Phelps Arrival in New England Aboard the Mary and John
William Phelps was aboard the Mary and John before
it set sail for the Colonies. It was one of several ships, along
with the Hercules on
which Henry Phelps was embarked, that were temporarily detained
by a "Warrant & Order" in
London (2) in February, 1633/4.
Since this port is along the south coast, a major port, and on
the route, it was certainly a possible stop. On 20 March 1630
the ship Mary & John sailed from Plymouth, England, with
140 passengers.
The Mary and John is reported (1) to
have taken three voyages out of Plymouth, England:
| June, 1607 |
The Mary & John departed Falmouth,
England, for the coast of Maine in the company of the Gift
of God. |
| October 6, 1607 |
The Mary & John left the settlers
at the mouth of the Kennebec River (now Sabino, Maine), arriving
at Plymouth, England, on December 1, 1607. |
| 1630 |
Brought 140 passengers to New England from
the West Country (counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon & Cornwall). |
| About March 26, 1634 |
The Mary & John departed
London for New England. See a list
of her passengers. |
The families were all recruited by the Rev. John White of Dorchester,
Dorset. Nearly all of these families came from the West Country
of England, i.e. counties of Somerset, Dorset and Devon. The
ship landed in New England, on 30 May 1630, nine days before
the Winthrop Fleet arrived. These people founded one of the first
towns in Massachusetts, Dorchester, 1630, and one of the earliest
in Connecticut, Windsor, five years later.
The Mary & John left England in March of 1630 and arrived
seventy days later, on May 30, 1630, at the mouth of what is
now Boston harbor. The ship's captain refused to sail up the
Charles river as planned, because he feared running the ship
aground in waters that he had no charts for. He instead left
the passengers in a desolate locale, miles from their intended
destination. The settlors were forced to transport 150,000 pounds
of livestock, provisions and equipment 20 miles overland to their
final destination.
These are two suggested passenger lists for the ship Mary & John that
Bygod Eggleston and his sons probably traveled on to reach the
New World in 1630. These lists were compiled by the authors from
a variety of sources. No actual recorded passenger list from
the Mary & John has come to light and there remain many
questions as to who actually sailed on this ship and who came
on subsequent ships. Some of the people on these lists have later
been proven not to have traveled on the Mary & John.
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