Was Remember Patience Whipple real

Answer 1

No. She is a fictional character in the Scholastic book : Dear America, a Journey to the New World - The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple. The book was written by Kathryn Lasky. On page 174, the book says: "While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, Remember Patience Whipple is a fictional character, created by the author, and her diary and its epilogue are works of fiction." There were no Whipples on the Mayflower in 1620. The first Whipple in America was John Whipple, who came to Massachusetts in about 1632 as a teenager.

Source: http://www.whipple.org/docs/faqs.html

Also on http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/parentteacher/guides/dearamerica/newworldfs.htm