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The Mary and John is reported to
have taken three voyages out of Plymouth, England (1):
| June, 1607 |
The Mary & John departed Falmouth, England,
for the coast of Maine. |
| 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.
|
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 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, two weeks 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.
For More Information
See "Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630" Vols.
1 - 26, published by The
Mary & John Clearing House and
available in many library genealogy collections.
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