Looking back on a 1653 pilgrim home

John Alden gazed beyond the deck-rail of the ship, MAYFLOWER. The time is December 1620 and the ship is anchored in the New Plymouth harbor of Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Directly in his sight is the cold, uninhabited, tree-lined shore of the site selected for the Pilgrim’s home. A new nation was not even a glimmer of light at that time — and even though the candle of liberty was imagined, it was not even close to reality.

“And to think, we’re going to build houses there,” he mused; “it’s nothing but absolute wilderness!”

“My mama-Sue’s awful sick!” He looked down, hearing a small, plaintive voice. It was thirteen year-old Mary Chilton who had crept over beside him. Obviously, she was upset, having lost her father just days before; only six weeks after their arrival at the New England coastline on Nov. 20.

“Is Mama-Sue going to die, too?” she queried. John’s arm slipped quickly around her frail shoulders, and tenderly he spoke.

“No, my dear, she’s going to be alright, your mama just has a bad cough.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, I already feel better.”

John Alden’s reputation as a heart-mender was well known. He gently squeezed her trembling shoulders and then felt her body relax as she nestled securely at his side.

Mary Chilton’s mother did die, but not until six weeks later. She, and forty-five others were laid to rest — victims of what Governor William Bradford called “the first sickness.” They died because of the harsh sea travel of the 1600s. Crowded into the lower deck upon which one could not quite stand up, they had no bathroom nor bathing privacy and only one cooking area from which emerged much the same food day after day. Many of them suffered scurvy also, including the ship’s crew. One hundred and two colonists had signed on to travel in this way for the three month journey from England to the “new world” where they might establish the right to freely live and worship according to the calling and provision of Almighty God.

Finally, on Jan. 2, 1621, work on the new settlement was begun. Preparation involved the setting up of the “saw-pit.” This vitally important equipment was to be transported ashore this very morning. Saw-pits were much used in England and were built above a 6-foot deep by 12-foot long pit, preferably on the side of a small earthen incline. A platform was built above it and through this platform was passed a vertical saw blade which was moved up and down by hand. Thus were cut boards from logs, or logs with one or two squared sides. This rather simple procedure was used for many years and was absolutely necessary to provide building material for Pilgrim houses.

So, on that sunlit morning of Jan. 2, the saw-rig was loaded onto the Pilgrim’s shallop (a 25 ft. sea craft of 12 tons with a single mast and sail) which had also been stowed aboard the Mayflower and reconstructed immediately after their arrival at Cape Cod Bay. Every able-bodied man was there; loading, carrying, assembling, digging the pit, cutting trees and marking the layout of the town which had been determined earlier.

Did those people realize they were laying the foundation of a great nation? Of course not, but as each foundation log was pounded into the earth, a bastion of this country was being indestructibly anchored. These logs were resistant to both physical rot and spiritual rot. Godly men, instruments of God’s Grace, are used throughout history to establish and maintain territories (even nations!) of strength and vitality. God’s creations do not happen by chance — they are predicated upon righteousness!

“And God saw everything He had made and behold, it was good.” Genesis 1:31

“How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee.” Psalm 31-19. Success of person, society or nation is in direct proportion to its adjacency to the right and the good. The 1620 Pilgrim motivation for settlement and survival was of the highest — the result of Godly leadership and their follower’s acquiescence. God’s unending strength and guidance is absolutely necessary for our earthly life. These Pilgrims had sacrificed their life of comparative ease to undertake another of tremendous hardship; they believed in God and His promises.

“Get thee unto a land which I will show you,” God said to Abraham, “and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee — .” John Robinson, their preacher and leader, had first quoted this Genesis 12 passage when they were under great persecution long ago in England. They never forgot it.

Now the year is 1628, and after much tribulation (the worst was the famine of 1623) the little Plymouth Colony has prospered. John Alden married Priscilla Mullins on May 12, 1622, families were growing and moving to close-by locations, crops were plentiful, and God’s presence was very much in evidence. John and Priscilla had built their home in nearby Duxbury, in a field next to a small pond, an idyllic setting. So also had other families of these original settlers, some in Plymouth, some in Manomet, Kingston, Scituate or Marshfield, — but all established residences of successful homemaking. As each home went up, a stronghold of this country was fashioned, each one anchored to that source of unending creativity and righteous living.

One of those majestic creations still stands today — the 1653 John Alden House three hundred and sixty two years later. It is an example of strength, endurance and righteousness — the intrinsic power instilled by God into His creations. A power unrecognized by some, yet used over and over to build lasting icons of good heredity and accomplishment. Build your home with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ!

‘Whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock.” Matthew 7:24

I hope everyone enjoys this little nugget of history! All the dates are correct and the activities true except the John Alden — Mary Chilton exchange aboard the Mayflower. May you all have blessed holidays — remember, God creates them and we celebrate them! All in the name of our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

John Alden — descendant of the pilgrim John Alden — is a Kootenai County resident.