Says Goodwin, "The first marriage in the Colony occurred May 21st, 1621, between Edward Winslow (afterwards Governor), who had been a widower only seven weeks, and Susanna White (mother of Peregrine), a widow not twelve weeks, but the case was exceptional.   Winslow should be at the head of a household, and the White children needed a paternal guardian.   The marriage proved fortunate for all concerned.   Among Mrs. Winslow's subsequent children was Josiah, whom 52 years later she saw the first native Governor of an American Colony.   The forefathers of Marshfield and elsewhere throughout the Colony did not marry before clergymen, but performed the ceremony before magistrates for many years, not because in their earliest days they had no clergymen (Elder Brewster was a layman, although performing many of the duties of a clergyman) but because our fathers held that the Scriptures and the early Christians had not empowered clergymen to perform marriages, believing it to be a civil compact only between man and woman."   Gov. Bradford's eldest son married Martha, a daughter of Thomas Bourne, of Marshfield."
   Marriages were very strict in our forefathers' time.   A previous contract of the parties' intention of marriage before the final marriage, must be made, and publicly announced.   Sometimes it was for weeks and months, and sometimes a year in advance, and a newly married couple's previous requirements were watched very closely when the wedding knot was tied.   In some cases where a violation of the requirements occurred, the husband was severely whipped, while the wife sat near by with hands and feet secured in