THE GREAT MIGRATION: SHIPS TO NEW ENGLAND 1633-35
It an amazing story of Providence and the skill of English seamen that
dozens of Atlantic ocean passages were made in little wooden ships bringing
our Puritan ancestors to America almost without mishap in the 1630's;
the unhappy exception being the harrowing story of the Angel Gabriel,
1635, which met a terrible storm and cast up on the coast of Maine with
only a few survivors.
There were perhaps 30,000 emigrants from England to New England before
the English Civil War. These folks were mainly from the English middle-class,
self-reliant and motivated to find a place where they might live, worship,
and raise their families without government harassment. This movement
of people is called the Great Migration.
Their motivation was religious, political, and economic. The British
church and government was becoming insufferably hierarchical, tyrannical,
and tax-hungry. Common resentment among the English people led soon
to the English Revolution beginning in 1642, and eventually to the beheading
of King Charles for treason in 1649, after agents intercepted his secret
invitations to foreign kings and armies, that they invade England, crush
Parliament and the English Constitution, massacre his English opponents,
and restore Charles to his pretended Dei gratia royal privileges.
Charles Stuart continued incorrigibly to hold his dynastic interest
separate and above those of Parliament and the British people, and ultimately
Parliament had no alternative but to end his conspiracies with an axe.
The Great Migration ended at the start of the English Civil War. Then
for a time in the 1640's was hope rekindled in the people that they
might live in liberty in England, and the flow of emigrants ceased,
in fact reversed. Many brave New Englishmen and their sons returned
to fight in England to uphold Parliament and the Commonwealth. The true
history of the British Commonwealth has been an unwelcome topic in Britain
since the restoration of monarchy, 1661. But that is another story...
GREAT MIGRATION PASSENGERS BY SURNAME
We list here only some of the earlier settlers of the Great Migration.
From this page you may find the record of the migration of over 1500
persons from England to New England during the years 1633-1635.
To search for you ancestor, please search the indexes linked below.
GREAT MIGRATION PASSENGERS BY SHIP
- The Recovery,
Master Gabriel Cornish, 1633;
- The Elizabeth,
Master William Andrewes, 1634;
- The Francis,
Master John Cutting, 1634;
- The Christian,
Master John White, sailed March 1634/35;
- The Hopewell,
Master William Bundocke, first passage of 1635;
- The James,
Master William Cooper, first passage of 1635;
- The Planter,
Master Nicolas Travice, sailed April 1635;
- The Elizabeth,
Master William Stagg, sailed April 1635;
- The Increase,
Master Robert Lea, sailed April 1635;
- The Elizabeth
& Ann, Master Robert Cooper, sailed May, 1635;
- The Susan
& Ellin, Master Edward Payne, sailed May, 1635;
- The Abigail,
Master Robert Hackwell, sailed July, 1635;
- The Defence,
Master Edward Bostocke, sailed July, 1635;
- The Blessing,
Master John Lester, sailed July, 1635;
- The James,
Master John May, second voyage of 1635;
- The Hopewell,
Master Thomas Babb, second voyage of 1635;
- The Truelove,
Master John Gibbs, sailed September, 1635;
In the near future, we will display the fully detailed passenger lists
of several more ships' passages of the 1630's. The lists are already
in our database, being prepared for conversion to HTML.
FAQ: Was my ancestor aboard the
Arbella?
ANSWER: From Winthrop's journal,
we know only that Gov. John Winthrop and Rev. George Phillips took passage
aboard the Arbella. By other reliable sources, we think Sir Richard
Saltonstall, William Hathorne, Rev. John Wilson and their families,
and probably Increase Nowell and Thomas Dudley crossed the Atlantic
in the Arbella as well. All who came with the fleet of 1630 are
equally honored by the Winthrop Society.
We list below links to other Web sites with other passenger lists of
that period. If you might wish to return here, please bookmark the Winthrop
Society site now among your browser favorites.
Our friend David Curtin maintains Web pages with
passenger lists and other information about the voyages of:
