Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-20
Some Things You Want to Know
Landing of the Mayflower.

also had a representative form Of govern
ment in its House Of Burgesses.
Fourteen states and the District OF
Columbia now have state associations OF
Mayflower defendants, and their total
membership is well up into the thousands.
II has been calculated that II in each gen.
GRAFTON there were three children to marry,
and each of these in turn have three 10
marry, the tenth generation might number
about 100000. In other words, one-six-
teenth of the native born population of the
United States might trace at least one
strain of blood back to the Mayflower.
Each person has 1,024 ancestors of the
tenth generation, unless there has been
i"ntermarrlage somewhere along the line.
1t follows, therefore, that every person
whose ancestry is or native stock, stands
a good show Of having somewhere touched
the May flower passenger list. Further
more, each Individual who traces his an
cestry back ten generations will find that,
barring intermarriage, he has 2,O46 ances-
tors in the ten generations. II any one
of these has been a Mayflower passenger
or the descendant of one, the individual
becomes eligible as a Mayflower descend
ant.
John Alden has as many as 600 descend
ants who are members Of the society, while
not a member of the Richard More FAMILY
had applied for membership at the time OF
the publication of the last souvenir volume
of the society. Perhaps a score OF the
passengers have not over fifty descendant
in the society. william and VII
liam Mullins have many descendants on
the rolls Of the society, and after them
come the descendants Of John Rowland
William Bradford, John Tilley and Richard
Warren. From these men have sprung
many Of the notables Of New England and
other sections of the country.
one of the objects Of the society Is the
gathering and publication and preservation
Of additional data about the Mayflower
passengers, their history before coming to
America, and their lives after settling at
Plymouth. Each member takes a deep
pride in searching out some new fact per-
tanning to the Pilgrims, and it has stimu-
lated Investigations in Europe and America
TO a wonderful degree. At the t~riennial
congresses of the general society these
things are much talked about, and made
matters of permanent record. There is
also a periodical published several times a
year, which gives a list of all the &C
tivities of the various state societies, the
new members admitted, the new facts dis
wi I W AAAA1 ~ AHog ~ 49, ~NNaA
to the outsider it is a publication of in
tense interest to the Mayflower descendant
1t has run through eleven volumes, and
these are carefully treasured by members
OF the society.
The determination of the Pilgrims to
make their history-affecting voyage to Ply
mouth Rock was largely a matter OF
chance. An Independent church, composed
mainly of simple country folk, was formed
in 1906 in Scrooby, Notinghamshire. At its
head was John Robinson, the pastor, OF
whom it was said that it was hard to Judge
which was the more delighted; he in hav-
ing such a people, or they in having such
a pastor. William Brewster, who was
postmaster at Scrooby, was a member, and
SO was William Bradford, afterward gov
ernor of the colony at Plymouth, and the
historian Of the Pilgrims.
Prosecutions at the hands of the kings
officers, followed the organization Of the
church. One attempt to flee was frus-
trated, but after q second attempt, they
were able to get 10. Holland, where they
settled at Leyden in 1909. For eleven years
they prpspered. and their number was in
creased to 1000 souls. But their surround
ings were not congenial, and the question
OF moving 10 America came up. Inc cas-
~ualltieH of the seas, the length Of the
voyage, the miserles of the land, the cru
city Of the savages the expense Of the
outfit, the i'll success of other colonies, and
their own sad experience were reasons
urged against going to America. But the
advocates of the venture prevailed, and
having decided to go somewhere, where
should it be?
Some favored Guiana, whose rich feet
were mines of gold and whose forehead
knocked against the roof of the stars. -
Others favored Virginia; and in due time
Virginia" was decided upon. The proceed
ings tina finally ended in the charterine
of the Speedwell and afterward the May.
flower were undertaken and after many
adventures, financial, religious, sea-far-
ing-of every kind, December %, 1920, saw
them landed on Virginia" soil that turned
out to be Massachusetts,.
FREDERICK j. HASKU.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TIE PHARMA-
CoP0EIA.