in maps which John Smith published in 1614. The colonists elected to retain the name for their own settlement, in honor of their final point of departure from Plymouth, Devon . On December 21, 1620, the first landing party arrived at the site of Plymouth . Plans to build houses, however, were delayed by bad weather until December 23. As
11466-642: The colonists to prevent further land loss. The second generation of colonists also wanted action, as they coveted all remaining Indian lands and only awaited the time when the Indian race in New England, whether by war, disease or poverty, would cease to exist. King Philip had for many years been placating his young warriors, promising war against the colonists. Philip always tried to avoid actually fighting colonial militias directly, and when confronted, would back down. And as late as June 23, 1675, Philip still hoped he could keep from going to war. But Winslow, by now ill with possible tuberculosis and in no condition to fight
11613-422: The colony for many years, along with his father-in-law John Browne, was maintenance of good relations with the Pokanokets whose main village was near Rehoboth, close to Mt. Hope. The relations with the colony soured with Willett's absences to New York and for his other merchant activities, and even more so after his death. The military affairs of the colony were increasingly assumed by Josiah Winslow , who pursued
11760-411: The colony should be governed by "just and equal laws," and those who signed it promised to keep those laws. The group remained on board the ship through the next day for prayer and worship, as it was a Sunday. They finally set foot on land at Provincetown on November 13. The first task was to rebuild a shallop , a shallow draft boat that had been built in England and disassembled for transport aboard
11907-463: The colony. The intent of the compact was to establish a means of governing the colony, though it did little more than confirm that the colony would be governed like any English town. It did, however, serve the purpose of relieving the property concerns of many of the settlers. This social contract was written and signed by 41 male passengers . It was modeled on the church covenants that Congregationalists used to form new congregations. It made clear that
12054-618: The congregation. The congregation left England in 1608 and moved to the Netherlands, settling first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden . In Leiden, the congregation gained the freedom to worship as they chose, but Dutch society was unfamiliar to them. Scrooby had been an agricultural community, whereas Leiden was a thriving industrial center, and they found the pace of life difficult. The community remained close-knit, but their children began adopting
12201-452: The depositions were transported to England for trial in July 1631 after Ashley was arrested and accused of trading arms and ammunition with Native Americans. In 1631, the trading post was robbed of just about anything of value by the French while the "master of the house" was away meeting a supply ship. Willett was in charge of the trading post when the French again robbed it in 1635 and evicted
12348-489: The eastern coast and northern reaches of Narragansett Bay . Willett had moved to this western area of the colony and became involved in the affairs of Rehoboth by the early 1650s, serving in numerous capacities, particularly after the death of Browne in 1662. Willett was authorized to purchase further land from the Native Americans in 1662 and again in 1668 and 1669; these purchases led enlargement of Rehoboth and Swansey ( Swansea , originally Wannamoisett ). An example of
12495-474: The established church. After Swansea was officially recognized, a small group led by Willett was given control over who was allowed to set up residence in the new town. Although Willett's brother-in-law, James Browne, was probably the most prominent lay member of the Baptist congregation, and Willett was deeply involved in establishing it as a separate and recognized congregation, Willett actually may not have been
12642-500: The failed colony at Weymouth, and they stayed temporarily in Plymouth. In March 1624, a ship arrived bearing a few additional settlers and the first cattle. A 1627 division of cattle lists 156 colonists divided into twelve lots of thirteen colonists each. Another ship arrived in August 1629, also named the Mayflower , with 35 additional members of the Leiden congregation. Ships arrived throughout
12789-408: The father. The children of Thomas and Mary Willet, as compiled from several sources, were: (?) Sons John, Thomas, and David are not mentioned in Willett's will which calls James the "eldest son". There is disagreement over Thomas Willett's date and place of birth. The Dictionary of National Biography states that he was born in England in 1605. Willett's will, dated April 26, 1671, says he
12936-426: The following years. Willett's initial beginning as a merchant in addition to the continuing involvement in the fur trade may have come in 1641/2 when he furnished a sixteenth portion of the construction cost to build a 40–50 ton bark (ship). In time he became the major merchant in the lucrative trade with the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (later New York) where his early knowledge of the Dutch language and customs
