by Dorothy Marie Kucera

Created on: November 15, 2009

The Pilgrims were my relatives on my mother's side of the family. The name refers to ones taking a journey, a pilgrimage but in the historic event of the Mayflower journey in 1620, it includes the Puritans and the Separatists, along with adventurers and those seeking work. Puritans were trying to reform the Church of England and the Separatists had already given up, leaving it. Both groups lived in England but could no longer take the religious persecution of being jailed for secret worship services and having land taken away for their beliefs in and obedience to the Bible, so they escaped to Leyden, Holland where they lived for eleven years. They concluded that what was really needed was a new land where they could have total freedom of worship. They purchased a ship named Speedwell but since it was too small and old, they made arrangements with businessmen back in England who procured another ship for them, the Mayflower, a 180 ton cargo ship with large, square sails; it was not built to carry passengers. The price included food and provisions. Out of money, the Pilgrims were forced to work another seven years to pay for the second ship.

Robert Cushman, Esquire, our relative, was the English attorney who drew up the legal documents for the Leyden group. The patent was from the Virginia Company which had begun the Jamestown, Virginia colony in the New World in 1607 under Captain John Smith. The Leyden charter was for a new settlement at the edge of the Virginia Company's boundaries which extended up into what is now known as New Jersey. Authority for all of these negotiations has to be granted by King James of England.

Finally, the servitude was completed by the Leyden Pilgrims and they sailed back to England to secure the Mayflower. It was decided that both ships would travel across the Atlantic Ocean and they set sail on August 5, 1620 to the New World. The Speedwell broke down, leaking, returned to port and its passengers split in two different directions; some stayed in England and some crowded onto the Mayflower. September 16, 1620 was the official departure date from Plymouth, England. One book shows the final count on the Mayflower of approximately thirty sailors and one hundred and two passengers which included children numbering thirty plus four. This exceeded the acceptable list of people allowed on board. Occupations included one each of a doctor, soldier, shoemaker and blacksmith, many farmers, weavers, shopkeepers and some servants had agreed

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