A plaque embedded in a boulder reads:
"...their Reve. Elder
Mr. William Brewster
a man that had done and suffered much
for ye Lord Jesus and ye gospells sake
...he was qualified above many he was
wise and discrete and well spoken
...of a very cheerful spirite ...under
valuing him self & his owne abilities...'
Governor William Bradford"
This website shows that the excerpts are from Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us about Brewster:
"William Brewster (c. 1566 – 10 April 1644) was an English official and Mayflower passenger in 1620. In Plymouth Colony he became a Separatist leader and preacher...
In Plymouth Colony
When the colonists landed at Plymouth Colony, Brewster became the senior elder of the colony, serving as its religious leader and as an adviser to Governor William Bradford. Brewster's son Jonathan joined the family in November 1621, arriving at Plymouth on the ship Fortune, and daughters Patience and Fear arrived in July 1623 aboard the Anne.
As the only university educated member of the colony, Brewster took the part of the colony's religious leader until a pastor, Ralph Smith, arrived in 1629. Thereafter, he continued to preach irregularly until his death in April 1644. “He was tenderhearted and compassionate of such as were in misery,” Bradford write, “but especially of such as had been of good estate and rank and fallen unto want and poverty.”
Brewster was granted land amongst the islands of Boston Harbor, and four of the outer islands (Great Brewster, Little Brewster, Middle Brewster and Outer Brewster) now bear his name. In 1632, Brewster received lands in nearby Duxbury and removed from Plymouth to create a farm there.
In 1634, smallpox and influenza ravaged both the English and the Indians in the region. William Brewster, whose family had managed to survive the first terrible winter unscathed, lost two daughters, Fear and Patience, now married to Isaac Allerton and Thomas Prence, respectively."