13083-602: The formerly persecuted Quakers. During his tenure in 1674–75 the first public school was established and in 1680 the first Lieutenant-Governor was elected. In 1675 he was elected General-in-Chief of the entire military forces of the United Colonies, being the first native-born general. In 1675 the General Court ordered that four halberdiers (possibly as armed guards) should attend the governor and magistrates at elections and two during court sessions. The government maintained
13230-432: The fur trade provided valuable skills in native languages and frontier trade for use in his later career. Willett remained active in the colony's remaining fur trading efforts, including being appointed to a committee in 1637 to advise the governor concerning the decline in the trade, and in 1649 and again in 1656, with others, taking over the remaining trading post on the Kennebunk River. He probably spent little time at
13377-453: The group in Southampton, including William Brewster, who had been in hiding for the better part of a year, and a group of people known to the Leiden congregation as "The Strangers." This group was largely made up of people recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide practical assistance to the colony and additional hands to work for the colony's ventures. The term was also used for many of
13524-481: The men were too infirm to work; 45 out of 102 pilgrims died and were buried on Cole's Hill . Thus, only seven residences and four common houses were constructed during the first winter out of a planned 19. By the end of January, enough of the settlement had been built to begin unloading provisions from the Mayflower . The men of the settlement organized themselves into military orders in mid-February, after several tense encounters with local Indians, and Myles Standish
13671-421: The merging of ships included John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, William Brewster, and Isaac Allerton. The departure of the Mayflower and Speedwell was beset by delays. Further disagreements with the Merchant Adventurers held up the departure in Southampton. A total of 120 passengers finally departed on August 5 – 90 on the Mayflower and 30 on the Speedwell . Leaving Southampton,
13818-446: The midst of the settlement and proclaimed, "Welcome, Englishmen!" It was during this meeting that the Pilgrims learned how the previous residents of Patuxet had died of an epidemic. They also learned that an important leader of the region was Wampanoag Indian chief Massasoit , and they learned about Squanto (Tisquantum) who was the sole survivor from Patuxet. Squanto had spent time in Europe and spoke English quite well. Samoset spent
13965-453: The murder. Philip had already begun war preparations at his home base near Mount Hope where he started raiding English farms and pillaging their property. In response, Governor Josiah Winslow called out the militia, and they organized and began to move on Philip's position. Philip's men attacked unarmed women and children in order to receive a ransom. One such attack resulted in the capture of Mary Rowlandson . The war continued through
14112-425: The night in Plymouth and agreed to arrange a meeting with some of Massasoit's men. Massasoit and Squanto were apprehensive about the Pilgrims, as several men of his tribe had been killed by English sailors. He also knew that the Pilgrims had taken some corn stores in their landings at Provincetown. Squanto himself had been abducted in 1614 by English explorer Thomas Hunt and had spent five years in Europe, first as
14259-414: The original 102 passengers had died during the first winter. As William Bradford wrote, "of these one hundred persons who came over in this first ship together, the greatest half died in the general mortality, and most of them in two or three months' time". Several of the graves on Cole's Hill were uncovered in 1855; their bodies were disinterred and moved to a site near Plymouth Rock. In November 1621,
14406-659: The original source material by Samuel Gardner Drake , published in 1860, indicates that the original record for the ship sailing to England on that date listed only a few names of the passengers, including only a "Tobie" Willet and a "Jo:" Browne (but no other Brownes). This and the indication that only the depositions of Willett and others accompanied Ashley back to England for his trial are contrary to Banks' passenger list. Willett's parents and siblings were evidently left behind when he emigrated to Plymouth in 1629. His family life thereafter centered around that of his wife's family. Willett married Mary, daughter of John Browne (Sr.),
14553-647: The other English landowners there were confiscated; he died shortly thereafter and these holdings were never restored. Even with these losses, Willett died one of the wealthiest men in the colony as can be seen from the lengthy inventory. Although no record appears to exist indicating that Willett participated in the slave trade, the inventory of his estate indicates ownership of eight negro slaves when he died. The Plymouth court later decided to grant freedom after two years additional service to one of Willett's slaves who had been taken prisoner during King Philip's war and later returned to Willett's heirs. Willett's will left
14700-441: The passengers decided to return north to Cape Cod Bay and abandon their original landing plans. The Pilgrims were not the first Europeans in the area. John Cabot 's discovery of Newfoundland in 1497 had laid the foundation for the extensive English claims over the east coast of America. Cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi made one of the earliest maps of New England c. 1540 , but he erroneously identified Cape Breton with
