A Short Tribute to Edward Doty, My Mayflower Ancestor
Happy Thanksgiving!
Edward Doty arrived in the New World on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Stephen Hopkins in 1620. He signed the Mayflower compact, lived his entire life in the Plymouth area, and his descendants now number over 100,000.
Doty is my 9th great-grandfather.
Apparently, he was quite a rabble-rouser:
Doty’s first problem with the law came just after the Pilgrims had begun constructing their settlement. The early eighteenth century notes of Thomas Prince describe an incident of June 18, 1621 when the first duel (with a sword and dagger) was fought in New England between two servants of Stephen Hopkins, Edward Doty and Edward Leister. The duel ended with one being wounded in the hand and one in the thigh. Their punishment was to be tied head and feet together for twenty-four hours without meat or drink. But soon their master Stephen Hopkins, apparently taking pity on their “great pains”, made a “humble request, upon promise of a better carriage” and they were released by the governor.
Well, nothing much has changed. In that spirit of feistiness, I will continue the fight on! I hope you’re up for it as well. Thanks, Grandpa Ed!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Justin
Wow! We're cousins!
Too many people dwell on the (hotly debated) history of Thanksgiving rather than enjoying its present day importance as a gathering together with family and community to connect and share the blessing of a meal. A good day to put aside old grievances.