The arrival of the Mayflower into Cape Cod in early November brought with it a multitude of problems for the Separatists (Pilgrims). It was too late to construct any homes on the mainland due to to severity of the winter, and the men had to row in by small boats each day from the main ship...the Mayflower could not get real close to harbor because of the shallow waters.....
Although 102 passengers had made the journey from England on the old wine supply ship...the Mayflower, the voyage itself and now the winter began to take its toll among the new settlers to the region. Between their arrival on Nov. 6th, 1620 and the first Thanksgiving the following fall of 1621, almost 1/2 of the original 102 passengers...had died.
Women who had come over on the Mayflower had a 75% mortality rate in the first year (mostly due to illness from the cold and from the closed in areas of the Mayflower itself which helped to only promote respiratory infections), and many men had passed due to loss of strength combating the elements and lack of nutrition.
There were actually 53 Separatists alive when the First Thanksgiving was celebrated, which in reality was a Harvest Festival...a common festival to have in those days. Actually, a Separatist would celebrate a "Thanksgiving Day" by fasting from food, reminding them of the gratefulness of God to supply them with daily food. A Harvest Festival, on the other hand, was a celebration of all the laborious work that had been done and the richness of their bounty...particularly with vegetables, fruit, and the like. Livestock was also inventoried, and the result would be a large dinner to commemorate the joy of the what the growing season had given. It was an essential part of life...for winter could be long, and in some cultures up to 50% of the people could die from lack of food and proper nutrition.
Fortunately for the remaining 53 pilgrims, an Indian tribe named the "Wampanoag", was there to come and aid the English settlers as they began to establish themselves with their new settlement:"Plymouth"...or "Plimouth" as spelled in those days.
The Wampanoag tribe were able teach the pilgrims how to raise produce like corn and introduced them to a very valuable crop...the pumpkin.
This tribe were experienced hunters and fishermen as well, and during the first year, the pilgrims found success in how to live in the New World.
By the time the Harvest Celebration came about in the late fall of 1621, over 90 warriors of the Wampanoag tribe came...along with wives and children. It turned out to be a 3 day celebration...not just one dinner and everyone went home, and the Wampanoag tribe brought 5 killed deer to help in supplying the celebration with food. There were fish, perhaps rabbit and squirrel,....and yet it is not entirely sure they even ate turkey, perhaps so, as it would seem that pheasants and wild turkey were in the region. Yet, I think deer and fish...including mussels which were plentiful on the rocks near shore...might have been the main entrees of the of the celebration meal itself. Eel was also a favorite among the first settlers.
So, what went on the first year that actually made for a fall celebration we now commonly call:"The First Thanksgiving?"
Housing: The English settlers built their homes that year modeling after cottages that were in England. They were basically a square or rectangle frame with steeply pitched roofs with one main room and a small storage area above the main room for storage or possibly an additional sleeping area. The enclosure was covered with wooden boards, something much different than the English style cottages which were made of brick. The roofs themselves were of a thatched type, and often "cat tails" from the shoreline were made to cover the roofs and keep out the inclement weather. The average size of a Pilgrim's home was approximately 800 square feet, much like a small apartment today.
The Wampanoag tribe had a much different looking housing arrangement, living in what they called "weters". The frame of their housing was made from saplings of young trees and were much more oval in shape....like army barracks we might see today. In the summer, these homes were covered in woven grass and in the winter months they were covered in heavier bark to keep out the cold. In the center of a "weter", was more of a fire pit and at the center of the roof a hole to allow the smoke to escape. This hole could be covered if the weather demanded it. Inside the home were mats for sleeping and animal skins to keep warm against the cold.
The Wampanoag tribe would clear a space of land and grow their crops in the spring and summer season, having a home during this time of year, and then as winter approached, they would move into the forests and have their winter home, with the woods acting as a barrier from the harshness of the New England type winters.
Clothing: The women coming to the New World upon the Mayflower had a pretty vast array of clothing to put on each day. They used garters to tie up their stockings and a loose undergarment called a petticoat. Then, they would put on a 2nd petticoat over that, followed by a short jacket commonly called a waist jacket. They would adorn their heads with a tight fitting hat called a "coif", which helped to keep their hair clean, and then put on an apron and leather shoes. After that, they would tie a small bag around their waist that was referred to as..."a pocket".