14847-514: The passengers who arrived on the Anne were either unprepared for frontier life or undesirable additions to the colony, and they returned to England the next year. According to Gleason Archer, "those who remained were not willing to join the colony under the terms of the agreement with the Merchant Adventurers. They had embarked for America upon an understanding with the Adventurers that they might settle in
14994-429: The period between 1629 and 1630 carrying new settlers, though the exact number is unknown; contemporaneous documents indicate that the colony had almost 300 people by January 1630. In 1643, the colony had an estimated 600 males fit for military service, implying a total population of about 2,000. The estimated total population of Plymouth County was 3,055 by 1690, on the eve of the colony's merger with Massachusetts Bay. It
15141-570: The pilgrims celebrated a feast of thanksgiving which became known in the 19th century as "The First Thanksgiving ". The feast was probably held in early October 1621 and was celebrated by the 53 surviving Pilgrims, along with Massasoit and 90 of his men. Three contemporaneous accounts of the event survive: Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, Mourt's Relation probably written by Edward Winslow, and New England's Memorial by Plymouth Colony Secretary (and Bradford's nephew) Capt. Nathaniel Morton . The celebration lasted three days and featured
15288-605: The range given in Dexter's listing for the Willet family in Holland. The respective merits of these opinions are discussed by Burgess. Willet died August 4, 1674, and was buried in the Little Neck Cemetery at Bullock's Cove, Riverside area of East Providence, Rhode Island. Mary Willett, the first wife of Thomas, died on January 8, 1669, at about 55 years old making her birthdate about 1614, almost certainly in England. Her grave
15435-730: The records distinguishing between the Boston Neck area of Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. Some have claimed that one of Willett's great-grandsons was Marinus Willett , who also served as Mayor of New York from 1807 to 1808, assuming that Willett's son, Samuel, settled on Long Island where he became Sheriff of Queens County and Marinus' grandfather. This claim has been refuted by E. Haviland Hillman in an article published in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record , Volume 47 at 119, published in April 1916. The descendants of Thomas Willett were numerous. The 'Dorothy Q.' of
15582-669: The relatively more needy members of his family rather than to those of Mary's branch, as she was married to one of the wealthiest men in the colony. However this might have been, Browne's intent could have been better expressed and the result was an unusual mention in the colony's records regarding Mary Willett's good relationship with her father. Joanna Prudden, widow of Rev. Peter Prudden and second wife of Thomas Willett, married Willett in Milford, Connecticut, on September 20, 1671. After Willett's death in 1674, she soon returned to Milford and remarried again, this time to Rev. John Bishop. She
15729-456: The rest of 1675 and into the next year. The colonists were constantly frustrated by the Native Americans' refusal to meet them in pitched battle. They employed a form of guerrilla warfare that confounded the English. Captain Benjamin Church continuously campaigned to enlist the help of friendly Native Americans to help learn how to fight on an even footing with Philip's warrior bands, but he
15876-409: The rest of the settlement slowly took shape. The living and working structures were built on the relatively flat top of Cole's Hill, and a wooden platform was constructed atop nearby Fort Hill to support the cannon that would defend the settlement. During the winter, the Mayflower colonists suffered greatly from lack of shelter, diseases such as scurvy , and general conditions on board ship. Many of
16023-413: The second and last major group from John Robinson's Leyden congregation who was given the task of monitoring the activities of Edward Ashley, the man placed in charge of the trading post by Allerton. This "young man being discreet, and one (Willett) whom they could trust, they so instructed as kept Ashley ... within bounds". It is definitely known that Willett, among others, was deposed and Ashley and
16170-511: The second winter, he helped design and organize the construction of a large palisade wall surrounding the settlement. Standish led two early military raids on Indian villages: the raid to find and punish Corbitant for his attempted coup, and the killing at Wessagussett called "Standish's raid". The former had the desired effect of gaining the respect of the local Indians; the latter only served to frighten and scatter them, resulting in loss of trade and income. The first major war in New England
16317-541: The settlers of the town. The proximate cause of the conflict was the death of a Praying Indian named John Sassamon in 1675. Sassamon had been an advisor and friend to Philip; however, Sassamon's conversion to Christianity had driven the two apart. Accused in the murder of Sassamon were some of Philip's most senior lieutenants. A jury of twelve Englishmen and six Praying Indians found the Native Americans guilty of murder and sentenced them to death. To this day, some debate exists whether King Philip's men actually committed
