Heritage Paper

Mayflower


It was a stormy September night in England, where 102 passengers and crew sat patiently aboard a ship awaiting departure. The year was 1620, and these people were in search of a new life, a new beginning. The ship they stood on was called the Mayflower. The Mayflower was a large, sturdy boat, but has never been on more of a vigorous voyage than the one which lied ahead of it. She was about to depart across the Atlantic Ocean to the new land, where the eager pilgrims would hopefully start their new lives and make families. A crewmember stepped down where all the passengers were loaded and yelled, “We’re on our way.” With that, the wooden boards rumbled beneath their feet and they were on their way to the promise land.
Among these passengers was a man named Richard Warren. He was a middle-aged merchant from England who was in search of a better life than he had in England. He had 7 children and was married. However, they were to stay at home, in England. As he sat there in the crowded ship he thought about his life in the future and what it was like in the new land. He looked at all the other passengers on the ship and saw hopeful faces. He knew this wasn’t going to be an easy journey but he saw good things in the future and laid back to rest.
The voyage was not a pleasant journey. Many got sicknesses and some eventually died. They had minimal food supplies and no medicine at all. If someone got sick, it was bad, because it would spread throughout the boat and become and epidemic within a small area. At one point when Richard thought he had caught one of the deadly diseases he turned to a fellow shipmate and told him that if he were to die, to tell his family to move to the new land where they would find a better life. His sickness was only minor, though, and he survived. The ship never turned back, they kept going on their journey to their new life where they believed things would be better. Richard resisted the sicknesses and everyday he prayed that the journey was almost over and that his family was still alright. For 66 long days they endured this journey and at last, they reached their destination. Once they saw land Richard was filled with joy and ambition for the life he was to embark on. He turned to young man standing next to him and said, “It’s going to be a long journey starting a new life her in this land.” The man just nodded and stared forward at the empty lands. They landed on Plymouth Rock and settled in Cape Cod.
When they reached the land, they called it New England. Richard was right it was a tough journey once they got there. They got caught in a wicked winter season of 1620 through 1621. It was so wicked that it eventually killed many of the immigrants from the harsh weather or from deadly sicknesses. There were only 45 settlers who celebrated the giant feast with Native Indians the following fall. A feast otherwise known as Thanksgiving. A holiday which Americans celebrate every year. One of these 45 survivors was Richard Warren who had withstood the brutal winter. His family later joined him in America and he and his wife had 2 more children. He died in 1628, 8 years after arriving in this new land. His family stayed in America and kept his legacy alive.

My grandma on my mom’s side is a descendant of Richard Warren and is a member of the Mayflower society. A society of which you have to prove that you are a descendant of someone who journeyed on the Mayflower to be a member. She used to educate children about the journey of the Mayflower and still contributes to the Mayflower society at 85 years old. I, myself, am very thankful that Richard successfully made the journey to America where he established a better place to raise his family.