USA > Massachusetts > The planters of the Commonwealth : a study of the emigrants and emigration in colonial times: to which are added lists of passengers to Boston and to the Bay Colony ; the ships which brought them, 1620-1640 > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10
In our voyage upon the sea the Lord was very tender of me and kept me from sea-sickness. The ship we came in was very rotten and
1 3 M.H.S., VIII, 268-76.
36
The Planters of the Commonwealth
and unfit for such a voyage, and therefore the first storm we had we had a very great leak, which did much appall and affect us. Yet the Lord discovered it unto us when we were thinking of returning back again; and much comforted our hearts. We had many storms in one of which my dear wife took such a cold, and got such weakness as that she fell into a consumption of which she afterwards died. And also the Lord preserved her, with the child in her arms, from imminent and apparent death. For by the shaking of the ship in a violent storm her head was pitched against an iron bolt, and the Lord miraculously preserved the child and recovered my wife. This was a great affliction to me, and was a cause of many sad thoughts in the ship, how to behave myself when I came to New England. And so the Lord after many sad storms and wearisome days, and many longings to see the shore brought us to the sight of it upon October 2 Anno 1635. My dear wife's great desire being now fulfilled, which was to leave me in safety from the hands of mine enemies, and among God's people, and also the child under God's ordinances.
Winthrop thus describes the devices employed by John Cotton and Thomas Hooker:
They gat out of England with much difficulty, all places being belaid to have taken Mr. Cotton who had been long sought for to have been brought into the High Commission; but the master be- ing bound to touch at the Wight, the pursuivants attended there, and, in the meantime, the said ministers were taken in at the Downs.
In like manner Subsidy Records show that Roger Good- speed, of Buckinghamshire, Andrew Hallett, of Somerset, and William Odell, of Bedfordshire, reached New England without payment of taxes levied for the ship subsidy. An- other type of underground emigration is certified by the oath of a deponent in a chancery suit in the following affidavit (names omitted) under date of April 14, 1638: I
About ffebr was 12 moneth the plt pcured him to goe wth him to this Citty of London where they both stayed 3 or 4 dayes to treate
I Chancery Affidavits, vol. II, Easter, 82.
37
The Planters of the Commonwealth
treate wth certaine merchants about his the sd Complts goeinge & passinge into New England, the Complt haveinge a sonne there and many debt & troubles here falling upon him; after wch tyme it was comonly reported that the Complt that Springe would goe for New England. And about Easter then followinge he began to obscure & withdrawe himselfe for feare of arrests (as was con- ceaved). And did by night convey divers of his goods to take wth him; And about May last was shipped at Gravesend & passed into or neere the Downes to goe for New England. But was arrested & brought backe againe to Gravesend (as he believeth) where making a speedy Composision with some of his creditors by means of one Adgare & other his friends he wth one of his sonnes was againe shipped to goe for New England and hath bine ever since genrally reported to be gon thither and aswell amongst his Neighbors in the sd parish as genrally in the country thereabouts reputed to be nowe in New England.
In April, 1637, a proclamation was issued 'to restrain the disorderly transporting of His Majesty's subjects to the Colonies without leave.' It commanded that 'no license should be given them, without a certificate bargo on em- Further em-
that they have taken the oaths of Supremacy and igration in Allegiance, and had conformed to the discipline of 1637-38 the Church of England.'
In May, 1638, a fresh proclamation was published 'com- manding owners and masters of vessels that they do not fit out any with passengers and provisions for New England, without license from the Commissioners of Plantations.' I
By this time the merchants of New England who had been seriously affected by these new prohibitions, and the friends of intending emigrants who desired to come to New England, were aroused to protest against this arbitrary action of the English authorities. They drew up a statement of their rights as
Chalmers, Annals, 1, 161; Rushworth's Collections, II, 409; Rymer's Fædera, xx, 143, 223.
38
The Planters of the Commonwealth
as Englishmen under the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the following form:
A particuler of the liberties graunted to the Planters of New England, their Factors and Agentes by his Ma'tes Lettres Patentes Dated 4 Marcij Ao 40 Car. (1628/9).
