Home Discover History Commemorations Pilgrim Memorials Around the World
Pilgrim Memorials Around the World
Written by Stacy B.C. Wood, Jr.   

 

The following has been gleaned from Centennial History — General Society of Mayflower Descendants 1897-1997. Duane A. Cline, Compiler/Editor, GSMD, 1999, The Mayflower Quarterly, The Howland Quarterly, The Pennsylvania Mayflower and other sources.

Since being organized in 1897, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and its various State Societies (New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania predating the General Society) have dedicated, sponsored or otherwise participated in the erection of numerous memorial monuments, statues, plaques, etc. to the memory of the Pilgrim Forefathers. During the period 1989-1992 the Mayflower Quarterly editor, the late Richard L. Husband, assembled 294 sites by category in the Quarterly. Many new memorials have been added since then. Our thanks to those who assisted in developing this list, especially to SMDPA Assistant General Katharine F. Little, former Chairwoman of the General Society's Historic Sites Committee. We are also thankful for the Web sites in Holland, England and America to which we have linked that carry applicable images and information.

The following is a chronological list of Pilgrim Memorials using the aforesaid and other sources. Stamps and currency are not included but may be seen on the related pages listed in the navigation column located on the left. Paintings may be seen on our Pilgrims In Art page. The sponsor or contributor is indicated in text when known. If the information is all or in part from the General Society's Centennial History (CH), the page number will follow the entry. PAM, MQ and HQ indicate that some of the information comes from the Pennsylvania Mayflower, the Mayflower Quarterly or the Howland Quarterly and the issue, and often the page, is given. This is a "work in progress." If sites are missing, it is not intentional and readers knowing of those that should be added are urged to provide information about them to the Webmaster so that they may be included.




1676 — Wife of Richard More Grave Stone, The Old Burying Point, Salem MA
The original grave stone of the first wife of the Pilgrim Richard More reads: "CHRISTIAN WIFE TO RICHARD MORE AGED 60 YEARS DECd MARCH Ye 18 1676." It has a death's head beneath which is the Latin inscription "hodie mihi cras tibi" ("today for me, tomorrow for you").
PAM Vol. VIII, No. 4, Winter 1995, p.6;
MQ Vol.64, No. 1, February 1998, p.44-48

 

1686 — Jane More Grave Stone, The Old Burying Point, Salem MA
Jane, whose maiden name is unknown, was the widow Crumpton before marrying Richard More. The stone has a tympanum displaying a soul effigy and a border with figs and half moons on the finials. It reads: "JANE SECOND WIFE TO CAPT RICHARD MORE SENR AGED 55 YEARS DEPARTED THIS LIFE YE 8 OF OCTOBER 1686."
PAM Vol. VIII, No. 4, Winter 1995, p.6;
MQ Vol. 64, No. 1, February 1998, p.44-48

 

1696 — Pilgrim Richard More Grave Stone, The Old Burying Point, Salem MA
This grave stone is significant because it is the only stone of a Mayflower passenger placed at the time of burial. It reads: "HERE LYETH BURIED Ye BODY OF CAPT RICHARD MORE AGED 84 YEARS DIED 1692 A MAYFLOWER PILGRIM." The erroneous date and "a Mayflower Pilgrim" are later additions. More was alive as of March 29, 1694 and "lately deceased" as of April 20, 1696.
PAM Vol. VIII, No. 4, Winter 1995, p.5;
MQ Vol. 64, No. 1, February 1998, p.44-48

 

1741 — Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA
Identified by the then 95 year old Elder Thomas Faunce.
CH p.viii

 

 

1769 — Old Colony Club, Plymouth, MA
Founded by seven young Plymouth men, it memorialized the Pilgrim fathers by establishing "Forefather's Day" on December 22. During the Revolutionary War, the day was not celebrated. It was revived in 1793. The club is claimed to be the oldest active social club in the United States.
CH p.xi, xi, xxi

 

1820 — The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, MA
Chartered to "not only commemorate the landing and honor the Pilgrims, but to provide a plot for the erection of a monument..." This Society oversaw the Landing of the Pilgrims Bicentennial in which the noted Boston lawyer and national orator Daniel Webster spoke and acquainted a wider public with the character and accomplishments of the Pilgrims. The following banquet included five kernels of corn at each place setting as a reminder of the hard winter of 1623 endured by the Pilgrims.
CH p.xii

 

1824 — Pilgrim Hall Museum, Court St, Plymouth, MA
Built by the Pilgrim Society, it houses artifacts of the Pilgrims and art depicting Pilgrims.
CH p.xii

 

1825 — Howland, Maine Named for Pilgrim John Howland
This village, located at the junction of the Piscataquis and Penonscot rivers in central Maine, was named to honor Pilgrim John Howland who had been the first agent at the Cushnoc (Augusta) trading post in Maine.
HQ Vol. 55, No. 2 June 1990, p.1, 11

 

1825 — "Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620" Relief, U.S. Capitol Rotunda, Washington DC
This is one of four reliefs which stand over the four Rotunda doors of the US Capitol Building. It was contributed by the sculptor Enrico Causici. This is not to be confused with the section of the same title in the Rotunda's 360º Historical Painting frieze painted in 1889 by Filippo Costaggini based on sketches by Costantino Brumidi. For this, see the link "Art in the Capitol".

 

1858 — Cushman Memorial, Burial Hil, Plymouth, MA
This memorial honors Robert Cushman and his son Thomas. Although Robert Cushman was not able to make the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower, it is unlikely that the voyage could have been made without his help. He was the principal negotiator of agreements with the Crown and the London Adventurers and largely responsible for organizing the logistics of the trip. He and his 14 year old son Thomas arrived in New Plymouth aboard the next ship to arrive, the Fortune. His son Thomas, who married Pilgrim Isaac Allerton's daughter Mary, succeeded Wm. Brewster as the colony's Ruling Elder and served for more than 42 years.