16464-515: The ship had arrived unexpectedly and also without many supplies, so the additional settlers put a strain on the resources of the colony. Among the passengers of the Fortune were several of the original Leiden congregation, including William Brewster 's son Jonathan, Edward Winslow's brother John, and Philip Delano (the family name was earlier "de la Noye") whose descendants include President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . The Fortune also carried
16611-468: The ship. One death occurred, that of William Button. After two months at sea, they sighted land on November 9, 1620, off the coast of Cape Cod . They attempted to sail south to the designated landing site at the mouth of the Hudson but ran into trouble in the region of Pollock Rip , a shallow area of shoals between Cape Cod and Nantucket Island . With winter approaching and provisions running dangerously low,
16758-422: The site as "New Plimouth." In the Mayflower settlers' first explorations of Cape Cod, they came across evidence that Europeans had previously spent extensive time there. They discovered remains of a European fort and uncovered a grave that contained the remains of both an adult European male and an Indian child. The Mayflower anchored at Provincetown Harbor on November 11, 1620. The Pilgrims did not have
16905-452: The small, 106 feet (32 m) long ship. The seas were not severe during the first month in the Atlantic but, by the second month, the ship was being hit by strong north-Atlantic winter gales, causing it to be badly shaken with water leaks from structural damage. There were many obstacles throughout the trip, including multiple cases of seasickness and the bending and cracking of a main beam of
17052-523: The surrounding lands. He showed the Patuxet village (where the town of Plymouth was later built) as a thriving settlement. However, an epidemic wiped out up to 90 percent of the Indians along the Massachusetts coast in 1617–1619, including the Patuxets, before the arrival of the Mayflower . The epidemic has traditionally been thought to be smallpox, but a recent analysis has concluded that it may have been
17199-581: The third expedition, during which Standish fired the first recorded shot by the Pilgrim settlers in an event known as the First Encounter. Standish had training in military engineering from the University of Leiden , and it was he who decided the defensive layout of the settlement when they finally arrived at Plymouth. He also organized the able-bodied men into military orders in February of the first winter. During
17346-465: The trade in furs which they had enjoyed with the local tribes, and which was their main source of income for paying off their debts to the Merchant Adventurers. Rather than strengthening their position, Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, as attested by William Bradford in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers: "we had much damaged our trade, for there where we had most skins
17493-416: The transfer. His letter stated that "Mr. Willett was more acquainted with the manners and customs of the Dutch than any English man in the country, and that his conversation was very acceptable to them". This request was granted and Willett resigned his official duties with Plymouth. When the colony was reorganized with the name of New York, Willett was appointed the first mayor of the town (June 1665) with
17640-471: The treacherous trans-Atlantic voyage. The delays had significant consequences; the cost of the repairs and port fees required that the colonists sell some of their vital provisions. More importantly, the late-autumn voyage meant that everyone had to spend the coming winter on board the Mayflower off Cape Cod in increasingly squalid conditions. The Mayflower departed Plymouth , England , on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and about 30 crew members in
17787-567: The trial of Edward Ashley who was accused of trading weapons and ammunition to Native Americans. The evidence that this might have been the case is based upon a listing of passengers on the ship Lyon which sailed from London on June 22, 1632, with William Pierce as Master as given by Charles Edward Banks in his Planters of the Commonwealth . This list includes Thomas Willett along with the family of his future father-in-law, John Browne, including Willett's future wife, Mary. However, an examination of
17934-650: The voyage and financing. The congregation and the other colonists finally boarded the Speedwell in July 1620 in the Dutch port of Delfshaven . Speedwell was re-rigged with larger masts before leaving Holland and setting out to meet Mayflower in Southampton, England , around the end of July 1620. The Mayflower was purchased in London. The original captains were Captain Reynolds for Speedwell and Captain Christopher Jones for Mayflower . Other passengers joined
18081-442: The war that bears his name. Throughout July 1676, Church's band captured hundreds of Native American warriors, often without much of a fight, though Philip eluded him. Church was given permission to grant amnesty to any captured Native Americans who would agree to join the colonial side, and his force grew immensely. Philip was killed by a Pocasset Indian, and the war soon ended as an overwhelming colonial victory. Eight percent of