The children of the pilgrims wore a basic dress until they were 6 or 7 years of age (boys and girls), then the boys were introduced to "breeches", or knee length pants. They too had to wear stockings held up by garters and a short coat over their shirts known as "doublets". There were no belts at that time, instead the breeches were tied to the doublet with laces...called points.
All clothing for the settlers were made by hand, there were no sewing machines, and color for clothing came from plants, animals, or minerals in the area. Supply ships from England were a welcome sight as it provided clothing for the settlers.
The Wampanoag tribe clothing was much different. The men often wore only loin cloths made of soft deer skin, with small pouches for supplies or food for everyday life. They would often go barefoot or wore moccasins...also made of soft deerskin. Women wore a simple dress made of soft deerskin and were barefoot or in moccasins as well.
For special occasions, decorative clothing would be worn such as deerskin leggings, jewelry, body paint, hand made colorful pouches, and tribal headdress. A feathered headdress (long) could take up to months to make by hand.
Women and men wore jewelry made of stone, bone, clam shells ( wampum), and copper. Painting was done, particularly to a woman's dress, by using little slivers of wood, much like our toothpicks today.
Food: For the English settlers, duck was very plentiful in the region and the men would use their "fouling rifles" to bring duck home for a meal. Seafood was equally plentiful, and mussels ( a shellfish related to slugs and snails) were popular as well as eel and various fishes in the area. Cornbread, curds ( a type of cottage cheese), and hasty pudding ( kind of like an oatmeal cereal) were common food of the day. Pilgrims ate 3 meals a day and the mid-day meal was the main meal of the day.
As for the Wampanoag tribe, the "3 sisters" were a main staple for food supply: corn, beans, and squash. They ate a variety of meats including rabbit, squirrel, and deer. Often times the women would take the meat and make a "sobaheg", a type of meat stew.
The first year was quite a learning experience for the English settlers, and they learned much from the Wampanoag tribe....planting and raising corn, new produce....the pumpkin being the "talk of the town", and the various fishes available near the ocean...including eel which the settlers seemed particularly fond of.
Although death had certainly taken its toll among them, hope was still present!
Although 102 passengers had made the journey from England on the old wine supply ship...the Mayflower, the voyage itself and now the winter began to take its toll among the new settlers to the region. Between their arrival on Nov. 6th, 1620 and the first Thanksgiving the following fall of 1621, almost 1/2 of the original 102 passengers...had died.
Women who had come over on the Mayflower had a 75% mortality rate in the first year (mostly due to illness from the cold and from the closed in areas of the Mayflower itself which helped to only promote respiratory infections), and many men had passed due to loss of strength combating the elements and lack of nutrition.
There were actually 53 Separatists alive when the First Thanksgiving was celebrated, which in reality was a Harvest Festival...a common festival to have in those days. Actually, a Separatist would celebrate a "Thanksgiving Day" by fasting from food, reminding them of the gratefulness of God to supply them with daily food. A Harvest Festival, on the other hand, was a celebration of all the laborious work that had been done and the richness of their bounty...particularly with vegetables, fruit, and the like. Livestock was also inventoried, and the result would be a large dinner to commemorate the joy of the what the growing season had given. It was an essential part of life...for winter could be long, and in some cultures up to 50% of the people could die from lack of food and proper nutrition.
Fortunately for the remaining 53 pilgrims, an Indian tribe named the "Wampanoag", was there to come and aid the English settlers as they began to establish themselves with their new settlement:"Plymouth"...or "Plimouth" as spelled in those days.
This tribe were experienced hunters and fishermen as well, and during the first year, the pilgrims found success in how to live in the New World.
By the time the Harvest Celebration came about in the late fall of 1621, over 90 warriors of the Wampanoag tribe came...along with wives and children. It turned out to be a 3 day celebration...not just one dinner and everyone went home, and the Wampanoag tribe brought 5 killed deer to help in supplying the celebration with food. There were fish, perhaps rabbit and squirrel,....and yet it is not entirely sure they even ate turkey, perhaps so, as it would seem that pheasants and wild turkey were in the region. Yet, I think deer and fish...including mussels which were plentiful on the rocks near shore...might have been the main entrees of the of the celebration meal itself. Eel was also a favorite among the first settlers.
