The story of the Pilgrims and their first year at Plymouth is now part of American Thanksgiving folklore. The early months were the most difficult, and about half the settlers died. Luckily good relations were established with the local Wampanoag Native Americans, and the Pilgrims quickly adapted to conditions in America.
With Indian help the Pilgrims survived and modestly prospered. But there was still mistrust of the natives, and other tribes—like the Narragansett—were feared. In 1622, fearing Indian attack, the settlers built a palisade around Plymouth village. A fort was built on a high hill, and cannon from the ship Mayflower placed there. The fort was also used as a meeting house for Sunday services The fortified village was just large enough for the dozen or so English families to build houses and garden plots.
But by 1627 land hunger and the desire for family farms overcame fear of Indian attack. As more settlers arrived, both original pilgrims and newcomers spread out, establishing small farms throughout the region.
A Typical Pilgrim Family
The English settlers we call Pilgrims were what the seventeenth century called “middling sort.” They were not from the English nobility or gentry, but they weren’t “cottars and paupers” either. Cotters were landless peasants. Pilgrims might be considered yeomen. Paul Erickson’s Daily Life in the Plymouth Colony, 1636 gives a good example in one Jonathan Prentiss, who had 40 acres of land in the Eel River Valley. He was a farmer, and married to a woman named Rebecca. The couple had four children, two of them from Rebecca’s previous marriage. They also had Edward Jeffrey, a young man in his 20s who was hired as a farmhand
Pilgrim Farms
Like most Europeans of the seventeenth century Pilgrim farmers lived closer to nature. Their lives were attuned to the rhythms of the seasons. The farmers grew crops like corn that fed them. Any surplus could be sold to places like Boston for manufactured goods from England. Pilgrim husbandmen also kept pigs, cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens. The animals provided meat, eggs, milk, and wool for clothing.
Pilgrim Clothing
Popular culture has given us an idea of what the Pilgrims wore. Unfortunately, most of it is inaccurate, based on romantic Victorian depictions of the Plymouth colony. The “typical” popular culture Pilgrim is dressed all in black, his hat, shoes, and belt showing large buckles. In reality, pilgrim clothing was much more colorful. There were reds, russets (reddish brown), green, and blues. Black was worn, but not exclusively. Buckles came later in the 1600s.
Men generally wore a linen shirt, breeches (trousers that went to the knee) and a kind of jacket called a doublet. Most wore sturdy leather shoes, and their lower legs were covered in stockings. Women had a shirt-like garment called a shift, and over this she put on stays and petticoats. For outer clothing women wore a dress/gown, or a waistcoat (fitted jacket) and skirt. A woman’s hair was tucked under a cap called a coif.
Pilgrim Daily Routine
The household was up early. Children were assigned various morning chores, like clearing away bedding or getting fodder for the farm animals. The husband might go to the woodshed to get more wood for the breakfast fire. Daughters might fetch water from a nearby stream, while the wife prepared breakfast—perhaps cornmeal porridge.
The husband and older males—sons or farmhands—would go out to the fields. Tending to crops was hard work the year round, but women worked just as hard around the house. There are many things to do, including milking the cow, cleaning the house, and making soap. The wife also made clothes for the family. By the 1630s, Pilgrims would go to Boston to buy needles, thread and cloth. The wife did the rest.
The End of the Day in Pilgrim Colony
By dusk the day’s labors were done, and it was time to think of dinner. Families ate from trenchers, long wooden boards. Napkins were large, and often placed over the shoulder. They had to be big, because fingers, not forks, are used.
After dinner there might be some time for leisure. Children would learn school lessons. Smoking a pipe of tobacco was a favorite pastime. Men, women, and even younger members of the family smoked.
After prayers, the bedding was brought out and it was time for sleep. Families would retire early, because they were going to have an early start the next day.
Sources:
Paul Erickson, Daily Life in the Plymouth Colony 1636 (Clarion Books, 2001)
N.A, The Thanksgiving Primer (Plimoth Plantation, 1982)
Cyril Leek Marshall, The Mayflower Destiny (Stackpole, 1975)
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