Four hundred years later, we usually assume that there are written records about every one of the crew and passengers of the Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrims to America. That ship's voyage has become a huge event in history classes, for better or for worse, even though many ships brought Europeans to the new continent. However, four passengers appeared to be abandoned children, who posed somewhat of a mystery.
For many years, historians were puzzled by the fact that among the Mayflower passengers were four young brothers and sisters who were unrelated to anyone else on board. The ship’s log listed Ellen More (aged 8,) and her siblings Jasper (7,) Richard (6,) and Mary (4) as “servants” of four different Pilgrim leaders. It was first assumed that these children were penniless orphans, or offspring of parents too poor to keep them. Then, it was discovered that according to the parish register of Shipton, Shropshire, that the father of these children, Samuel More, was a rich landowner.
This new information made the presence of these children on the Mayflower seem strange, even incomprehensible. Why would a man of wealth and standing ship all of his children to a foreign land, where they faced a dangerous and highly uncertain future? An English genealogist named Sir Anthony Wagner became so fascinated by the mystery that in 1959, he was able to persuade a descendant of Samuel More to scour the family archives for any clues as to what had caused More to virtually disown his offspring. Many clues were indeed found. And it all added up to a story that reads like something out of one of Thomas Hardy’s more depressing novels.
Indeed, the story of the More children was scandalous. It included near-incest, adultery, death, and two generations of bigamy. You can read about them at Strange Company. -via Nag on the Lake
