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GOV. BRADFORD'S HISTORY

OF

PLYMOUTH COLONY.

MORTON'S PREFACE.

CHRISTIAN READER,

I HAVE looked at it as a duty incumbent on me to commit to writing the first beginnings and after progress of the Church of Christ at Plymouth in New England; forasmuch as I cannot understand that there is any thing particularly extant concerning it, and almost all the members of the said church, both elders and others, being deceased, by whom intelligence of matters in that behalf might be procured. I dare not charge the reverend elders of that church who are gone to their rest, with any neglect on that behalf; for when they were in Holland, they were necessitated to defend the cause of Christ by writing against opposites of several sorts; so as such like employs, together with the constant and faithful discharge of the duties of their offices, probably took up the greatest part of their time; and since the church parted, and a considerable part thereof came unto this going down of the sun, it might be neglected partly on the account that divers writings, some whereof being put forth in print,

In 1679, the year previous to the date of this Preface, twelve only were living of the hundred who

came over in the Mayflower. Sce Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts, ii. 456.

4

MORTON'S PREFACE.

did point at and in a great measure discriminate the affairs of the church; forasmuch as then the small commonwealth, in our first beginning at New Plymouth, consisted mostly of such as were members of the church which was first begun and afterwards carried on in Leyden, in Holland, for about the space of twelve years, and continued and carried on at Plymouth, in New England, a small part whereof remaineth until this day. If any thing was done on this kind by those worthy leaders, I suppose the blame is rather to be laid on those which had the first view of their studies, and had their books and writings in custody after their decease; for I am persuaded that such was their faithfulness and prudence, as that they did not wholly neglect this matter.'

Some years since it pleased God to put an impulse upon my spirit to do something in a historical way concerning New England, more especially with respect to the Colony of New Plymouth; which was entitled New England's Memorial;2 in which I occasionally

'The records of John Robinson's church at Leyden contained, no doubt, some account of its origin and its memorable vicissitudes in England and Holland. These records, however, were probably lost when the remnants of that church were scattered after his death in 1625. The church at Plymouth had no settled pastor till 1629, and afterwards, for long intervals, was destitute of a regular ministry until 1669, when John Cotton, son of the famous John Cotton of Boston, was ordained. No records were kept by either of his three predecessors, Ralph Smith, Roger Williams, and John Reyner. The records of the church, previous to his settlement, are in the handwriting of Secretary Morton. MS. Records

of Plymouth Ch. and Mass. Hist. Coll. iv. 107.

66

This work was printed at Cambridge in 1669, in a small quarto volume, of 198 pages, and the expense was defrayed by a contribution in the several towns in the Colony. The greatest part of Morton's information was borrowed," as he informs us, "from his much honored uncle, Mr. William Bradford, and such manuscripts as he left in his study." Prince, the New England annalist, whose copy of the first edition of the Memorial is now before me, enriched with his marginal notes and emendations, says that "Morton's History, from the beginning of the Plymouth people to the end of 1646, is chiefly Gov. Bradford's manuscript, abbre

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