Life in the Early 1700's Around the Time of the Immigration of Andrew Woods and Family from Ireland to Philadelphia
                                                by Jerry Jones

  Simply put, early 18th century was a brutal world. This was the world our ancestor Andrew Woods, his wife and children lived in. What would inspire a man like Andrew Woods to pack up his family, all his worldly belongings and travel around the world to an unknown land? Why did him and eight of his children perish during the voyage? What happened? Not much more is known other than what is written below, however some things can be postulated.
  If you haven’t done so please read the next two paragraphs, excerpts taken from John Woods’ document located in the file cabinet on our family page under “Joseph Woods of South Carolina written by Clinton McMillin Woods Foxworth. Andrew Woods in relation to me would be my 10th Generation (Great(7)-Grandfather).    


"About the beginning of the 18th century the emigration to the American colonies began.   My great, great grandfather emigrated from Scotland to the north of Ireland.   He married Isabel Frame, whose father had emigrated from Scotland.   She was born and died in Tryonne County, Ireland.   Their son was Andrew Woods (my great-grandfather).   His eldest son, Samuel Woods, came over to Pennsylvania and wrote back such glowing accounts of this land and urged so strongly for his father to come, that Andrew Woods, with his wife and nine children, sailed from Ireland about 1727 or 1728.   They had a stormy passage and a very brutal captain. I suppose he knew little of navigation and became more and more furious as he got farther and farther out of his course. That he got widely out of the way is proven by the fact that they were driven upon the Island of Antigua, north of South America.   From bad weather and insufficient and bad provisions and a crowded vessel, the ship fever broke out and many of the passengers died.   Andrew Woods and three of his children died and were buried on the Island of Antigua.   They stayed there several weeks and at last sailed for Philadelphia".

  "Water became scarce and the captain finally declared it was almost all gone, and put them on so short an allowance that many died of thirst.   One of Great grandfather's daughters, Rebecca, a young woman, died in sight of land, calling for water.   She was buried in the ocean.   Finally, after being forty-two weeks on the voyage the poor mother landed at Philadelphia with one child, my grandfather, Joseph Woods.   He was then about four years old.   All the others, her husband and children had died during the voyage.   After landing at Philadelphia it was discovered that there were several hogsheads of water which the captain, in his brutality, had denied to his passengers".   


  Life in the early 1700’s was nothing like we can imagine. Here are a few things to think about when we consider our ancestors, Andrew Woods, his wife and nine children that left Ireland and traveled to Philadelphia in the year 1728.
                                     
  Medicine was archaic at best. There was no concept of germs and where disease came from was a mystery. A physician of the day was formally trained, however, a surgeon required no medical certification or education. Surgeons learned their trade as they went along, usually by apprenticeship. Surgeons were a last resort. Amputations were common and could be performed in less than three minutes. A physician performed blood letting as a cure for most diseases. Most of the time the cure caused more deaths than the disease.
 
  Oral hygiene was almost non-existent. Many had few teeth or were toothless. Deformities and open sores were common. Most had smallpox at one time and had   pock-marked faces. Even the rich didn’t take baths, lice that carried typhus infested all. Children in the winter were stitched into their clothes. People in the country were better off than those in the cities because most diseases were contagious and country folks weren’t exposed as much as city dwellers. The cities had a ditch down the middle of the horse manure laden road that carried sewage, offal and whatever else the people threw into it.
 
  Many fled because of religious persecution and taxes that were so high the poor lost the only possessions and property they had. Our ancestors left by ship (name unknown) from Londonderry, a port city in Ireland.
 
    Now a few words about the ships that carried passengers from Europe to America. In the early 1700’s there were no passenger ships. There were cargo ships and military ships. I agree with John Woods that our ancestors made their fateful trip on a cargo ship. Some of the cargo ships were converted to passenger ships by putting another deck underneath the main deck. One had to stoop over at the waist to navigate around this cramped berthing area. Most ships were extremely over-crowded. In the berthing area there was very little light or air. During storms water would pour through the cracks and soak the passengers and all their possessions. Meals were salted meat and hardtack (a hard, dry biscuit). There were dried peas and beans, cheese and butter. Food could be cooked over charcoal fires in metal boxes called braziers but this was very hazardous on a wooden ship. It was mostly eaten cold. Eventually the food became infested with bugs, the biscuits grew harder, the cheese got moldy and the butter turned bad. The water after after standing in barrels for so long became stagnant and unsafe to drink.

  Illness, other than seasickness, was a major problem, typhus, also called ship’s fever,   spread by lice, killed many passengers. Death was a common occurance. People that died at sea were thrown overboard. There were no bathrooms, you can use your imagination the problems this caused. Seawater was the only means of cleaning one’s self. Most wore the same clothes for the duration of the voyage.

