Honoring the strength that carried generations forward

By Denise Colin

As the season of gratitude arrives, it invites a moment to imagine the life of a Pilgrim woman in late autumn — the sharp air, the scent of woodsmoke, and the weight of survival woven into every task. Her days were shaped by necessity rather than choice, and by a society that depended on her labor while seldom recognizing her voice. Still, she rose each morning to tend, to carry, to create, and to hold her family and community together.

As a holiday layered with both tradition and complexity, Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to look back with honesty and respect. Rather than romanticizing a difficult life, this reflection honors the women who lived it. Their stories, largely unrecorded, form part of the long lineage of women whose resilience and quiet leadership helped build families, communities, and the world we know today.

The Daily Reality of Pilgrim Women

The life of a Pilgrim woman was defined by relentless, hands-on work. It was work that sustained her family’s survival in a world that offered little margin for error. Every day began before sunrise, with fires to stoke, food to prepare from raw ingredients, water to haul, and a household to keep warm through the long New England winter. Meals required grinding, kneading, preserving, and planning. Nothing was simple and nothing was wasted.

Beyond the hearth, her labor stretched into every corner of domestic life. Clothing had to be mended or made by hand. Soap, candles, and remedies for illness were crafted from what the land provided. Children needed constant tending, and elders required care. Illness, injury, and loss were common companions, demanding emotional steadiness as well as physical endurance.

And when necessity called, she worked alongside men in fields, gardens, and shared tasks that blurred the boundaries of “women’s work.” Yet despite her essential contributions, the patriarchal structure of the time meant that her autonomy was sharply limited, her labor expected, and her voice rarely recorded.

These unacknowledged efforts — steady, skilled, and often invisible — formed the backbone of early colonial life. Without them, communities could not have survived.

Their Inner World of Unrecognized Strength

Behind the constant motion of daily work lived an inner world shaped by endurance, resourcefulness, and quiet courage. Pilgrim women shouldered not only the physical demands of survival, but also the day-to-day emotional labor of tending to those around them. They comforted the sick, calmed frightened children, created small moments of warmth in a world that could be harsh, and brought steadiness to households facing illness, scarcity, and uncertainty.

This was not spiritual leadership in a formal sense. The religious life of the community, shaped by men and steeped in patriarchal norms, often limited women’s roles and reinforced their lack of autonomy. Yet within these constraints, women still cultivated forms of inner strength that supported their families in ways religion did not name or honor: patience, compassion, intuition, and the ability to hold others through hardship.

Their strength was rarely acknowledged. It was assumed, expected, and often invisible. But it was also essential. This quiet resilience helped families endure seasons of loss and isolation, shaping the survival and continuity of early communities.

Though their names and stories seldom appear in the historical record, the impact of their steady presence remains. Their courage reminds us that not all forms of strength are public. Some live in the consistent acts of care that make survival possible.

The Broader Lineage of Women across Cultures and Time

Stepping back from the Pilgrim story reveals a wider landscape of women’s experiences. It was a landscape marked by both constraint and strength. For many women around the world, their work was essential yet overlooked, their days filled with labor that supported entire households and communities while offering little recognition in return. Pilgrim women lived within this pattern, facing the strict gender roles and limited autonomy common in European society at the time.

Yet this was not the only way women lived on this land. Many Indigenous nations held very different understandings of gender and authority, with matrilineal structures and respected roles for women in agriculture, healing, cultural preservation, and at times political decision-making. As Europeans settled, they often imposed their own patriarchal norms, disrupting the more balanced or women-centered roles that existed in some Native societies.

Across all cultures, women have contributed in ways both visible and unseen — nurturing families, sustaining traditions, and guiding communities through times of change. Recognizing these varied histories allows the story of Pilgrim women to be seen as part of a much larger lineage of resilience and contribution.

Gratitude for Progress, and for our Predecessors 

Reflecting on the lives of Pilgrim women, and on the broader lineage of women across cultures, offers a clearer view of how far women have come. The freedoms many enjoy today — access to education, the ability to make personal choices, economic independence, a public voice — were unimaginable for countless women who lived before us. These changes did not arrive suddenly; they unfolded across generations, shaped by women who pushed boundaries, challenged norms, or simply persisted in caring for their families despite the limits placed on them.

Gratitude for this progress can grow from an honest understanding of the past. It invites appreciation for the women who endured hardship while planting the early seeds of change. Their strength — often quiet, unseen, or unacknowledged — helped widen the path for those who followed.

By recognizing both the struggles they faced and the transformation that has taken place since, this moment becomes an opportunity to honor the lineage of women whose resilience made today’s possibilities attainable.

Thanksgiving as a Time for Honoring

Thanksgiving invites a moment to look beyond the meal and toward the people and histories that brought us to the table. It can serve as a reminder to honor not only abundance, but also the progress born from countless women whose labor, care, and resilience shaped generations before us.

This season offers space to recognize the women who cooked, carried, tended, taught, healed, and held families together through circumstances far more demanding than most will ever face. Their perseverance laid the foundation for the greater choices and opportunities available today, and their resilience forms part of the bedrock on which our current freedoms rest.

In honoring them, Thanksgiving becomes more than a tradition; it becomes a moment to acknowledge the enduring strength carried by the women who came before and the women who continue to support and sustain our communities now. Their legacy calls us toward deeper gratitude — one that remembers the past honestly, celebrates the progress made, and encourages a more compassionate and equitable future for all.