John and James Gale were two young brothers from Belfast, Ireland, who sailed in a fleet of two small ships called "The Ark" and "The Dove" from Cowes, on the Isle of Wight on November 22, 1633. On board the ships were 17 gentleman and their wives along with about 200 others, most of whom were indentured servants. The Gale brothers may have been indentured servants.
The voyage was led by Leonard Calvert, the son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore. They arrived on St. Clement's Island in southern Maryland on March 25, 1634. [Wikipedia]. Sources say a complete ship record ceases to exist, but many people have researched and gathered documents piecing together the passenger lists. None of the lists I found contained anyone by the name of Gale among the gentlemen, however this the family tradition. (See the book below). I have found several records proving the family was in Baltimore in Colonial Times. Additional details to follow.
To make it easier to visualize the journey these Maryland pioneers made, I created this short video giving you a birds-eye view of the approximate route they took, according to historians. They traveled about 7,000 miles in 124 days to reach their new country. That's an average of 56.5 miles a day.
Read more about John and James Gale in "Memories, Pioneer Days in Oregon and Washington Territory", by Caroline Gale Budlong, here:
My connection to the Gale family is via my great-grandfather, Percy H. Daniels, son of William Daniels and Eliza Gale. See the Daniels page for more information and updates.
