Mayflower in Plymouth by William F. Halsall 1882 Card

Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William F. Halsall 1882. I am Mark Edward Westerfield, son of Frank Edward Westerfield, son of Ralph Edward Westerfield, son of Frank Edward Westerfield, son of Samuel Westerfield, son of Jacob Reeder Westerfield and Amy Hedges Ayers Westerfield who descended through both her parents' maternal grandmothers: Alden sisters ... Anna and Abigail ... daughters of Ebenezer Alden, son of Isaac Alden, son of Joseph Alden, son of the Mayflower Pilgrims John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. This makes us distant cousins of their descendants who became Presidents of the United States John Adams (2nd President) and his son John Quincy Adams (6th President). And also of one Scott Alden who was assistant to F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover. Both Jacob Reeder and Amy Hedges Ayers Westerfield are buried in Knoxville Cemetery (Knox County IL) ... in the area both my parents were born and grew up and met at Knoxville High School. John Alden was a cooper or barrel maker by trade when he became part of the Mayflower crew. He was given a choice to stay with the Pilgrims or stay with the crew to return home. He chose to stay. John and Priscilla had ten children and so have many many descendants in America today. One of their descendants include Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (so our cousin) who wrote a poem about them though titled 'The Courtship of Miles Standish' it was really about the love of John Alden for Priscilla ... Shy Miles Standish asked his friend John to propose for him to Priscilla but in the poem Priscilla tells John "Speak for yourself" so John proposes to marry her himself.