18228-455: Was a Plymouth Colony fur trader, merchant , land purchaser and developer, Captain of the Plymouth Colony militia, Magistrate of the colony, and was the 1st and 3rd Mayor of New York , prior to the consolidation of the five boroughs into the City of New York in 1898. The early years of the Plymouth Colony were marked by severe economic crises and challenges. Incremental progress was made as
18375-472: Was a councilor under Governors Sir Edmund Andros and Henry Sloughter . According to Hillman it is probable that this Major Thomas Willett was actually a member of another Willett family which had settled on Long Island. They were possibly cousins of the Thomas Willett who is the subject of this article. Hezekiah Willett was killed during King Philip's War in spite of the special consideration which
18522-515: Was abandoned in 1608. Captain John Smith of Jamestown had explored the area in 1614 and is credited with naming the region New England. He named many locations using approximations of Indian words. He gave the name "Accomack" to the Patuxet settlement on which the Pilgrims founded Plymouth, but he changed it to New Plymouth after consulting Prince Charles , son of King James. A map published in his 1616 work A Description of New England clearly shows
18669-462: Was also known as Alexander. Indian leaders such as Philip resented the colonists' increasing land acquisitions, and they looked for a means to slow or reverse it. Of specific concern was the founding of the town of Swansea , which was located only a few miles from the Wampanoag capital at Mount Hope . The General Court of Plymouth began using military force to coerce the sale of Wampanoag land to
18816-543: Was appointed Captain of the town's militia and was the principal in the establishment of the Township of Swansea. Swansea was originally part of Rehoboth; they divided after a Baptist congregation originally led by Obadiah Holmes , and subsequently by John Myles , arose and had differences with the existing congregation of the town. Among other things, the members of the Baptist congregation were heavily fined for setting up their own congregation and not attending services at
18963-432: Was back in power. Standish and his men had injured several Native Americans, so the colonists offered them medical attention in Plymouth. They had failed to capture Corbitant, but the show of force by Standish had garnered respect for the Pilgrims and, as a result, nine of the most powerful sachems in the area signed a treaty in September, including Massasoit and Corbitant, pledging their loyalty to King James. In May 1622,
19110-519: Was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, in 1616 and died on November 8, 1681, in Stamford, Connecticut. Mary Willett, eldest daughter of Capt. Thomas Willett and his wife Mary, married in 1658 Rev. Samuel Hooker, son of Rev. Thomas Hooker , Puritan divine and founder of Hartford, Connecticut . There is some thought that Willett's son, Thomas Willett (Jr.), was the major in the militia of Queens County who
19257-540: Was constantly rebuffed by the Plymouth leadership who mistrusted all Native Americans, thinking them potential enemies. Eventually, Governor Winslow and Plymouth military commander Major William Bradford (son of the late Governor William Bradford) relented and gave Church permission to organize a combined force of English and Native Americans. After securing the alliance of the Sakonnets, he led his combined force in pursuit of Philip, who had thus far avoided any major battles in
19404-411: Was contemplated. The Dutch had briefly conquered New York and changed the name to New Orange (the name reverted to New York after the Dutch signed a peace treaty in February 1674). This is the last record of Willett's activity in the colony. Willett left a large estate as evidenced by the inventory compiled for probate. When the Dutch recaptured New York in 1673, Willet's holdings along with those of
19551-541: Was designated as the commanding officer. By the end of the month, five cannons had been defensively positioned on Fort Hill. John Carver was elected governor to replace Governor Martin. On March 16, 1621, the first formal contact occurred with the Indians. Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore who was originally from Pemaquid Point in Maine . He had learned some English from fishermen and trappers in Maine, and he walked boldly into
19698-401: Was entrusted, along with the English secretary to Peter Stuyvesant , to represent New Nederland in settling its border with the English colony of Connecticut (this link shows the 1650 boundary established, along with those of later surveys, see also New Haven Colony ). Accompanying the English commander Richard Nicolls , Willett contributed to the peaceable surrender of New Amsterdam to
19845-531: Was founded by a group of Brownists (a sect of English Protestant dissenters ) who came to be known as the Pilgrims . The core group (roughly 40 percent of the adults and 56 percent of the family groupings) were part of a congregation led in America by William Bradford and William Brewster . They began to feel the pressures of religious persecution while still in the English village of Scrooby , near East Retford , Nottinghamshire. In 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided homes and imprisoned several members of
