Folklore of the United States memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the Pilgrims in 1621. They had come to America to escape religious persecution, but then nearly starved to death. Some friendly Native Americans (including Squanto) helped the Pilgrims survive through the first winter. The perseverance of the Pilgrims is celebrated during the annual Thanksgiving festival. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799), the country's first president, is often said to be the father of his country. Apocryphal stories about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped a
Christianity in the United States wherever the Spanish went, such as San Antonio, Texas, (named for Anthony of Padua, Santa Fe, New Mexico (named after Francis of Assisi,) and Saint Augustine, Florida, (named for Augustine of Hippo), as was Saint Lucy County and Port Saint Lucy in Florida named for Saint Lucy/Santa Lucia although Saint Petersburg, Florida was not named for St. Peter, but for the city of the same name in Russia. In the English colonies, Catholicism was introduced with the settling of Maryland. Conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism was a main goal of the Catholic missionaries, especially the Jesuits. This was common