November 2010 Quiz

This month, I’m still playing off September’s quiz that dealt with the significance of September 8th, 2010.

One of the multiple choice answers was that it was the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Brian Pendleton in North America. We know that was not correct, so this month’s question is: When did Brian Pendleton arrive in America?

a. Before 1610
b. Between 1610 and 1625
c. After 1625

Check back next month for the answer.

-- ANSWER

Although I have scoured the passenger lists of all the pilgrim ships transcribed so far, I have not found the exact date or ship on which Brian came to America.

The earliest record I can find of Brian being in America comes from: “Brian Pendleton and his Descendants” (1910) aka, “the Book.” In that work, Everett Hall Pendleton states on page 2, “The earliest notice of him [Brian] in the colonies appears in the records of Watertown, Mass., which show that at the first meeting of the citizens there, 23, August, 1634, William Jennison, Brian “Pembleton,” and John Eddie were chose by the freemen to order the civil affairs of the town.”

He was later made a freeman of the Colony which established that he was a member of a Puritan church and thus was able to be a full citizen of the Colony. At that time, only members of the Puritan church were allowed to be full citizens and have any voice in the government of the Colony.

So, the correct answer to the quiz is “C. After 1625.”

I will continue my search for the name of the ship and the exact date he arrived in America. If you are interested in researching passenger lists from Pilgrim ships, check out this site:

http://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shipnames.htm