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Priscilla,
Several years ago, I spent some time re-searching the saga of the 'Sea-Venture'. Reportedly Immigrant John Wellsbourne was a passenger, thus my interest. Unfortuntely, I could not no evidence that supported this claim. But I did review many historical records about this saga.
I can tell you what I do recall. As history notes, The Sea-Venture set sail from Swansea, Wales in 1608, and joined up with a fleet of vessels docked on the Thames River in London that were all under the Command of Sir Christopher Newport (I believe there is a college in VA named for Newport). Sir William Strackery, a passenger aboard the 'Sea-Venture' kept a journal of all events which survives today somewhere in London.
On board the Sea-Venture were papers that ordered John Smith to quit his leadership of the colony and return immediately back to London with Newport. Smith was in big trouble with authorites due to so many deaths in the colony of prior Presidents of the Jamestown council.
Smith never did get along with the gentlemen in his midst and in fact, when he first stepped foot in VA he was in chains.
I believe the fleet consisted of seven vessels and after about 4 mos at Sea, (with some stop overs in the West Indies, were in near of their Jamestown destination when a hurricane errupted and the 'Sea-Venture' was thrown off course. But even worse, the ship hits some jagged reefs and sprang a dangerous leak. For five days and nights without once stopping, all hundred men on board bailed out the incoming ocean. No mention of what the woman and children were doing down below while the men exhausted themselves.
Finally with men exhausted beyond belief, everyone accepted that they were doomed. Bottles of cheer were opened for one last round when one of the men up on the poop deck reading his Bible glanced out and spotted land ahead.
This got the adrenalin going and everyone who was not unconscious from exhaustion starting taking action again in order to reach shore.
Everyone on board managed to reach the shores of Bermunda.
However, the sailors had real fear of the Island believed to be the home of devils and evil sounds. Wrong! What they heard as devil cries were tens of thousands of seagulls.
Once safely on shore they soon discovered wild hoggs running in and out of the forest. (One historan believes that a cargo of pigs sailing with Spanish sailors fell overboard and some of these pigs managed to break loose and swim to the Island. Thus a lucky break for the new Bermunda residents. Thanks to a wonderful dog in their midst, who aided considerablly in allowing the shipwrecked survivers to catch these wild pork chops, along with fruit trees and fresh water on the Island, no one reportedly went hungry.
Addionally there were Cedar Trees all over the island and by some skilled swimmers who went out and retrieved tools and supplies from the Sea-Venture that was caught between some jagged reefs, the men were eventually able to craft together three crude vessels which enabled them to reach the shores of Jamestown in May of 1610. Altogether they were stranded in Bermunda for ten months.
Meanwhile everyone else in the fleet managed to reach Jamestown. And the thinking was that all passengers on board the 'Sea-Venture' had perished. Newport took Smith back with him to London. But not before Smith planned a mutiny and might have succeeded if he had not been seriously injured in a powder keg exploded.
Once the former Bermunda residents reached Jamestown they were shocked to find their fellow colonists literally starving to death...those sill alive were eating rats and roots and perhaps each other. Those charges have been made.
With conditions so rugged plans were made to abandon the Colony and return to England, via some shipping vessels off Nova Scotia, when Sir De La Ware's fleet arrived, thus saving the day.
So you can see that you have an ancestor who literally witnessed the birth of a mightly nation. And also a very heroic ancestor at that. I think that's pretty neat!
Cheers,
Vikky
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