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Passengers on Ship Christian in 1634

Transatlantic Crossing from London to New England

Dec 8, 2008 Rosemary E. Bachelor

Richard Saltonstall sponsored a group of settlers headed by master carpenter Francis Stiles .They sailed from London 16 Mar 1635 on the Christian, arriving in June.

How do we know this? Tucked away at the Augmentation Office in Rolls Court, Westminster Hall, London, is a small folio manuscript volume in a vellum cover which names persons permitted to embark at the port of London.

The cover of the document reads: “The Register of the names of all ye Passenger(s) wch passed from ye Port of London for a whole yeare ending at Xmas 1635.”

Among the first entries is the following: “Theis vndr-written names are to be transported to New England imbarqued in ye Christian de Lo (London): joh (John) White Mr (Master) bound thither, the men have taken ye oath (of) Allegeance & Supremacie-Mildred Bredstret…”

Oath of Allegiance

St. Mildred’s is the parish church from which they brought certificates of their conformity to the rules and discipline of the Church of England. It was destroyed by “the great fire” in 1666 and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren.

Even though the men swore allegiance to the Church of England, we know them as dissenters who joined other Separatists in New England. Although the larger group gathered in Dorchester, Massachusetts, some of these passengers went to Windsor, CT, with a few later settling at Simsbury, Connecticut.

The Stiles Family

The largest family aboard was that of Francis Stiles/Styles, 35, who has been called “of London” but is believed to have been from Millbrook in Bedfordshire. With him were his wife, Joan, 35, and children Henry, 3, and John, about 9 months old. There also were Thomas Stiles, 20, John Stiles, 35, Henry Stiles, 40, and Rachel Stiles, 28.

Francis Stiles seems to have been a well-to-do man. He brought with him three apprentices, Thomas Barber, 21, Thomas Cooper, 18, and George Chappel, 20. He must, however, have initially failed to meet the terms of their apprenticeship agreement for the court ordered him to do so in 1647.

Other Passengers

Other passages on the 1635 voyage aboard the Christian were Thomas Bassett, 37, James Busket, 28, John Cribb, 30, John Dyer, 28, Thomas Foulfoot, 22, Thomas Halford, 20, John Harris, 28, Thomas Hawkesworth, 23, Rice Heylei (Hayley?), 22, James Horwood, 30, Francis Marshall, 30, Jane Morden, 30, Edward Patteson, 33, Edward Preston, 13, John Reeves, 19, and Robert Robinson, 45.

Some accounts say the Christian left London 16 March 1634. This discrepancy has to do with whether or not one is using the Julian Calendar. January 1 was not legally the first day of the year until 1752.

SOURCES: List sent to Rosemary Bachelor in 1984 by Anita G. Sorensen of Racine, WI; Banks, Charles Edward, Planters of the Commonwealth 1620-1640, Riverside Press, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1930.

The copyright of the article Passengers on Ship Christian in 1634 in American History is owned by Rosemary E. Bachelor. Permission to republish Passengers on Ship Christian in 1634 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Ship of the 1600s