Plymouth Plantation William Bradford had a rough start in life. He proves a person can experience multiple tragedies and challenges and yet grow up to live a long and productive life. Born in 1590 in Austerfield, a small farming community in Northern England, his father died when he was a toddler. His family then lived with his grandfather, until his grandfather died when he was six; his mother when he was seven. With no parents […]
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Mayflower Governor John Carver
Before they sailed in 1620, English religious refugee passengers appointed one of the deacons from the congregation they were leaving behind in Holland as their governor for the voyage. Mayflower Governor John Carver earned that role through his many efforts to make the trip possible. They couldn’t just call a travel agent to book passage. The trip required years of planning and numerous trips back and forth across the English Channel to make arrangements. A […]
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Elder William and Mary Brewster
I discipline churchgoers with godly lessons and sharp words if they do not change their ways. My goal is to open their hearts so that they seek forgiveness. (William Brewster) William and Mary Brewster are my great x 10 grandparents. I’ve been spending as much time in the 16th and 17th centuries lately as I have in the 21st one, learning what I can about this amazing couple. It has been background research for Mayflower […]
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Yet Another Book About the Mayflower?
For the past two years I’ve been researching what led the passengers of the Mayflower to get on that small, wooden ship and sail away to a place they’d never been. I learned how their story is interwoven with political events of the era such as the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots and King Henry VIII’s dramatic act of rebellion against the Holy Roman Catholic Church. Much to my chagrin and regret, I learned […]
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Armistice Day 2018
He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4) The following is from my journal last Sunday – Armistice Day, November 11, 2018. I am onboard the Queen Mary 2 as we slowly make our way to the dock in New York. We will […]
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