The Mayflower and Her Log; July 15, 1620-May 6, 1621 — Volume 1 by Azel Ames
page 48 of 56 (85%)
page 48 of 56 (85%)
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The sullen shores of Fatherland.
"No home for these! too well they knew The mitred king behind the throne; The sails were set, the pennons flew, And westward ho! for worlds unknown." Winslow informs us that they of the Leyden congregation who volunteered for the American enterprise were rather the smaller fraction of the whole body, though he adds, as noted "that the difference was not great." A careful analysis of the approximate list of the Leyden colonists,-- including, of course, Carver, and Cushman and his family,--whose total number seems to have been seventy-two, indicates that of this number, forty-two, or considerably more than half (the rest being children, seamen, or servants), were probably members of the Leyden church. Of these, thirty, probably, were males and twelve females. The exact proportion this number bore to the numerical strength of Robinson's church at that time cannot be determined, because while something less than half as we know, gave their votes for the American undertaking, it cannot be known whether or not the women of church had a vote in the matter. Presumably they did not, the primitive church gave good heed to the words of Paul (i Corinthians xiv. 34), "Let your women keep silence in the churches." Neither can it be known--if they had a voice--whether the wives and daughters of some of the embarking Pilgrims, who did not go themselves at this time, voted with their husbands and fathers for the removal. The total number, seventy-two, coincides very nearly with the estimate made by Goodwin, who says: "Only eighty or ninety could go in this party from Leyden," and again: "Not more than eighty of the MAY- FLOWER company were from Leyden. Allowing for [i.e. leaving out] the |
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