    The gulf stream was known by some captains but not fully understood. The first published chart was in 1678 and was published for scientists not mariners. The gulf stream comes up the eastern seaboard of the U.S. towards Nova Scotia and across the Atlantic to England. From there the current moves south toward the Canary Islands and Africa before turning west toward the Leeward Islands and Antigua. Savvy captains knew of this stream and used it for navigation. Maybe this is why our ancestors ended up in Antigua. Why it took so long I don’t know, maybe like John Woods postulated, this was a cargo ship and stopped at various ports along the way to trade goods. If this is true I asked myself, why there were still so many deaths?

  I discovered in my research that many ships had ruthless captains that intentionally gave their passengers bad food and water to make them ill. There were many deaths on Atlantic crossings due to typhus, dysentery and other maladies. Throw into the mix a murderous captain and the ingredients are there for mass murder. It could have been that the captain was in no hurry to get to Philadelphia. Why should he be? Until the year 1820 the captains of ships weren’t required to have passenger lists, therefore, the captain didn’t have to account for the passengers on his vessel. Most ports along the route to Antigua weren’t ports like we think about today. The ships didn’t pull up to docks and load and unload cargo. The passengers weren’t free to disembark and get fresh food and water. No, these ships anchored far from land and used smaller boats to get to shore. The captain and crew had the passengers where they wanted them, quarantined on board the ship, often sick, malnourished and without fresh water. Mutinies occurred but were rare given the condition of the passengers. The captain and crew were able to come and go as they pleased waiting for death to take its toll. At times these murderous captains would sail in circles sometimes waiting for death to take as many passengers as possible. Then the captain and crew could confiscate all their belongings. Given the length of the voyage Andrew Woods and family were on, this could have been the case. Only about half the passengers survived the crossing. Of course this is only speculation, there is no proof, but captains like this did exist and events like this did occur during this time period.

  We’ll never know what really happened. In my mind I can’t imagine the heartbreak, horror and suffering these poor folks endured. That family circle has been unbroken for a long time now. I wonder how they felt to be reunited.

  This is a poem I wrote from Andrew Woods’ wife’s point of view about this passage, it’s not pleasant, however, it portrays how I think she may have felt about this deadly voyage.




Voyage of Doom

We started out with dreams and hope,
on the docks of Londonderry.
As we boarded on our sailing ship,
cold and wet and weary.

Two long months, maybe three,
it seemed more like a year,
Since we left the dreary, dismal, docks,
our hearts were filled with fear.

A glimpse of land, a ray of hope,
we prayed each day to see,
But our hopes were crushed and bodies bruised,
by the violent, seething, sea,

Sometimes storms raged for days
as cold as a dead man’s hand,
And carried swift the chill of death,
never warmed by a kiss from land.

Vile and fetid in the ship’s deep bowels,
with disease and death replete.
Lived the stench of rot, mold and sweat,
Our companions were all three.

The berths with planks to use as beds,
were filled with cries of death.
Black as night in this sea bound tomb,
and as foul as the Devil’s breath.

The other’s eyes like mirrors,
with stares so grim and sad.
Reflected mine right back at me,
slowly going mad.

A tiny sniffle, a plaintive cry,
from my child so weak and frail.
Turned into a burning fever,
as the typhus raged full-scale.

Her little hands as if in prayer,
were pointed heavenly
She perished from the plague that day,
and was swallowed by the sea.

Wave by wave and day by day,
despair and deep heartache.
Now four months on this hellish ride,
a child each month did take.

It seemed the captain lost his way,
in circles on we pressed.
He cycled round the compass points,
killing time to wait for death.
.
The hopelessness took its awful toll,
until one sunny day,
When at last we saw a spot of land,
and hope sprung from dismay.

We cheered, we wept, and kissed the land,
though far from course we roamed.
We still had many miles to go,
to get to our new home.

Like cattle, us, the crew and all,
were put in quarantine.
The sickness, rampant, took its toll,
more deaths were now foreseen.

Here upon this heartless isle,
the people called Antigua.
I lost my husband to the fever,
then three more of my children.

Broken heart, and spirit low,
I struggled to go on.
With two young children by my side,
we boarded at the dawn.

I hope he meets a brutal death,
the Captain of our ship.
He kept the water for himself,
and my Rebecca forever slept.

On the wharf in Philadelphia,
Facing toward the east,
I pray for all my children,
Put there by that beast.

May their souls rest now in comfort,
With our Savior up above.
May they live with Him forever,
In the bosom of His Love.

Jerry Jones
<º))))><
12/24/2005