As we approach another Thanksgiving perhaps it’s time to attempt
to dispel some myths and rumors about the Pilgrims of New
Plymouth.

As a proven descendant of five signers of the Mayflower Compact,
one of whom fell overboard at sea and was rescued, I am extremely
tired of seeing the black-and-white-clad figures purported to be
“Puritans” or “Pilgrims.” Perhaps the Puritans of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony dressed that way but the Pilgrims of New
Plymouth Colony (separate colonies for close to 50 years) did not.

Here is a partial list of the clothing the Pilgrims brought with
them to the New World:

William Mullins took 126 pairs of shoes and 13 pairs of boots.
Clothes of all sorts had to go: oiled leather and canvas suits,
stuff gowns and leather and stuff breeches, shirts, jerkins,
doublets, neckcloths, hats and caps, hose, stockings, belts, piece
goods, and what was nicely called “haberdasherie.”
The predominating colors were russet or deep green but many of the
women had saffron or dark-blue dresses, fairly low-necked with
wide white collars and split or deeply cuffed sleeves and William
Brewster had a violet coat, a red cap, a quilted cap, a lace cap,
and a pair of green drawers among his belongings. Myles Standish
wore a rust-brown doublet with shoulder caps, braid stripes down
the sleeves and buttoned tie fastenings with white cuffs
(”Cromwell’s Russet-coated captain”) and all the men wore knee-
britches with knitted stockings and buckled shoes. The older
women had caps tied under their chins but the girls (including my
ancestor, Mary Chilton - age 16) pinned their caps to their hair.
The children with almost three centuries to go before clothes
would be specially designed for them dressed like tiny copies of
their elders.

Now, when was the first Thanksgiving? No one knows for sure but
it was definitely not the fourth Thursday in November! It was
held sometime between the first of October and the first week of
November.

The celebration was over some time prior to November 10th 1621
because it was on that date that the first ship - the “Fortune” -
to return to Plymouth Colony landed. (Abraham Lincoln set the
date as the last Thursday in November in 1863 - over 240 years
later!) Again quoting from the book “The MAYFLOWER” by Kate
Caffrey (who in turn was quoting):

The harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on
fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice
together, after we had gathered the fruit of our labors.
They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help
beside, served the Company almost a week. At which time,
amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the
Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest
king, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we
entertained and feasted. And they went out and killed four
deer which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our
Governor and upon the Captain and others.

Caffrey goes on to write: “In addition to the military review the
Pilgrims played games of chance and skill and the Indians danced
for them. They all enjoyed roast duck and goose, eels, clams and
other shellfish, leeks, watercress ‘and other salad herbs,’ wild
plums, dried berries, white bread and corn bread, white and red
wine. They certainly ate roast turkey, but not, that first time,
cranberry sauce.”

As could be expected after more than three centuries many other
long cherished “truths” could be exposed as sheer fabrications.
To name one, Priscilla did not say “Speak for yourself, John.”
That story was made up by a poet, a descendant of the two.

William Munsil
P.S. I have been a member of the Arizona Society of Mayflower
Descendants since 1965.