The Legend of “Two Brothers”
The story of “two brothers” coming to America in a barrel is simply a tale spun by relatives. An examination of the earliest passenger lists reflects that a great many persons traveled to the colonies alone and under the patronage of wealthy patrons. In Jamestown, they did well to acquire a wife for themselves. The London Company brought women over for that sole purpose. However, the massacre of 1622 killed many persons. If you wonder why your ancestor made several trips back to England on the “Supply ships”, it was to find a wife to bring to the colony. After the initial colonization, other members of the family followed on other vessels and they did not always locate in the same vicinity. While the London Company was sending people to Virginia, other families were on similar voyages destined for New England. A close examination of the names of New England immigrants discloses the similarity of names with Virginia immigrants. I have an ancestor who left Jamestown three times to return to England for another wife. While he was on the second voyage bound for Virginia (with his second wife), her parents (Wicker) were traveling to New England. Since passenger lists frequently list the name and age of the person and port of embarkation, it was easy to discern that the Wickers were of the age to have been her parents and this opened up other avenues of research. For one, the port of embarkation was Gravesend. Thus, a search of the London parish registers revealed the necessary christening dates, marriages and mortuary which helped trace the lineage back further in time. The real story is there. We simply have to exhaust all possibilities.
