The Colony and Town Records, and the Records of the New England Confederacy 41 THE PILGRIM SOCIETY Its establishment and purpose 43 Its history 43 Its collections 44 THE OLD COLONY CLUB 47 Its celebration of Forefathers’ Day THE PLYMOUTH ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY 48 THE ANTIQUARIAN HOUSE 51 THE HARLOW HOUSE: A 17TH CENTURY HOME 53 THE HOWLAND HOUSE 55 THE SPARROW HOUSE 56 AUTHORITIES 57 [Illustration: THE MAYFLOWER] [Illustration] The Pilgrims _of the_ Mayflower “So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but they knew that they were Pilgrims, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits.” BRADFORD: _History of Plymouth Plantation_ The little ship Mayflower of about 120 tons burden according to the present register, Capt. Christopher Jones commanding, set sail from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620. She carried a crowded company: men with their wives and children, young men and maidens, eager with a sober spirit to found a colony, and make their permanent homes in the new world of America. Because of religious differences, they had already separated themselves from the established Church of England, and in consequence had suffered persecution, fines, and imprisonment. Their small congregations had met in secret that they might worship according to their own principles and ideals. Some of them had previously left their homes in the villages of York, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire, and had spent twelve years of exile in Holland, where they found hospitable and friendly tolerance in the cities of Amsterdam and Leyden. But after long and serious debate, it was decided that they must seek greater liberty for themselves and their children; so banding together part of the congregation in Leyden with others in England, the passengers of the Mayflower sailed, not as conquerors of a new province, or adventurers of fortune, but as Pilgrims with a fixed purpose to secure civic and religious freedom in a new land. THE MAYFLOWER PASSENGERS