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The
First Thanksgiving
By 1621, Pilgrims had managed to cultivate enough food
to last through the winter, built homes for themselves, and were
at peace with their neighbors. To celebrate this success, Governor
William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that would be
shared by all colonists and their Native American neighbors.
This custom of hosting an annual thanksgiving after the harvest
continued for years. Although proposed by the Continental Congress
in 1782 (see the proclamation), Abraham
Lincoln was the first President to recognize a national Thanksgiving.
In 1863, he issued a proclamation calling for the observance of
the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday.
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"For
the very reason that in material well-being we have thus
abounded, we owe it to the Almighty to show equal progress
in moral and spiritual things ... The things of the body
are good; the things of the intellect better; the best of
all are the things of the soul; for, in the nation as in
the individual, in the long run it is character that counts."
— Theodore Roosevelt's Thanksgiving Proclamation
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Learning
About Your Pilgrim Ancestors
Finding out that you are related to America's earliest
immigrants could make your Thanksgiving celebration that much
more meaningful. Whether you've traced your family tree back to
the Mayflower or are just getting started, here are some groups
and published resources that can help you.
Mayflower
Societies & Groups
Joining a Mayflower society puts you in touch
with a community of like-minded researchers and helps to keep
the memory of the Pilgrims alive. Most organizations limit their
membership to Mayflower descendants and in order to join, you
must be able to provide sourced evidence of your lineage. These
organizations will be able to tell you, by comparing their research
to yours, if you are really descended from one of America's earliest
first families.
Benefits of membership in a Mayflower organization often include
annual meetings, newsletters or journals, research assistance
and even educational scholarships. Some groups to check out...
Published
Resources
Haven't quite traced your connection to the Pilgrims?
These resources can help...
- Pilgrim
Genealogies and Histories, 1600s-1900s
In this collection of twenty historical and genealogical volumes
you'll find essays, family histories, lineages, biographical
sketches, and more.
- The
Complete Mayflower Descendent and Other Sources, 1600s-1800s
The only electronic publication of the entire forty-six volumes
of The Mayflower Descendant authorized by the Massachusetts
Society of Mayflower Descendants, you'll find vital records,
essays, and family histories for approximately 200,000 known
Mayflower descendants. Read
a review.
- Lineages
of Hereditary Society Members, 1600s-1900s
Proven lineages collected from esteemed hereditary societies
including The National Society of Sons and Daughters of Pilgrims.
Learn
More...
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| Learn
More... |
| Gain insight into the first 30 years of Plymouth
Colony by reading excerpts from Governor
William Bradford's journal. |
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| Find
out more about the history of Thanksgiving. |
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| Check out what
Pilgrims wore and lists of items
listed in their estates. |
| Pay a virtual visit to a 1627
Pilgrim Village and learn what daily life
was like for early settlers. |
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| Did
you know? |
| The menu for the first Thanksgiving included
roasted wild fowl, cornmeal, cod, sea bass, and
venison. |
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| At the first Thanksgiving, you wouldn't
have found forks - the Pilgrims didn't use
them. They used spoons, knives, a napkin
and their fingers. |
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| 102 passengers sailed from Plymouth, England,
and 102 arrived in New England. One passenger,
a servant of Deacon Samuel Fuller died, and one
child was born at sea. In all, it took 66 days
for the Pilgrims to cross the Atlantic. |
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| Pilgrim families averaged seven children. Mothers
raised the children fathers instructed the family's
religious study. |
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| Children began to help their parents at around
the age of 6. Girls worked in the house with their
mothers, while boys worked in the field or workshop
with their fathers. |
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