The tracing of the descendants of the Mayflower passengers.

The tracing of the descendants of the Mayflower passengers.

The tracing of the descendants of the Mayflower passengers.

The tracing of the descendants of the Mayflower passengers.

"The Pilgrim Migration in the 1620s to Plymouth Colony was the opening episode of the Great Migration to New England of the 1620s and 1630s. Separatists - Puritans opposed to the English church - first moved to Holland from England and then to Plymouth Colony, in what is now Massachusetts. In this one volume, Robert Charles Anderson tells the story of the Pilgrim Migration by relating the story of each family or individual known to have resided in Plymouth Colony between 1620 (when the Mayflower arrived) and 1633. Each of the more than two hundred sketches provides information on the early histories of these immigrants as well as their New World experiences. This material is followed by complete genealogical accounts, including all marriages and children of the immigrants"--Back cover

Leading into the 400th anniversary of the voyage of the Mayflower, Martyn Whittock examines the lives of the “saints” (members of the Separatist puritan congregations) and “strangers” (economic migrants) on the original ship who collectively became known to history as “the Pilgrims.”The story of the Pilgrims has taken on a life of its own as one of our founding national myths—their escape from religious persecution, the dangerous transatlantic journey, that brutal first winter. Throughout the narrative, we meet characters already familiar to us through Thanksgiving folklore—Captain Jones, Myles Standish, and Tisquantum (Squanto)—as well as new ones.There is Mary Chilton, the first woman to set foot on shore, and asylum seeker William Bradford. We meet fur trapper John Howland and little Mary More, who was brought as an indentured servant. Then there is Stephen Hopkins, who had already survived one shipwreck and was the only Mayflower passenger with any prior Amer- ican experience. Decidedly un-puritanical, he kept a tavern and was frequently chastised for allowing drinking on Sundays.Epic and intimate, Mayflower Lives is a rich and rewarding book that promises to enthrall readers of early American history.