 

1865 — Pastor John Robinson's House (Jean Pesijnshof) Memorial Stone, Leiden, Holland
Placed by Henryt Martyn Dexter and G. E. Day, this memorial reads: "On this spot lived, taught and died John Robinson, 1611-1625."

 

 

 

1868 — Chicago Congregational Church Stone, Chicago, IL
A gravestone dated 1595 was sent from the Delfshaven, Holland, Olde Kirke to be placed in the wall of this new church.

 

 

 

1883 — Plymouth Rock Canopy, Plymouth, MA
Designed by Hammett Billings and erected over the Rock following the rejoining of its upper and bottom portions of the Rock by The Pilgrim Society. Bones of those who died and were secretly buried during the winter of 1620-1621, had been collected during washouts and diggings on Cole's Hill from as early as 1735, and were entombed in the canopy's top.
CH p.xv, xvii, xix

 

1889 — National Forefathers Monument, Plymouth, MA
Begun in 1859 by the Pilgrim Society as part of their mission, this 81 foot high monument atop Allerton Hill overlooking Plymouth Harbor with "Faith" as the dominant figure, was designed by Hammett Billings.
CH p.xviii

 

 

1891 — Pastor John Robinson Plaque, Peter's Church, Leiden, Holland
This tablet was erected on the wall of the Peter's Church by the National Council of Congregational Churches in the United States to mark the burial site of March 4, 1625 of the Leiden Pilgrims' Pastor Robinson. In 1928 the General Society placed a similar memorial plaque in the church (q.v.).

 

1894 — New York Society
The first State Society of Mayflower Descendants. By 1980 a Society had been chartered for every state as well as the District of Columbia and Canada. Obviously, each State Society and the General Society is a memorial to the Pilgrims.
CH p.xx

 

1895 — John Cooke, Plaque, Fairhaven MA
John Cooke, an adventurer before he reached his teens, under the custodianship of his father, Francis, an inhabitant of Plymouth until 1659, owner of the land at Oxford and a resident here, the first white settler, a Representative to the General Court and a Baptist minister, is depicted as a genuine pioneer in the establishment of this section. He died about 1695, and is purported to be buried at Burial Hill [at Fairhaven], willed by William Wood in the Revolutionary period, in a codicil under the date of May 14, 1778. The boulder is in Cook Memorial Park, Plymouth Avenue, Oxford, Poverty Point Area, Fairhaven, and reads:

AD 1620 SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JOHN COOKE LAST SURVIVING MALE PILGRIM OF THOSE WHO CAME OVER IN THE MAYFLOWER THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER OF THIS TOWN AND THE PIONEER IN ITS RELIGIOUS MORAL AND BUSINESS LIFE A MAN OF CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY AND THE TRUSTED AGENT FOR THIS PART OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE OLD COLONIAL CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF PLYMOUTH

"Old-time Fairhaven" (1), by Charles A. Harris, Reynolds Printing, New Bedford, MA 1947, p. 222

 

1895 — The Mayflower Steps & Arch, Sutton Harbor Pier, Plymouth, on, UK
These steps and arch mark the approximate area where the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower and finally set sail on September 6, 1620.

 

 

 

1896 — Robinson Memorial Church, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
A Congregationalist Church built to honor Pastor Robinson who preached in Gainsborough before fleeing to Holland.

 

 

 

1897 — General Society of Mayflower Descendants
Organized Henry Elias Howland of New York was elected the first Governor General. Its world headquarters is on Winslow Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts on land once owned by Pilgrim John Howland. Besides erecting memorials to the Pilgrims at home and abroad, a major task during the past half-century have been the Five Generations Project Publications, the definitive genealogical works about the Pilgrim families. Also on its property, it operates the Mayflower House Museum, formerly known as the 1754 Edward Winslow House, in which the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was married.
CH p.9, 889-892

 

1897 — First Parish Church Memorial Window, Pulpit & Plaque, Plymouth, MA
Since 1683 a church has been on this site at the top of Leyden Street and at the foot of Burial Hill. The present church, completed in 1899 as a Memorial Church to the Pilgrims, replaces the building destroyed by fire in 1892. Its entrance is modeled on St. Helen's in Austerfield where Bradford was baptized. There is a memorial tablet at the right of the entrance reading "The Church of Scrooby, Leyden and the Mayflower gathered on this hillside in 1620, has ever since preserved unbroken records and maintained a continuous ministry, its first covenant being still the basis of its fellowship. In reverent memory of its Pilgrim Founders this Fifth Meeting-House was erected AD, MDCCCXCVII." This new building received from the New York Society the gift of a Tiffany window representing "The Signing of the Compact" and memorializing the Forefathers. At the time of the dedication of the new church in 1899, the Pilgrim John Howland Society presented a pulpit and a tablet. The latter reads: "In Loving Memory of JOHN HOWLAND and ELIZABETH TILLEY HOWLAND his wife of the Mayflower this pulpit is placed in the First Church in Plymouth by their Descendants A. D. 1899."
HQ Vol. II, No. 3, January 1938; HQ Vol. VI, No. 3, April 1942 CH p.9

 

1897 — The Pilgrim John Howland Society Established
This historic and patriotic society was founded on May 18, 1897. It has contributed greatly over the years to preserve the memory of John Howland and items associated with him such as the site of his 1638 Rocky Nook, Kingston, homestead; the house of his son Jabez in Plymouth; and his home town parish church of St. Peter & St. Paul in Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, England.
HQ Vol. LII, No. 3, June 1987, Insert

