| Name | Edward WINSLOW Jr. (II) "Governor, Massachusetts Colony" |
| Birth | 18 Oct 1595, Droitwich, Worcester County, ENGLAND |
| Death | 8 May 1655, at sea, near the island of HISPANIOLA Age: 59 |
| Occupation | Printer; Governor |
| Religion | Baptized 20, October 1595, St. Peters, Droitwich, Worcester County, ENGLAND; "Mayflower Pilgrim" |
| Father | Edward WINSLOW (1560-1620) |
| Mother | Magdelene OLIVER (1566->1607) |
| 1 | Elizabeth BARKER |
| Death | 24 Mar 1620/21, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts |
| Marriage | 16 May 1618, Leyden, South Holland, NETHERLANDS |
| 2 | Susannah FULLER |
| Birth | 1593, Redenhall parish, Norfolk County, ENGLAND |
| Death | 1 Oct 1680, Marshfield, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Age: 87 |
| Religion | "Mayflower Pilgrim" |
| Father | Robert FULLER (1543-1614) |
| Mother | Frances BLACKWELL (1551-1614) |
| Marriage | 12 May 1621, Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts |
| Children | UNNAMED (Died as Infant) (1623-1623) |
| Edward (~1624-) | |
| John (~1626->1627) | |
| Josiah (1629-1680) | |
| Elizabeth (>1630-~1697) |
20 October 1595 Edward was baptized in Droitwich, Worcester County, England.
Edward Winslow was the son of Edward Winslow, a wealthy owner of a salt boilery, and Magdalene Oliver. Edward Winslow was baptized at Droitwich, Worcester, England on 20 October 1595. Winslow soon joined with the Separatists, and moved to Leyden where he became a printer along with William Brewster, publishing illegal religious pamphlets. His first wife, Elizabeth Barker, was from Chattisham, Suffolk, England.
His second wife was the widow of William White of the Mayflower. For a description of what is known about her (she is not a Fuller) see William White. - [1]
6 September 1620 Edward and his wife Elizabeth, and his brother Gilbert, were three of the 102 passengers that embarked on the Mayflower, leaving Plymouth, England on this day.
9 November 1620 The passengers and crew aboard the Mayflower sighted land.
11 November 1620 The passengers and crew of the Mayflower made landfall in America. The group of 102 passengers who crowded aboard the Mayflower for the crossing was not homogenous. Many of the passengers were members of the Leiden congregation, but they were joined by a number of English families or individuals who were hoping to better their life situations, or were seeking financial gain. These two general groups have sometimes been referred to as the "saints" and "strangers." Although the Leiden congregation had sent its strongest members with various skills for establishing the new colony, nearly half of the passengers died the first winter of the "great sickness." Anyone who arrived in Plymouth on Mayflower and survived the initial hardships is now considered a Pilgrim with no distinction being made on the basis of their original purposes for making the voyage. - [2]
Edward Winslow had four other siblings which came to America, namely Gilbert Winslow (Mayflower, 1620), John Winslow (Fortune, 1621), Josias Winslow (White Angel, 1631), and Kenelm Winslow, who married Eleanor (Newton) Adams, who came in the Anne, 1623. Edward Winslow also had several sisters, including Magdalen who married Rev. William Wake on 25 April 1627, in Wareham, Dorset, England. - [1]
[NOTE] A photocopy of Edward's signature on the Mayflower Compact is in "Photo Gallery 3" (http://homepage.mac.com/james_keller/PhotoAlbum27.html) of the website.
[NOTE] Edward Winslow is the one we have to thank for our information about the First Thanksgiving. His 1621 letter recorded some details of the harvest celebration and the Native American visitors.
1644 Edward was appointed the Governor of the Massachusetts Colony.
18 December 1654 Edward wrote and signed his will, it read:
I Edward Winslowe of London. Esquior. being now bound in a voyage to sea in the service of the comon welth do make publish & declare this to be my last will & testamt touching the disposing of my estate. ffirst I doe give will devise & bequeath all my lands & stock in New England & all my possibilities & porcons in future allotmts & divicons to Josia my onely sonne & his heires, hee allowing to my wife a full third parte thereof for her life Also. I give to the poore of the Church of Plymouth in new England Tenn pounds. & to the poore of marshfielde where the chiefest of my estate lyes Tenn poundes., Also I give my lynnen wch I carry wth me to sea to my daughter Elizabeth & the rest of my goods wch I carry wth mee I give to my sonn Josias hee giving to each of my brothers a suite of apparell & I make my said son Josias my executor of this my will, and Colonell venables my overseer of my goods in the voyage & my fower frends Dr Edmond Wilson; mr John Arthur, Mr James Shirley & Mr Richard ffloyde, overseers for the rest of my prsonall estate in England.
witness my hand & Seale the Eighteenth day of December In the yeare of our Lord God one Thousand Six hundred fifty & ffower.
Sealed & subscribed
in the presence of Jon Hooper
Gerald Usher servant to Hen: Colbron
pr me Edw: Winslow - [1]
Edward Winslow is the only Mayflower passenger to have a known portrait in existence-although a questionable sketch of Myles Standish exists. The portrait to the left was painted by Robert Walker in 1651, so Winslow is here 31 years older than he was when he came on the Mayflower at the age of 25. The original portrait is in the possession of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Nathaniel Morton in New England's Memorial (1669) writes of Edward Winslow:
He was the son of Edward Winslow, Esq. of the town of Draughtwich, in the county of Worcester. He, travelling into the low countries, in his journeys fell into acquaintance with the church of Leyden, in Holland, unto whom he joined, and with whom he continued until they parted to come into New-England, he coming with that part that came first over, and became a very worthy and useful instrument amongst them, both in place of government and othrwise, until his last voyage for England, being sent on special employment for the government of the Massachusetts, as is aforementioned in this book; and afterwards was employed as one of the grand commissioners in that unhappy design against Domingo in Hispaniola, who taking grief for all ill success of that enterprize, on which, together with some other infirmities that were upon him, he fell sick at sea, betwixt Domingo and Jamaica, and died the eighth day of May, which was about the sixty-first year of his life, and his body was honourably committed to the sea, with the usual solemnity of the discharge of fourty-two pieces of ordinance.
