When most Americans think of the “First Thanksgiving,” they think of the Pilgrims in Plymouth who sat down for a Harvest Festival meal with the Wampanoag Indians in 1621. The Pilgrims had arrived on the Mayflower in November of 1620 and nearly a year later celebrated the abundance of provisions that God had provided. The Thanksgiving tradition recalls to memory Indians like Squanto (1580–1622) and Englishmen like William Bradford (1590–1657), who was elected governor in early 1621. Many American Christians love to quote the words of Governor Bradford in his “Thanksgiving Proclamation” made three years after the Pilgrims settled in Plymouth, where he proclaimed that all Pilgrim families were to gather on November 29, 1623, to hear from their minister and give thanks to Almighty God. Thus, when Americans think of Thanksgiving, they think of Massachusetts and the Pilgrims.
However, what many do not realize is that there was an English Thanksgiving on American soil over one year prior to the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth and almost two years before they celebrated the Harvest Festival with the Indians. This first Thanksgiving occurred in Virginia. (1)
The evidence for this is scarce, and the event was more than likely unknown even by most Virginians until the twentieth century. One of the primary men involved in the voyage—John Smyth of Nibley—was a historian who documented the settlement in Virginia from 1609 to 1622. It is the only known source that documents the Berkeley expedition and the first Thanksgiving in Virginia. This work, a collection of 38 papers, was first discovered by Dr. Lyon Tyler (1853–1935), son of President John Tyler and former president of the College of William and Mary. After researching the documents, Dr. Tyler published an article on his findings in the Richmond News Leader in April 1931.
The Story of the First Thanksgiving
The story begins 11 years after the Jamestown settlement, with four men from Gloucestershire who met in London in 1618, planning to sail for Virginia on a quest for profit. The men were William Throckmorton, Richard Berkeley, George Thorpe, and John Smyth (not to be confused with the other John Smith of Jamestown). King James I had granted a good amount of land to the four and they called it “Berkeley.” Plans took shape for the Berkeley settlement and on September 4, 1619, the men chose John Woodlief (alternate spelling Woodliffe) as their captain. Woodlief was one of the survivors of the “Starving Time” in Jamestown and surprisingly was willing to go back to the colony.
The “Good Ship Margaret,” leased by Woodlief, departed Bristol, England on September 16, 1619, destined for the Berkeley land on the James River in Virginia. The trip was plagued by severe storms. The people on board clung for dear life and pleaded with the Lord for mercy. On November 28, they arrived in the Chesapeake Bay. Two days later they made their way into what is now the Hampton Roads, and then finally, on December 4, 1619, they arrived at Berkeley. After the men rowed ashore, we are told that Captain Woodlief commanded the group to kneel and pray. Woodlief prayed:
We ordaine that this day of our ships arrival, at the place assigned for the plantacon, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God!
Thus, America’s first official English Thanksgiving had occurred. Note that there was no food, there was no Harvest Festival celebration, but only deep, reverent prayers of thankfulness to Almighty God for His protection over their voyage. This was to be perpetually kept as a day of thanks to the Lord.
Recognition of the First Thanksgiving
Since the discovery and publication of this Thanksgiving account, there have been forced acknowledgments of its history. One notable example took place during the Kennedy Administration. In November of 1962, a former state senator and attorney from Virginia, John J. Wicker Jr. (1893–1985) sent a letter to President Kennedy criticizing his 1962 Thanksgiving Proclamation where the president gave full credit to the Pilgrims of Massachusetts. Senator Wicker pointed out that the records indicated that Virginia, not Massachusetts, deserved the credit. Wicker received a response from Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (1917–2007) on behalf of the president acknowledging the mistake.
According to Schlesinger, the error was a result of the “unconquerable New England bias on the part of the White House Staff.” To his credit, in his 1963 Thanksgiving Proclamation—just weeks before his assassination—President Kennedy gave credit to Virginia alongside of Massachusetts. Kennedy said:
Over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and in Massachusetts, far from a home in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of thanksgiving. On the appointed day, they gave reverent thanks for their safety, for the health of their children, for the fertility of their fields, for the love which bound them together and for the faith which united them with their God. (2)
This Thanksgiving, as we thank Almighty God for all that He has done and remember His faithfulness to past generations, let us also remember His protection over the Berkeley crew that sailed to Virginia. As we tell the story of Thanksgiving, let us honor the Berkeley voyagers who had their priorities right and stopped to pray to the living God after setting foot on Virginia soil and proclaimed a perpetual day of Thanksgiving. And let us further remember that all of this was before the Pilgrims even departed on the Mayflower!
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Sources
(1) Due to the scarcity of sources, the sources for this article are all taken from the Berkeley Plantation Historical Site. See berkeleyplantation.com.
(2) President John F. Kennedy, Thanksgiving Proclamation, November 5, 1963. The American Presidency Project
Originally published at Truthscript.
