The Pilgrims land in Virginia...

Not really. Wasn't Thanksgiving made a federal holiday by Abe Lincoln?

 

There is a common misconception repeated here - The Pilgrims were NOT Puritans; they were Separatists and NEVER engaged in the persecution of Roger W or anyone else. The Puritans came to America later in the Mass. Bay Colony and eventually scorned Plymouth because they didn't persecute the Baptists.

 

There is another misconception here as well... The Jamestown Colony in VA was founded in AD 1607. The Pilgrims did not arrive in MA until AD 1620. So those who landed in VA did not do so "later" (meaning following the Pilgrims). My ancestors established a plantation on the James River in Virginia called "Sheffield" in AD 1619.

 

Here is a good related article:

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/book/chap5_2.html

 

Sounds like ya' need to read a little history . . .

 

My relatives landed on the James river in the 1600's, so perhaps they "visited" your family's plantation. An interesting book on this is The History of the Scotch Irish in America.

 

That is entirely possible. In doing the genealogy research for that era you see that those early families were very close. My ancestors were John and Seth Ward (well they spelled it "Warde"). William Byrd mentions his neighbor "Mr. Ward" many times in his private diary. He talks about visiting with him and going to be with him at his death bed. The Wards and the Byrds ended up being related via marriage.

 

Several comments.

I agree with your statement that people need to learn the differences between Puritans and Separatists. I also agree with you that the Scrooby Pilgrams have often been accused of doing things that they simply did not do and I agree that the record must be corrected on that matter.

The Pilgrams may not have persecuted Roger Williams (etc) as the Puritans did (ex: Massachusetts Bay) however let's keep in mind the Pilgrams were not that happy with Williams. When Roger Williams left Plymouth William Bradford was clear that he found many of Williams teachings to be "strange opinions". It is also clear that the Pilgrams did not exactly object to the type of things Puritans were doing in Massachusetts. That is not to say that they agreed on everything, nor is it to say that they did not have strong disagreements, but it is to say that the Pilgrams and Bradford were not exactly promotors of religious tolerance or freedom.

I find much to admire in William Bradford, John Carver, William Bruster, Edward Winslow and the other Plymouth pilgrams from Scrooby. After all they did survive a very tough voyage and winter that proved deadly for many of their friends. I admire the way they were able to establish some agreements with Massasoit and his Pokanokets. Now that is not to say that I approve of all of their behaviors and later actions. But it is to say that I admire them for beating the odds. I also admire men like John Winthrop and others at Massachusetts Bay.

However I confess that my sympathies are with Roger Williams. While I can't agree with some of his "strange opinions" concerning the church I do agree with his views on Indian lands, seperation of church and state, and religious toleration/freedom. It also does not hurt that Williams, at least for a time, was a Baptist.

 

I certainly hope to see both of you here in the Commonwealth this year. It is only about a month away, and we are all getting excited.

Regards,
BiR