I. Libertie to Transport as manie of his Mat'es leige people as are willing to goe to New England except such persons as should be restrained by special name.
2. Libertie to Transport all shippinge/
3. Libertie to Transport Armor weapons ordinance municions powder shott Corne victualls and all maner of Clothing imple- mentes furniture beastes Cattell horses merchandises and all other things necessarie for the plantacion for use and defence with the people /
4. Libertie to goe Custome free for the same by the space of 7 yeares from the date of the Patent/
5. Libertie to be Custome free for the space of 21 yeares for all goodes and merchandises exported or imported except only paying 5 li. per centum/
6. That the site of the Lettres patentes or duplicat or the Inrolem't shalbe to the Tresurer Chauncellor Barons of the Exchequer and to all Customers Farmors Searchers and other Officers a sufficient discharge and warrant in that behalfe for ex- portacione or importacion of goods at V li. per Centum/
These abstracts from the provisions of the Charter placed squarely before His Majesty the invasion of their rights granted by him ten years before, and were attached to the following petition:
TO THE KINGS MOST EXCELLENT MA'TIE
The humble peticion of the Planters of New England; Most humbly shew: -
That a restrainte hath formerly bine made that noe shipp in- tendinge for the Plantacions in New England shall have liberty to goe that voyage untill they have Lycence from the Lords of his Ma'ties privie Counsell, which hath bine a meanes to inrich the Agentes that procured such Lycences, but hath impoverished the Planters
39
The Planters of the Commonwealth
Planters and Merchantes, whoe have paid for the same, and much time hath passed before such Lycences could be obteyned, the voy- ages of the shipps have by that meanes bine hindred, the passengers estates much weakened and much of their goodes have bine spoyled by the long stay of the shipps after they have bine freighted before they could be cleered/
That a restraint hath bine, to transport to the said plantacions, divers necessaries for food, apparell and municion, without which and some supply, (as yet), from this Kingdome those Planters can- not comfortably subsist, nor be secure from enimies/
That the Searchers after some shipps have bine laden, have caused them to be unladen and unpacked & broken upp their goodes, to the greate charge and damage of the Owners thereof. That greate Customes & taxes have bine laid uppon such goodes and merchandize as have bine transported to those parts, soe that some things could not be carried thither by reason of the greate impost laid on them although not otherwise prohibited wch hath bin a greate discouragem't to the Planters/
Now forasmuch as this Kingdome being supplied from forraign partes with divers necessaries which in itselfe it hath not, may very probably in short time be supplied from New England, which in case of restraint elsewhere. wilbe for the greate security of this Nation, as namely With Cordage, Cables, sailes, canvas pitch and tarre (there being greate store of pitch trees), and likewise good mastes, (there being goodly mast trees bigg enough to fitt the tallest shipp in England), as alsoe with all sortes of timber fitt for Navigation, which is soe decayed in this Nation that within theis seaven last yeares ites advanced to neere double value/
The peticioners humbly pray That the Merchants and planters in the severall places of New England and of this Kingdome may have freedom to transport to the said plantacions all their portable estates which by law are not forbidden with all other necessaries for food apparell tackle and municion and other thinges fittinge for the plantacion. And that the said Merchants and planters may have priviledge to freight shipps to the said plantacions without any lycence tax or penalty whatsoever, And that all goodes and mer- chandize for the supportacion and incouragement of the said planters may bee free of all Customes and impostes exportable and importable to & from the same. And that the graunt of the peticioners
40
The Planters of the Commonwealth
peticioners humble desires may receave a speedy dispatch in regard the season for the Newfoundland voyage is now approaching, which opportunity being lost, the charge of transportacion to the said plantacions wilbe almost double/
And your peticioners shall daily pray &c/
By this time Charles was getting deeper and deeper in the struggle for his 'Divine right' to rule without the aid of Parliament, and his ship subsidy was arousing the resent- ment of all classes affected by its provisions. He had no time to consider the 'rights' of his subjects in distant America and this petition went into a pigeon-hole, from whence it never emerged. The die was soon cast between him and his sub- jects and Civil War had begun. In ten years his head was to roll off the block and he was branded as a traitor.
