September 6, 1620

Hello, I am Peter Browne, son of William Browne of Dorking.. I grew up in Dorking, Surrey, England. When I was 10 in 1605, my father died, so we were apprenticed by neighbors, relatives, and family friends. I have two older siblings, Jane and Thomas, and three younger siblings, Samuel, John, and James. My three younger siblings all became weavers, so they were probably apprenticed by a local weaver. In 1610, when I was 15, Jane married to John Hammon. John Hammon’s mother, also named Jane, appointed William Mullins as the administrator of her estate. Now, why was this important? Well, William Mullins was a successful shoe and boot maker in Dorking, and I learned of this ship called “The Mayflower” from him. I had a good life and joined the carpenter’s trade. I eventually joined the Separatists and seeked freedom. But enough about that, let’s get back into present day. 

I am currently in the area betwixt the decks about to go on the voyage to the northern parts of Virginia in the New World on the Mayflower ship and I have brought my beer and oak and birch tankard, some food, my tools (such as hammers, nails, hatchets, and locks for doors), clothes (shirts, pants, shoes, Monmouth Cap), armor (sword, bandoleer, fowling piece, belt), and my bedding and household items. I’m stocked up and ready to go!

                   October, 1620

I can’t get up. I’m sick. I have to write this all down before I forget it. The first half at sea was pleasant except for some sea sickness going around. But now, it feels awful. We’ve hit rough seas, and we have to stay in the gun deck. We are being flown around in here, plus that rotten smell. I just hate it. That Speedwell. The Speedwell was leaky, so we were delayed and got caught in the middle of storm season. The captain says it’s safer to let the ship drift wherever the waves take us. Guess this is it, no New World after all. Definitely no Virginia. No New World

  ` November 9, 1620

After 66 days at sea, we’ve spotted land! We have hooked into Cape Cod. Because of the sea storms, all of us wanted to turn south again and go where we were intending to go, but, again, we encountered very harsh seas and almost shipwrecked. I have signed the Mayflower Compact. It’s basically saying that, because we are way north of Virginia, and that a colony without laws would be catastrophic, the Mayflower Compact is a series of laws set up by us, Pilgrims, to keep our colony in line. We’ve decided to explore the place and get to know it better. Well, we’ve made it!

January 13, 1621

I have to write this all down. Yesterday morning, me, John Goodman, and our dogs all went for a walk and our dogs spotted a deer. They chased after it and we followed and soon, we got lost. Our entire afternoon was dedicated to finding the colony in the pouring rain. That night, we spent our time in a tree (and under it). We couldn’t sleep because we thought we heard lions roaring in the distance. Then, this morning, we refreshed ourselves in the bay and found our way back to our worried colony. Overall, I’m glad I got all the essential tools and that we even made it to land. I decided to get rid of the “e” at the end of my last name. I am now Peter Brown. But this is not about me, this is about all the pilgrims who came on this journey with me. We’ve made history. We will be remembered. I will be remembered because I am Peter Browne.