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Description of Figure/Doll

Handmade stuffed doll hand knitted with yarn. She is wearing pilgrim-style dress with a white cap and white apron. Her dress is plain, and she is holding a yarn basket filled with plastic fruit and nuts. Her facial features are sewn with yarn, and she has wiggly eyes.

Link to higher resolution images at ClipPix

Priscilla Alden: Maiden of the Mayflower

Reading Level: 5.10

My name is Priscilla Alden. On September 16, 1620, I boarded a ship called the Mayflower. I was only 17 years old. My father, stepmother and younger brother were traveling with me from England to the “New World.” It was a very scary trip for me. Very little was known about this new land, called America. After we set sail, it did not take me long to realize how difficult the trip would be. The Mayflower was a small sailing ship, and there were 102 passengers. The passengers had to spend most of the time below deck. There were no windows. It was crowded, cold, and wet. The passage took 66 long days. The cooks ran out of fresh food in a few days. For the rest of the voyage, we ate dried salt pork, dried fish, and hard biscuits. When we ran out of water, all of us had to drink beer. In addition, the seas were rough, and I was often seasick. Fortunately, only one person died on the long voyage. On November 11, 1620, we finally reached the shores of America (what is now Massachusetts). I was so happy! However, my joy was short lived. There were no houses or places to live on land. Also, the weather was so bad that we had to stay on the Mayflower until Spring. Many people living on the cold, dark, dirty, crowded ship got sick. By springtime, almost half of the 102 passengers were dead. Sickness and death took away my entire family. In February, my father died. A short time later, my stepmother and brother died. By Spring, I was all alone with the other survivors on the ship. There were 5 women, 25 children, and about 20 men who survived that first, terrible winter. With so few women and so many children, I had to grow up fast! When the weather improved, the men hunted, fished and built shelters. The women had to plant gardens, cook, clean, make clothing, etc. It was a very busy, stressful time, but I never gave up. A year or so later, I married another survivor from the Mayflower. His name was John Alden. He was a cooper who built barrels and things out of wood. John and I worked together to help establish the town of Plymouth Massachusetts. We had 10 children. A few generations later, 2 of our great-grandsons became President of the United Stated. Their names were John Adams and John Quincy Adams.