Tracking Survivors of First Weymouth MA Colony
Starving and Escaping Settlers Spread from Maine to Virginia
May 10, 2009
There may be no list of 1622 settlers who came to Thomas Weston’s colony aboard The Sparrow, The Charity and The Swan, but other records help piece together who some of these passengers were and what became of them after they left Wessagusset, Indian name for what became Weymouth.
Weymouth Survivors at York, Maine
Weston had connections with Maine coastal fishing camps, not regarded as permanent settlements, but as purely commercial ventures sponsored by the London based Council of New England.
John Saunders sailed off in search of food and ended up in Maine, as did the following, who are believed to have come later: Thomas Alger and Edward Baker (both from Newton Ferris, England), Nicholas Rouse, and probably Bennet Wills (from Plymouth, England).
Weymouth Survivors Who Stayed in Massachusetts
A Mr. Manly , ancestor of the Randolph, Massachusetts Manly family, was probably a member of the Weston group. Leonard Leddock, who befriended an Indian boy, was probably a Charity passenger. Another is Edward Johnson, judge of the Wessagusset trial of a man who stole corn from the Indians. Phinehas Pratt settled first at nearby Plymouth, then at Charlestown, MA, where he and many family members are buried.
London lawyer Thomas Morton came aboard The Charity in 1622, went back to England and returned in 1625 with Capt. Wollaston. Morton is known as author of The New Canaan and other accounts of early Massachusetts events and people. More information about him is available in the histories of Wollaston (Merrymount), Massachusetts.
John King Returned to Weymouth
John King, and perhaps some of the other 1622 settlers, returned to Weymouth. King went to a Maine fishing village in 1623, then to England. He returned to Weymouth with his wife, Mary, and became an extensive landowner. A mariner, he traveled throughout New England and his name is on several early town records. Weymouth’s King’s Cove, King’s Grove and King Oak Hill are named for him. Descendants include brothers William King, an early Maine governor, and U. S. Constitution signer Rufus King.
Weymouth Survivors in Virginia
Some members of the Weston Group went immediately to Virginia after settlers for Weymouth were dropped off in 1622; others went later. It isn’t always clear when these men reached Virginia.
Charity passengers include Joseph Royal, named in 1624 “Charles Cittie” records. Robert Cholmle/Chumley and James Standish are named in an early muster roll at Pasbehaighs, Virginia. Thomas Bransby was living at James City in 1624 when the death of his maid was listed. John Chew is named in Lt. Barkley’s (Berkeley’s) muster and Thomas Parrish appears in Thomas Spilman’s muster . John Poor wrote a letter from Virginia to Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford. John Ellison arrived on The Prosperous in 1619, but his wife Ellen arrived on The Charity in 1622.
Those who came on The Swan in 1623 when the settlement was given up include Benjamin Owin/Owen and John Pedrio, a negro, both in Elizabeth City in 1624. William Bibble appears on an early Virginia muster role.
There are many unaccounted for. Men named Rogers, Gibbs and Dr. Salisbury are among the 1622 Sparrow passengers. Ten died at Wessagusset, some were killed by Indians and one married an Indian. A 1622 letter from Philemon Powell, a Weston servant, is in the British Archives. He claims he was imprisoned, doesn’t know why and asks for release. We do know that Richard Hanniford, William Marshall, William Palmer, John Kelly and Jasper Collins ended up in Maryland with Thomas Weston.
Source:
This is condensed from a portion of this author’s 1988 story, “The Weston Group Settles Weymouth, Mass.,” published in The Second Boat (Vol. 9, No. 1)
See also:
First Wave of Weymouth Settlers in 1622
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