Visit To Plymouth Plantation

November 23, 2016 — Cape Cod, history of Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony, Plymouth Plantation

cannons above church Plymouth

Pilgrims

Pilgrim

miller’s take

mill pond

When I visited Plymouth Plantation to see how my ancestors had lived the Mayflower was out of town being repaired. That did not bother me. I filled my day visiting at the museums of the living culture, including the grain mill extension in town.  The details are fabulous and the actors doing the recreation are very knowledgeable and professional at their work.  My personal ancestors were not on hand the day I went, but I did see the recreations of their homes.  I also spent time in the cemetery and the church.  The whole town is kind of preserved, with a definite Mayflower Pilgrim theme.

I was most interested in the Wampanoag section of the display. I thought for years I was a descendant of Quadequina, a member of the first Thanksgiving party.  I was thrilled to be a Wamp, but later my first cousin discovered an error in my research.  I had to cut that branch from the tree and begin again in the 1700s in South Carolina.  I was super distressed at this news, which at first I was unwilling to accept.  I was furious at my cousin, but had to face the reality that I had based my conclusions on specious data.  I had mistaken one John Taylor in South Carolina for another, and that was all it took to lead me astray.  It was a bummer.  I was just a wanna be Wampanoag after all.  It was a sad day when I had to admit that.

I stayed on Cape Cod where many of my ancestors moved after they had had it with the Plymouth bureaucracy and religious police.  The whole area is filled with history.  Even though my dreams of being a Wampanoag were dashed I enjoyed learning about the tribe and their struggle today.  My relationship to them is purely intellectual, but I still love the People of The First Light.  I love them more than I love the Pilgrims, who turned out to be pretty religious crazy.  That whole story about religious freedom and Plymouth has been stilted quite a bit.  They had no use for religious freedom other than their own specific brand of religious practice.  They forced everyone to go to their church and obey their church’s rules. That is why many of my ancestors left for Cape Cod and later for Rhode Island.  Those oppressive Pilgrims were just too intrusive to have as neighbors.

I hope to go back to Plymouth some day.  I now have done more research and more people to find in the vicinity.  I also hope I will revisit Williamsburg, VA because many of my ancestors were living down there in the 1600’s too.  If you have a chance to go see the exhibits at Plimouth Plantation Thanksgiving will never be the same for you.  You will see a clearer picture of what really happened in history.