The voyage across the Atlantic was charted upon a course generally adopted by all masters of ships as a matter of
The long necessity and expediency. The point to be voyage reached on the New England coast was Boston oversea Harbor, and whether the point of departure was London or Bristol, the course was laid directly from the Lizard or the Scilly Isles southwest to the Azores, and thence on a due west parallel of North Latitude 43º 15', which would bring the vessel directly south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, and to the Isles of Shoals. Usually ships would put into Terceira, or one of the Azores, for water and fresh provisions, and this was often a rendezvous for ships sailing in company with others. When the Gulf of Maine was reached and the navigator came into permanent view of the coast of New England, the remainder of his course was determined by the well-known shore line. The earliest explorers made Mon- hegan their landfall and thence the Three Turks' Heads (Agamenticus), the Isles of Shoals, and Cape Ann.
The
41
The Planters of the Commonwealth
The mariners of that period used the crude nautical de- vices available to them to bring their craft to the destined port. They had only the cross staff to ascertain their latitude; but while the elevation of the sun could be measured with practical accuracy by this instrument and the degrees of lati- tude figured out, there was no way to determine longitude at sea. The required paraphernalia for this calculation were not perfected until the latter half of the next century. To over- come this difficulty the east or west positions at a given time were expressed in terms of dead reckoning by estimating the marine leagues sailed from day to day from a given point of departure.
It is a puzzle to imagine what things occupied the time of these emigrants for ten weeks on the crowded decks of the small vessels which took them across the three thousand miles that lay between the continents. Even to-day with our many permitted diversions time hangs heavily. Certainly those residents of the rural hamlets left nothing of interest behind them, and so missed nothing in their drab lives when exchanging their pithless parochial existence ashore for the monotonous doldrums of a swaying deck at sea. Ships carry- ing religious groups, like the Mayflower or the Arbella, in- dulged in daily services when their spiritual leaders 'exer- cised' the Godly in prayer and sermon. We can readily believe that Mistress Anne Hutchinson furnished enough excitement aboard the Griffin when she engaged the Reverend John Lothrop and the Reverend Zachariah Symmes in theological bouts, but these were exceptional ships, as the vast majority of emigrants came without ministerial leaders to entertain them. If the voyage were stormy, they were obliged to go below decks and kill time in the darkness. Doubtless they went to bed at sundown, as there was no way to light the decks. They rose at the break of day to begin another
42
The Planters of the Commonwealth
another like round of nothing in particular. In smooth weather fishing might be enjoyed when the Grand Banks were reached, and the sight of an occasional whale or a school of porpoises furnished many a thrill to their wondering eyes. If traveling with consorts, visiting parties might be arranged when sea conditions permitted. Instances of such kinds occurred several times during the passage of the Winthrop Fleet across the Atlantic.
As far as known there is no record of the loss of an emigrant ship bound for New England during the years of the Great Emigration. One was wrecked at Pemaquid on the Maine coast in 1635, but no lives were lost. On the other hand, at least two vessels carrying voyagers to England in the same period were never heard from. They were, of course, subject to capture by French and Spanish pirates and some were so taken on their return. Altogether this is a remarkable record considering the small size of these ships and the usual dangers of ocean navigation even for modern ships of ten, twenty, and fifty times their tonnage. When one sees the huge liners of to-day limping into port, their decks piled and rigging clogged with ice, he cannot but marvel that these cockleshells could make voyages in all weathers and survive. It took courage to start across the ocean in December in a hundred- ton boat, but that is what Roger Williams did in the Lyon in 1630, landing in Boston in February, 1631, with his young wife and a dozen other equally brave men and women.
Arrived at his destination after weeks of tossing on the restless ocean, the emigrant either followed a prescribed course planned in advance or sat down to consider where he was and to make a choice of a habitation. Perhaps his first thoughts were of the strangeness of the scene about him, un- like anything he was accustomed to in his old parish home. He may have compared the plain wooden houses and their mud
43
The Planters of the Commonwealth
mud chimneys with the picturesque stone cottages and their familiar brick chimneys in his native village. Instead of a gray, ivy-covered church with its tower or steeple, he saw a plain barnlike structure which the people called a 'meeting- house.' He could see a change in the countenances of the people. Every one walked with his head erect and every face had a hopeful look. There was no tipping of caps to lords and gentlemen. He remembered his former estate as a tenant paying homage and quit rents as his ancestors had done, and he realized that he had left all that behind.
