In the past, I've researched and shared passenger lists of those who came to the Plymouth Bay Colony on The Mayflower in 1620, The Fortune in 1621, and The Anne & Little James in 1623, but there were several other English and Dutch settlements in America prior to the Pilgrims' arrival.
The first attempt at establishing the first permanent English settlement in North America was led by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585. Called the Roanoke Colony, on Roanoke Island, a part of what is now North Carolina. The entire community mysteriously vanished by 1590. Another unsuccessful attempt was made by the Plymouth Company in 1607, at what is now Maine, called the Popham Colony. The settlers who didn’t die abandoned the settlement within 14 months. Meanwhile, the proprietors of the London Company set out to establish a colony at Jamestown, in what is now Virginia, in 1606. The ships Susan Constant, Discovery, and Godspeed, carrying about 600 people, took a four month voyage to the place they called Cape Henry, arriving on April 26, 1607.
They arrived in the middle of a severe drought and too late in the season to plant crops. They lacked fresh water suitable for drinking and the land was swampy and infested with mosquitoes. Making matters worse, many of the men were gentlemen, unaccustomed to the hard physical labor necessary to build a colony. For these reasons, about two-thirds of the settlers died within the first two years from starvation, disease and warfare with nearby native tribes. There were only about 200 people left in the colony in 1608 when Capt. Christopher Newport brought the First and Second Supply missions with supplies and more settlers, including German and Polish craftsmen. The following year, in June of 1609, the Third Supply launched from Plymouth, England, destined for Jamestown. The 300-ton Sea Venture was the flagship of a seven-ship fleet towing two additional pinnaces and carrying 500 to 600 people and supplies. The passenger list is shown below.
On July 24, 1609, the fleet ran into a strong storm, possibly a hurricane, and Sea Venture was separated from the fleet. The storm ravaged the ship for three days and caused severe leaking inside the ship. After a week of struggling to stay afloat, they finally spotted land, and aimed for the marshy shores of Bermuda, which was uninhabited at the time. Approximately 150 people were stranded there for the next 9 months.
The Sea Venture is featured on Bermuda Stamps in the early 1900s. You can find these collectible stamps on Amazon or Ebay.
Excerpt from "Stamps and Ships", by James Watson, 1959 (Link):
While stranded in Bermuda, they utilized salvaged parts from the Sea Venture, along with local timber and natural resources to construct two boats, the Patience and Deliverance, to proceed with their voyage to Virginia. Many of the people preferred to stay at Bermuda, after hearing of the hardships at Jamestown, but they were forced to continue there anyway. (Source: Kelly, Joseph (2019). "How the Survivor of a 1609 Shipwreck Brought Democracy to America: Stephen Hopkins, Colonist at Both Jamestown and Plymouth, Proposed a Government Based on Consent of the Governed").
Three men are known to have stayed on the island but 137 passengers and crew set sail for Virginia on May 10, 1610, arriving at the Jamestown settlement on the 23rd, a journey of 13 days. It is said that upon arrival they found only 60 people survived, and they all boarded the ships to return to England, defeated. On their way down the James River, however, they met with Baron De La Warre (Lord Delaware), who was arriving with another fleet, food, supplies, and a doctor. He was able to convince the settlers to stay at Jamestown. They weren't out of the woods yet, though. It is said that 80% of the settlers at Jamestown died in the Sickness of 1610.
Jamestown served as the colonial capital from 1616 until 1699, when Williamsburg (2.5 miles from Jamesburg) was made the capital.
Did you have an ancestor who came to America on the Sea Venture? Feel free to share in the comments below! Also, if you can find a commemorative copy of the Sea Venture Passenger List on Etsy or Amazon. (Print the downloadable copy yourself today on Etsy). Use it to reflect on their journey and share their epic story!
Known Passengers of the Sea Venture:
Christopher Newport
Sir George Somers
Henry Ravens
Robert Frobisher
Rev Richard Bucke
Robert Walsingham
Henry Bagwell
Nicholas Bennit
William Brian
Jeffrey Briars
Christopher Carter
Edward Chard
Joseph Chard
Baby Bermuda Eason
Edward Eason
Mistress Eason
Sir Thomas Gates
Thomas Godby
George Grave
William Hitchman
Stephen Hopkins
Mistress Horton
Elizabeth Joons
Samuel Jordan
Silvester Jourdain
Richard Knowles
Miss Langley
Richard Lewis
John Lytefoote
William Martin
Henry Paine
Francis Pearepoint
Elizabeth Persons
William Pierce
Thomas Powell
John Proctor
Humfrey Reede
Robert Rich
Bermuda Rolfe
John Rolfe
Mistress Rolfe
Edward Samuel
Samuel Sharpe
Mr Henry Shelly
Matthew Somers
William Strachney
James Swift
John Want
Edward Waters
Robert Waters
Thomas Whittingham
Sir George Yeardley
Namantack
Machumps
& Others
See also:
"The Great Migration - Colonial America"
Wikipedia: Sea Venture
Wikipedia: Jamestown, Virginia
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