 

1898 — First House Site Plaque, Plymouth, MA
The Massachusetts State Society affixed a bronze plaque to a house on Leyden Street to mark the site of the first house in the Plymouth Colony. It was called the Common House and served as the first infirmary, church and gathering place. The plaque states that in the original house, long since demolished, on February 27, 1621 "the right to popular suffrage was executed and Myles Standish was chosen captain by majority vote."
CH p.16

 

1898 — St. Helen's Church, Austerfield, England
The New York Society contributed to the preservation of the church wherein Gov. William Bradford was baptized on March 19, 1589/90.
CH p.17

 

1898 — Pilgrim Spring and Corn Hill Plaques, Truro, MA
Having arrived in Cape Cod Bay, it was here that the Pilgrims drank their first fresh water and discovered a buried cache of Indian corn which provided their first food ashore. The General Society placed a granite marker commemorating the event atop Corn Hill. In 1900 the Society was deeded all rights to hold in trust.
CH p.20, 479, 502; MQ Vol. 66 No. 2 p.11-112

 

1898 — Myles Standish Statue & Monument, Duxbury MA
Taking twenty-six years to complete, this 14' tall granite statue of Captain Myles Standish stands atop a 116' granite column with the Plymouth Colony charter in hand, pointing across the Cape Cod Bay to Provincetown. The monument was funded by the Standish Monument Association.

 

1900 — Bradford Boulder and Plaque, Kingston, MA
Received by the Massachusetts State Society from historian and author William T. Davis.
CH p.22

 

1902 — Pastor John Robinson Plaque, Robinson Memorial Church, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England
This plaque in the church vestibule reads: "This Tablet unveiled June 11th, 1902 in the 300th year after the formation of the church in Gainsborough with which the name of JOHN ROBINSON is associated stands as a record of the cooperation of American and English Congregationalists in erecting a building to commemorate him the thought of whom stirs equal reverence in English and American hearts."

 

1904 — Isaac Allerton Plaque, Pecks Slip, New York
The New York State Society erected a memorial plaque on the former property of Isaac Allerton on Manhattan between Dover Street and Beekman Street near the East River. It reads: "From 1647 until 1659 this ground was occupied by the warehouse and residence of ISAAC ALLERTON a passenger on the ship MAYFLOWER in 1620. Assistant Governor of PLYMOUTH COLONY, the father of New England Commerce, one of the eight men of New Netherlands in 1643 and for twenty years a leading merchant of NEW AMSTERDAM. In grateful memory of MAYFLOWER PILGRIMS who first established civil and religious liberty in our land, this tablet is erected by The Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of New York 1904."
PAM Vol. 6, No. 3 Winter 1993, p.8

 

1904 — The Pilgrim Statue Fairmount Park, Philadelphia PA
This 9' 1" bronze figure was a reworking by August Saint-Gaudens of his 1887 figure of "The Puritan—Deacon Samuel Chapin" that stands in the Stanford White designed Stearnes Square, Springfield, MA. "The Pilgrim," which is 6" taller than "The Puritan," was commissioned at a cost of $10,000 by the New England Society of Philadelphia. It first stood in City Hall Plaza, Philadelphia, before being relocated in 1920 to that city's Fairmount Park on what was formerly East River Drive (now Kelley Drive) on "Boat House Row," almost across from the Sedgeley Club "lighthouse." In 1998, the Pennsylvania Mayflower Society paid for a replanting of the garden at the statue's base and rededicated the statue with then Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell in attendance.

 

1905 — Pilgrim Homestead, Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England The General Society began efforts to purchase this property where Elder William Brewster once lived and where he conducted nonconformist religious services. Plans were abandoned in 1908.
CH p.33, 43.

 

1906 — Alden Kindred
Founded The Alden Kindred, the hereditary organization for the descendants of Pilgrims John Alden and his wife Priscilla Mullins, operates the 1653 (some parts said to date from 1627) Alden House in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
MQ Vol. 64, No. 2 , May 1998, p.113-123

 

 

1909 — Holland Pilgrim Memorial Plaque, The Scottish (English Reformed) Church, Begijn Hof, Amsterdam
Placed in memory of Henry Ainsworth (early Separatist leader in Holland), Francis Johnson (early Separatist leader in London and then Emden, Germany), Pastor John Robinson, Elder William Brewster, and Gov. William Bradford by the Chicago Congregational Club. The tablet reads: "One in Christ 1609 — From Scrooby to Amsterdam — 1909 Ainsworth-Johnson-Robinson-Brewster-Bradford by a joint consent they resolved to go into the Low Countries where they heard was freedom of religion for all men and lived at Amsterdam (Governor William Bradford History of Plymouth Plantation) In grateful remembrance and in Christian brotherhood The Chicago Congregational Club rear this memorial A. D. 1909"
MQ Vol.53, No. 3, August 1987 p.197-198

 

1910 — Pilgrim Monument, Provincetown, MA
In 1906 the General Society recommended that each State Society contribute a suitably engraved stone for insertion in the proposed monument. President Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone in 1907, and on 5 August 1910 the completed 252' monument was dedicated by President William Howard Taft. The doorstep of the Eastam, MA, home of Plymouth Colony Governor (1634 and frequently thereafter) Thomas Prence is in the threshold of the west entrance.
CH p.36, 41, 49.

