London port

[Bay89]

Do you know how the proceedure to transport someone to America worked?  Would they have known the emigrant?

I ask this incase it means that the 15 people William Ayres transported, all came from the same area.

That's a GREAT point you've made. What I've gathered from researching the topic, is that there were a few reasons for someone to be transported.   It's looks as though some were sentenced to transport in the court of law, some were orphans found as young teens on the streets and were transported, there were also orphaned children that had been assigned a guardian and transported when they were of age, and some were adventures seeking land and benefits for going to the colonies. It looks as though for the young, 16 years old was the qualifying age for transport to the colonies. From what I've read, for those that paid for someones transport and "employed" them on land granted to the individual that paid for passage, was granted land and benefits for each person transported. On top of that it was a good situation for a young man to work and pay off his debt owed for his transport, because after reaching 21 years of age or a specific number of years of servitude they were granted a small parcel of land as well.

I wonder if William Ayres randomly selected from a list of individuals or selected a number of anonymous individuals to transport, but when mentioned the possibility of the group  of passengers transported maybe coming from the same area or knowing one another, I see a John Blackburn listed age 16 as well...that interested because I've noticed some families stuck around another family and moved together or around the same time as they settled more lands in the colonies.
My direct Paternal grandfather and great or g-great grandson of John Bay mentioned above, is Captain Thomas Bay 1741-1826 married Elizabeth Blackburn in 1768 in Virginia. Perhaps of the same Blackburn family of John Blackburn listed as a passenger transported my William Ayres. Although I'm not sure what year John Blackburn departed for the colonies, because I don't believe he was list as a passenger on the ship Safety August 10 1635 with John Bay. It's also interesting to see that William Ayres waited to file the claim for the transport of John Bay until 1642.

[Lily M]

Reading your reasons for transportation, I see now that it would be much more likely that William Ayres’ choices were random.

Especially, as you point out,  John Bay was the only one to travel on the Safety.  And John Ray the only other one to travel in 1635  (on the George).

How frustrating for you that many of the ships list their passengers home towns, but just name and age for the Safety.

[philipsearching]

This doesn't add to your knowledge of an individual, but I thought it was interesting:

Transportation became a business: merchants chose from among the prisoners on the basis of the demand for labour and their likely profits. They obtained a contract from the sheriffs, and after the voyage to the colonies they sold the convicts as indentured servants. The payment they received also covered the jail fees, the fees for granting the pardon, the clerk's fees, and everything necessary to authorise the transportation. These arrangements for transportation continued until the end of the 17th century and beyond, but they diminished in 1670 due to certain complications. The colonial opposition was one of the main obstacles: colonies were unwilling to collaborate in accepting prisoners: the convicts represented a danger to the colony and were unwelcome. Maryland and Virginia enacted laws to prohibit transportation in 1670, and the king was persuaded to respect these.

(source: w1k1pedia - so it's not necessarily 100% accurate)

Philip

[Bay89]

Reading your reasons for transportation, I see now that it would be much more likely that William Ayres’ choices were random.

Especially, as you point out,  John Bay was the only one to travel on the Safety.  And John Ray the only other one to travel in 1635  (on the George).

How frustrating for you that many of the ships list their passengers home towns, but just name and age for the Safety.

although even the name John "RAY" could be a spelling error. There were instances where there were just so many spelling errors and misinterpretations and variations of the name of one individual documented. It can be frustrating and confusing.

[Bay89]

(Although I'm not sure how it worked or where records can be found) In england there were Guilds and Livery members that took on apprentices and indentured servitude, and some were transported to the colonies as well..i suppose it could have been looked at as an investment.

[Bay89]

This is also interesting and can be taken to mind when researching other names and family Origins. The British Isles throughout the ages spoke and wrote Latin and French ect. And so when names were recorded they were often mistranslated and spelled how the recorder may have heard the name being spoken, which led to some shocking variation in ones surname.

This is a clip out of a book on the Bye family of Geat Britains genealogy.
And the variation and pronunciation of the surname Bay or Bye

[KGarrad]

Reading your reasons for transportation, I see now that it would be much more likely that William Ayres’ choices were random.

Especially, as you point out,  John Bay was the only one to travel on the Safety.  And John Ray the only other one to travel in 1635  (on the George).

How frustrating for you that many of the ships list their passengers home towns, but just name and age for the Safety.

although even the name John "RAY" could be a spelling error. There were instances where there were just so many spelling errors and misinterpretations and variations of the name of one individual documented. It can be frustrating and confusing.

You must remember that Spelling was an Art; not a Science!

With standards of literacy being what they were, many people didn't know how to spell their names.

[Bay89]

Reading your reasons for transportation, I see now that it would be much more likely that William Ayres’ choices were random.

Especially, as you point out,  John Bay was the only one to travel on the Safety.  And John Ray the only other one to travel in 1635  (on the George).

How frustrating for you that many of the ships list their passengers home towns, but just name and age for the Safety.

although even the name John "RAY" could be a spelling error. There were instances where there were just so many spelling errors and misinterpretations and variations of the name of one individual documented. It can be frustrating and confusing.

You must remember that Spelling was an Art; not a Science!

With standards of literacy being what they were, many people didn't know how to spell their names.

 

[Novak20]

Two sources worth checking, both by Peter Coldham:
The Complete Book of Emigrants 1607-1660
The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage 1614-1775

These books are mainly focused on transportation to America and are based on records in the London Metropolitan Archives. A large part of these books are the records of indentured service to America -- a different thing to penal transportation. Indentured service had some similarities to an apprenticeship contract (but with less security!): the servant would have their transport, food and lodging paid in exchange for labour over a number of years (typically at least 4 -- usually longer for young boys and girls). By the end of the seventeenth century, indentured service from Britain had largely been replaced by slavery from Africa.

The sources do not usually have much more background but sometime give clues that can point to other places to search.

cheers,
Mike