Pupils dress up for history lesson
NORMAL school was suspended for a week at Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School so that pupils could become historians. The history week focused on John Howland, a Fenstanton man who travelled on the Mayflower to America and helped found the Plymouth Colon
NORMAL school was suspended for a week at Fenstanton and Hilton Primary School so that pupils could become historians.
The history week focused on John Howland, a Fenstanton man who travelled on the Mayflower to America and helped found the Plymouth Colony.
At 21 - in 1620 - Howland was employed by John Carver, a Puritan minister who helped organise the migration to America.
Howland joined the Mayflower as a servant to the Carver family. However, he was determined to make his mark in the new world "as neither a stranger nor a saint" as the Pilgrims told themselves.
During the voyage, Howland was thrown overboard in turbulent seas but managed to grab a sail that was trailing in the water and was hauled back aboard.
The Carvers, John and his wife Kathrine, died within the first two years of landing. He seems to have had a stroke, passed into a coma and "never spake more" and she died soon after.
Most Read
- 1 Captured Cambridgeshire man 'charged with mercenary activities' by Russia
- 2 Honda, Seat and Toyota crash on A141
- 3 A lost wedding photo uncovers a heartbreaking story
- 4 A1 set for night-time and weekend closures until August
- 5 Opposition group to fight plans for new homes in village
- 6 Off duty nurse saves a man's life by performing CPR
- 7 Hospitals raise car parking costs for first time in six years
- 8 Vehicle caught fire on A1 near St Neots
- 9 Man assaulted woman and verbally abused hotel staff
- 10 Outdoor inflatable water park returns to Huntingdonshire
Howland had better luck than the Carvers. He married Carver's foster daughter, Elizabeth, then aged 17, and they had 10 children. He became assistant governor of the colony. He died on February 23, 1673, aged 74 and was buried with honours.
The Fenstanton and Hilton pupils marked Thanksgiving on Friday with a celebration, involving dance, art and drama with the whole school dressing as either settlers or Native Americans.