 

1912 — The Jabez Howland House, Sandwich Street, Plymouth MA
The Pilgrim John Howland Society purchased the home in which Pilgrim John Howland's son Jabez lived from 1667-1680. The building is additionally significant because it is believed to be the only building in Plymouth that knew the trod of Pilgrims' feet. The Society began planning and raising of $7,500 in 1937 for its restoration to its 1667 appearance. The project was completed and rededication took place on August 30, 1941.
HQ Vol. I, No. 3, January 1937; HQ Vol. VI, No. 2, October 1941

 

1913 — Pilgrim Monument, Old West Quay, Southampton, Hampshire, England
The General Society contributed $100 toward this monument that was unveiled by US Ambassador Walter Page.
CH p.57

 

1915 — Cushnoc (Koussinoc), Maine Trading Post Memorial Boulder, Augusta, ME
An act was introduced in the Maine Legislature that provided $5,000 to erect a monument in commemoration of the old Pilgrim trading post in Cushnoc (now the city of Augusta). The trading post had been established to obtain furs to send back to England as payment to their backers, the Adventurers. Unfortunately the ship carrying the furs was captured by pirates. The General Society voted to approve the efforts of the Maine Society to secure passage. The memorial to this trading post on site that is in the form of boulder bearing a plaque that reads in part "...the first voyage of the Pilgrims of Plymouth to the Ancient Indian Village of Cushnoc on the Kennebeck River, 1625, and in this site the establishment of their fur trading post with the Indians 1628..." "John Howland in command." The trading post functioned until 1661. The site is now occupied by New England's oldest surviving wooden fort, Old Fort Western, that was built in 1754.
CH p.6, MQ Vol. 67, No. 4, Dec. 2001 p. 323

 

1918 — First Parish Church Font, Plymouth MA
The New Jersey State Society donated a baptismal pedestal "in recognition of the great courtesy shown the Society" by the Church.
CH p.82

 

 

 

1920 — First Encounter Beach Plaque, Eastham MA
On December 6, 1620 while exploring off the beach north of the mouth of Herring River in present Eastham on the Bay of Cape Cod in the shallop to decide were to establish their settlement, "they heard a great and strange cry, which they knew to be the same voices in the night... and one of their company being abroad came running in and cried, 'Men, Indians! Indians!' And withal, their arrows came flying amongst them.' " (Of Plymouth Plantation)

 

1920 — Pilgrim John Howland's Homestead Site and Plaque, Rocky Nook, Kingston MA
The Pilgrim John Howland Society purchased the four acre site of John Howland's homestead where he and his wife Elizabeth lived from 1638-1672/3 and erected a seven foot high granite monument. The inscription reads: "Here stood the home of JOHN HOWLAND and his wife ELIZABETH TILLEY HOWLAND from 1638 until his death February 2, 1673 Both were Passengers In the Ship "MAYFLOWER" In grateful remembrance this land has been bought by their descendants, and this memorial erected upon the 300th anniversary of their landing at Plymouth, Mass. 1620-1920". In 1937 excavations revealed the foundation, hearth, household utensils, and a tasset (armor thigh plate). In 1949-50 the Howland Society purchased the 23 ½ acre Joseph Howland homestead across the road. In 1959-60 a dig located what are believed to have been the structures of sons Joseph and James in the new acres. The latest dig was started in 1998 by the University of Virginia and continue. A model of John Howland's homestead is displayed in the Jabez Howland House.
HQ Vol. II, No. 1, July 1937; Vol. XIV, No. 3, October 1950; Vol. 63, No. 3, September 1998; Vol. XIII, No. 2, October 1948

 

ca. 1920 — The Pilgrim Fathers' (Oude Kerk) Memorial Window, Delfshaven, Holland
Memorial window depicting the sailing of the Speedwell.

 

1921 — Granite Bench, Cole's Hill, Plymouth MA
The Pennsylvania Society of New England Women donated this bench for the memorial of the Pilgrim's Tercentenary.

 

1921 — Plymouth Rock Canopy, Plymouth MA
In preparation for the celebration marking the tercentenary of the landing of the Pilgrims, Plymouth Rock was restored to its original location on the shore and covered by a new canopy/colonnade, the gift of the Colonial Dames of America.

 

 

1921 — Cole's Hill Pilgrim Memorial Tomb, Plymouth MA
Known as the "Sarcophagus," this 9'8" x 4'4" x 6'5" granite tomb is the final resting place of the bones of the Pilgrims who died the first winter. The tomb was ordered by the General Society at a cost of $25,000. The Pilgrim Society eventually assumed its care and upkeep. The Sarcophagus is the site of a memorial sunset service during each triennial General Congress of the Society of Mayflower Descendants.
CH p.89, 91, 93, 113.

 

1921 — Tercentenary Celebration, Plymouth MA
In August 1921 an estimated 100,000 souls, including President Warren G. Harding and Vice President Calvin Coolidge attended the celebration marking the 300th year of the landing of the Pilgrims. In preparation. The shoreside buildings and wharves had been demolished and the area filled in to about its present size. A pageant, costing some $200,000, took place consisting of 1,200 participants, a chorus of 300, and a huge orchestra.
CH p.98-110

 

1921 — Massasoit Statue, Cole's Hill, Plymouth MA
Designed by Cyrus E. Dallin, this bronze statue of the Pilgrims' friend, the good sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag. A gift of the Improved Order of Red Men, it was conceived in 1911 but, due to the outbreak of World War I, it was delayed by fund raising activities. A duplicate, funded by the Nicholas Morgan Sr. Foundation, stands in front of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
CH p.85; MQ Vol. 65, No.1 February, 1999, p.21,22

 

1922 — Sarcophagus Oval, Plymouth MA
The General Society paid over $24,000 for walks and landscaping around the Sarcophagus.
CH p.118

