1620  One hundred two passengers sailed on the Mayflower from England to America and established Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts. Pilgrim William Bradford wanted future generations to know the passengers' names, understand their hardships, and see how God had sustained them, so he kept a journal of their journey and the colony's early years.

 

Bradford's manuscript remained in his family for several generations until they entrusted it to the New England Library in Boston. The library was housed in the steeple chamber of Old South Church, the largest building in New England. New Englanders treasured the manuscript, known as Of Plymouth Plantation, as the first American history book.

 

1775  During the Revolutionary War, the British army took over Old South Church and gutted it in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party. They burned the pews, spread gravel inside, installed a jump bar, and used the church for horse riding practice. After the soldiers evacuated, Bostonians found the library in disarray and books missing. Bradford's treasured manuscript had vanished.

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1855  After almost a century, no one expected to see the manuscript again until an American historian learned by chance that it was in England, in the Bishop of London's library. It was a thrilling discovery for many Americans who anticipated its immediate return, as it was clearly labeled "property of the New England Library." Yet, the Bishop of London sent a copy and kept the original in England. For the next 40 years, the U.S. petitioned, appealed, and negotiated for the manuscript's return in vain.

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1894  Inspired by efforts to reclaim the manuscript, Mayflower descendants in New York formed a society.

 

1896  Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania descendants formed similar societies.​