Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth

On this date (November 11 in the Old Style):

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.

Signatories include a few of our ancestors:

• Myles Standish - (Name per Morton, 1669: Miles Standish) - Standish had been a soldier of fortune, possibly from London but serving in the Low Countries in Europe prior to joining the Leiden contingent. There is evidence that he was not a member of the Leiden church but was associated with it. He came on the Mayflower with his wife Rose, who died early. He was the colony's chief military officer and served well in that capacity until his death in 1656.

• John Alden - Alden has no known place of origin but he was hired in Southampton as a cooper. He married fellow Mayflower passenger Priscilla Mullins, forming the basis of the famous Longfellow romantic poem. The couple became quite prosperous from the estate of Priscilla's father William Mullins, and John became a prominent and influential colonist involved in many governmental activities over his long life.

• John Billington - He came from London and boarded the Mayflower with a wife and two sons—a non-Separatist family who were quite troublesome for their fellow passengers. Bradford wondered how they became associated with the Mayflower. After arriving in Plymouth, they increasingly caused trouble for those in the colony and for colony leaders. John Billington Sr. was hanged for murder in 1630, the first execution in the colony.

For some reason, I feel the most kinship to the Billington family.