Standish Fragments

Glass bottle containing charred bits of barley, circa 1670
Glass and barley
DRHS Collection, 2010.063.015

Glass bottle containing burnt (charred) barley, excavated by Reverend Benjamin Kent during his archaeological dig in 1832 of the Captain Myles and Barbara Standish homesite. At the time, it had been rumored that Myles Standish’s house had burned, and Kent used this charred barley as evidence to confirm that rumor. In his object list Kent refers to this artifact as “carbonated wheat from the ruins of Captain Myles Standish’s house.”

Myles Standish, born circa 1584, was an English military officer hired to accompany the Pilgrims in 1620 as their military adviser. He played a leading role in the administration and defense of Plymouth Colony. He was one of the first settlers and founders of the town of Duxbury. He is buried at the Myles Standish Burying Ground.

Related Object: Kent’s Museum List, Collection of the Duxbury Rural & Historical Society, Drew Archival Library, Bradford Family Collection, DAL.MSS.024

Catalog list of the almost 500 objects in the museum created by Reverend Benjamin Kent and kept in a small museum on Tremont Street, between 1827-1833. Kent solicited local mariners to bring items back from their voyages abroad to be put on display. There were also 16 objects found by Kent during his dig at the Myles Standish homesite in 1832.

Kent was the minister of Duxbury’s First Parish Church from 1828-1833. His wife, Eleanor Bradford, was a Pilgrim descendant.

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