Background
The son of a minister, Francis Higginson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1610 and his Master of Arts
Puritan minister minister of Salem
The son of a minister, Francis Higginson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1610 and his Master of Arts
In 1613. About 1615, he became minister at Claybrooke, one of the parishes of Leicester, and acquired great influence as a preacher. He refused offers of many excellent well paying jobs on account of his opinions, and was supporting himself by preparing young men for the university, when, in 1628, he was invited by the Massachusetts Bay Company to join. Higginson joined the company, and in 1629 the Company obtained a Royal Charter from Charles I of England to form a "plantation" in New England.
Higginson led a group of about 350 settlers (including many of his own congregation) on six ships from England to New England.
Because of the ever present pirate threat as well as the undeclared war with Spain all ships carried armament. The Lyon"s Whelp left from Yarmouth, Isle of Wight 11 February 1629 and arrived in Salem harbor 19 June 1629.
The Higginson Fleet brought with them 115 head of cattle, as horses and mares, cows and oxen, 41 goats, some conies (rabbits), along with all the provisions needed for setting up households and surviving till they could get crops in. These were some of the first settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the main body who would start coming in 1630 on the Winthrop Fleet.
The Higginson Fleet set sail on the 1 May 1629, arriving in Salem harbor on the 24 June 1629.
The ships in the fleet were:
Talbot (carried 19 cannon)
George Bonaventure (carried 20 cannon)
Lyon"s Whelp (carried 40 planters + crew + 8 cannon)
Four Sisters (carried 14 cannon)
Mayflower (carried 14 guns and was a different ship than the Pilgrim"s Mayflower. Pilgrim (small ship with 4 guns that carried supplies only)
Higginson"s fleet was greeted in Salem, Massachusetts by a small group of settlers, led by John Endecott. In Salem there were five houses besides Endecott"son
They had no trained minister, however, so Higginson and Samuel Skelton began conducting services immediately.
Higginson drew up a confession of faith, which was assented to, on 6 August, by thirty persons. Their eldest son, John (1616–1708), also trained for the ministry.
He succeeded his father-in-law Henry Whitfeld or Whitfield (1597-1687) as minister at Guilford, Connecticut, and served as pastor of Salem from 1659. Another son, Francis Higginson (1618–1673), returned to England and became vicar of Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland, where he lived until his death.
A portion of his diary was published in 1630 under the title, New Englands Plantation, or a Short and True Description of the Commodities and Discommodities of that Country.
He also wrote an account of his voyage, which is preserved in Hutchinson"s collection of papers.