James Smith: My First Voyage To Virginia

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My name is James Smith, and I am an Englishmen who farms his neighbor’s land, but I have a dream of owning, and working my own land with my wife and two sons. So I sold all my livestock, my wagon, and my land to made the journey. The fees were high, but I had enough funds for our passage, lodging aboard a small ship. Lucky for me King James I established the Virginia Charter Company. The main purpose of the company is to help increase England's coffers. Our voyage to Virginia started on July 4, 1699. The voyage was forty-six days long, and very difficult. I decided to uproot my family, and leave England for two main reasons. First was to escape the obvious corruption of the Catholic Church. Secondly, the amount of death, and constant wars made me fearful…show more content…
We were lucky to be able to squat on small piece of land near the river. I didn’t have the money for many tools, and seed so I had to sell my fish at the market. My sons would catch, and smoked fish in between their studies . Most people paid with farming equipment. Without the tools, and seeds I had to work at a nearby plantation. My labor was paid with seeds, and lumber. Two years after settling in Jamestown, my wife Mary died during child birth. She was very supportive of raising our boys in Virginia. Mary asked my why did I choose Jamestown, and it was a very easy answer. I told her that I wanted us to settle where the winters were not too harsh, and the area has been settled for over ninety years. I do not regret starting our life’s in Virginia. The community is very friendly, and faith in the Catholic Church has been restored. My new wife is Mary’s younger sister Sarah. Sarah has given me three more sons. My dream will live on through my sons, and their families. The income from my crops has allowed me to expand my farmland. We also built a church on our land. Our faith in the Lord is the reason we are alive

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