 

 

1924 — Pilgrim Fathers Plaque, Killingholme Creek (Immingham), Lincolnshire, England
The site of the successful 1608 (the plaque mistakenly carries the date of 1609) attempt to flee to Holland. Erected by the Anglo-American Society of Hull.
CH p.283, Photo By Alice C. Teal

 

 

 

1924 — Pilgrim Maiden Statue, Plymouth, MA
Dedicated by the National Society of New England Women "To those intrepid English women whose courage and devotion brought a new nation into being, this statue of the PILGRIM MAIDEN is dedicated." The monument is located in Brewster Gardens.
MQ Vol. 66, No. 2 June 2000, p.151

 

 

1925 — Pilgrim Mother Statue & Fountain, Plymouth, MA
Funded and dedicated by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, this Knoxville Marble statue and fountain honors the heroic women of the Mayflower whose names are inscribed there on with the tribute: "They brought up their families, in sturdy virtue and a living faith in God, without which Nations perish." An herb garden was added as an Eagle Scout project in 1997.
MQ Vol. 65, No. 2 May 1999, p.115-117

 

1926 — Alki Point Memorial Obelisk, Seattle, WA
Obelisk and tablet, containing piece of Plymouth Rock, commemorating the landing site of the those who founded the colony which became Seattle. The inscription reads:

"AT THIS PLACE ON 18
NOVEMBER 1851
THERE LANDED FROM THE SCHOONER EXACT
CAPTAIN FOLGER THE
LITTLE COLONY WHICH
DEVELOPED INTO THE
CITY OF SEATTLE
BIRTHPLACE
OF SEATTLE
(PIECE OF PLYMOUTH ROCK)
FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK TO ALKI POINT
HONORING PIONEERS ON THE AMERICAN SHORES
OF THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS, THE ABOVE
STONE WAS BROUGHT FROM PLYMOUTH ROCK BY THE
FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL MOTORIZED CARAVAN, MANAGED
BY JAMES H BROWN, AND ENDORSED BY THE AMERICAN
AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION. THIS TABLET WAS FURNISHED
BY THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF WASHINGTON
THE: UNVEILING CEREMONIES ON SEPT 4, 1926
WERE PARTICIPATED IN BY OFFICERS AND CITIZENS
OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE COUNTY OF KING
AND THE STATE OF WASHINGTON."

MQ Vol.70, No. 4 December 2004, p.375

 

1927 — Mayflower Hall, Billericay, Essex, England
GSMD made a $100 donation to assist defraying the deficit of the home of Christopher Martin who had been appointed Governor of the Pilgrims during the voyage of the Mayflower.
CH p.138

 

1928 — Pastor John Robinson Memorial Plaque, Peter's Church (Pieterskirk), Leiden, Holland
The General Society spent $500 for this memorial tablet to the Pilgrim's Leiden minister who remained behind to minister to the members of the Separatist congregation who did not leave on the 1620 voyage to New England. Robinson died in 1624.
CH p.135, 140

 

1929 — Pilgrim Memorial Plaques for State Capitols
This program saw to the uniformity of design of a bronze tablet that could be presented to state capitol building by a State Society. The cost to each State Society was $150. The first three were erected in the Rhode Island, Maine, and New Jersey State Houses in 1932. The Connecticut State Society had erected a tablet prior to the adoption of this plan.
CH p.147, 159, 162

 

1930 — Aptucxet Trading Post, Bourne MA
The oldest remains of a Pilgrim building. The General Society and the State Societies raised approximately $10,000 toward the replication, and the affixing of a memorial tablet thereon, of the first trading post in Massachusetts.
CH p.141

 

1930 — John Alden House Site, Burial Hill, School Street, Plymouth MA
A green patina plaque measuring approximately 20" x 20" on a boulder about ten feet from the street reads: "Site of the house where / John Alden / lived in Plymouth - This stone erected by / his descendants / the Alden Kindred / of America / 1930".

 

1933 — GSMD Committee to Preserve Pilgrim Monuments
A resolution was passed at the General Board of Assistants meeting authorizing the appointment of a committee to examine relics and monuments in Plymouth, MA, and report each year to the Board on their condition and recommendations for their preservation.
CH p.169

 

1936 — Gov. William Bradford House, Austerfield, South Yorkshire, England
The General Society was approached by the English to contribute $3,500 toward the $5,500 believed necessary to purchase and preserve Bradford's boyhood home. World War II brought an end to the plans. The Society's funds collected for the project were later released to the Mayflower Society House Endowment Fund.
CH p.179, 181

 

1937 — Pilgrim Memorial Plaque, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul MN
Bronze marker dedicated by the Minnesota State Mayflower Society.
MQ Vol. 53, No. 3 August, 1987. CH p.198

 

1946 — Gov. William Bradford Compact Society Established

 

1947 — Plimoth Plantation, Warren Avenue, Plymouth MA
Arguably the ultimate living memorial to the Pilgrims, this living museum founded in 1947, built on ground similar to that of the original Colony settlement, has been reliving the year 1627 for half a century. Their outreach program brings Pilgrim history to classrooms around the nation. The Pilgrim John Howland Society contributed $30,000 for the construction and maintenance of the replica John Howland house.
HQ Vol. 59, No. 4, December 1994

 

1948 — Scrooby Parish Church, Nottinghamshire, England
The GSMD solicited contributions towards repairs of wartime damage to the church.
CH p.227

 

