The People Behind the Letters
Elizabeth Tilley
From Henlow to Plymouth—one girl’s extraordinary true story.
A quiet English girl with a steady heart, Elizabeth Tilley crossed an ocean at just thirteen; and lived to help shape a new world. Left an orphan on the harsh New England shore, her journey from Henlow’s gentle fields to the fragile hope of early Plymouth remains one of the most remarkable stories of the Mayflower generation.
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* Optional Educational PDF
John Howland
The man who fell into the sea—and rose to help found a colony.
Born in England around 1592–93, John entered adulthood in a world tense with religious conflict and economic hardship. Details of his early family remain hidden in parish shadows, but when he entered the household of Elder John Carver—first in England, then in Leiden—his life became intertwined with the people who would soon change history.
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* Optional Educational PDF
Mara Sargeant
A woman’s quiet courage in a world on the brink of Revolution.
Her world was one of quiet duties and intense change. She grew up between the sturdy values of her Upham and Sargeant ancestors—known for their devotion, service, and unshakable steadiness—and the rising tensions that swept across Middlesex County. Mara watched troops march, heard whispers of rebellion, and felt the tremor of coming war long before the first shot was fired.
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* Optional Educational PDF
Joseph Grace
A soldier at the Battle of Bunker Hill, neighbor, and husband who carried both labor and hope—shaped by family, community, and the rising struggle for independence.
Before he marched as a young private during the American Revolution, Joseph Grace II was a boy shaped early by loss and labor. Born in Methuen, Massachusetts in 1756, he grew up under guardianship after his father’s death, learning responsibility in a world already tightening with the pressures that would soon lead to war.
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* Optional Educational PDF
Desire Minter
The girl who crossed an ocean—and then crossed back.
In 1620, Desire traveled with the Carvers aboard the Mayflower, enduring cramped decks, fearsome storms, sickness, and hunger. In Plymouth she witnessed both deep sorrow and unexpected hope—from the loss of the Carvers, whom she served with loyalty, to the fragile beginnings of a new colony struggling to survive through its first winter.
* Discounted for the first 1,000 subscriptions
* Optional Educational PDF