Jan, As it appears part of your second question has already been answered by the good folks above.. the date is the date of the ship departing from England.... most voyages from england took about 120 days. I think you can find out when it arrived here.. not sure where to look for that info though. Lesley Uebel might be able to help with more info on John CRANFIELD.. I am glad to have been able to help out a little.. apparently though I was very tired when I was looking at the BDM's duhhh me. Regards Sue.