If he had come with a group to settle in a town already organized, where former neighbors or friends had already sat down, his programme was simple. If not, he usually found welcome at an inn at Boston or Charlestown, where he could obtain plenty of advice about the advantages of settle- ments already started or learn of projects for beginning new ones on the ever-widening western fringe of outlying villages. He might be coaxed to join the newer colony lately started in the Connecticut Valley. There was no limit to his choice of a home in the wilderness, and emigrants made two or three moves before coming to a final halt. Land was free to him for the asking under easy conditions of permanency, and it is not strange that with all this boundless opportunity open to him, he still looked with longing eyes on every new settlement where he could enlarge his acreage. Here we leave him, a free man in a free country where no lord of the manor took his toll, and where he became a sovereign in the body politic and his voice was heard and respected.
PART II LISTS OF PASSENGERS AND THE SHIPS WHICH BROUGHT THEM
PART II Lists of Passengers and the Ships which Brought Them 1620
MAYFLOWER of London, two hundred tons, Christopher Jones, Master. Left Southampton August 5, and arrived at Cape Cod December II, with one hundred and one passen- gers. The ship was detained at Dartmouth and Plymouth, England, about two weeks for repairs to her consort, the Speedwell. The entire company settled at Plymouth."
JOHN CARVER of Doncaster, Yorkshire
Mrs. Katherine Carver
Desire Minter
John Howland
servant; of London
Roger Wilder
servant
William Latham
servant
Jasper More
servant
maidservant
WILLIAM BREWSTER of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire
Mrs. Mary Brewster
Love Brewster Wrestling Brewster Richard More
More
servant servant
EDWARD WINSLOW of Droitwich, Worcestershire
Mrs. Elizabeth Winslow
George Soule
Elias Story
Ellen More
servant; of Eckington, Worcestershire servant; of London servant
WILLIAM BRADFORD
of Austerfield, Yorkshire
Mrs. Dorothy Bradford
ISAAC ALLERTON
* Bradford: History of Plimmoth Plantation; Banks: English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrims.
48
Passengers and Ships
ISAAC ALLERTON Mrs. Mary Allerton Bartholomew Allerton Remember Allerton Mary Allerton John Hooke
of London; merchant
SAMUEL FULLER William Button
servant
of Redenhall, county Norfolk servant
JOHN CRACKSTON John Crackston, Jr.
MYLES STANDISH Mrs. Rose Standish
CHRISTOPHER MARTIN Mrs. Mary Martin Solomon Prower John Langmore
WILLIAM MULLINS Mrs. Alice Mullins Joseph Mullins Priscilla Mullins Robert Carter
of Great Burstead, Essex
stepson servant of Dorking, county Surrey; merchant
servant
WILLIAM WHITE Mrs. Susanna White Resolved White Peregrine White
William Holbeck
servant
Edward Thompson servant
STEPHEN HOPKINS of Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire
Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins Giles Hopkins Constance Hopkins Damaris Hopkins Oceanus Hopkins Edward Dotey Edward Lister
servant; of London servant; of London
RICHARD WARREN
49
Passengers and Ships
RICHARD WARREN
