Mayflower Trunk Lands in River Oaks  with Jo Ann Dennis

July 12, 2001

There has been a lot of interest recently in an item that was brought to America on the May­flower over 400 years ago. It is a small trunk which was used to keep a child’s meager belong­ings in, perhaps a change of clothes, a pair of shoes and a couple of homemade toys. It has been passed down within the generations of a family and is now owned by Roberts Cut-Off resident John Harrison Maulden. It is made of Norway Pine, nailed together with square nails and covered with furry seal skin. The metal was bright and shiny 400 years ago but is a bit rusty now even though the trunk is still in quite good condition.

Mr. Maulden speaks for schools and organizations concerning the history of this trunk and spoke for the River Oaks Area Historical Society during June. He began with some rich history which kindled memories concerning religious per­secution in England in the 1500’s, that we had read about in school. Mr. Maulden reminded us that in those days, everyone was required to belong to the Church of England, known as the Anglican Church. The King of England was head of the church and his officers enforced this law. How­ever, there were many people who did not agree with the teachings of the church and refused to worship in the official churches. They called themselves “Separatists” and met secretly in homes, in the forest, on riverbanks and anywhere they could in order to express their faith. Whenever they were caught, they were punished and told not to hold separate worship services apart from the Church old England. This continued for many years. In the early 1600’s, the Separatists had mi­grated to Scarby which was about 100 miles north of London and they continued to worship in defi­ance of the established church.

They knew there was religious freedom in Holland and made plans to sell their farms, equipment and animals and move by ship to Leiden, Holland. The sale of their belongings was accomplished and they boarded a boat for the journey but found out they had been tricked when the ship captain turned them over to the King’s officers. They were returned to Scarby and punished but this did not stop their planning to move to a land where they could worship freely. The second time, they made different plans, moving at night and dividing the men from the women and children. The men had boarded a ship and were waiting for their families to arrive but a storm turned the ship on it’s side, and since it was widely known that a ship could not “right” itself under those conditions, they thought they were doomed; but their faith was strengthened when the ship did right itself and they accepted it as a miracle from God.

Meeting up with the women and children, they were able to sail to Amsterdam where they settled for awhile and then moved to Leiden, a small factory town where the men and women worked in the woolen mills. Life was very hard, but they were happy because they could worship without fear of persecution. They lived there for over eleven years but began to fear that their children would be assimilated into the Dutch population and their heritage would be lost so they planned to go to America. After many problems, including a ship that was not sea worthy, 110 Pilgrims, as they had begun to call themselves, along with 15 servants, the ships crew and a Sea Captain, sailed on the Mayflower to America. 

Another miracle happened during their journey. There was a terrible storm which broke a main beam of the boat and when the storm was over, the Captain said there was no way to repair it. However, the Pilgrims had brought along a printing press that had a type of screw jack on it and with much work, they were able to raise the huge beam, repair it and sail to America.

They had steered into what we know as Cape Cod Bay and dropped anchor in an area we now know as Provincetown, Massachusetts. They knew they were without a charter of government so the 41 Pilgrim men drew up their own charter which is called the “Mayflower Compact.” History tells us this is the first democratic document of government drawn up on American soil. 

They began to look for a more suitable place to build a settlement and they sailed across Cape Cod Bay and saw a huge rock which we now know as Plymouth Rock and they set foot in Plymouth, Massachusetts on December 21, 1620, the day before winter started. As they walked up a hill, there was a wide street and houses were already built there. All they had to do was occupy them, so it was another opportunity to thank God for His provision. The winter was a very harsh one and about half of the Pilgrims died during this time. Yet, there were still many things for which to be thankful. After discovering they did not have enough provisions to last the winter, they went looking for food and found three huge mounds of dirt which were covering beans, corn and barley, which saw the remaining pilgrims through the harsh winter. They later learned that the people who had settled the small village had died from hard winters and disease.

The Pilgrims had heard rumors of the savage Indians who lived in America and they were very apprehensive when a large Indian man walked into their village one day. They were wondering how they could communicate with him, but he began to speak to them in very good English. He brought Indian friends who lived nearby and they taught the Pilgrims how to hunt and fish and plant crops, fertilize and harvest. When harvest time came, the Pilgrims knew it was going to be a bountiful one, so they made plans for a Thanksgiving Festival and invited their Indian friends who in turn, brought deer and wild turkeys for the feast which lasted for days. The Pilgrims truly had much for which to be thankful but they did not know this first Thanksgiving in America would some day become a cherished American tradition. In the years that followed, many other freedom seekers came by boat and gradually, many other colonies were established.

Mr. Maulden’s ancestry was brought into his story and it is very interesting. He and his wife have been to Holland to research the early history, which is recorded in the Pilgrims Library and Museum in Leiden and he has kept up with his ancestry since the journey to America. Edward and Ann Fuller were two people who were on the Mayflower along with their ten-year-old son, Samuel.  Edward’s brother, Samuel Fuller and his sister, Susanna Fuller White and husband, William White, were also on the voyage. The now famous trunk known as the “Mayflower Trunk” belonged to Susanna (on the bottom of the trunk it says S.F. White), but was given to young Samuel when he moved in with his uncle Samuel Fuller because both his parents, Edward and Ann, died.  In the meantime, Susanna gave birth to the first European child to born on American soil and she named him Peregrine White. (His father, William, died during the first winter.)  Susanna later married Edward Winslow, whose wife died during the hard winter, and their marriage was the first within the Plymouth Colony. Edward served as governor of the Plymouth Colony on three occasions.

The trunk was passed down from generation to generation, usually given to the oldest child. John Maulden’s grandmother, who was the eldest in the family, would have received the trunk but she died and it was given to another relative who passed it on to John. There is a book written about the trunk by John’s third cousin who spent many years researching the family genealogy. John has three daughters, one of whom accompanied him to the meeting.

A member of ROAHS asked amid a lot of laughter, who was to receive the trunk from John but he was not commenting on that at this time. He closed his very informative talk by emphasizing the hundreds of years during which the trunk has survived. There was a question and answer time and a viewing of the trunk and closing expressions of thanks to John from President Mary Earwood and First Vice President Linda Claridge. 

Thinking about the history of our country and the desire for freedom in many ways, certainly fits in with the wonderful holiday we celebrated this past week. We should be forever thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in America, to worship, to live and to work where we want to and to pursue our dreams. How grateful I am to be an American citizen.