Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 67, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 November 1911 — Honor Belongs to Pilgrim Fathers. [ARTICLE]

Honor Belongs to Pilgrim Fathers.

Long before the advent of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts all rituals contained expressions of gratitude to God for his mercies. In that of the Church of England special prayers were provided for the Sunday service. This service, however, must be carefully distinguished from the Thanksgiving day of the Pilgrim fathers. Failure to make this distinction has led to~ the groundless claim that the Popham colonists were “the first to keep Thanksgiving day” in America. The service at Monhegan, on which this claim is based, was the regular Sunday service of the Church of England; and while it had an element of thanksgiving, the day can in nowise be regarded as a Thanksgiving day as that term is understood. Cotemporary evidence refutes all claim to the contsar*.