Makena W.

November 31, 1620

Dear Diary, 

Good day! My name is Modesty Williams, perchance my future grandchildren will see this diary someday! I am 12 years of age and will be 13 years on July 28. Thee must know that I have long and straight red hair and green eyes and have many freckles. Green eyes and red hair are very unusual in my colony so I stand out very much! Clearly with a name like mine, Mother thought for sure I would be modest like she was when she was a child. Boy was she wrong!
Thee might be wondering where I come from. My family lived in England. My brother Cyrus and I were born there! Cyrus is six years old. All of this stuff goes in one ear and out the other. Early in the sixteen hundreds the King of England said that everyone in England had to belong to the Church of England. My parents did not agree! On September 6, 1620 the Mayflower set off from England with people seeking religious freedom from the Church of England (1,Plimouth.org). We are called Separatists. The Mayflower arrived in Cape Cod on November 11,1620 and settled in Plymouth after a rough month of exploring Cape Cod (2, nps.gov).

On the Mayflower I met a very special person. Her name is Primrose Evans. She is twelve years old and is very generous. We have been very close ever since we met! I am so thankful I have such a good friend to explore this New World with me.
Cornelia and Bartholomew are my parents’ names and Phoebe is my grandmother’s name. They take good care of Cyrus and me. My parents work full time, my mother being a milliner and my father being a blacksmith! My mother has to mend clothing and sell a variety of overgarments (3,Colonial Times A to Z) and my father is busy all day shoeing horses and and forging red-hot iron into an assortment of tools (4,The Blacksmiths). Cyrus is at school in the morning and has a list of tasks to finish at midday. I have to do tasks around the house and then at midday I am free to play and read my books. Grandmother enjoys making me poppets! I like to play with poppets!
Cyrus and I always find time to play around the house or outside! We enjoy playing ball and singing “London Bridge Is Falling Down”(5, If You Lived In Colonial Times). Perchance we have many tasks to do around the house but we always find time to play (6, If You Lived In Colonial Times). I always find time to tell stories to Cyrus and read to him at midday! I enjoy reading very much! He and I tend our books so they don’t get damaged! Even though Cyrus is not out of Dame School yet he is quite good at reading! We get along well and love spending time with each other.
I really threw that all onto you of a sudden! Must fetch some eggs from the chickens now! The work of a colonist is never done (7, If You Lived In Colonial Times)! Of a sudden there is much I would like to say but I will write again another day!

Fare thee well,

Modesty Williams