November 13, 2008

Well we’re not historians by any stretch of the imagination but with Thanksgiving right around the corner, we got to thinking about the first females to arrive in the New World. With a little help from Google, old textbooks, and friendly teachers we cobbled together the following:

In 1620, nearly 100 passengers boarded the Mayflower for one of the most important journeys in history. As with all great adventures, the journey was fraught with hardship and danger. The ship carried about 51 men, 22 boys, 20 women, and 11 girls.

By any definition, the girls onboard the Mayflower were Pretty Tough. Some of the passengers included:

Mary Chilton
At the age of 13, Mary came with her parents on the Mayflower. Legend has it that Mary Chilton was the first female ashore at Plymouth. There is no contemporary recording of the event, but there are also no competing claims. Mary Chilton’s landing on Plymouth Rock is celebrated in Bacon’s The Landing of the Pilgrims, painted in 1877 on exhibit at Pilgrim Hall Museum.

Her father was one of the first who died after the ship had anchored off Provincetown Harbor. Her mother also died sometime later the first winter, orphaning her in the New World.

Mary Chilton went on to marry John Winslow around 1627 and they had 10 children.

Constance Hopkins
Constance, also 13, came with her father Stephen, step-mother Elizabeth, brother Giles, and step-sister Damaris on the Mayflower. Her younger brother, Oceanus, was born while the Mayflower was at sea, so she probably spent a lot of time taking care of her mother’s needs. Oceanus did not survive long, however, and apparently died by 1623. Constance’s future husband, Nicholas Snow, arrived on the ship Anne in 1623.

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