New-Englands Memoriall: or, a briefe relation of the most memorable ... passages of the providence of God, manifested to the Planters of New-England. With special reference to the first colony thereof, called New-Plimouth. As also a Nomination of divers of the most eminent Instruments deceased,...

Front matter

Brown , , ■ LAHMW© m ME lPIdLOHEEHIS M PMSSSKDUJfMllll^BKS.KBg©. NEW ENGLAND'S MEMORIAL. BY NATHANIEL MORTON, SECEETAEY TO THE COUBT FOE THE JUBISDICTION OP NEW-PLIMOUTH. SIXTH EDITION. ALSO GOVERNOR BRADFORD'S HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COLONY; PORTIONS OF PRINCE'S CHRONOLOGY; GOVERNOR BRADFORD'S DIALOGUE ; GOV. WINSLOW'S VISITS TO MASSASOIT; WITH NUMEROUS MARGINAL NOTES AND AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING NUMEROUS ARTICLES RELATING TO THE LABORS, PRINCIPLES, AND CHARACTER OF THE PURITANS AND PILGRIMS. Itur in antiquam sylvam. BOSTON: CONGREGATIONAL BOARD OF PUBLICATION 16 TEEMONT TEMPLE. 185 5. Entered according to Act of Cohgt%S|-$gÆafflSe$r 1854, by SEWALL HAEDINCrr- In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. CAMBRIDGE: ALLEN AND FAENHAM, PEINTEKS. Copy of the Title-Page of the First Edition.

NEW ENGLAND'S MEMORIAL: OR, A BRIEF RELATION OF THE MOST MEMORABLE AND REMARKABLE PASSAGES OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD, MANIFESTED TO THE PLANTERS OF NEW-ENGLAND IN AMERICA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO TnE FIRST COLONY THEREOF, CALLED NEW-PLIMOUTH. AS ALSO A NOMINATION OF DIVERS OF THE MOST EMINENT INSTRUMENTS DECEASED, BOTH OF CHURCH AND COM- MONWEALTH, IMPROVED IN THE FIRST BEGINNING AND AFTER PROGRESS OF SUNDRY OF THE RE- SPECTIVE JURISDICTIONS IN THOSE PARTS J IN EEFERENCE UNTO SUNDRY EXEM- PLARY PASSAGES OF THEIR LIVES, AND THE TIME OF THEIR DEATH. Published for the use and benefit of present and future generations, BY NATHANIEL MORTON, SECRETARY TO THE COURT, FOR THE JURISDICTION OF NEW-PLI MOUTH. Deut. xxxii. 10. — He found him in a desert land, in the waste liowliDg wilderness he led him about ; he instructed him, he kept him aa the apple ofhis eye.

Jer. ii. 2, 3. — I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown, &c. Deut. Tiii. 2, IG. — And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee this forty ytars in the wilderness, &c. CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED EY S. G. AND M. J. FOR JOHN USHER OF BOSTON. 16G9. TO THE^l£g£oER. It is much to be desired there might be extant A Compleat History of ihe United Colonies of New-England, that God may have the praise of his goodness to his People here, and that the present and future Generations may have the benefit thereof. This being not attainable for the present, nor suddenly to be expected, it is very expedient, that (while sundry of the Eldest Planters are yet living) Records and Memorials of Remarkable Provi dences be preserved and published, that the true Originals of these Planta tions may not be lost, that New-England, in all times to come, may remem ber the day of her smallest things, and that there may be a furniture of Materials for a true and full History in after-times.

Preface

. In regard to their origin, it is not easy to fix upon the precise time when the Puritans first existed as a distinct party. They are called Puritans, who would have the church thor oughly reformed, that is, purged from all those inventions which have been brought into it since the age of the Apos tles, and reduced entirely to the Scripture purity. Bancroft and some others have supposed that the refusal of Hooper to be consecrated in vestments, as the Bishop of Gloucester, marks the era when the Puritans first existed as a separate party. From documents more recently discovered, it seems that their origin may be traced to the days of Wickliffe. " The struggle between the old and the new Theology," says Macauley, "was long and the event was somewhat doubtful. Henry the VIII. attempted to constitute an An glican Church, differing from the Roman Catholic, on the point of supremacy only.

By the agency of Cranmer, a compromise was made, and to this day, the constitution, the doctrines, and the services of the English Church retain the visible marks of the compromise from which she sprang. She occupies a middle position between the churches of Rome and Geneva. The controversy was not yet settled. As the priest of the established church was from interest, from principle, and from passion, zealous for the royal prerog atives ; the Puritan was from interest, from principle, and from passion hostile to them. During the greater part of the reign of Elizabeth, the Puritans in the House of Commons felt no disposition to array themselves in systematic opposition to the government. But the leaven was at work, and the. opposition which had, during forty years, been silently gathering and husbanding strength, in the Parliament of 1601, fought its first great battle.

