from the original records by George Ernest Bowman, editor of the
"Mayflower Descendants," [Footnote: Editorial rooms at 53 Mt. Vernon
St., Boston.] issued quarterly. By the aid of such records and a few
family heirlooms of unquestioned genuineness, it is possible to
suggest some individual silhouettes of the women of early Plymouth, in
addition to the glimpses of their communal life.




CHAPTER III


MATRONS AND MAIDENS WHO CAME IN THE MAYFLOWER


It has been said, with some justice, that the Pilgrims were not
remarkable men, that they lacked genius or distinctive personalities.
The same statement may be made about the women. They did possess, as
men and women, fine qualities for the work which they were destined to
accomplish,--remarkable energy, faith, purpose, courage and
patience. These traits were prominent in the leaders, Carver and
Bradford, Standish and Winslow, Brewster and Dr. Fuller. As assistants
to the men in the civic life of the colony, there were a few women who
influenced the domestic and social affairs of their own and later
generations. From chance records, wills, inventories and traditions
their individual traits must be discerned, for there is scarcely any
sequential, historic record.

Death claimed some of these brave-hearted women before the life at