Page:The part taken by women in American history.djvu/54

Rh, it is said, was the first to place her foot upon American soil. The day after the arrival of these Pilgrims, the first child was born. The parents were William and Susanna White. The son was named Peregrine, which signifies Pilgrim. There are very few records of any women of conspicuous effort or influence at this time. Longfellow's poem, "The Courtship of Miles Standish" is familiar to us all and presents a more or less authentic picture of the lives of the women of that day in New England.

The wives of the Pilgrims were: Mrs. Katherine Carver, Mrs. Dorothy Bidford, Mrs. Elizabeth Winslow, Mrs. Mary Brewster, Mrs. Mary Allerton, Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, the two Mrs. Tilley, Mrs. Tinker, Mrs. Rigdale, Mrs. Rose Standish, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Mullens, Mrs. Susanna White, Mrs. Sarah Eaton, Mrs. Chilton, Mrs. Fuller, and Mrs. Helen Billington. The daughters of these Pilgrim mothers were: Elizabeth Tilley, Remember Allerton, Mary Allerton, Constance Hopkins, Damaris Hopkins, Mary Chilton, and Priscilla Mullens, and Desire Minter may be listed as a "Mayflower" daughter. "Mrs. Carver's maid" must also be mentioned among the women of the Mayflower, and even the little "bound" girl, Ellen More, is worthy of place in this distinguished group.