When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in late November of 1620, after a harrowing 66-day voyage across the Atlantic, there were no car rentals or shuttles to transport them to a cozy hotel. There were no hotels and there was, in fact, no shelter at all besides the beat up old cargo ship, the Mayflower, they ached to get off. It was November and the northeastern coast was frigid. The ocean's spray dispersed the cold through the air and into the bones of anyone unfortunate enough to be exposed to it. There were many sick and dying passengers still on board the ship as it sat off the coast waiting for Myles Standish and his men to scout the land for a suitable place to disembark. Of the 108 passengers on the ship, half of them (53 people) died either on the ship or within a few months of their arrival. The survivors endured and began building, bearing and raising children, and planting the seeds of America. It was their faith and their hunger for freedom and opportunity that led them to the new world, and it was these that carried them through. They were the progenitors of millions of American families today.

Depicted here are John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. John was about 22 years old when the Mayflower sailed. He was the ship's cooper, hired to make and maintain the barrels used to store water and other supplies. John was planning on returning to England after delivering the passengers and supplies at Plymouth, but decided to stay, perhaps because of Priscilla Mullins. Priscilla was a young maiden of about 17 years when they traveled. She came with her parents, William & Alice Mullins, and her brother, Joseph Mullins. Her father had been recruited by Thomas Weston of London Merchant Adventurers. He was a Non-Separatist. 

As the story goes, Myles Standish had been hired to protect the passengers on their voyage, and had also been planning to return to England upon completion of his assignment. He, too, decided to stay. Sadly, his wife, Rose, was among the fatalities, having died within the first winter. There was somewhat of a rivalry between Myles Standish and John Alden, as Priscilla had captured both of their hearts. Priscilla chose John and they were married in 1621 or 1622 at Plymouth. They had eleven known children, which has resulted in at least 36,000 offspring and probably hundreds of thousands of direct descendants living in America today. Myles also remarried and has many descendants, as did most of the survivors. We can only imagine the struggles they faced and obstacles they endured, but we remember and commemorate all those who came and laid the foundations for the America we have known and loved for the past 400 years.

This illustrative artwork called "Puritans Going to Church" was painted by George Henry Boughton (183-1905). It is sometimes called "John Alden and Priscilla", the popular couple whose story is told in Longfellow's "Courtship of Myles Standish". 

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