Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1900-12-01
happy meetinge and safe aryvau 49,.
country and so returned aboard ae ,ii." The
+ Irss by a GOVernOr.

/
bradford, the first governor of S'o'.
| cnusetts colony, who, in grot;,r5 '''>t-
1 the bountiful harvest OF 1tioI 81 Tor
reetIon for the observance OF n Az. Vi
/ THANKSGIVING to be held on Decpmhe, ~ -
| Of that year. 1i"et al
Here are Gov. Bradford's ow, NJ,
| for: grateful
They begane now TO gather in ve ...,
harvest they had and to titte up Their hn onia
| ana dwellings against winter being ~ i"uSeS
recovered in health and strength MI W.
all things in good plenty: for rs sof r,in uad
tnrs employed in affairs abroad, Others W.
exercised in fishing about codd DnJ 49,
and other fish. of which vev +@aI, paS.
store of which every family had Their n, 90
| tlDh All We same. there was no wax
as winter approached. of which this ~.
did abound when they came first tbnT ~"
wards decreased by degree, and BESIDE W.
ter fonle there was great store of villa NJ
kieS, of which they took many. EeIidaS NJ
ison &c Beside. they had about Il ne. u.
meal q Weeke to n person, or now. Sine,
| harvest ihuith corn to We propard0u.
First by Court.
That colony consisted of fifty.fv. ,,a.
sons, survivors of the hundred SoulI ~,
more VINO landed from the Mayilower
From this period until the Reyoirtinn
thanksgiving of some kind occurred NJ
most every year. Under the date boy,'
ever OF Thursday. December 10 irA1
the Massachusetts general court ~
pressed itself as follows:
II having pleased the God of Heaven ta
summer past, with mixture of some yrr.
signal Favors and in the midst of vratE
SO far to remember Mercy thar os,r In L
vests have not wholly failed, that our In
dian enemies have had a check put rnnr
their Designs of blood and spoil that othsr.
have not seen their designs accomullSGnd
upon US. and that we have such hopes Of
our just Gods yet adding more perfrctfo',
10 our deliyerance:- Inasmuch also as tbr
Great God hath of late raised up snrb
defence to the Protestant Religion and in
terest abroad in the world, especially in rho
happy accession Of their MajesteS, Our SOW.
ereign King William and Queen Mary ~
the throne. 1t is therefore ordered that
Thursday, the nineteenth of December in.
slant, be kept as a day of Thanksgiving
throughout the Colony, and all serviie labor
on that day is hereby inhibited. and tho
several ministers and assemblies are rx
horted to observe the same in celebratinz
the just praises of Almighty God OF whose
tender mercies it Is that we are not c n
sumed.
This is the earliest official record of the
establishment that was destined To fol,
low.
George Washingtou's First.
During the Revolution Thanksgivip.
became national, Congress usually rec.
ommending day to be set apart for this
purpose but after the general Thanks
giving for peace in 1854 the custom was
omitted until the adoption of the fed
eral constitution in 1889, when President
Washington appointed Thursday, NJ
yember 20, for Il national observance
This was given at New York on October
3 and may be taken as the pioneer ar
presidential THANKSGIVING proclamatious
Here is an extract from it:
Whereas, II is the duty of all nations to
acknowledge the providence of Almighty
God, to obey His will, to be grateful tol
nd hum lv
protection and favor. Now. there
fore. do recommend and assign THURSDAY.
the 10Th day Of November next. to be de
voted by the people of these States to the
service of that great and glorious Being
who is the Benefcent Author OF all the
good that was, that is, or that will be-
that we may then all unite In rendering u
Him our sincere and humble thanks for His
kind care and protection of the people OF
this country previous to their becoming Il
nation, for the signal and manifold mercies
and the favorable interpretations of His
providence. in the course and conclusion Of
the late war, for the great degree of tran
quillity, union and plenty which hive
since, enjoyed, for the peaceable and
abied to establish constitutions of govern
ment for our safety and happiness, and par
ticularly the national one now lately instt
tuted; for the civil and religious liberty
with which we are blessed aud the mean,
we have of acquiring and diffusing useful
knowledge; and in general Tor all the great
and various favOrs. which He has been
pleased to confer upon us.
First in the South.
BY this time the festival had attained
official recognition throughout New Eng
land, and the governors of the different
states sent out their prOclamatiOns regu-
larly. The West, being largely settled
from the East. readily fell into line. but
Thanksgiving day did not obtain official
recognition in the South until 1888. when
eight Southern governors sent forth proc
lamations. after the New England model.
amid much criticism from opponents Of
Yankee notions"
President Lincoln in 1862 -63-G4 recon-
mended special days of Thanksgiving.
and since the Civil war the practice has
been unbroken. Here is an extract from
MIR. Lincoln's last proclamation Of the
kind before he was assassinated. 1t Is
dated October 30. 1864. and refers en-
phatically to his proclamation of emancf
patton:
1t has pleased Almighty God to prolons
our National life another year. defending
us with His guardian care against untrlchd
~ designs from abroad and VouChsahnS 70
us in His mercy many and signal victories
over the enemy who is of our own nous
hold. 1t has also pleased our Heavenly
Father to favor as well our citizens IL
their homes our soldiers in their camp
and our sailors on the rivers and seas WIZ
unusual health. He has largely augmentrI
our free population by emancipation anu ~
immigration, while He has opened 10 u
new sources of wealth and has crowned me
ldDof OF our WcfhlnEmen III every NsprJ
ment of industry with ahundand AWARDS
Moreover. He has been pleased To amman.
and inspire our minds and hearts with t'tll
tude, courage and resolution sufficient 10.
the great trial of civil war into whch W.
have been brought by our adherence IL
Nation to the cause of freedom ana hutFn
ity and to afford to US reasonable hupr> ~
an ultimate and happy deliverance from IL
our dangers and Affections Now. thtItlo'''
/. etc.
First by a New York Governor
At an early date the mayors of Ness
York were accustomed to set the da!,
but Gov. John Jay in 1895 was, the h .a5
chief executive to take up the duty IT.
issued proclamation for Novemorf
In the preamble, after dwelling upon ,.i'
propriety of public expressions OF graz
tude for public blessings and enUiheI',
ing many of the distinguished ial''n
which Providence had conferred oF''