Ep. 76 – The First Thanksgiving – In Virginia?

We've all heard the story of the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth.
But there was a Thanksgiving before that – in Virginia!
Here's the story.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Now this is the FCB Podcast Network. The Great US solve the Jeremy Everything,
and they fought so we working America. Hi, welcome back to the

(00:27):
Growing Patriot Podcast. I'm your host, Amelia Hamilton. Now you've heard about
the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims and theNative Americans together up in Massachusetts. That's
the story everyone hears. In fact, I even did an episode about it.
But it turns out there is anotherAmerican Thanksgiving that happened even earlier,
this one in Virginia. The storyisn't as well known, but I'm going

(00:49):
to tell you about it right now. On November twenty eighth, sixteen nineteen,
a boat called the Margaret sailed intothe Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. They
waited out a storm, surveyed theland, met up with friends, and

(01:11):
on December fourth, they stopped anddropped anchor at a sight between Williamsburg and
Richmond, Virginia. That sight wouldbecome the Berkeley Plantation. When the men
came ashore, they knelt to pray. One of those men kept a journal,
and he wrote that Captain Woodleaf said, we ordained that this day of
our ship's arrival at the place assignedfor plantation in the land of Virginia,

(01:34):
shall be yearly and perpetually kept holyas a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.
Yes, he said Thanksgiving. Hesaid that every year on that date
they would have a Thanksgiving. Sothat was almost two years before that three
day harvest festival in Plymouth that mostof us considered to be the first Thanksgiving,

(01:55):
and this group of sailors started aThanksgiving tradition all of their own.
Of course, that Berkeley Thanksgiving wasa time of prayer, not a time
of feasting, so it was alittle different. Now let's skip ahead a
couple hundred years, all the wayto nineteen sixty two. President John F.
Kennedy gave a speech on Thanksgiving Daytalking about the first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts.

(02:16):
But John Jay Wicker, a Senatorfrom Virginia, heard that message and
told him about the real Thanksgiving.So in the President's Thanksgiving Proclamation in nineteen
sixty three. The next year,Kennedy added Virginia to his speech. He
said, over three centuries ago,our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts, far

(02:37):
from home, in a lonely wilderness, set aside a time of Thanksgiving.
They gave thanks for their safety,the health of their children, the fertility
of their fields, for the lovewhich bound them together, and for the
faith which united them with their God. The Berkeley Plantation still celebrates with a
Thanksgiving festival every November. Happy Thanksgivingto all of you little Patriots and all

(03:00):
across America. I hope you enjoyedthis short episode about the history of Thanksgiving.
Pretty soon we'll be back to theConstitution. In the meantime. You
can find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at Growing Patriots, and

(03:21):
you can find the Growing Patriot booksat Growing Patriots dot com. They great
us all, Jeremy everything, andthey thought so well America land over.

(03:44):
This has been a presentation of theFCB podcast Network, where real Talk lives.
Visit us online at FCB Podcasts dotcom.