A Puritan Death: John And Thomasine Winthrop

“A Puritan Death: John and Thomasine Winthrop”

Did a foundation in the Puritan faith have a bearing on how many European immigrants handled their day to day affairs and dealt with the many struggles they would face in life and death? This is a question answered by J. William T. Youngs in his article “A Puritan Death”, as we are given a glimpse into the lives of John and Thomasine Winthrop. Through account entries kept in a journal by John Winthrop himself, Youngs walks us through a vivid picture of the relationship the Winthrop’s sought after, with the God they feared and loved. A relationship which sought to honor him in personal daily life, in interactions with those around them. A relationship which instilled within them courage to face difficulties and death with understanding and dignity. …show more content…
He relays how their backgrounds bring them together in mutual respect and commitment as Thomasine takes in his 4 children from his 1st marriage and raises them as her own. Each morning is spent reading verses from the Bible, praying for God’s blessings and favor throughout the day, and singing psalms of praise in the evenings. It is shown how both had a fervor and desire to follow God and honor him in all they did each day. Puritan faith and duty to those the Winthrop’s interact with is demonstrated as Youngs describes the contrasts of the relationships between the household members and servants. Servants were included in many of the activities the Winthrop’s did as a family. They ate together, did much of the work together and even played together. Servants were treated in much the same way as John treated his children. Respect and care were shown for both and there was no great division between them as became common later on in historical