1630 voyage
In 1630, the Mary and John was captained by Thomas Chubb and the company was led by Roger Ludlow, one of the Assistants of the Massachusetts Bay Company, who was accompanied by Edward Rossiter, another Assistant to the Company.
The ship had three decks for its passengers, livestock, and cargo. She became part of what was later known as the Great Migration. The colonists were recruited by the Reverend John White of Dorchester, Dorset. Nearly all of the passengers originated in the West Country counties of Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and the West Country towns of Dorchester, Bridport, Crewkerne, and Exeter.[13] The ship sailed on March 20, 1629/30, under the command of a Capt. Squeb or Squibb, from Plymouth, England, with 140 emigrants on board.
After an uneventful passage they arrived in Nantasket, near present-day Hull, Massachusetts, on May 30.[14][15][16] They arrived two weeks before the first ships (Arbella and three escorts)[17] from the Winthrop Fleet, a group of 11 ships led by John Winthrop which carried about 1000 Puritans along with livestock and provisions from England to New England during the summer of 1630. While Mary and John were not formally part of the Winthrop Fleet, John Winthrop knew of their voyage. In a letter to his wife he sent before leaving Southampton, John Winthrop wrote about Mary and John's intended destination, which may have indicated approval of their voyage as fellow emigrants within his jurisdiction.[18]
The passengers initially founded Dorchester, Massachusetts. The voyage, along with an 11-ship flotilla led by John Winthrop that departed England in April 1630, greatly strengthened the two-year-old Massachusetts Bay Colony. In late 1635, about 2/3 of the passengers relocated to Connecticut, led by Thomas Hooker, where they were principal founders of the Connecticut River farming community of Windsor, Connecticut, and participated in the organization of the first Connecticut colonial government in early 1639 Fundamental Orders of Connecticut in participation with Hartford and Wethersfield, CT.
Notable passengers
While a contemporary passenger list has never been found, researchers from the "Mary and John Clearinghouse" have established a list of known, probable, and possible passengers.[19] A number of the passengers played significant roles in the founding of the nation. They include:
- Roger Clapp
- Roger Ludlowe
- John Mason, Deputy Governor of the Connecticut Colony
- William Rockwell Church Deacon and founder of both Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Windsor, Connecticut
- William Gaylord, Church Deacon and founder of both Dorchester, Massachusetts, and Windsor, Connecticut
- John Gilbert co-founder of Taunton, Massachusetts. Married Edward Rossiter's widowed sister.
- Samuel Maverick
- William Phelps founder of both Dorchester, Massachusetts, and