" The political and religious schism which had originated in the 16th century was, during the first quarter of the 17th century, constantly widening. Theories tending to Turkish despotism were in fashion at Whitehall. Theories tending to republicanism were in favor with a large portion of the House of Commons. The Prelatists who were zealous for prerogative, and the Puritans who were zealous for the privileges of Parliament, regarded each other with animosity." Those who with the spirit of Wickliffe, Huss, and Calvin, presumed to assert their rights, were met with the same vio lent opposition as were their prototypes. An Ecclesiastical Court of High Commission was established consisting of forty-four persons, — twelve bishops, and the others privy counsellors, clergymen, and civilians, for the detection and punishment of non-conformity to the established church.

Individuals were condemned and hung for distributing tracts on religious liberty. But the Puritans were not to be thus subdued, for they were conscientious and intrepid men. They could not be compelled by threats, imprisonment, or death, to compromise their principles. Compromise was re garded by them as apostasy. Neither the offer of pardon? nor the pains of a lingering death could induce them to waver or hesitate. They were the implacable adversaries of religious oppression. They admitted of no hierarchy in the church, — of no parliament or king to interpret for them the word of God, which they made their only standard, and, under its guide, conformed their ecclesiastical discipline to republican simplicity. Separate congregations were formed, and secession from the established church was advocated.

The government became alarmed, and penalties were inflicted} but all to no purpose, except to give more publicity to the sentiments of the Puritans, and to increase their number, un til it was said in Parliament " that there were in England X twenty thousand of those who frequented conventicles." After forty years of persecution the number of non-conformists was found to be greatly increased, and their opposition to the established church had become irreconcilable. They had become a strong political party, and ventured openly to de mand a reform in the church. On the accession of King James hopes were indulged of a more lenient administration, but only to be disappointed. Petitions for the redress of abuses were denied, and religious assemblies and free dis cussion prohibited. But such pressure only increased their numbers, until the Houses of Commons became their ally in the defence of liberty against despotism.

On the other hand, the enmity and violence of the King and the church were increased, and in 1604, it is said three hundred Puritan ministers were silenced, imprisoned, or exiled ; yet the party was not destroyed, but continued to be the sole guardians of civil and religious liberty. The separation was becoming more marked. A congregation of Independents had been formed in the north of England, and as early as 1592, a petition was presented to the Crown for permission to go to America, there to enjoy the civil and ecclesiastical privileges for which they were con tending. We are indebted to Rev. John Waddington, pastor of the Pilgrim Church, Southwark, London, for an exact copy of the original petition (above alluded to) of the Separatists. This was recently discovered by Mr. Waddington.

And being an interesting document, which should be preserved, we insert it here. , i " To the Rigid Honorable, the Lords of tier Majesty's most Honorable Privy Council: " Whereas, we her Majesty's natural born subjects, true and loyal— now lying many of ns in other countries as men exiled her Highness' Dominions, and the rest which remain within Her Grace's land greatly distressed through imprisonment and other great troubles sustained only for some matters of conscience, in which our most lamentable estate, we cannot in that measure perform the duty of subjects as we desire : and also whereas means is now offered for our being in a foreign and far country which lieth to the west from hence, in the province of Canada, where by the providence of the Almighty, and her Majesty's most gracious favor, we may not only worship God as we are in conscience persuaded by His Word — but also do unto her Majesty and our country great good service, and in time also greatly annoy that bloody and persecuting Spaniard about the Bay of Mexico.

Our most humble suit is, that it may please your honors to be a means unto her excellent Majesty, that with her most gracious favor and protection we may peaceably depart thither, and there remaining to be accounted her Majesty's faithful and loving subjects — to whom we owe all duty and obedience in the Lord, promising hereby and taking God to record, who searcheth the hearts of all people — that where soever we become we will by the grace of God live and die faithful to her Highness and this land of our nativity. '• Endorsed: — "The humble Petition of heu Highness' faithful subjects, FALSELY CALLED BkOWKISTS. NOV. 1592." We shall expect other documents throwing light upon the history of our Puritan ancestors from the same individual, who is finding many original manuscripts in relation to them, and who expresses his confident " belief that with adequate care and attention the course of the hidden church from which the Pilgrims sprang may be traced from the days of Wickliffe, and that papers are in existence that will show the gradual development of the principles which lie not only at the foundation of American greatness — but which will tend to secure for humanity in its widest range, the freedom, peace, security, and happiness — that by possibility, can have no existence without them."