1949 — Elizabeth Tilley Howland Memorial Gravestone, Little Neck Cemetery, Riverside RI
The Pilgrim John Howland Society placed a memorial stone on the grave of Elizabeth, the only Pilgrim buried in Rhode Island. The text reads: "Here ended the Pilgrimage of ELIZABETH TILLEY HOWLAND who died Wednesday 21-31 Dec. 1687 at home of her daughter LYDIA & husband JAMES BROWN In Swanzea. ELIZABETH married Pilgrim JOHN HOWLAND who came with her in the Mayflower Dec. 1620. From them descended a numerous posterity. In ELIZABETH'S Will the following inspiring language is used "It is my will and charge to all my Children that they walke in ye Feare of ye Lord, and in Love and Peace towards each other." Historic Little Neck Cemetery is on Little Neck Avenue in Riverside.
HQ Vol. IX, No. 1, July 1949

 

1953 — Leiden Pilgrim Settlement Stone
The citizens of Leiden sent a stone from the house occupied by Pastor John Robinson in 1609 in Leiden to the Chicago Tribune to be embedded in the walls of Tribune Square as part of a collection of famous stones. A similar stone was presented to the General Society in 1954. It arrived aboard the BOAC airliner Mayflower.
CH p.248, 252

 

1955 — Pilgrim Memorial Plaques Distributed in England and Holland
The 1955 Mayflower Pilgrimage consisting of members from 30 states who traveled by air and by ship went on a 15-day Pilgrimage to visit all important Pilgrim sites in England and Holland. Pilgrim memorial Plaques were dedicated in England at Buckland Abbey, Plymouth, on (the home of Sir Francis Drake); The Guild Hall, Boston, Lincolnshire where the Pilgrims were imprisoned while trying to escape to Holland in 1607; All Saints Church, Babworth, Nottinghamshire where William Brewster and William Bradford heard Richard Clyfton preach; St. Helen's Church, Austerfield, North Yorkshire where Governor Bradford was baptized in 1589; The Pilgrim Fathers Memorial, Southampton, Hampshire from where the Pilgrims initially departed on the Speedwell and Mayflower; the Barbican, Plymouth, on, the site of the Pilgrims' last sojourn on English soil (there is an earlier tablet).
CH p.262.262

 

1955 — William Brewster Alley (William Brewstersteeg) Plaque, Leiden, Holland
The text of the bronze plaque over the arch at the entrance to the William Brewstersteeg reads: "Site of the Vicus Chorali (or Pilgrim) Press, on Pieterskerkkoorsteeg (St. Peter's Church, Choir Alley), Leyden, Netherlands, in the (1609-1620) home of the Separatist Pilgrim Father, Elder William Brewster of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, the spiritual leader of Plymouth in New England until his death in 1643-44. The General Society of Mayflower Descendants (USA, 1897) Waldo Morgan Allen, Governor General On the first Pilgrimage - 152 by planes - to The Netherlands and England September 22 - October 6, 1955, 335 years after the sailing of the Mayflower".
MQ Vol. 65, No. 4, November 1999, Cover

 

1955 — Pilgrim Father's Memorial Church Font, Southwark (London), England
This church is the post World War II successor church to the 1788 Union Street and 1864 Buchenham Square Southwark Independent Church. The font, a gift of the church's minister, Dr. A. D. Belden (1883-1964), is fashioned out of a piece of Plymouth Rock that was originally intended as a foundation stone for the building.

 

1957 — Pilgrim Memorial Shaft, Scotia Creek, Fishtoft, Lincolnshire, England
The General Society contributed £ 100 towards this memorial marking the site near Boston from whence the Pilgrims made their unsuccessful first attempt to flee to Holland in 1607.
CH p.281

 

1957 — Mayflower Memorial Plaque, Bayard's Cove, Dartmouth, Devonshire, England
Twenty-five miles east of Plymouth, Devonshire, where the Pilgrims made their first unscheduled stay having been forced back after eight days at sea due to the Speedwell eloping serious leaks.
CH p.271

 

1957 — Mayflower II
The replica of the Mayflower serves as another important memorial to the Pilgrims.

 

 

 

1958 — Altar of the Nations Stone, Cathedral of the Pines, Rindge, New Hampshire
A piece of Plymouth Rock and a General Society bronze seal were mounted and dedicated on behalf of the General Society.
CH p.287

 

1959 — Howland Children Memorial Stone, Burial Hill, Plymouth MA
The Pilgrim John Howland Society placed a memorial stone to the children of John and Elizabeth Tilley Howland on the Howland lot at Burial Hill.
HQ Vol. XXIV, No. 1, October 1959

 

1960 — Pilgrim Memorial Highway, Massachusetts
Twenty-one years after the General Society endeavored to promote plans for a "Pilgrim Memorial Parkway" from Marshfield to Provincetown, Massachusetts Route 3A was finally named "Pilgrims Highway" with the signing into law of a Bill by Governor Furculo.
CH p.192, 295, 297, 299

 

 

1966 — Lt. Joseph Rogers Boulder and Plaque, Cove Cemetery, Eastham MA
Joseph accompanied his father, Pilgrim Thomas Rogers, on the Mayflower. Placed by his Descendants.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

 

1966 — Constance Hopkins Snow Boulder and Plaque, Cove Cemetery, Eastham MA
Constance, who came on the Mayflower, was a daughter of Pilgrim Stephen Hopkins. She married Nicholas Snow who came on the Anne. Placed by her Descendants.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

1966 — Giles Hopkins Boulder and Plaque, Cove Cemetery, Eastham MA
Giles, who died in 1690, was a son of Pilgrim Stephen Hopkins. Placed by his Descendants.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

1967 — Elder William Brewster Memorial, Burial Hill, School Street, Plymouth MA
A tall granite monument with a curved top reads: "Elder William Brewster / Patriarch of the Pilgrims / and their ruling elder 1609 - 1644 / Outstanding leader of pilgrim movement / The founding of Plimouth Plantation / and the establishment of civil law and / religious liberty in the new world / B. at Scrooby, England, CA 1566 / D. at Plymouth, N.E. CA April 10, 1644 / A resident of Plymouth and Duxbury / M. CA 1589 Mary Wentworth of Scrooby / B. CA 1568, 9 D. at Plymouth CA [sic] / Both Mayflower passengers rest / in unknown graves in Plymouth / possibly in or near Burial Hill / Erected 1967 / by the Elder William Brewster Society".

