The one thing that I've always known about my heritage is that I'm a descendant of those who came over on the Mayflower, the Pilgrims. The only ancestor's name I knew for many years was Myles Standish and I was proud of that ancestry.
But I just read up on Grandpa Myles. Sigh.
Family member name: Myles Standish
Tree branch: Smith
Lifetime: 1584-1656
Relation: My 10x great-grandfather (my dad's mom's dad's mom's mom's mom's mom's mom's dad's mom's dad's dad)
The good news
* Myles Standish was hired by the Pilgrims as a military adviser.
* Admittedly, he agreed to go on a very dangerous journey across the ocean in 1620, from which many before him had not returned. And he stayed in Plymouth when he had the option to return.
* He did his job. He protected them in many situations. For example, he forced them to build a protective wall around the village and organized the men into a militia.
* He was loyal to the Pilgrims.
* He was loyal to the Pilgrims.
The bad news
* He was not a Pilgrim, but instead accompanied the Pilgrims. He did not emigrate to the new world for religious freedom. It was a job.
* He was very short. He was called Captain Shrimp. Yes.
* What a psychopath! On one mission to defend another small European village called Wessagusset, he brutally killed one of the threatening warriors, and brought the head of another back to Plymouth and displayed it at the fort for months to come. He did this because that Indian had insulted him beforehand. These actions had negative consequences on the Colony and the friendly local Indians for years to come.
In summary, Captain Shrimp was a loyal, non-Pilgrim sadist. But yes, he came over on the Mayflower, and he is my 10x great-grandfather.
Standish is a well-known name in Plymouth County, Massachusetts to this day. Here are some pictures of when my dad and I visited in 2012.
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| Standish Monument and my dad. Duxbury, MA |
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| Plaque for the Myles Standish burying ground. |
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| The gravestone of Myles Standish. Died 1656, Duxbury, MA. |
