I am of an earnest conviction...that many of our holidays and celebrations have an origin that demands to be heard and remembered. Cultures change, societies change, people change, yet the original purpose of our celebrations must be remembered as to the meaning why we recognize these sacred days and festivals. I approach history and the study of the Sacred Scripture with this type of passion and a never ending question: "What caused this event or what caused these writings to be told in the matter they have been passed down to us?".....
With that thought in mind, I approach "Thanksgiving".
Much of our historical documents concerning the 1st Thanksgiving is given to us through the writings of William Bradford.
William Bradford was born in 1590, in a small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire, in England. His father had died when William was only 1 year old, and was then raised by his grandfather until the age of 6, when his grandfather had passed away. At age 7, William's mother passed away and he and his older sister Alice were then raised by his uncle Robert.
William was a rather fragile child and was often fighting off one sickness after another. By the age of 12, he had taken to reading and the study of the Sacred Scripture, and soon became acquainted with a group know as Separatists led by a Richard Clayton and John Smith.
The Separatists were a group who could no longer engage in the ways of Christian worship as dictated by the official Church of England, and by the year 1606 William Bradford had become deeply involved with the Separatist Movement.
Although Bradford's personal family did not support his moves, in 1608 Bradford along with a group of Separatists fled England because of the pressures of the Church of England...including persecution.
He then moved to Holland and enjoyed approximately 11 years of relative peace and freedom to worship God by what the Separatists regarded as "more closely to the dictates of the Sacred Scripture", and married his 16 year old bride Dorothy May in 1613. William Bradford took up the trade as a silk weaver, and the couple had a son around 1615 and they named him John.
Holland, who had maintained a 12 year old peace treaty with Spain, was now about this time beginning to "beat the war drums on the streets", as Spain and Holland were on the brink of war.
The Separatists, feeling like exiles from England and living in a foreign land....then made plans to journey to the "New World"...on a ship named the Mayflower....to continue in their religious freedom.
When the young couple boarded the Mayflower, they left their young son John behind...so he might not endure the hardships awaiting them.
It was in the winter of 1620, after arriving in the "New world" at Cape Cod, that William's wife had an unfortunate accident when she slipped overboard into the icy waters of the harbor. Some reports say she drowned while others say she suffered from what we know this day as hypothermia, and died shortly after, on December 17th, 1620.
In 1623 William married a widow who had come on the Mayflower, an Alice (Carpenter) Southworth.
Much of the origin of the new colony is given to us through the writings of William Bradford, detailing the the early years (approximately 30) as to how it all took place....including...the "First Thanksgiving". This well known historical document is entitled: "The Plimouth Plantation" (although using the letter "i" in those days, is often used with a "y" today).
Bradford passed away on May 9th, 1657, at the age of 68. His 2nd wife, Alice lived to be 79 years of age and passed on March 26th, 1670.
William and Alice had 3 children: William, Mercy, and Joseph.
As for John, the son of William and his first wife Dorothy, he too came to the New World at a later date and passed away in Connecticut.
There are numerous resources available as to the life of William Bradford.
With that thought in mind, I approach "Thanksgiving".
Much of our historical documents concerning the 1st Thanksgiving is given to us through the writings of William Bradford.
William Bradford was born in 1590, in a small farming community of Austerfield, Yorkshire, in England. His father had died when William was only 1 year old, and was then raised by his grandfather until the age of 6, when his grandfather had passed away. At age 7, William's mother passed away and he and his older sister Alice were then raised by his uncle Robert.
William was a rather fragile child and was often fighting off one sickness after another. By the age of 12, he had taken to reading and the study of the Sacred Scripture, and soon became acquainted with a group know as Separatists led by a Richard Clayton and John Smith.
The Separatists were a group who could no longer engage in the ways of Christian worship as dictated by the official Church of England, and by the year 1606 William Bradford had become deeply involved with the Separatist Movement.
Although Bradford's personal family did not support his moves, in 1608 Bradford along with a group of Separatists fled England because of the pressures of the Church of England...including persecution.
He then moved to Holland and enjoyed approximately 11 years of relative peace and freedom to worship God by what the Separatists regarded as "more closely to the dictates of the Sacred Scripture", and married his 16 year old bride Dorothy May in 1613. William Bradford took up the trade as a silk weaver, and the couple had a son around 1615 and they named him John.
Holland, who had maintained a 12 year old peace treaty with Spain, was now about this time beginning to "beat the war drums on the streets", as Spain and Holland were on the brink of war.
The Separatists, feeling like exiles from England and living in a foreign land....then made plans to journey to the "New World"...on a ship named the Mayflower....to continue in their religious freedom.
When the young couple boarded the Mayflower, they left their young son John behind...so he might not endure the hardships awaiting them.
It was in the winter of 1620, after arriving in the "New world" at Cape Cod, that William's wife had an unfortunate accident when she slipped overboard into the icy waters of the harbor. Some reports say she drowned while others say she suffered from what we know this day as hypothermia, and died shortly after, on December 17th, 1620.
In 1623 William married a widow who had come on the Mayflower, an Alice (Carpenter) Southworth.
Much of the origin of the new colony is given to us through the writings of William Bradford, detailing the the early years (approximately 30) as to how it all took place....including...the "First Thanksgiving". This well known historical document is entitled: "The Plimouth Plantation" (although using the letter "i" in those days, is often used with a "y" today).
Bradford passed away on May 9th, 1657, at the age of 68. His 2nd wife, Alice lived to be 79 years of age and passed on March 26th, 1670.
William and Alice had 3 children: William, Mercy, and Joseph.
As for John, the son of William and his first wife Dorothy, he too came to the New World at a later date and passed away in Connecticut.
There are numerous resources available as to the life of William Bradford.
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