 

1982 — St. Peter & St. Paul Church Bell, Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, England
The Pilgrim John Howland Society donated a bell, "The John Howland," to bring to six the number of bells in this 300 year-old church in John Howland's home village. In 1995 a copy of the 1602 Geneva Bible was presented by the Howland Society to the church.
HQ Vol. 60, No. 2. June 1995; Vol. 62, No. 2, June 1997

 

1982 — Pilgrim Edward Doty Society Established

 

1984 — New World Tapestry, Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme, Collompton, Devonshire, England
Twenty years in the making, this telling of the story of the English to colonize the Americas between 1583 and 1642, contains an 11" x 4', Mayflower panel (number 18 of 24) which took four years to complete. The tapestry, measuring 264' x 4', is the world's largest, exceeding the Bayeux Tapestry by 29' in length and 2 ½' in height.
MQ Vol. 64, No. 1 February 1998, p. 14-27

 

1989 — Faith Clarke Doty Grave Stone, Marshfield MA
Faith was the wife of Pilgrim Edward Doty.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

1990 — Edward Doty House Site Plaque, Court and Prince Street, Plymouth MA
On September 9, 1990, The Pilgrim Edward Doty Society dedicated an historical marker on the site of the land grant which Edward Doty received in 1627. The site is located at the corner of Court and Prince Streets just before the present Cordage Mall.
MQ

 

1995 — Holland Pilgrim Memorial Plaque Old Church (Pilgrim Fathers Church) Delfshaven
"The Tide which stays for no man was calling them away." On a bronze roundel with two Pilgrim figures, a man and a woman. The man holds a book identified as a Bible; Delfshaven church is in the background. The sculpture is signed with a small heraldic seal at the lower right. Translation of the plaque reads: "This bronze relief sculpture is dedicated to the Pilgrims, who embarked in Delfshaven in July, 1620, for their journey to the New World, where after much difficulty they landed at Cape Cod in November of the same year. Presented by AEGON Insurance Company."

 

1995 — Capt. Christopher Jones Memorial Plaque, St. Mary's Church, Southwark, England
Capt. Jones of the Mayflower was died in March 1622 and was buried at St. Mary's Church. When St. Mary's was rebuilt in 1715 Capt. Jones' grave was lost and a new memorial was erected to him in the year of the 375th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage.

 

1997 — Leiden American Pilgrim Museum, Leiden, Holland
Initiated with help from the General Society, the Pilgrim Society and the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, this fifteenth-century house gives an excellent idea of life in Leiden in the Pilgrim times. It presents a comprehensive exhibit about the Pilgrims.
MQ Vol. 64, No. 1 February 1998, p. 60, 61; Vol. 64, No. 3 August 1998, p.207, 208

 

1998 — The Brewster Islands Plaque, Boston Harbor, MA
This plaque was a joint effort of the General Society and the Elder William Brewster Society. The Brewster Islands consist of Great Brewster, Middle Brewster, Little Brewster (on which stands the Boston Light), and Outer Brewster. They were all named in 1621 by members of an expedition led by Captain Myles Standish.
MQ Vol. 65 No. 4 November 1999, p.308, 309

 

1998 — St. Mary's Church, Henlow, Bedfordshire, England
John Howland's wife, Elizabeth Tilley, was baptized in this church in 1607. Members of the Pilgrim John Howland Society have supported the church with funds for its maintenance, most recently, with a donation of £ 1000 for a new roof. Pilgrim Henry Samson was also baptized here in 1604.
HQ Vol. 65, No. 1, March 2000, p.1
GSMD 5 Generation Project Vol. 20, Part 1, p.1.

 

2001 — Pokanoket - Pilgrim Treaty Plaque, King Philip's Inn, Bristol, RI
This treaty, according to "Mourt's Relation," was executed on 22 March 1621 between the Pilgrims and Massasoit, the great sagamore, sachem or king of the Wampanoag. The treaty held until after Massasoit's death in 1662. The plaque, presented by GSMD, is in the headquarters of the Pokanoket Tribe.
MQ Vol. 67, No. 4, p. 324-325

 

2003 — "Elizabeth Tilley" Memorial Shallop, Plymouth, MA
On July 8, 2003, the shallop "Elizabeth Tilley" was christened in Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts, by Elizabeth's descendant John H. Howland. Named for the wife of Pilgrim John Howland, she is a reproduction of the shallop used by the Plymouth Colony to service its Trading Post at Cushnoc on the Kennebec River (now Augusta, Maine). Built by the Plimoth Plantation under contract from The Pilgrim John Howland Society, she is 38 feet in length and fitted with both oars and sails. On July 28, 2003, she set forth on her maiden voyage, with master builder Peter Arenstam as captain, to reenact the 1628 voyage of the original shallop to Cushnoc, carrying a cargo of corn. In addition to the captain, her latter day crew consisted of 22 members of the Pilgrim John Howland Society, 12 aboard for each day's segment. The voyage, with daily stops for the night and supplies along the way, took eleven days. It would spend the winter in Bath, returning to Plymouth Harbor in the spring of 2004. "Notes on a Shallop," an article by Peter Arenstam about the design and beginning construction of the "Elizabeth Tilley," appeared in the GSMD "Mayflower Quarterly," in June 2002. "The Howland Quarterly" of September 2003 contains profusely illustrated articles about the launching of the craft and its subsequent voyage to Maine.

