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.