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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| CT•Ranger |
Posted - February 11 2004 : 2:38:59 PM
Ok, so I know I'm in the minority when I say I'm absolutely fascinated by 17th century New England and the English Puritans. I just can't get enough when it comes to studying this period in history. One of the books I recently got from the library is John Winthrop: America's Forgotten Founding Father by Francis J. Bremer. It was just published last year, and although I've only recently started reading it, I've found it well written and very interesting. One of the things I appreciate about this biography of Winthrop is that the author does not begin with Winthrop's life in New England. Rather the book begins with a rather in depth look at Winthrop's father, Adam Winthrop, and John's life in England before he became governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630.
John Winthrop:America's Forgotten Founding Father
"The preeminent figure of early New England, John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. More than anyone else, he shaped the culture of New England and his effort to create a Puritan 'City on a Hill' has had a lasting effect on American values. In John Winthrop, Francis J. Bremer draws on over a decade of research in England, Ireland, and the United States to offer a superb biography of Winthrop, one rooted in a detailed understanding of his first forty years in England. Indeed, Bremer provides an extensive, path-breaking treatment of Winthrop's family background, youthful development, and English career. His dissatisfaction with the decline of the 'godly kingdom of the Stour Valley' in which he had been raised led him on his errand to rebuild such a society in a New England. In America, Winthrop would use the skills he had developed in England as he struggled with challenges from Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, among others, and defended the colony from English interference. We also see the personal side of Winthrop--the doubts and concerns of the spiritual pilgrim, his everyday labors and pleasures, his feelings for family and friends. And Bremer also sheds much light on important historical moments in England and America, such as the Reformation and the rise of Puritanism, the rise of the middling class, the colonization movement, and colonial relations with Native Americans. Incorporating previously unexplored archival materials from both sides of the Atlantic, here is the definitive portrait of one of the giants of our history."
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| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CT•Ranger |
Posted - March 12 2004 : 12:32:41 AM
Thanks for the book recommendation Bookworm! Another great book which tears down Puritan myths is "The Times of Their Lives: Life, Love and Death in Plymouth Colony" by James and Patricia Scott Deetz.
 Speaking of relatives on the Mayflower, I'm related to several:
John Howland (10th great-grandfather) came on the Mayflower as a servant to John Carver, the first governor of Plymouth who died the first winter. He is best remembered for having fallen off the Mayflower during a mighty storm, as recorded by Bradford:
"In sundry of these storms the winds were so fierce and the seas so high, as they could not bear a knot of sail, but were forced to hull for divers days together. And in one of them, as they thus lay at hull in a mighty storm, a lusty young man called John Howland, coming upon some occasion above the gratings was, with a seele of the ship, thrown into the sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the topsail halyards which hung overboard and ran out at length. Yet he held his hold (though he was sundry fathoms under water) till he was hauled up by the same rope to the brim of the water, and then with boat hook and other means got into the ship again and his life saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he lived many years after and became a profitable member both in church and commonwealth."
John Howland's wife Elizabeth Tilley (10th great-grandmother) was a Mayflower passenger along with her parents John Tilley and Joan (Hurst) Rogers who both died the first winter. John Tilley's brother Edward was also a passenger with his wife Ann Cooper.
Edward Winslow (10th great-grandfather) was a Mayflower passanger along with his wife Elizabeth Barker, who died the first winter. He later married another Mayflower passanger Susanna White the widow of William White. Edwards brother Gilbert was also a Mayflower passenger.
"Edward Winslow of the Mayflower was a printer, and assisted William Brewster in running the printing press at Leyden which published illegal pamphlets of a religious nature which were distributed in England. He was one of the more prominent and influential men in the Plymouth Colony, and was the colony's third governor. In the early years of Plymouth, Edward played a prominent role in Indian-Pilgrim relations, and made many diplomatic visits to the Wampanoag sachem Massasoit. One one occasion in 1622 he even managed to "cure" Massasoit of a dreadful sickness--an event which greatly helped Indian-Pilgrim relations.
Winslow also made trips to England in the early years of the Colony to conduct business agreements and make legal arrangements, including trips in 1623-4, 1630, and 1635. In 1646 he returned to live in England and served in the English army under Oliver Cromwell . In 1655 he died of a fever on a military expedition to capture the island of Hispaniola. Upon his death, one of the ship's chroniclers wrote this poem:
The Eighth of May, west from 'Spaniola shore,
God took from us our Grand Commissioner,
Winslow by Name, a man in Chiefest Trust,
Whose Life was sweet, and Conversation just;
Whose Parts and wisdome most men did excell:
An honour to his Place, as all can tell.
Edward Winslow authored several books. He wrote "Good News From New England" first published in 1624. He authored a good portion of "Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth" first published in 1622. Winslow also wrote "Hypocricie Unmasked" (1646), and "New England's Salamander" (1647), which are both for the most part religious discourses. He also edited several pamphlets."
Edward Winslow is the only Mayflower passenger to have a known portrait in existence.
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| Gadget Girl |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 9:50:28 PM
Oooo Mary, you need to have a conversation with the Kathy portion of the Sweetsers four. (Eeeks, hope I get this right) They have documented *2* relatives on the Mayflower. In fact, we are very fortunate to have tempted Kathy into another gathering instead of using her vacation time to trip through cemetaries.
GG  |
| Bookworm |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 6:58:47 PM
Sounds like an excellent book, CT-R, and it's one I'll add to my list. Though I haven't read as much about them as you have, I agree that the Puritans are fascinating to read about. In many respects they're so unlike our image of them! One book about them that I have read, "The Puritan Family" by Edmund S. Morgan, is very enlightening in that regard. AT the conclusion of the chapter entitled "Husband and Wife," Morgan has this to say:
"In short, the Puritans were neither prudes nor ascetics. They knew how to laugh, and they knew how to love. But it is equally clear that they did not spend their best hours in either love or laughter. They had fixed their eyes on a heavenly goal, which directed and informed their lives. When earthly delights dimmed their vision, it was time to break off. Yet even this side of the goal there was room for joy." |
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