 

The following memorials have dates of erection unknown to this compiler:

Unknown — Edward Doty Memorial, Burial Hill, School Street, Plymouth MA
Monument about ten feet from School Street reads: "They believed in religious freedom / in honor of / Edward Doty / Passenger on the Mayflower / erected by / Descendants of Eliza Doty Cravath / A pioneer to Utah in 1850"

 

Unknown — Gov. William Bradford Monument, Burial Hill, Plymouth MA
This obelisk carries the following inscriptions (translations by Bradford Kingman): North Side: "Jehovah is the help of my life" [in Hebrew]; "Under this stone / rest the ashes of / WILLm BRADFORD / a zealous puritan & / sincere Christian: Gov. of Ply. Col. From / April 1621 to 1657, / (the year he died / aged 69) except 5 years / which he declined." "Qua patres difficillime / adepti sunt nolite turpiter / relinguere." [What our fathers with so much difficulty secured, do not basely relinquish.] South Side: H. F. / WILLIAM BRADFORD / of Austerfield / Yorkshire / England was the / son of WILLIAM and ALICE BRADFORD / He was Governor of / Plymouth Colony / from 1621 to 1633 / 1635 / 1637 / 1639 to 1643 / 1645 to 1657."

 

Unknown — John Alden Grave Stone, Myles Standish Burial Ground, S. Duxbury MA
Pilgrim John Alden died in 1687.
MQ Vol.58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

 

Unknown — Priscilla Mullins Alden Grave Stone, Myles Standish Burial Ground, S. Duxbury MA
MQ Vol.58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

Unknown — Isaac Allerton Plaque, New Haven CT
Pilgrim Isaac Allerton is memorialized with a plaque in New Haven where he died in February 1658/59.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

Unknown — Governor William Bradford Statue, Plymouth MA
Sculpted by Cyrus Edwin Dallin, who is best known for his "Appeal to the Great Spirit" at the Boston Fine Arts Museum and his statue of "Paul Revere."

 

Unknown — Elder William Brewster Cenotaph Monument, Duxbury MA
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

Unknown — John Howland's Grave, Burial Hill, Plymouth MA

 

 

 

 

Unknown — Capt. Christopher Jones Plaque, Harwich, Essex, England
Christopher Jones, the Captain of the Mayflower, once lived here and is memorialized by a plaque.
MQ Vol. 57, No. 5 August 1991, p.263

 

Unknown — Mullins Plaque, Dorking, Surrey, England
A memorial plaque is attached to a shop in West Street commemorating the fact that this citizen of Dorking sailed on the Mayflower to the New World. MQ Vol. 57, No. 4 August 1991, p.262

 

Unknown — Old Fort Site Memorial, Burial Hill, Plymouth, MA
Erected by the Honorable Artillery Company of London and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Mass.
MQ Vol. 57, No. 4 August 1991, p.263

 

 

Unknown — The Pilgrims List, Plymouth, England
Contains errors as to trade and place of origin.

 

Unknown — Samoset Memorial Stone and Plaque, Plymouth MA
MQ Vol.58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

Unknown — Selleck Monument Stone, Abbeville SC
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

Unknown — Sherwell Congregational Church Window, Plymouth, on, England
A four panel family memorial stained glass window, the gift of a parish member, depicts the Pilgrims boarding the Mayflower on the Barbican wharf. An inscription across the panels reads "Aye call it holy ground, the soil where they first trod. The left unstained what they found, there they found freedom to worship God."
MQ Vol. 57, No. 4 August 1991, p.262

 

Unknown — Capt. Myles Standish Burial Site Plaque and Cannon, Duxbury MA
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

 

 

Unknown — Twin Lights Lighthouse Plaque, Chatham, MA
The shoals of Pollac Rip turned the Mayflower back to Provincetown.

 

 

Unknown — Washington Memorial Chapel Oculus Window, Valley Forge PA
Depicts a Pilgrim family of four at table with the words "Freedom from Want."
MQ Vol. 57, No. 4 August 1991, p. 262

 

 

 

Unknown — West Gate, Southampton, Hampshire, England
The Pilgrims would have passed through this gate to board the Mayflower and Speedwell.

 

Unknown — Peregrine White Boulder and Plaque, Marshfield MA
Peregrine, a son of Pilgrims William and Susanna White, was born on the Mayflower. He died in 1704 at the age of 83.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

Unknown — Edward Winslow Memorial Plaque, St. Peter de Witton Church, Droitwich, Worcestershire, England
Edward Winslow was born in St. Peter's parish in 1595 and was baptized here. On the north wall of the nave is a memorial to him. Be sure to click the 360 degree inside the church photo.

 

Unknown — John and Mary Chilton Winslow Grave Stone, Old King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston MA
John, who came on the Fortune, was a brother of Pilgrim Edward Winslow. He married Mary, a daughter of Pilgrims James and Susanna Chilton.
MQ Vol. 58, No. 1 February 1992, p.59

 

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(12Apr2009) Some time ago, the SMDPA Board was shown the original membership ledger. It was in bad condition although it had previously been restored. It was judged that no further treatment would be possible. The book was fragile, and further routine handling of it was not suggested. It was determined that it had to be copied, preserved and the data put in a readily accessible form.

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