They came from many countries. The US is often called the “Melting Pot” due to the many colonist coming from the many different countries and staying in the land. Blending the cultures that would make America Great over time. The beauty of the US is that many cultures can blend and grow as a people and even in the early 1500, 1660 and 1700 hundreds, the culture who fought against each other learned to live together after the battles were fought.
The early visitors and settlers came from Spain and France. The Spanish came seeking treasure, gold and other valuables. The French would come and settle looking for furs and material items not commonly found in Europe. Finally, the English would start the journey in early 1600’s.
Why so late? There were multiple reasons but the primary issues was fear and poverty that had grown in the English Isle. There had been wars with Spain and the Spanish had dominated the seas at that time. English ships traveling alone were easy prey for the Spanish to capture or sink ending the lives of the travelers. At the end of the 1500’s, the war would end and it was “safe” to travel but the English still had to be on watch and safety meant having colonies established in areas where protection against foreign fleets was a must. This would be the case for Jamestown and it’s establishment in 1607.
The second reason was due to the poverty in England after fought against the Spanish. The crown did not have the funding to establish colonies and these efforts had to be privatized. The economy has so poor that over 95 percent of the population was considered to be lower class and only 5 percent of the people commanded the wealth of the nation. This five percent would make mean only 25 % of the men could vote at the time. Most of the people had no representation in the government due to being poor and not being allowed to vote due to their status. Following English law would later lead to the US wanting no taxation without representation. A story for another time.
In the 1600’s, the English would share with the poor people that another life could exist in the colonies. The tales of the Spanish and the fortunes found in their colonies would lead to something similar to the “Gold Fever” in California in the 1800’s. The people would pack up their material things, tools, clothes, food, and other items needed for the new world.
The groups would load up on the boats and would be tightly packed usually on one or more common floors. There would be little to no privacy for families or individuals who would use sheets sometimes to aid in blocking the other passengers view. The ship would be powered solely by the wind and traveled at the mercy of these winds to move the ship through the water. The ballast was such that the people often became sick to the motion of moving up and down and up and down as the vessel moved through the water.
The journey which would take 6 to 8 weeks or more would mean that there was little comfort from the elements. During the Summer heat, people would be exposed to uncomfortable heat. During the winter, no fires places existed and the people would huddle and bundle themselves up to overcome the cold.
The people would sleep on the mats on the floors if they owned one. There was no comfort given by the ship owners and you had to provide your own sleeping materials. Nothing put a tossing creaking ship was your sleeping arrangement every night.
The food had to be dried, pickled or preserved to last. Bread would not last the trip and the people would be almost starving over time. Food would spoil and the people would suffer during the long and dreary trip.
If a person died during the trip, there were tossed overboard and no proper burial would be given. The sick would suffer and little children would be very challenged to be hearty enough to make the trips. Hunger and poor elements would put many a person at risk.
These were the days of the early to mid 1600’s and over time the travel became so plentiful that over 600 people a day were coming to the US colonies in the mid 1700’s. During the 1700’s, the German emigrants would out number the English colonist coming to the new world.
The Germans would be the poor and lower middle class and they would travel more in families than the English that came in the 1600’s.
The challenge is to find which ships our ancestors came in. You can start by finding the port and the date they landed here in the new world. Here is a website that will help with the names of the English in the early 1600’s English Ship Web Site.
For the other ships that came before 1820, the records are a challenge to find.
My ancestors came from England and Germany.
- My Mother married my Father and his name was Archie Vest. My Mother’s lineage is both the Michael and Chapman family
- The Michael Family would be heir’s of Johann Jacob Michael (1705-1787) who would hail from Germany and would live in the York, Pennsylvania area
- The Chapman Family would be heirs of Francis Chapman, who would come to the new world from England in 1606 and would sail on the Star (ship). He would reside in the Jamestown area where the English set up their first city
- The Vest family would come from Germany and our heir would be John Moses Vest and we discussed him in an earlier blog post (see Blogs for his information)
- My Grandmother Alta Mae Baker (1902 – 1943) married Clovis William Vest (1899 – 1936) and her family would be the Couch and Baker family. The Baker family heir would be Nicholas Obediah Baker (1737-1832) who would sail from England and live in North Carolina and later Alabama.
- Other Relatives that are key to the Vest family are the Ray Family who is linked when Elizabeth married John Valentine Vest
References Are Found Below, Click on the Image to go to Amazon
Originally posted 2018-02-25 20:54:15.