Chapter 5: civil History.
It has already been mentioned in the preceding chapter, that Mr. Hooker and a large proportion of his church removed from New Town in 1635 and 1636; and that Mr. Shepard with another company purchased their houses and lands. Among “the reasons which swayed him to come to New England,” Mr. Shepard says in his Autobiography, “Divers people in Old England of my dear friends desired me to go to New England there to live together, and some went before and writ to me of providing a place for a company of us, one of which was John Bridge, and I saw divers families of my Christian friends, who were resolved thither to go with me.” Accordingly “in the year 1634, about the beginning of the winter,” he embarked at Harwich, having with him “brother Champney, Frost, Goffe, and divers others, most dear saints,” who afterwards were inhabitants of Cambridge. They were driven back by stress of weather, and the voyage was abandoned. But “about the 10th of August, 1635,” he again embarked; “land so the Lord, after many sad storms and wearisome days and many longings to see the shore, brought us to the sight of it upon Oct. 2, 1635, and upon Oct. the 3d, we arrived with my wife, child, brother Samuel, Mr. Harlakenden, Mr. Cooke, &c., at Boston.—When we had been here two days, upon Monday Oct. 5, we came (being sent for by friends at Newtown) to them, to my brother Mr. Stone's house; and that congregation being upon their removal to Hartford at Connecticut, myself and those that came with me found many houses empty and many persons willing to sell, and here our company bought off their houses to dwell in until we should see another place fit to remove into; but having been here some time, divers of our brethren did desire to sit still and not to remove farther, partly because of the fellowship of the churches, partly because they thought their lives were short and removals to near plantations full of troubles, partly because they found ”
