20071118 Bush to Highlight Virginia Thanksgiving Site by Sonja Barisic

Bush to Highlight Va. Thanksgiving Site

By SONJA BARISIC Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Pilgrims' feast in Massachusetts has always overshadowed Berkeley Plantation's place in history. Now, a planned visit from President Bush has some Virginians giving thanks for the recognition.

On Monday, the president plans to stop by the plantation on the banks of the James River, where English settlers held a thanksgiving service almost two years before what is traditionally known as the nation's first Thanksgiving in New England.

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When Capt. John Woodlief and his crew of 37 men came upon the site on Dec. 4, 1619, they fell to their knees and read a proclamation stating that the day of their ship's arrival should be "yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

The country's first 10 presidents all spent time at the plantation. The ninth president, William Henry Harrison, was born at Berkeley and wrote his inaugural address in an upstairs bedroom there. He gave the nearly two-hour speech on a cold, wet day, caught a cold that developed into pneumonia and died a month later.

Lincoln also visited Berkeley, while Union troops were encamped there during the Civil War.

A drummer with those troops, John Jamieson, bought Berkeley in 1907. His son and daughter-in-law restored the mansion and his grandson, Malcolm E. "Jamie" Jamieson, now owns it.

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Read the entire piece here: Bush to Highlight Va. Thanksgiving Site

On the Net:

Berkeley Plantation: http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/

Pig Pardon petition: http://www.pigpardon.com

http://www.townhall.com/news/us/2007/11/18/bush_to_highlight_va_thanksgiving_site?page=full&comments=true