JOHN BILLINGTON Mrs. Ellen Billington John Billington, Jr. Francis Billington
EDWARD TILLEY Mrs. Anne Tilley Henry Sampson Humility Cooper
JOHN TILLEY Mrs. Elizabeth Tilley Elizabeth Tilley
FRANCIS COOKE John Cooke
THOMAS ROGERS Joseph Rogers
THOMAS TINKER Mrs. Tinker Tinker
JOHN RIGDALE Mrs. Alice Rigdale
JAMES CHILTON
Mrs. ...... Chilton
Mary Chilton
EDWARD FULLER Mrs. ...... Fuller Samuel Fuller
JOHN TURNER
Turner
Turner
FRANCIS EATON Mrs. Sarah Eaton Samuel Eaton
of London; merchant of London
of London
kinsman kinswoman of Saint Andrews Undershaft, London
of London
of Canterbury, Kent; tailor
of Redenhall, county Norfolk
of Bristol; carpenter
MOSES FLETCHER
50
Passengers and Ships
MOSES FLETCHER
of Sandwich, Kent
JOHN GOODMAN
THOMAS WILLIAMS
DIGORY PRIEST
of Yarmouth, county Norfolk of London
EDMUND MARGESSON
PETER BROWNE probably of Great Burstead, Essex
RICHARD BRITTERIDGE
RICHARD CLARKE
RICHARD GARDINER
of Harwich, county Essex
THOMAS ENGLISH
GILBERT WINSLOW
JOHN ALDEN
JOHN ALDERTON
brother of Edward Winslow of Harwich, county Essex; cooper
1621
FORTUNE of London, Thomas Barton, Master. She left London about August and arrived at Cape Cod Novem- ber 9, 'with thirty-five passengers,' but only thirty-two are known by name. They all came from London or its suburbs. The entire company settled at Plymouth.I
JOHN ADAMS
WILLIAM BASSETT of Bethnal Green, Middlesex; iron- worker
WILLIAM BEALE
JONATHAN BREWSTER
son of Elder Brewster
CLEMENT BRIGGS
I Banks: English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrims.
5I
Passengers and Ships
CLEMENT BRIGGS of Southwark, county Surrey; fell- monger
EDWARD BOMPASSE JOHN CANNON (or Carman)
WILLIAM CONNOR
ROBERT CUSHMAN Thomas Cushman
of Rolvenden, Kent; wool-carder
STEPHEN DEANE probably from Southwark; miller PHILLIPE DE LA NOYE of Leyden, Holland
THOMAS FLAVELL FORD
of London probably from Southwark; leather- dresser
Mrs. Martha Ford William Ford Ford
WILLIAM HILTON
ROBERT HICKS
of Northwich, county Chester; vint- ner (?) of Southwark, county Surrey; fell- monger
BENEDICT MORGAN of Saint James, Clerkenwell, London; mariner THOMAS MORTON of Austerfield, Yorkshire
AUGUSTINE NICOLAS probably from Leyden WILLIAM PALMER of Stepney, London; nailer
.. Carvanyell
WILLIAM PITT
THOMAS PRENCE
MOSES SIMONSON
HUGH STACIE
of Saint Peter, London; armorer of All Saints, Barking, London of Leyden
JAMES STEWARD
52
Passengers and Ships
JAMES STEWARD
/ WILLIAM TENCH probably of London brother of Edward Winslow
JOHN WINSLOW WILLIAM WRIGHT
1622
SPARROW, . Rogers, Master, one hundred tons. Ar- rived at Damariscove, Maine, 'with 60 lustie men,' sent out by Thomas Weston. They came to Massachusetts Bay.I
SWAN. A small vessel bringing seven passengers sent out by Thomas Weston. Arrived at Damariscove, Maine, in June. They came to Massachusetts Bay.2
PHINEAS PRATT
( ...... ) a small vessel, name unknown, sent by Weston, arrived at Damariscove in July.
1623
ANNE, William Peirce, Master. She arrived at Plymouth about July 10, and 'brought 60 persons for the Generall.' 3 The entire company settled at Plymouth. 4
ANTHONY ANNABLE
Winslow: Goode Newes. 2 Pratt: Narrative.