In principle, they were Calvinists and Protestants, renounc ing human authority in matters of faith, and claiming the liberty to form their views and regulate their practice according to their own judgment of the Word of God. Their un shaken confidence in the doctrines they embraced, sustained them in their sufferings, and disposed them to persevere until their departure from England ; and their arrival in Holland marked the beginning of the adventures and pilgrimage recorded in the following pages, in which the reader will have an interesting portion of the history of these world-renowned men. A reliable English writer has said : " The Puritans saved England in the 17th century from a relapse into Popery. On this account, they deserved to be honored and loved by the Protestants of the present day.

In all probability the salvation of England from such a relapse in the 19th century will depend, under God, upon the men who imbibe their sentiments and emulate their piety and heroism. From the beginning, Puritanism has been the soul of English Protes tantism, and therefore its history deserves to be diligently studied, and its spirit gratefully revered by all who really value the cause of the Reformation." If so much can be said of the influence of the Puritans in Old England, how much more of their influence in New England. To them we are indebted for both our ecclesias tical and civil institutions. And if these institutions are to be preserved and perpetuated in their simplicity and purity for another century, it will be from the remains of Puritan integrity and influence. Stoughton, in his Spiritual Heroes, says : — " Men who have no sympathy with their bold and ardent spirit, and their fearless love of what they felt to be right, have charged them with pride, but the truth is, that deep humility was a distinguished element of their character.

In matters of conscience they asserted their independence of the creature, because they cherished an unwavering reliance on their Creator." " To say," observes Dr. Arnold, " that the Puritans were wanting in humility, because they did not acquiesce in the state of things which they found around them, is a mere ex travagance arising out of a total misapprehension of the nature of humility, and of the merits of the feeling of veneration. " All earnestness and depth of character is incompatible with such notion of humility. A man deeply penetrated with some great truth, and compelled, as it were, to obey it, cannot listen to every one who may be indifferent to it or opposed to it. " There is a voice to which he already o\.*es obedience, which he serves with the humblest devotion, which he worships with the most intense veneration.

It is not that such feelings are dead in him, but that he has bestowed them on one object, and they are claimed for another. This charge of want of humility is one frequently brought by weaker and baser minds against the stronger and nobler, not seldom by those who are at once arrogant and indifferent against those who are, in truth, as humble as they are zealous." Such is the noble vindication of the Puritans, by the distinguished Arnold, Professor of History, in that University where the men in question have been so often maligned. And Stough ton, in his Sketches of the Puritans, says, " Their stern moral B grandeur illuminates the sixteenth century with a solemn light which excites awe, while it inspires admiration." An ample roll of serious thought is opened when, from the eminence of prosperity where we stand, we go back to the lonely graves, whither was followed one after another good man, " that had done and suffered much for the Lord Jesus' and the gospel's sake, and borne his part in weal and woe with this poor, persecuted church in England, Holland, and this wilderness, and done the Lord and them faithful service in his place and calling."

And even those specimens of ele giac poetry which this rich volume furnishes, though doubt less not the most harmonious offspring of the muse, have to our view the better merit of the solemn, hopeful, affectionate spirit of noble natures. The Memorial and Bradford's history exhibit the charac teristics of strong-hearted and venerable men and women. There are strong reasons why all the people of our land should read these memorials, and make themselves familiar with the character of their pious ancestors, whose principles made them what they were, and became the basis of all our good institutions. We cannot better express our views of the importance of the subject-matter before us, than by inserting here a few brief extracts from distinguished men relating to Plymouth and the Pilgrims. This will also give the reader, the judg ment and testimony of others, in regard to the importance of that portion of our history comprised in this volume.

President Dwight says, « Plymouth was the first town built in New England by civilized men ; and those by whom it was built were inferior in worth to no body of men whose names are recorded in history during the last 1700 years. A kind of venerableness, arising from these facts, attaches to this town which may be termed a prejudice. Still, it has its foundation in the nature of man, and will never be eradicated either by philosophy or ridicule. No New Englander who is willing to indulge his native feeling, can stand upon the rock where our ancestors set the first foot after their arrival on the American shore, without experiencing emotions very different from those which are excited by any common object of the same nature. No New Englander could be willing to have that rock buried and forgotten.