So, what went on the first year that actually made for a fall celebration we now commonly call:"The First Thanksgiving?"
Housing: The English settlers built their homes that year modeling after cottages that were in England. They were basically a square or rectangle frame with steeply pitched roofs with one main room and a small storage area above the main room for storage or possibly an additional sleeping area. The enclosure was covered with wooden boards, something much different than the English style cottages which were made of brick. The roofs themselves were of a thatched type, and often "cat tails" from the shoreline were made to cover the roofs and keep out the inclement weather. The average size of a Pilgrim's home was approximately 800 square feet, much like a small apartment today.
The Wampanoag tribe had a much different looking housing arrangement, living in what they called "weters". The frame of their housing was made from saplings of young trees and were much more oval in shape....like army barracks we might see today. In the summer, these homes were covered in woven grass and in the winter months they were covered in heavier bark to keep out the cold. In the center of a "weter", was more of a fire pit and at the center of the roof a hole to allow the smoke to escape. This hole could be covered if the weather demanded it. Inside the home were mats for sleeping and animal skins to keep warm against the cold.
The Wampanoag tribe would clear a space of land and grow their crops in the spring and summer season, having a home during this time of year, and then as winter approached, they would move into the forests and have their winter home, with the woods acting as a barrier from the harshness of the New England type winters.
Clothing: The women coming to the New World upon the Mayflower had a pretty vast array of clothing to put on each day. They used garters to tie up their stockings and a loose undergarment called a petticoat. Then, they would put on a 2nd petticoat over that, followed by a short jacket commonly called a waist jacket. They would adorn their heads with a tight fitting hat called a "coif", which helped to keep their hair clean, and then put on an apron and leather shoes. After that, they would tie a small bag around their waist that was referred to as..."a pocket".
The children of the pilgrims wore a basic dress until they were 6 or 7 years of age (boys and girls), then the boys were introduced to "breeches", or knee length pants. They too had to wear stockings held up by garters and a short coat over their shirts known as "doublets". There were no belts at that time, instead the breeches were tied to the doublet with laces...called points.
All clothing for the settlers were made by hand, there were no sewing machines, and color for clothing came from plants, animals, or minerals in the area. Supply ships from England were a welcome sight as it provided clothing for the settlers.
The Wampanoag tribe clothing was much different. The men often wore only loin cloths made of soft deer skin, with small pouches for supplies or food for everyday life. They would often go barefoot or wore moccasins...also made of soft deerskin. Women wore a simple dress made of soft deerskin and were barefoot or in moccasins as well.
For special occasions, decorative clothing would be worn such as deerskin leggings, jewelry, body paint, hand made colorful pouches, and tribal headdress. A feathered headdress (long) could take up to months to make by hand.
Women and men wore jewelry made of stone, bone, clam shells ( wampum), and copper. Painting was done, particularly to a woman's dress, by using little slivers of wood, much like our toothpicks today.
Food: For the English settlers, duck was very plentiful in the region and the men would use their "fouling rifles" to bring duck home for a meal. Seafood was equally plentiful, and mussels ( a shellfish related to slugs and snails) were popular as well as eel and various fishes in the area. Cornbread, curds ( a type of cottage cheese), and hasty pudding ( kind of like an oatmeal cereal) were common food of the day. Pilgrims ate 3 meals a day and the mid-day meal was the main meal of the day.
As for the Wampanoag tribe, the "3 sisters" were a main staple for food supply: corn, beans, and squash. They ate a variety of meats including rabbit, squirrel, and deer. Often times the women would take the meat and make a "sobaheg", a type of meat stew.
The first year was quite a learning experience for the English settlers, and they learned much from the Wampanoag tribe....planting and raising corn, new produce....the pumpkin being the "talk of the town", and the various fishes available near the ocean...including eel which the settlers seemed particularly fond of.
Although death had certainly taken its toll among them, hope was still present!
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