3 Bradford: History of Plimmoth Plantation, 1, 314.
4 Banks: English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrims.
53
Passengers and Ships
ANTHONY ANNABLE of All Saints, Cambridge, county Cambridge
Mrs. Jane Annable Annable Annable
of Panfield, Essex; shipwright
EDWARD BANGS Mrs. Lydia Bangs Jonathan Bangs John Bangs
ROBERT BARTLETT
THOMAS CLARK
CHRISTOPHER CONANT of Saint Lawrence, Jewry, London; grocer
ANTHONY DIX
JOHN FAUNCE probably from Purleigh, Essex
EDMOND FLOOD
GODBERT GODBERTSON Mrs. Sarah Godbertson Mary Priest Sarah Priest
of Leyden; hat-maker
TIMOTHY HATHERLEY
of Saint Olaves, Southwark, county Surrey; feltmaker
WILLIAM HEARD
EDWARD HOLMAN probably from Clapham, county Surrey
MANASSEH KEMPTON
of Colchester, Essex
ROBERT LONG
EXPERIENCE MITCHELL
of Duke's Place, London
THOMAS MORTON, JR. probably son of Thomas Morton of the Fortune
Mrs. Ellen Newton
JOHN OLDHAM
54
Passengers and Ships
JOHN OLDHAM Mrs. ...... Oldham Lucretia Oldham Christian Penn
JOSHUA PRATT
JAMES RAND probably of St. George, Southwark, county Surrey
ROBERT RATCLIFF
NICHOLAS SNOW of Hoxton, county Middlesex Mrs. Alice Southworth of Duke's Place, London
FRANCIS SPRAGUE Anna Sprague Mercy Sprague
THOMAS TILDEN probably of Stepney, London
Mrs. . Tilden Tilden
of Yarmouth, Norfolk
STEPHEN TRACY
Mrs. Tryphosa Tracy
Tracy
RALPH WALLEN Mrs. Joyce Wallen
Mrs. Hester Cooke
wife of Francis
Mrs. Elizabeth Flavell
wife of Thomas
wife of Samuel
wife of William
Mrs. Margaret Hicks wife of Robert
Mrs. Frances Palmer wife of William
Mrs. Elizabeth Warren Mary Warren Elizabeth Warren Anne Warren Sarah Warren
wife of Richard of the Mayflower
Abigail Warren
V Mrs. Bridget Fuller Mrs. .... Hilton William Hilton, Jr. Mary Hilton
55
Passengers and Ships
Abigail Warren Mary Becket Patience Brewster
Fear Brewster
Mrs. Barbara Standish wife of Myles
Thomas Southworth son of Mrs. Alice Southworth
William Palmer, Jr. son of William of the Fortune
LITTLE JAMES, Emanuel Altham, Captain, and John Bridges, Master. She was a new vessel of forty-four tons, built by the Plymouth Adventurers to remain at the Col- ony. She was three months in crossing.1 All these pas- sengers settled at Plymouth.
WILLIAM BRIDGES probably of London
EDWARD BURCHER Mrs. Burcher
of Saint Saviour's, Southwark
JOHN JENNEY Mrs. Sarah Jenney
of Norwich, county Norfolk; cooper of Monk Soham, county Suffolk
Samuel Jenney Abigail Jenney Sarah Jenney
GEORGE MORTON Mrs. Juliana Morton
of Harworth, county Notts; merchant
( ...... ) a vessel belonging to Thomas Weston arrived in March, probably at Damariscove.2
Roger Conant Mrs. Roger Conant, wife
PROPHET DANIEL.
* Banks: English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers, 169-73.
2 Bradford: History of Plimmoth Plantation (Ford ed.), 1, 418.
56
Passengers and Ships
PROPHET DANIEL. A vessel of this name was at Poole, Dorset, in February, 1623, 'on a voyage to New England.' 1
YORKE BONAVENTURE, Captain Christopher Levett, Master. She brought a party of colonists to Casco Bay, Maine.
JONATHAN, of Plymouth. It is said that the destination of this ship was Boston Harbor .? She sailed from Plymouth, England.
DAVID THOMPSON of Plymouth, Devonshire, England, apothecary
Mrs. Amias Thompson John Thompson
KATHERINE, Joseph Stratton, Master, one hundred and eighty tons, sent out by Sir Ferdinando Gorges with 'sun- drie passengers' including 'six gentlemen and divers men to do his labour and other men with their families.' 3 Arrived at Weymouth.
ROBERT GORGES son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Gover- nor of New England
Rev. WILLIAM MORRELL
Rev. WILLIAM BLACKSTONE of Horncastle, county Lincoln
SAMUEL MAVERICK
of Northleigh, county Cornwall and
Plymouth
EDWARD GIBBONS
I New York Genealogical and Biographical Records, 47, p. 109.
2 Bolton: Real Founders of New England, 163. 3 Ibid., 67.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.