Stickney Family in Rowley
                            by Sandy Clunies
                            Mon Feb 04 1991
                      -------------------------------
Not 10% of the early colonial arrivals are recorded with ship  and
date of arrival. Col. Chas. Banks did a monumental job on both  sides
of the Atlantic preparing his "Planters of the Commonwealth" and
"The Winthrop Fleet" series - but knew he was just gathering up bits
and pieces.

In England, potential colonists were required to register for the trip,  
but most of those records disappeared over the years. Colonial diarists  
(like Gov. Winthrop himself) can be thanked for much data that  remains, 
but they did not separate who came on what ship on  what date. Burton Spear 
of Toledo OH has spent years, writing now over  13 volumes, trying to 
assemble from other sources, the identity of  those who were aboard just 
ONE ship - the "Mary & John" in 1630.
.  
One of my ancestors was one of those ship captains - Capt. John CUTTING  
made 13 known trans-Atlantic crossings bringing colonists over and back  - 
but little remains of any passenger lists. One of the ships he  captained 
in 1629 was called "Mayflower" but it was *not* the same  ship that brought 
the Pilgrims in 1620 !

The record-keeping systems didn't always improve, either!  I had an  
ancestor arrive 250 years later in July 13, 1863 in New York City (he  
wrote it many times in his life). 3 steamships arrived in NY Harbor  that 
day, with passenger lists retained on microfilm at the National  Archives. 
I have scoured each passenger list for the whole WEEK before  and after 
July 13, 1863 .... his name simply is NOT there. He was a 20  year old 
Yorkshire lad, and I will just never know which ship. I find  his name on a 
return visit in 1888... period.
. 
Blodgette & Jewett's first reference to Wm. STICKNEY is that he is  
recorded admitted to the First Church of Boston "6: 11 mo. 1638".  Between 
1630 and 1640, an estimated 10,100 English persons arrived in  the 
colonies. We know specific arrival data on perhaps 1,000. On my  database, 
I just use things like "circa" or "by" with a date, based on  whatever 
printed sources DO remain to place a family in a location on  a date.
.
Noted genealogist Robert Charles Anderson is on a grant from NEHGS  right 
now compiling a new "Great Migration" study from ALL existing  sources - 
using every scrap of information to gather together data. The  study should 
be finished and published in about 2 more years.
.
There's a great new book out called "Coming Over: Migration and  
Communication between England and New England in the 17th Century" by  
David Cressy, Cambridge Univ. Press (1987) - paperback. This gives a  very 
readable account of the whole colonial emigration process:  reasons, costs, 
controls, etc. I heartily recommend it to get the  FLAVOR of what your 
ancestors experienced.
. 
But, I suggest you will just have to accept that we will never know  
PRECISELY which ship brought WHOM on what DATE.

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