PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- One of the leading citizens of historic Plymouth Colony may have been Abraham Pearce, a black man who historians say had voting rights, owned land and was a leading figure in the community.
Dispelling the notion that all Pilgrims were white, historians say they have enough evidence to suggest one of the first New England colonists was a 'blackamore.'
'We have decided -- and we are about as definite on this as we can be -- that hecame to Plymouth in 1623,' said Robert Marten, director of programs at Plimoth Plantation, a village recreating the early settlement.
'He was not there as a slave or that sort or thing,' Marten said, adding Pearce apparently owned land, voted and had equal standing in the community, spelled 'Plimoth' at the time.
Some historians have thought for years there was a black Pilgrim, but Marten said only recently have researchers compiled enough documentation to substantiate the claim.
'The presence of a black man in early Plimouth shatters the popular stereotype of the strictly European Pilgrim,' Marten said.
In June, plantation officials installed a black modern day Pilgrim to take part in the village's activities for tourists who visit the old colony, said Dr. Richard Ehrlich, director of education.
The decision to place a black Pilgrim in the village was made after the 'body of information' was re-evaluated, he said, noting historians in the past have disagreed over the issue.
By carefully examining the colony's records, researchers believe the black Pilgrim arrived at Plymouth -- about 40 miles south of Boston - three years after the first 100 settlers landed on the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock.
The only reference to Pearce's color is a colony record dated 1643, listing the names of men available to serve in the Plymouth militia. The list said: 'Abraham Pearce, blackamore.'
But records indicate Abraham Pearce -- or variations in the spelling - came to the colony on the windswept coast of Massachusetts as an indentured servant aboard the Anne, a ship that sailed from England.
Although researchers have no proof, they suspect Pearce was born in the West Indies and was brought to Jamestown, Va., as a slave in 1619. He apparently crossed the Atlantic before returning to the New World.
When Plymouth was incorporated in 1633, Pearce was listed as a freeholder and a voting member of the community. Between 1633 and 1637, Pearce received cattle under a community division system, bought land and then sold his house and garden, records show.
'He was also one of the leading figures in the community,' Marten said.
Marten said Pearce died in 1673 around the time racial attitudes began to change in New England with the advent of slavery, Marten said.
James W. Baker, head of research at Plimoth Plantation, said Pearce apparently was 'quite equal of everyone else.
'Plimoth was an equal kind of society, which isn't really what one thinks of the Puritans,' he said.
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