Ain't nothin but a cellarhole

Here I stood on a hill in the woods in an area once known as Rocky Nook, a few miles outside of Plymouth Massachusetts. There was a small pull-off beside the road and a large historical marker in the middle of a grassy hill placed between 2 giant trees, age unknown, but easily a few hundred years old. Over on the right hand side of this hill are old foundation stones and this cellar hole. There are many broken pieces of brick laying around the site and probably many hidden treasures from the past buried under the layers of soil.

This is hallowed ground for me as John Howland my 9th Great Grandfather, purchased this land on Feb 2 1638/9 for his homestead. He was a pilgrim on the Mayflower, a servant to John Carver, hired on to assist with the move of the congregation from Leiden to Plymouth. He is known for falling overboard during a storm during the crossing of the Mayflower and being pulled back aboard with a boat hook. Rumors of drunkenness as a cause of him falling overboard do exist. John Carver died in April of 1621 and with no relative to inherit the Carver's goods. John inherited all of the goods and bought his freedom from being a servant. He also took in everyone left in John Carver's household, servants and an 14 year old orphan Elizabeth Tilley. He was the 13th signer of the Mayflower Compact.

His marriage to Elizabeth Tilley was one of the first in the Plymouth Colony. Elizabeth's parents and Aunt & Uncle died during the first winter of 1620-1621. Elizabeth was 16 years old at the time of marriage. They had 10 children together.

John Howland was one of the 10 men chosen to explore the new land upon landing on the Cape. He also accompanied Edward Winslow to explore the Kennebec River in what is now Maine. In 1634 he was put in charge of a trading post built where present Augusta Maine is located. Howland Maine is named for him.

His son Jabez owned a house on 33 Water Street in Plymouth, this house is still standing and gives tours. This is the only house still remaining where Pilgrims have lived. John and Elizabeth wintered with their son each winter from 1670 until John's death in 1672 and Elizabeth continued to live there from 1675 to 1680. John died in this house in February and is buried with a marked grave high up on a hill in the cemetery in Plymouth. We toured the Jabez Howland house and paid our respects at his gravesite, a few days prior to walking on the Rocky Nook property and the tour guides were also descendants of John Howland and the whole visit truly felt like a homecoming.

John knew one of my other 9th Great Grandfathers, John Alden, as he was another Pilgrim aboard the Mayflower as they were sent out on exploration missions together both on the Cape and up the Kennebec. John Alden was a Cooper aboard the Mayflower, he was not part of the Separatist Church like the other passengers from Leiden. He was a hired hand who decided to stay on with the Colony and eventually converted to the Separatist Church. John Alden's bible is in a case in the Pilgrim Hall museum in Plymouth. I also had the pleasure of visiting his homestead and grave in Duxbury MA. I will post about that another day.

This is much more than just a cellarhole. It is where one branch of my family tree's roots were planted as my 8th great grandfather was born on this property. It is a place one of the leaders of the Plymouth Colony called home and raised his family. The stories the soil could tell if it could talk.