19992-452: Was killed by a Puritan militia company headed by Major Benjamin Church on August 12, 1676. On June 20, 1675, natives attacked colonial homesteads and war came to New England. King Philip (aka Metacomet) and Governor Winslow had allowed an acrimonious situation to get out of hand and the attack and the violence that followed surprised everyone – English and Indian alike. Edward Winslow had been
20139-543: Was much smaller than Massachusetts Bay Colony by the time that they merged. Myles Standish was the military leader of Plymouth Colony from the beginning. He was officially designated as the captain of the colony's militia in February 1621, shortly after the arrival of the Mayflower in December 1620. He organized and led the first party from the Mayflower to set foot in New England, an exploratory expedition of Cape Cod upon arrival in Provincetown Harbor. He also led
20286-500: Was named for the English estate of Josiah's great-grandfather. Josiah enjoyed the distinction of being accomplished in the manner of an English gentleman, married to a quite wealthy and beautiful English wife. Josiah Winslow died on December 18, 1680, in Marshfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony at about age 51. In his will, dated July 2, 1675, he had named his wife Penelope, then age 47, as his estate administrator. In remembrance of her husband, Penelope had Boston silversmith John Coney place
20433-567: Was of great advantage. His later merchant activities included at least some trade with Virginia and across the Atlantic. Willett's abilities in the native languages led to his becoming a trusted translator and to establishing friendships among the Native Americans, particularly with the principal leaders of the Pokanokets , who were led successively by Massasoit , and his sons Wamsutta (or Alexander) and Metacom (known as Prince Phillip). (The Pokanokets today are usually referred to as members of
20580-454: Was one of six signers of the new Articles of Confederation of the New England colonies, and in 1673 Josiah became the first native-born governor of the colony upon the death of Governor Thomas Prence . One of Josiah's first acts as governor, was to institute a policy of larger sympathy for the Quakers. He set free two men, Cudworth and Robinson, who were in prison for stating their sympathy for
20727-493: Was short-lived, but it provided the spark for an event that dramatically changed the political landscape between the local tribes and the settlers. Reports reached Plymouth of a military threat to Wessagussett, and Myles Standish organized a militia to defend them. However, he found that there had been no attack. He therefore decided on a pre-emptive strike, an event which historian Nathaniel Philbrick calls "Standish's raid". He lured two prominent Massachusett military leaders into
20874-461: Was still contained locally, to resolve the situation peacefully by diplomatic means, but did not take needed action and brought about a major conflagration that actually need not have happened. An example of Winslow's thinking, and about the first time slavery was used as a weapon against the Indians, was when several hundred Indians had surrendered to authorities in Plymouth and Dartmouth who had assured them of amnesty. But Winslow and his advisors on
21021-500: Was supposed to be extended to the Browne/Willett family by Philip's followers. This was a source of great sorrow to Philip as reported by the servant captured when Hezekiah was killed (this probably was the slave later ordered freed by the colony's court ). This incident also exasperated the Plymouth colonists; special punishments were eventually meted out to Hezekiah's killers. Andrew Willett spent most of his adult life near what
21168-693: Was the Pequot War of 1637. The war's roots go back to 1632, when a dispute arose between Dutch fur traders and Plymouth officials over control of the Connecticut River Valley near Hartford . Representatives from the Dutch East India Company and Plymouth Colony both had deeds which claimed that they had rightfully purchased the land from the Pequots . A sort of land rush occurred as settlers from Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies tried to beat
21315-420: Was the burial place of Josiah's mother, Susanna White . Winslow Cemetery is where Josiah's half-brothers Resolved and Peregrine White and their wives were also buried and for whom there is also a memorial. Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth ) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America , after Newfoundland and
21462-475: Was the first in Plymouth Colony . In 1643 Josiah Winslow was chosen deputy to the general court from Marshfield , and in 1656 he succeeded Myles Standish as the commander of the colony's military forces. In 1657 he was chosen assistant governor, a post he filled until he was elected governor in 1673. Also, in 1658 he was Plymouth's commissioner to the United Colonies (a Puritan military alliance against
21609-413: Was then "being going in the sixty-fourth year of my age" (i.e., he was 63 years old, born between April 27, 1607, and April 27, 1608, prior to the migration to the Netherlands later in 1608 which included those who later became the Leyden congregation). His original gravestone also stated that he died "in the 64th year of his age" in 1674 (i.e., he was born in 1610 or 1611) and this is in agreement with
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