Mary Chilton Winslow has the distinction of being the first woman to
step foot on Plymouth Rock as the Pilgrims descended from the
Mayflower after crossing the Atlantic in 1620.
Mary was born sometime around 1608, probably in England. She was
the daughter of James Chilton and Susanna Furner, who were married
before the year 1587 in England. Not much is known about MaryÂ’s
heritage, but it appears that her father was the son of Lionel Chilton
and her mother was likely the daughter of Francis and Isabelle Furner.
Both parents were Separatists or Pilgrims which was a religious
group that were dissenters from the Church of England.
In the early 1600Â’s many of the English began to question the teachings
of the Church of England or Anglican Church. The Church of England
had been founded by Henry VIII when he separated from the Catholic
Church in order to get a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to marry
Anne Bolyen. Some of these individuals chose to remain members of
the Church of England and purify it from within and were called
Puritans. A more radical group believed that the Church of England
was too corrupt to salvaged and these individuals separated from the
church and were nicknamed Separatists. These Separatists were
persecuted by the English monarchy and even by the Puritans within the
Church of England. Many fled to Holland where their religious views
were tolerated. This same group also soon became known as
Pilgrims, because they were forced to wander from their native land
looking for religious freedom.
Though it has been widely disputed, it is now believed by most that the
Chilton family was a part of the group of Separatists that fled to
Leyden, Holland. While years ago many believed the ChiltonÂ’s were
not part of this group, it is recorded that in 1619, Mary and her father,
James Chilton were attacked by a group of rock throwing boys in
Leyden, Holland. Therefore it appears that her parents were indeed
Separatists.
While life in Holland was easier for the Pilgrims than a life of
persecution in England, it was still difficult for the Separatists to
make
a living. Most of the group had been farmers in England and upon
moving to Holland they had to learn new skills to survive in an urban
land that afforded them only a meager income. Besides being hard to
eke out a living, the adults of this group felt that their children were
becoming too immersed in the Dutch culture and were slipping away
from their faith.
Because of this, the Pilgrims decided to leave Holland. The leaders of
the group entered an agreement with a group of Adventurers or
business men in England who wanted to profit off those interested in
beginning a new life in the New World. The agreement was made that
in exchange for their passage, the Pilgrims would give the Adventurers
a percentage of their first harvest. Along with the Pilgrims, the
Adventurers also paid the passage of a number of people who were
going to America for financial gain. These people were called
Strangers by the Pilgrims. The first group Pilgrims set sail on the
Mayflower in 1620. Mary Chilton and her family were on this ship.
The total number of Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower were 102.
The ship was headed to the Jamestown Colony, Virginia, but missed
itÂ’s mark, whether by mistake or planning. The Mayflower arrived at
Cape Cod in November of 1620. James Chilton, who was one of the
oldest of the Mayflower passengers, died on December 18, 1620 while
the Mayflower was docked in Provincetown Harbor. There is no
record as to whether he was buried at land or sea.
The leaders aboard the Mayflower decided not to stay at Cape Cod and
continued down the coast to Plymouth where the passengers founded a
new colony. According to tradition Mary Chilton raced John Alden to
the front of the launch that was bringing the Mayflower passengers
ashore. She stepped off the boat and was the first woman to set foot
on Plymouth Rock. The painting ,The Landing of the Pilgrims, by
Henry Bacon, reflects this tradition. It pictures Mary being the first
woman to step out of the launch onto Plymouth Rock.
The first winter that the Pilgrims spent in Plymouth was an extremely
hard one with grave consequences. Nearly half of the passengers that
made it across the Atlantic died in and epidemic referred to as The
First Sickness, including MaryÂ’s mother. This left the
thirteen-year-old Mary an orphan. After the death of her mother, it is
believed that Mary lived for the next few years with the family of Miles
Standish or John Alden.
In 1621, John Winslow, brother of Mayflower passenger Edward
Winslow, came to America on the Fortune. Mary and John met and
were married sometime before 1627, probably in July of 1623. They
had ten children together:
John, Susanna, Mary Edward, Sarah, Samuel, Joseph, Isaac, an
unnamed child who died young, and Benjamin. The youngest child,
Benjamin, is the only child listed in the Plymouth records.
Sometime after the birth of their last child, the Winslow family moved
to Boston where John became a successful merchant and shipowner.
It was here that they both died, John in 1674 and Mary in 1679. Mary
was the only female passenger from the Mayflower who left a will.
(c)2000 Patricia Chadwick
About the author
Patti Chadwick is a freelance writer and creator of
historywomen.com and parentsandteens.com
She is also the author of several books including
Old Fashioned Holidays and Happy Holidays with Teens
available at historywomen.com.
