Although not generally used as an embarkation point for emigrants as much as other ports like Plymouth or Bristol, Weymouth was used for some of the first ships sailing to America. The reason the early ships departed from Weymouth is the start of emigration was organised by a local minister, the Reverend John White of St. Peters, Dorchester. He along with fellow residents of the Dorset County town founded the Massachusetts Bay Company. The Massachusetts Bay Company was originally concerned with fishing, but when that failed some years after its inception, the trade turned to emigrants. The Amity set sail from Weymouth in February 1625/6. The ship Abigail set sail from Weymouth in 1628 with many Dorset emigrants bound for New England. This particular passage was important as it carried Roger Morey; and the new government for the London Plantation in Massachusetts. The governor, the first of Massachusetts, was John Endicott.

What do we know or can guess about Roger Morey? He was amongst over nine hundred individuals or families who migrated to New England before the end of 1633. Most ships left from the West Country as battling down the English Channel was a tough experience and fare-paying employers did not want any money wasted on someone who might jump ship. The months of May and June would have been the predominant times of arrival having embarked February and March. This was to give time to get established and get some work out of the employees before the darkness of Winter encroached. Freemanship in our past has meant several things but in Salem it presupposed church membership and attaining the age of twenty-one. Morey men marry at the age of twenty-five. British people usually became church members at the age of sixteen and by fourteen were allowed to choose a guardian and witness documents. Let us start at Drimpton again: The first mention is of a piece of farmland owned by a man called Dreama an old English name. Records of the 13th Century spell the name Drameton; Dremintun; Dremyton and Drempton. In the reign of Henry VIII Osbert de Dremeton held a virgate (a peasant holding) in Dremeton valued at 5 shillings per annum. In this area Roger Morey was born 18th May 1610, and young at heart, a touch of Puritan by faith and farmer by trade during 1628 set foot on his path to Weymouth and the waiting "Abigail". She was ready to sail to the New World with emigrants and farm animals and goods of all description. The Dorchester Company employed Roger and it was his job to feed and water the sheep and cattle. The master of the little vessel was Henry Gaudens. Sailing on the 20th June 1628, it was a good crossing and Roger made Naumkeag on the 6th of September, with about twelve fellow settlers including Captain John Endecott the new governor for London's Plantation. (Unloading animals, building houses burying wives and children etc. all in Morey Migration.) Notebook 02 0251

Roger Morey sailed from Bristol or the IOW Nov 1630 on the "Lyon" and landed at Naumkeag Feb 1631. This sailing of the "Lyon" had only 26 passengers and the rest was loaded withsupplies and livestock.

In records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Roger Morey is mentioned on a list of freemen in Salem 18th May 1631. This is the day some records show his arrival at Boston from the Isle of Wight, HAM, ENG. I suspect he had returned to ENG to pick up sheep and cattle and possibly assist a landowner in his move to the New World. This was the year he became a member of the Salem church, and sometime in 1634 he married Mary Johnson at Roxbury, Norfolk, USA. This town is now a southern residential section of Boston, Suffolk, MA, USA. Prior to becoming part of the city of Boston in 1868, it was a township in Norfolk, MA, USA, located between Boston and Dorchester. Early spellings include Rocksbury, Roxburie, and Rocsbury; the town was named probably in reference to its rocky site. Puritan immigrants who came with Governor John Winthrop founded the town in 1639. Early records of the town of Providence show Roger Morey could sign his name, while in other documents Mary made her mark. Their first son Roger duly arrived in 1635 at Salem, Essex, but sadly for his parents and all involved young Roger died within the year. On the 2nd March 1636 he made an agreement with the townsfolk to look after their cattle for seven shillings per beast for the season, which was from the 1st April to the 1st November and he was Neatherd for the season of eight months from the 5th April 1636. Each day, one hour after sunrise at the gate of the pen on the western exit of the common, Roger started work taking the cattle to pasture. Any owner, who did not have his herd ready needed to drive them out himself to Roger, whose job was to carefully look after them and return the beasts safely. In the meantime the owners tended their crops, built houses, sheds and fences and built roads. It is not likely the herds were very large and probable Roger Morey was on horseback and had several cattle dogs. The Eastern Woodlands forest was being felled for the making of farms and woodcutters were hard at work. Chips flew high into the air, English grass seed was being sown around the smouldering stumps. Bullock teams were being used to drag the heavy logs to the pitsaw. And cross cutters docked timber into post and rail lengths ready for the splitters.

