Came to AMERICAN in 1620!

ARRGH, Captain! Peter from 4th grade has an ancestor, Lawrence Peelle, who sailed to Virginia at 19 in the year 1620.

His ship, the Margaret and John, was attacked by Spanish ships on the way to Virginia: From the family history: 'The London Company Records report that the Margaret and John, a ship of 150 tons that was sent in December 1620 with 85 persons had arrived by May 1621. The ship left England under the command of Captain Anthony Chester. It sailed the routine route, which took it through the Lesser Antilles, a series of small islands, in the Caribbean that "being the common trade way both for English and Dutch." At the Island of Guadeloupe, she took on six Frenchman "and then they were in all (including the crew) 103 souls with women and children." On 30 March 1621, they reached the island of Nevis about 100 miles North West of Guadeloupe. Here as they wished to get fresh water, "they fell in with two Spanish Man of Warre ships, pretending to be Hollanders," but as soon these ships had gained a fair position, and after some parley, they took in their Holland flag, advanced the Spanish colors and opened fire on the "small and not very well provided English Shipp. Who parforce was constreyned to enter into this conflict, which continued 5 or 6 houres most desperate." The English finally beat off both Spanish ships, after killing their Captains and making "their skuppers run with blood" [scupper, a hole to drain a ship’s deck] and "colouring the sea in their quarter." The largest Spanish ship was 300 tons with 22 brass cannons; the other, 200 tons having 16 brass cannons. The English ship had eight cast-iron cannons and one small faulcon. The Margaret and John lost eight, slain outright. Accounts of the David vs Goliath battle were written up in various newspapers and books of the time. Lawrence survived the sea battle and made it to Virginia. The 1624 Company census indicates that "Larence Peale" was living in "Elizabeth Cittie," Virginia (now the Hampton Roads area) with a friend and between the two of them, they possessed: "corn - 4 barrels; peas - 2 bushels; fish - 300 ct; houses - 1; arms 2 - pieces; powder - 6 pounds; and lead - 6 pounds."