June 13, 2025
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her new series about the Founding Fathers of Plymouth Colony, featuring William Brewster, William Bradford, and early Plymouth history. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Here is a photo of the Pilgrim Fathers Window, St Helena’s Church, High St., Austerfield, Doncaster DN10 6QU, United Kingdom. The first panel of the window shows William Bradford, who was born in Austerfield, outside the church, with the inscription “William Bradford Baptised 1589 at Austerfield” on the bottom. The second and third panels depict Bradford and others signing the Mayflower Compact, with the Mayflower in the background of the second panel and the houses of Plymouth Colony in the background of the third panel. Two quotes from his history Of Plymouth Plantation, “We knew that we were pilgrims” and “One small candle,” are above the window.
Today I continue with my series “In Memory of the Pilgrim Fathers,” focusing on some of the early history of Plymouth Colony.
I found an article in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives that caught my eye.
Eugene “Gene” Arthur Fortine, a 13th generation descendant of Mayflower passenger Elder William Brewster, visited the Lake Cabot Elementary School in Castro Valley, California, in 2004 dressed in the fashion of his ancestors, to provide some history on the Pilgrims and their first Thanksgiving.
In addition to the Mayflower Society, Mr. Fortine held memberships with several other hereditary societies, such as: the Jamestowne Society (for which he was former Councilor of the First California Company); Society of the Descendants of the Colonial Clergy (former Councilor); and Elder William Brewster Society.
Below is a photo of Mr. Fortine along with his memorial bio published by the Hereditary Society Community.
In the San Francisco Chronicle article above, Fotine informs the reporter that accurately preserving history was of great significance to him and the Society of Mayflower Descendants, the genealogical organization he represented, where he previously held the position of governor general.
According to a brochure published by the Society of Mayflower Descendants, a descendant’s job is:
“to perpetuate to a remote posterity the memory of our Pilgrim Fathers and Mothers, [and] to maintain and defend the principle of civil and religious liberty as set forth in the Mayflower Compact.”
The brochure also states that a descendant seeks:
“to cherish and maintain the ideals and institutions of American freedom, [and] to transmit the spirit, the purity of purpose and steadfastness of will of the Pilgrims to those who shall come after us.”
Fortine references William Bradford, the second governor of the Plymouth Colony, as an example of a pioneer who contributed to the establishment of a new colony that emphasized democratic principles.
Fortine says that the Pilgrims in the New World thrived under the refined leadership of Governor Bradford, who was both devout and intellectual. He possessed the ability to guide his people through the challenges of the New World while adeptly managing political affairs.
Below is a photo of the frontal view of Gov. William Bradford’s statue. To view all the statue’s sides and inscriptions visit HMDB.com.
The inscription on the base of the statue reads:
William Bradford, Governor and Historian of the Plymouth Colony. Born in Austerfield, England, 1590. Died in Plymouth, New England, 1657.
Note: One of Bradford’s publications, Of Plymouth Plantation, provides a first-hand account of the voyage and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony.
Despite his religious ideals, Bradford saw the world in complex shades. He collaborated with Elder William Brewster, an ex-member of Queen Elizabeth’s staff and a Cambridge university attendee.
In the newspaper article, Fortine says:
“Brewster became the religious leader, Bradford became the secular leader, and they didn’t cross lines, though there was no intention of God being left out.”
The article further reports:
Bradford, Brewster and others of the group that later became known as the Pilgrims were religious separatists from the north of England who had to move their base to Holland because the king’s men were after them.
Here is a photo of Scrooby Manor in Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England, which was the home of William Brewster. It served as a meeting place for the early separatists.
They eventually hired two ships, one of which, the Mayflower, proved seaworthy, and set off for America with a mixed group that included fellow separatists fleeing the royal dictates of the Church of England, passengers brought along for their practical skills, and others traveling for various personal reasons.
Here is a photo of reenactors portraying the Pilgrims leaving Holland. It’s from “The Pilgrim Spirit” shown in the Pilgrim pageant staged at Plymouth, Massachusetts, July and August 1921.
Edmund Burke, an influential Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher of the 18th century, made profound observations regarding the religious background and ethos of the American colonists and noted:
“Nothing in the history of mankind is like the progress of the Pilgrims.”
Stay tuned for the first Thanksgiving: Fortine with the help of his friend of mixed Native American and Pilgrim descent present an accurate account.
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Note on the header image: “Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” by William Halsall, 1882. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
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