Among the Salem land grantees of 1636 Roger received forty or fifty acres next to Mr Cole. Records of the First church of Salem show, late in 1836 he removed himself as member. (This is significant but Roger Williams was well gone.) Salem town records show he had fifty acres laid out 20th February 1637. And on the 14th August 1637, he requested a spot of land by the Estye family property. He was granted three quarters of an acre of marsh on Christmas Day 1637. He had a household of five. And 20th July 1638 he was granted a strip of meadow of two and a half acres and one and a half acres of upland. He remained one of the colony's neatherds, looking after the cattle both in the paddock during the hot summer days and the neathouse during the long winters. This work lasted up to 1641. On the 25th January 1641 from Salem he was on the petition jury of the Essex Quarterly Court. Five years later he moved to Lynn where he is found during 1646. In a warrant to the constable of Lynn on the 29th December 1646 Roger was a witness at the Essex Quarterly Court. During 1649 in Essex Quarterly Court records, mention is made of where Roger Morey's old house stood, referring perhaps to his prior removal from Salem to Lynn. Mrs Lydia Bankes sued Roger for debt in June 1650. And by 1652 he was in Providence, RI, USA. Records of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations reveal he was an Inn Keeper in Providence by 1655, and Providence constable. Providence town records show at his request, land was laid out for him early in 1656. He entered in town books he had bought ankers of strong spirits from Mr Frogmorton and on 21st July 1656 he entered two ankers of liquors, on 27th October 1656 three ankers of liquors, in December two barrels of sack. And by the 27th of August 1656, he had a house lot laid out on the hill next to Robert Williams' meadow. According to depositions of Edward Inman, Roger Williams' servant John Clawson is said to have complained of men such as Roger Morey. This was on the occasion of John Clawson's violent death. At the Quarter Court 27 January 1657, Roger was among a group of men who were empowered to treat Indians and lay claim to meadow at Lokusgussuck and clear the land for the town. He was selected as a juryman to attend General court Trials at Warwick in 1657. The early records of the town of Providence show in 1657 the Rhode Island Treasurer was ordered to pay Roger Morey one shilling and sixpence out of the treasury for the day's firing and house room. At the town meeting 01 October 1657 Roger was chosen as administrator of the estate of William Robinson in Providence, October 1657. On the 15th of January 1658 he bought a house lot and four acres from Robert Colwell and sold it to Thomas Olney senior of Providence 19th March the next year. On 06 August 1658 he testified to the births of his children, Bethia, Thomas and Hannah. On 27 April 1659 Roger faced the townsfolk and acknowledged he had sold the house in which Robert Colwell lived to Robert. On the 7th of April 1660 he was granted six acres of land and three acres of meadow in exchange for land he had been previously granted. On the 12th June 1660 he sold ninety acres of land outside Providence to John Acres of Dorchester. On 25 November 1660 Henry Neale, carpenter of Braintree sold Roger everything he had in Providence including the house, which had been purchased from Daniel Comstock. On 3rd February 1661 Roger sold to William Carpenter the right of commonage, which previously came with his land. On the 4th May 1661 Samuel Comstock's widow, Anne Smith of Providence sold Roger four acres in the row of houses in the north part of Providence, adjoining land he had previously bought. Later Roger served as Commissioner and he was selected for jury service in February 1661. He was one of six men chosen to hear cases in Providence during 1662 and later was frequently a Providence juryman. He sold Robert Colwell's right of commonage to William Carpenter of Pautuxett on the 22nd December 1662. In the division on the Eastside of the Seven-mile line, Roger drew lot number fourteen on the 18th of February 1665. On the 3rd of June 1665 Timothy Brookes revealed, Roger Morey had promised the satisfaction of an estimated twelve acres worth a certain sum of money to Eldad Kinsley for part of Mehittabel Morey's portion to Kinsley on her marriage. During the cold Winter and on the 5th of January 1666 Roger died - I presume aged fifty-five. Although Roger had made his wife his executrix, on his death she ultimately refused administration of his insolvent estate. Later she did accept administration, but neither will nor inventory survived. As early as 1677 a review of the town books, which survived King Philip's war revealed the administration papers and bond were missing. Mary Morey seems to have been an ineffectual administratrix, for son Jonathan claimed as son and heir apparent, before a Providence town meeting, he had taken possession of twelve acres of upland, which had been his Father's right.

In 1537 Queen Elizabeth decreed all births must be listed in the parish records. Some of these records have been lost, but on the plaque placed in 1914 at Weymouth, Roger Morey is shown as leaving for New England 1628 and he was from Drimpton. And there is the Broadwinsor Parish record on parchment in the Dorchester Library for Roger Morey.