The Pilgrim Society
“This society was established in 1820 by the descendants of the first settlers at Plymouth and by such others as are desirous of perpetuating their principles, and commemorating their virtues, ... The stated meetings of the society are held in Pilgrim Hall, ...”
—James Thatcher, M.D.
History of Plymouth.
1832.
On the 9th of November, 1819, a meeting of a number of Plymouth gentlemen was held at the house of Mr. Joshua Thomas, “to take into consideration the expediency of forming a society to commemorate the landing of the Fathers in the town of Plymouth.”
It was there voted that such a society be formed; the Pilgrim Society was incorporated, and the first meeting held at the Court House in Plymouth, May 18th, 1820.
The purpose of the Society was to do honor to the memory of their ancestors, the Pilgrim Fathers; its object, to hold property, to provide a suitable site for a monument, and “to erect a public building to accommodate the meetings of the associates.”
Mr. Thomas was elected President in 1820, and Mr. John Watson followed him in 1821. Thus began a succession of prominent citizens and able men to hold that office.
On Forefathers Day, 1820, Daniel Webster delivered a famous oration before the newly formed Pilgrim Society; and at their invitation on that anniversary eloquent addresses have been given by statesmen, orators, and scholars, in honor of the Pilgrims.
The building planned as a Memorial was begun in the summer of 1824. The corner stone was laid Sept. 1. The Hall was finished and dedicated on Forefathers’ Day of the same year.
In 1880, it was remodeled and made fireproof through the generosity of Mr. Joseph Henry Stickney of Baltimore, and in 1904 a wing was added to house the very valuable collection of documents, books, and papers pertaining to the Pilgrims.
The architect of the original building was Alexander Parris, who designed the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston in 1820.
On July 8, 1922, a granite facade and portico replaced the earlier one of wood, and was then dedicated and presented by the New England Society in the City of New York. It was accepted by the President, Hon. Arthur Lord, who gave an interesting account of the work accomplished during the century of the Society’s existence.
This work, invaluable alike to Plymouth, to the student of history, and to the people of the nation, has been the preservation, the restoration, and the care of localities and objects connected with an important episode of American history. It includes with the help of generous gifts and subscriptions, the provision of a site for a great National Monument to the Pilgrims; the building of Pilgrim Hall, and the formation of its collections; the grading of Cole’s Hill and Burial Hill; and the assumption of ownership and trusteeship to maintain these in order and dignity; also for many years, the observance with addresses and orations of the anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims.
Its Collections
The collections of the Pilgrim Society are of great historical value. In Pilgrim Hall are preserved personal and household belongings of the Pilgrims, documents with their signatures, their books and Bibles, and the only known portrait of one of their number. Here is the patent issued to the Plymouth Colony in 1621, and the swords of their Governor, Carver, and their Captain, Myles Standish. Near by, a bit of woman’s embroidery, a baby’s shoe—great things and small,—the human element of a great transitional epoch, saved by reverential descendants to become an inheritance for another epoch.
A copy of the Bible translated for the Indians by John Eliot; an agreement with an Indian Sachem, drawn up and signed by John Alden; and a large collection of Indian relics and arrowheads, bear witness here to the life of the wilderness which the Pilgrims assailed with treaty, faith, and sword.
The handsome library contains books, documents, and pamphlets relating to Pilgrim history, with many original records, and affords great opportunities for quiet research. Its windows look down into a shady garden belonging to the Hall, where visitors may rest and refresh themselves by a little fountain presented to the Pilgrim Society by the General Society of the Daughters of the Revolution on September 20th, 1921.
As they loiter, they may mark the flight of time on a sun dial, presented by the Society of the Colonial Daughters of the 17th Century. It was dedicated in September, 1921.
The collections can best be studied with the help of the curator and the catalogue, but some of the most interesting objects connected with the early Pilgrims are those which belonged to:
Governor Carver—His sword and armchair.
Governor Bradford—His “Dialogue” in his own handwriting.
A book given to him by John Robinson, and afterwards given by him to the First Church.
A Bible printed in Geneva in 1592.
A plate.
Elder Brewster—His sword, christening bowl, and a copy of Seneca from his library.
Captain Myles Standish—His sword, with an Arabic inscription which was translated in 1881 by Prof. James Rosedale, to read—“With peace God ruled his slaves, and with the judgement of his arm, He troubled the iniquity of the wicked.” An iron pot and pewter trencher, a fragment of a quilt which belonged to his wife, Rose Standish, and an embroidered sampler worked by his daughter, Lora; her baby’s cap and bib.
Governor Edward Winslow—Part of a chest, a mortar, a silver canteen, and several pewter plates, bearing the family coat of arms, his portrait painted in England, and the great table which stood in the Council Chamber when Winslow governed the Colony.
Mistress Susannah White, afterward wife of Governor Winslow—A cape and a slipper.
William White—A cabinet, and a candlestick.
Peregrine White—Signature on a deed.
John Alden—His Bible printed in 1661, a halberd found in his house in Duxbury, a deed with his signature.
Two baby’s cradles, one belonging to Peregrine White, the first child born in the Colony, and the other to the Fuller family.
Among the books and documents are:
A copy of John Eliot’s Indian Bible.
A volume of John Robinson’s “Observations,” printed in Leyden in 1625.
A copy of the Psalms, with paraphrases and music; compiled by Henry Ainsworth, and used by the Pilgrim congregation in Holland and at Plymouth.
A pamphlet by Sir Edwin Sandys, marking a noted ecclesiastical controversy. Sir Edwin Sandys was a patron of New England colonization.
A Commission from Oliver Cromwell to Edward Winslow, 1654.
Deeds and bonds with the signatures of John Alden and Peregrine White.
State Document—The oldest in New England and probably in the United States;—the charter granted to the Plymouth colonists by the Northern Virginia Company, dated June 1, 1621. Granted to John Pierce and sent over in the Fortune.
Indian arrow heads and relics.
Paintings of the Mayflower, and a beautiful modern model of the ship.
Paintings, drawings, and photographs illustrative of early Pilgrim history, and hundreds of objects showing the growth and continuance of the Colony.
