The death of William Brewster occurred early in 1643. Bradford speaks of him in endearing terms: “I am to begin this year with that which was a matter of great sadness and mourning unto them all. About the 18th of April died my dear and loving friend, Mr. William Brewster, a man who had done and suffered much for the Lord Jesus and the gospels sake and had borne his part in well and woe with this poor persecuted church above 36 years, in England, Holland and in this wilderness and done the Lord and them faithful service in his place and calling.” etc.
New England Confederacy
Due to the plottings of the Narragansetts and what seemed to be a general Indian conspiracy against the English settlers, it was decided to form an alliance with Connecticut for mutual protection. This is recorded in the Plymouth records as of June 6th, 1643, as follows: “It is ordered and concluded by the Court that Mr. Edward Winslow and Mr. William Collyer shall have full Commission and Authority in Name of the whole Court to subscribe the Articles of Confederation (now read in the Court) with the Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven and to subscribe the same in name of the whole and to affix thereto the common seal of the Government.” (sic.)—Plymouth records, Hazard’s Historical Collection. Volume 1. p. 496.
Shortly thereafter a final liquidation of the obligations of the Plymouth Colony to their English partners and associates was effected. This was based upon Articles of Agreement made and signed on October 15th, 1641,[14] by “John Atwode[15] (Atwood), William Bradford, Edward Winslow, etc.”—Page 452, Bradford’s History of The Plymouth Plantation.
In the face of the adversities that had beset them from the beginning and from which they were never entirely free, this seems a noteworthy achievement.
1649
In 1649 the Town of Plymouth made choice of “seven discreet men whose duty it was to act in behalf of the town in disposing of lands; to make inquiry into the state and condition of the poor, to provide for their comfortable support and to find them employment; to direct to the proper means of relief for the aged and decrepid; and to attend to the affairs of the town generally.”
The foregoing together with a law passed in 1665 extended the functions of the board, “a group which may well have been the forerunner of our present Board of Selectmen.”
Conclusion
It would be interesting to follow in detail the development of the Plymouth Colony and its gradual transition from the primitive settlement to the flourishing shire town of the county. But this is a Pilgrim story and the writer bows to the limitations of time and space.