Add another to the list of those who are interested in individually owned ships between England and New Castle, Philadelphia, West Jersey in the 1680's. My ancestor, Robert EYRE, apprenticed under William ROGERS, a merchant of Bristol. William ROGERS was a Quaker and may have been a member of the Quaker Society of Free Traders. Robert EYRE was :30 Jan 1648 so was probably apprented to William ROGERS circa 1660. He probably would have completed his apprenticeship circa 1666-68. He was said to have made several sea voyages as a supercargo before settling in Bethel twp, Chester (now Delaware) county circa 1683 in which year he began serving as Clerk of the Chester County Court until 1690. We can find no record of Robert EYRE's arrival in this country and this might be an explanation. William ROGERS was also said to have had two brothers, I "think" their names were Francis and George ROGERS, who were referred to as "Irish traders". I'd also be interested in knowing if there is an on-line site regarding the Quaker Society of Free Traders and any ships they may have owned or were owned by members if anyone knows of such a site. Robert EYRE was said NOT to be a Quaker but several succeeding generations were, including his son, William EYRE, from whom all known EYRE's descending thru Robert EYRE come. Judy Ardine in Michigan

Yes, I too am interested in privately owned ships as I cannot find most of my ancestors on ships lists. However, there is another possibility - Baylin in his Westward Migrations book tells of the regulations imposed by England on early ship captains - for example, each adult had to be allowed a space at least 18 inches x 6 ft and a certain amount of provisions had to be supplied (and this was after things got better!). To get around the regulations the ships regularly pulled into bays, creeks, and byways of all kinds to pick up extra passengers who were then not listed on the ships manifest. These kinds of stops were regularly made along the coast of England and Scotland so no doubt took place in Ireland too. Judy - I find a reference to a deed dated 22 & 23 March 1681 where Francis Rogers and his brother George purchased 5000 acres of William Penn. An interesting concept that the Society of Free Traders might have owned ships - they were certainly more interested than anyone in bringing new settlers. Nadine Holder ----- Original Message ----- From: "Judy Ardine" <downeast@tir.com> To: <PACHESTE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 05, 2000 9:32 AM Subject: [PACHESTE] Re: Immigrant Ships > Add another to the list of those who are interested in individually owned > ships between England and New Castle, Philadelphia, West Jersey in the 1680's. > > My ancestor, Robert EYRE, apprenticed under William ROGERS, a merchant of > Bristol. William ROGERS was a Quaker and may have been a member of the > Quaker Society of Free Traders. Robert EYRE was :30 Jan 1648 so was > probably apprented to William ROGERS circa 1660. He probably would have > completed his apprenticeship circa 1666-68. He was said to have made > several sea voyages as a supercargo before settling in Bethel twp, Chester > (now Delaware) county circa 1683 in which year he began serving as Clerk of > the Chester County Court until 1690. We can find no record of Robert EYRE's > arrival in this country and this might be an explanation. William ROGERS > was also said to have had two brothers, I "think" their names were Francis > and George ROGERS, who were referred to as "Irish traders". > > I'd also be interested in knowing if there is an on-line site regarding the > Quaker Society of Free Traders and any ships they may have owned or were > owned by members if anyone knows of such a site. Robert EYRE was said NOT > to be a Quaker but several succeeding generations were, including his son, > William EYRE, from whom all known EYRE's descending thru Robert EYRE come. > > Judy Ardine in Michigan > > > ==== PACHESTE Mailing List ==== > Visit the PA GenWeb Archives at > http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/pafiles.htm > > > > >