Thanksgiving, The Mayflower, and My Family -

The year was 1575 when a man named Edward Fuller was born. He was born from a man named Robert in merry old England. As he grew up he decided to become a pilgrim. I don’t know if he was born into this or he chose this on his own. He and his wife Ann had 1 son that I know of named Samuel … and Edward had a brother named Samuel who was a doctor.

They experienced much suffering for belief in their religion and had to flee to Holland for a brief time until they were secretly transported to the port of South Hampton, England where they and about 50 other pilgrims boarded the Mayflower headed for the new world. Edward, Ann, Samuel, and his brother Samuel.

Also on the ship was a young man by the name of Edward Doty. He was an indentured servant to a man named Stephen Hopkins who was a tanner and merchant. As time went by Edward was able to purchase his freedom and he became a member of the exploratory party led by Myles Standish. (Makes sense considering he had experience as a tanner and I’m sure could hunt well.) This trip also included John Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, John Tilley and his brother Edward, John Howland, Richard Warren, Stephen Hopkins, and several crewmen from the Mayflower, that departed on December 6, 1620, in a shallop to search for a suitable site for settlement.

Edward and Ann were among those that did not survive that first brutal winter in the new country. Samuel was left to be raised by his Uncle Samuel. Young Samuel eventually married a girl named Jane Lothrop who came over at a later time to the new world, and together they raised about a zillion kids.

Edward Doty married Faith Clarke who came across from England sometime later and had about a zillion kids too. Both families had great-grandchildren and then those two families married into one another through the grandchildren….Fuller/Bonham/Doty.

I’m always amazed at how brave these people were. If it had not been for them and their courage I would not be here as well as many many other Americans.