Plymouth Colony most of them in two or three months' time". By November 1621, only 53 pilgrims were alive to celebrate the harvest feast which modern Americans know as "The First Thanksgiving". Thirteen of the 18 adult women died the first winter, while another died in May. Only four adult women were left alive for the Thanksgiving. Several of the graves on Cole's Hill were uncovered in 1855; their bodies were disinterred and moved to a site near Plymouth Rock. The autumn celebration in late 1621 that has become known as "The First Thanksgiving" was not known as such to the Pilgrims.
Pilgrims (Plymouth Colony) how weakened the settlement had actually become. Between the landing and March, only 47 colonists had survived the diseases that they contracted on the ship. During the worst of the sickness, only six or seven of the group were able to feed and care for the rest. In this time, half the "Mayflower" crew also died. William Bradford became governor in 1621 upon the death of John Carver. On March 22, 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony signed a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags. The patent of Plymouth Colony was surrendered by Bradford to the freemen in 1640,