Let him reason as much, as coldly, and as ingeniously as he pleases, he will still regard that spot with emotions wholly different from those which are excited by other places of equal or even superior im portance."* " Two hundred years ago the colony of Plymouth was one of the most important on the North American continent. Its chief town was the equal in rank with New Amsterdam and Boston. Its governors and magistrates were statesmen whose names are immortal. The acts of its Council, the wars in which it was engaged, the famines and pestilences it endured, and every event that affected its welfare and prosperity, are matters of which we read in the histories of the nation. The classic names of Athens and Sparta, and even of Rome itself, are not more familiar to the memory, than is that of Plymouth ; and in the time to come there is no spot upon the earth that will possess in the hearts of men an inter est more universal and enduring than the Rock at which ended the long and weary voyage of the passengers of the Mayflower.

We have all heard and read of Plymouth ; the very mention of its name sounds in our ears like the key-note of a national anthem of liberty. " Five millions of us claim to have descended from its early * Travels, Vol. H. 110. colonists ; there is hardly a day in all the year, in which we do not hear, or utter an allusion to Plymouth, or the'Pilgrim Fathers, in sermon, oration, speech, or conversation, — we boast of the religion of the Puritans, and assert, what no one can deny, that the Pilgrim Fathers shaped the model which has given the form to our free institutions and government, and acknowledge the town of Plymouth to have been the birthplace of our nation." * " We are singularly fortunate in having our whole national rise and progress lie within the limits of recorded time. What would be the price of Cadmus' journal upon the land of lost gods and godljke men, of Romulus' assignment of the two acres of land to* each primeval citizen ?

Undoubt edly we owe as much to the settlers of Plymouth and Salem, as Greece and Rome professed to owe to their fabulous dy nasties of kings. Bradford and Winthrop were in all respects quite as praiseworthy persons as Theseus and Numa. " Plymouth is the oldest of the New England colonies, and to its early success may be traced the origin of all the others. It is the place where civilization and Christianity were first introduced into New England. It has been the scene of many a trial, and of the fulfilment of many a high resolve. It was here that the government, based on the will of the governed, was first established on the American continent, and the great principle, that all should obey such laws as a majority ofthe people should make, distinctly acknowledged. No people had so fully appreciated the rights of each member of the state ; none had felt so deeply the great cause of humanity, or entertained such cheering hopes of human improvement.

They were men of strong minds, and made a proper estimate of the value of their political and * Harper's Magazine, Dec. 1853. religious principles. They placed but little value on wealth or rank. They acted from higher motives than these afford. They had among them men of preeminent talents and character. As a civil magistrate, Bradford, the father of the colony, would by his sound good sense and elevated patriotism, have done honor to any age. Of the services of Brewster, we can hardly make too high an estimate. For twenty-four years he was the spiritual father and guide of the colony. He came with the Pilgrims, and with them he was willing to endure and suffer. Success was never to be despaired of when Standish led the way. The Winslows, Allerton, Alden, Hatherly, Prince, and Hinkley, were all good men and true, who in their efforts and sacrifices, had no other object in view than their country's good, and the progress of truth and right eousness.

In their intercourse with the Indians, the people of the colony set a bright example of humanity, and the same sense of justice is here witnessed that pervaded all their pub lic and private acts. Not a foot of soil was taken from them without their consent. Their treaty with Massasoit was most scrupulously observed. In their conduct toward the Quakers, they were comparatively mild and humane, pre ferring to let their errors be promulgated, and die unmolested, rather than make them martyrs by the prison or the gal lows." * Mistakes have sometimes been made by not distinguishing between the two colonies. During the time covered by the Memorial, Plymouth was a separate colony, and was governed by officers of their' choice, and had not been united with Massachusetts, and was not until 1692. The planters of Massachusetts were not Pilgrims, but their proper desig nation was that of Puritans.

The Pilgrims were " the old * North American Review, Vol. L. p. 336, and on. comers " the immigrants in the three first ships to Plymouth; the fugitives, the exiles, the wanderers, and the final settlers on the Rock. "Through scenes of gloom and misery, the Pilgrims showed the way to an asylum for those who would go to the wilderness for the purity of religion, or the liberty of con science. Accustomed in their native land to no more than a plain country Use, and the innocent trade of husbandry, they set the example of colonizing New England, and formed the mould for the civil and religious character of its institutions. Enduring every hardship themselves, they were the servants of posterity, the benefactors of succeeding generations. In the history of the world many pages are devoted to com memorate the heroel who have besieged cities, subdued provinces, or overthrown empires.

