What I love about these photos is thinking about my grandfather, Don Wilkinson, and how surprised he would have been if he knew he was descended from four Mayflower passengers. No one in our family knew that his mother, Isabella Lyons Bill (1863 - 1935) had parents born in Nova Scotia but descended from the Mayflower passengers John Howland, Elizabeth Tilley, and her parents John Tilley and Joan Hurst.
The Plymouth, Massachusetts harbor hasn't changed much in the fifty years since these photos were taken. The Plymouth Rock pavilion is unchanged. The Mayflower II now has it's own pavilion with a mini museum. The statue of Massasoit seems to be in a different location than it is now (at the little park on Carver Street at the base of Leyden Street). There seem to be more trees along the waterfront nowadays. But even the gift shops appear to look the same.
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| My grandmother, Bertha (right) and unknown friend in front of the historical marker for Plymouth Rock 1968 |
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| The Plymouth Rock pavilion on Plymouth Harbor 1968 |
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| My grandparents (to the right) and the mystery friend (left in blue) in front of Plymouth Rock |
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| My grandparents and other tourists gazing down at Plymouth Rock. This is when most people say "Is that all it is?" |
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| My grandfather, Donald Wilkinson, in front of the statue to Massasoit. |
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| The Mayflower II 1968 This park now has gardens and large shady trees, and museums |
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "1968 Plymouth, Massachusetts - Photo Friday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 2, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/08/1968-plymouth-massachusetts-photo-friday.html: accessed [access date]).
Thank you, Heather, for this great post! Because of my husband's ties to the Mayflower, we have been reading more about Plymouth and his whole area. We hope to visit this someday!
ReplyDeleteMy family visited a few years prior. I remember that the exhibit of treatment of the sick was quite gruesome. I was quite disappointed that the rock had a fence around it.
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