Cotton Mather, essentially copying from Morton in his Magnalia Christi Americana (1702) writes:
Mr. Edward Winslow, the Son of Edward Winslow, Esq; of Draughtwich, in the Country of Worcester,... Travelling into the Low-Countries, he fell into Acquaintance with the English Church at Leyden, and joining himself to them, he Shipped himself with that part of them which first came over into America; from which time he was continually engaged in such extraordinary Actions, as the assistance of that People to encounter their more than ordinary Diffculties, called for.
Edward Winslow of the Mayflower was a printer, and assisted William Brewster in running the printing press at Leyden which published illegal pamphlets of a religious nature which were distributed in England. He was one of the more prominent and influential men in the Plymouth Colony, and was the colony's third governor. In the early years of Plymouth, Edward played a prominent role in Indian-Pilgrim relations, and made many diplomatic visits to the Wampanoag sachem Massasoit. One one occasion in 1622 he even managed to "cure" Massasoit of a dreadful sickness-an event which greatly helped Indian-Pilgrim relations.
Winslow also made trips to England in the early years of the Colony to conduct business agreements and make legal arrangements, including trips in 1623-4, 1630, and 1635. In 1646 he returned to live in England and served in the English army under Oliver Cromwell. In 1655 he died of a fever on a military expedition to capture the island of Hispaniola. Upon his death, one of the ship's chroniclers wrote this poem:
The Eighth of May, west from 'Spaniola shore,
God took from us our Grand Commissioner,
Winslow by Name, a man in Chiefest Trust,
Whose Life was sweet, and Conversation just;
Whose Parts and wisdome most men did excell:
An honour to his Place, as all can tell.
[NOTE] Many sites include the above poem and then state that Edward died in Plymouth? Odd.
Edward Winslow authored several books. He wrote Good News From New England first published in 1624. He authored a good portion of Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth first published in 1622. Winslow also wrote Hypocricie Unmasked (1646), and New England's Salamander (1647), which are both for the most part religious discourses. He also edited several pamphlets.
In August, 1998, Dr. Jeremy D. Bangs of Leiden, Holland stated that he was nearing completion of a biography of Edward Winslow. - [1]
[NOTE] MYTH #1: Native Americans were mistreated by the Mayflower passengers, and their land was stolen from them. ANSWER: While in Holland, the Pilgrims had read stories of the savage natives who killed and tortured the white settlers. Because of this, they feared the Indians, and considered them uncivilized savages. When they arrived, and were exploring Cape Cod, they were attacked, and had to defend themselves. Luckily, no one died in this incident, Indian or Pilgrim. The natives were cautious and fearful of white settlers, because previous white explorers to the New England coast had killed, kidnapped, and enslaved them, and destroyed their tribes. The land the Pilgrims chose to settle on was abandoned land that had been settled by the Patuxet tribe, which subsequently was completely wiped out by a plague. The only surviving member of the tribe was Squanto or Tisquantum, who lived out the remainder of his life in peace within the Plymouth Colony. Squanto (Tisquantum), who was introduced to the Pilgrims by another Indian named Samoset, lived with the settlers in the Plymouth Colony. He helped translate, negotiate, and make peace with the surrounding native tribes, including the Wampanoags headed by chief Massasoit. Another Indian that spoke English also lived in the Plymouth Colony with Captain Myles Standish, was named Hobomok. Land was bought from the Indians, and sold with their permission-Native American signatures and marks can be found on many early Plymouth Colony deeds. Trade and other business dealings were common with the Indians as well. MYTH #2: The Pilgrims always wore colorless black and white clothing. ANSWER: Colorless clothing was a Puritan extreme, but not a Separatist extreme. When a colonist died, an inventory was taken by the Court, for purposes of probate. John Howland had two red waistcoats. William Bradford had a green gown, violet cloak, lead colored suit with silver buttons, and a red waist-coat. William Brewster had green drawers, a red cap, and a violet coat. Black, white, grey, and brown were by far the most common color worn by the Pilgrims, but it was definitely not the only colors. MYTH #3: The Pilgrims celebrated Thanksgiving every year. ANSWER: The Pilgrims had the first Thanksgiving, and never had another Thanksgiving again. When William Bradford's journal was discovered in 1854, it brought a lot of interest and attention to the Pilgrims history. President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday. The original thanksgiving occurred in mid-October and the feasting lasted 3 days-not even close to the last Thursday of November with feasting of one meal as we celebrate it today. - [3]
[NOTE] If you like studying history by watching movies, Plymouth Adventure released in 1952 was about the voyage of the Mayflower to America. Actor Lowell Gilmore portrayed Edward Winslow. For the historical accuracy of the movie or simply for more information on the Pilgrims, visit http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/ewh0/ewh0-HistoricalContext.html
[1] - http://members.aol.com/calebj/passenger.html
[2] - http://www.mayflower.org/pilgrim.htm
[3] - http://www.umkc.edu/imc/mayflow.htm
[4] - Fuller, From the Mayflower ... to Michigan; www.jowest.net/genealogy/jo/fuller