A colony is a better offering than a victory ; the citizens of the United States should rather cherish the memory of those who founded a state on the basis of democratic liberty, — the fathers of the country, — the men who, as they first trod the soil of the new world, scattered the seminal principles of republican freedom and national independence." * " The Pilgrims were actuated by that principle which has given the first impulse to all the great movements of the modern world, — I mean profound religious faith." " This is the spirit which in all ages has wrought the moral miracles of humanity." f " The Pilgrim Fathers cannot be remembered too often or reverenced too deeply ; — and that not as a mere matter of respect and gratitude to the dead, but for the improvement and instruction of the living.

Rarely, indeed, has there been a moment in our history, when it was more important than * Bancroft's History, Vol. I. 322. t Edward Everett. at this moment that the American people should remember, not merely the rock on which the Pilgrims landed, but the Rock in which they trusted, and should cherish and hold fast the principles which fitted them to become the fathers and founders of a great country. It will be well if we do not forget that the only safe and sure progress is the ' Pilgrim's Progress ; ' — a progress begun, continued, and ended in the fear of God, in respect for government, in the love of freedom, and in justice to all mankind. Let the descendants of the Pilgrims see to it, that then* lives and practice are in keeping with the origin of which they are so justly proud, let them prove their title to hail from Plymouth Rock, not merely by genealogies and pedigrees, but by emblazoning the virtues and principles of the Pilgrims upon their own character and conduct.

Then will our country be secure." * " The Sons and Daughters of New England. — May their contributions to the true glory of the republic be ever exhib ited in an unwavering fidelity to those principles of then* Pil grim fathers that were founded upon the Rock."| We have made these quotations from distinguished men, (and we might add many others,) as evidence of the high and universal veneration with which are regarded the Character and Principles of our Pilgrim Fathers. In issuing this volume, we desire to perpetuate to future generations the knowledge of these men — their sufferings, their self-denial, their perseverance, which were the result of their unshaken confidence in- God — their "firm belief that the Lord was with them, and that he would graciously prosper their en deavors, according to the simplicity of their hearts."

They uttered these words with sincerity, embarked in a just cause, and succeeded. We may hope that many by reading this * Robert C. Winthrop. f Gov. Clifford. XX volume, w*ill cherish their memory, imbibe their spirit, and perpetuate their principles. Nothing seems to bring us so near to them as to read the history of their doings written in their own style by those of their own time and number. We seem to be in their company and to join in their con sultations and their prayers while they contemplate their removal to America. We sympathize in their crosses, and few comforts. We admire their pious magnanimity and con stancy, and almost feel their sufferings. May it be the means of deepening our convictions of the importance of their relig ious principles, and of the desirableness of that strong and living faith which sustained their hearts, impelled them for ward in their pilgrimage, and enabled them to say, " as sor rowful, yet always rejoicing."

Their history serves as a powerful illustration of the truth and efficacy of their principles, and furnishes an example worthy of our grateful admiration. " O ye, who proudly boast, In your free veins the blood of sires like these, Look to their lineaments. Dread lest ye loose Their likeness in your sons. Should Mammon cling Too close around your heart, or wealth beget That bloated luxury which eats the core From manly virtue, or the tempting world Make faint the Christian purpose in your soul, Turn ye to Plymouth rock, and where they knelt, Kneel, and renew the vow they breathed to God." Boston, 1855. CONTENTS. New England's Memorial, or a brief relation op the most remarkable passages op the providence of GOD MANIFESTED TO THE PLANTERS OF New ENGLAND IN America, with special reference to the first colony THEREOF, CALLED New PLIMOUTH .... 1-228 Gov.

Bradford's History of Plymouth Colony . . 229 Morton's Preface 231-233 Introduction to the Ecclesiastical History of the Church of Christ at Plymouth in New England . 235-242 Chapter I. Beginning of the Pilgrim movement . . . 243-246 Chapter n. Of their departure into Holland, and their troubles thereabout, with some ofthe many difficulties they found 247-251 Chapter III. Of their settling in Holland, and their manner of living and entertainment there 252-257 Chapter IV. Showing the reasons and causes of their removal 258-262 Chapter V. Showing what means they used for preparation to this weighty voyage 263-283 New England Chronology, by Thomas Prince . . . 285-320 Governor Bradford's Dialogue 321 Morton's Preface 323-325 A Dialogue, or the sum of a conference between some young men born in New England and sundry ancient men that came out of Holland and Old England .... 327-356 CONTENTS.

OC7 Visits to Massasoit °°' I. A journey to Pakanokit, the habitation ofthe great King Massasoit ; as also our message, the answer and entertainment we had of him 359-367 H. Winslow's second journey to Pakanokit, to visit Massasoit in his sickness 367-375