The PophamColony at Sagadahock, on the western side of the entrance to the Kenebeck river, was established by the members of the first Virginia Company, which was chartered by King James in 1606, who lived at Plymouth and elsewhere in the west of England. The London members of the Company made their settlement at Jamestown. The leader of the Plymouth partners was Sir Ferdinando Gorges, with whom were associated members of the Popham and Gilbert families. They equipped two exploring expeditions in the autumn of 1606, one of them being under the command of Martin Pring, whose account of his voyage of 1603 is printed in this volume. Pring’s report determined the Plymouth partners to attempt a settlement on the Maine coast. Two vessels were fitted out and George Popham, a nephew of the Chief Justice, Sir John Popham, and Ralegh Gilbert, a son of Sir Humphrey, were placed in charge of the expedition.The narrative of the voyage was written by one of the officers, probably the navigator or pilot of Gilbert’s vessel, the “Mary and John,” whose name may have been James Davies. This account, which is preserved in the Library of Lambeth Palace, London, was printed in the fourth volume of the Gorges Society publications, Portland, 1892, with notes by the Rev. Henry O. Thayer. That Society, through Mr. H. W. Bryant of Portland, has kindly loaned the facsimiles of the drawings which illustrate the manuscript, for reproduction in this volume.
The PophamColony at Sagadahock, on the western side of the entrance to the Kenebeck river, was established by the members of the first Virginia Company, which was chartered by King James in 1606, who lived at Plymouth and elsewhere in the west of England. The London members of the Company made their settlement at Jamestown. The leader of the Plymouth partners was Sir Ferdinando Gorges, with whom were associated members of the Popham and Gilbert families. They equipped two exploring expeditions in the autumn of 1606, one of them being under the command of Martin Pring, whose account of his voyage of 1603 is printed in this volume. Pring’s report determined the Plymouth partners to attempt a settlement on the Maine coast. Two vessels were fitted out and George Popham, a nephew of the Chief Justice, Sir John Popham, and Ralegh Gilbert, a son of Sir Humphrey, were placed in charge of the expedition.
The narrative of the voyage was written by one of the officers, probably the navigator or pilot of Gilbert’s vessel, the “Mary and John,” whose name may have been James Davies. This account, which is preserved in the Library of Lambeth Palace, London, was printed in the fourth volume of the Gorges Society publications, Portland, 1892, with notes by the Rev. Henry O. Thayer. That Society, through Mr. H. W. Bryant of Portland, has kindly loaned the facsimiles of the drawings which illustrate the manuscript, for reproduction in this volume.