Legacy of True Thanks

A legacy has 3 ingredients: learning the truth about the past, living in the present, and building for the future, although people frequently substitute learning truths for embellished myths and then live in that past delusion, not in present moments.

This week of Thanksgiving, I keep gathering a long list of things that I am truly thankful for in this moment of time. I am especially thankful for my family, including ancestors with their legacy of strong values. While none are famous in the popular sense of fame, they possessed hero and heroine status in their own everyday ways.

The Wampanoag people who established sophisticated communities for 13,000 years — prior to the 1620 English immigration to “Plymouth” in “Massachusetts” — were everyday heroes and heroines too. (The new settlers named “Plymouth” for the port of Plymouth in England where they had set sail; “Massachusetts” was the first of many U. S. states to be given a Native American name.) 

Truthfully, it was due to the Wampanoag sharing of hunting and planting strategies that kept the Pilgrims from starvation. In October, 1621, 90 Wampanoag Native Americans and 52 Mayflower survivors gathered for a three-day feast. It was the Wampanoag’s daily legacy of giving thanks for nature’s bounty that predates the Pilgrim version of Thanksgiving.

The true Thanksgiving story contains tragedy for both the Pilgrims and Native Americans, but this is rarely the story told to school children. The reason for the Puritan passage was a desire for religious freedom, however an anticipated legacy of future freedom was short-lived for many. Out of 102 passengers (and 30-40 crew members) of the Mayflower’s December arrival, some died enroute and nearly half of the Pilgrims could not survive their first winter of religious freedom in America.

As told by Stephen C. O’Neill (The Life of Peregrine White), one young family’s plight seems poignant. William and Susanna White were Mayflower passengers with their 5-year-old son. Suzanna was pregnant and brought a wicker cradle onboard for baby Peregrine who was the first Pilgrim birth in the “new” land. Dad William died in February.   

The Pilgrims docked at an abandoned village where corn had been planted. Thankful for perceived good fortune, they had no idea that their “discovered” land was abandoned by Native Americans due to a rampaging illness (believed to be leptospirosis spread by rat urine contaminating standing fresh water).

Later, yellow fever was lethal to many English settlers but was especially devastating to the Native Americans. One estimation is that 45,000 Wampanoag, or two-thirds of these heroic people, succumbed to this epidemic.

The legacy of our ancestor stories is a cornerstone in our personalities, yet no one wants to talk about legacies of ancestor illness. For those of us truly fortunate to survive the COVID pandemic, let’s give thanks for health, a wealth far greater than any other.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

239. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving week?

240. How might you search for true stories of your ancestors?