The Little James and its companion vessel, the Anne, arrived in Plymouth in summer of 1623.

The Anne was a ship of about 140 tun hired to bring about 60 passengers as well as goods and supplies to Plymouth Colony. The Master of the Anne was the experienced English mariner William Peirce who had made several early voyages to Plymouth, and later to Massachusetts Bay, and eventually settled in Boston in 1632.

The smaller vessel accompanying the Anne was known as the Little James or simply as the James. It was a pinnace, a light, single-decked vessel used in the 17th century for exploring, trading, and basic naval duties. Smaller pinnaces could be stored and used as a tender on larger vessels. Larger fully-rigged pinnaces were often used as merchant vessels and even warships.

The Little James was described as “a fine vessel of about 44 tun, which the company had built to stay in the Country.” The master of the ship, responsible for navigation and managing the crew, was John Bridges. Captain Emmanuel Altham, a wealthy young gentleman of Essex and investor in the Company of Adventurers, served in the capacity of a mercantile officer. The Little James carried an unspecified number of new arrivals to Plymouth.

The larger ship, the Anne, arrived first, in early July 1623. About 10 days later, the Little James sailed into Plymouth harbor. Together, the two ships brought about 90 people to the early colony.

“After our arrival in New England….we found the other ship set forth by the Company, who came for Portsmouth six days after us, and arrived here at New England ten days before, and with all her people well – as we with our people did the like. And yet one good wife Jennings [Jenney] was brought abed of a son aboard our ship and was very well. And then, we had an old woman in our ship about four score years of age, which was in good health…”
– Letter, Emmanual Altham to Sir Edward Altham, September 1623, in Three Visitors to Early Plymouth.

The Little James nearly foundered as it was anchored outside Plymouth harbor, when high winds nearly drove it onto the sand flats known as Brown’s Bank.

…coming to anchor by a great many sands, when it was a little wind, it proved at last great store of wind and a great storm, insomuch that our anchors came home and almost laid us upon the sands. And the storm increasing, we were fain to cut our mainmast overboard, and had much ado to save our lives in our ship. But thanks be to God, we were saved and our ship, and are here at this time in a good harbor at Patuxet, blessed be God!
– Letter, Emmanual Altham to Edward Altham, March 1623/24, in Three Visitors to Early Plymouth.

There are no 17th-century passenger lists for the Little James or the Anne. Although ship assignments for many passengers can be extrapolated from primary sources, including Emmanual Altham’s account of the passage on the Little James, there is no fully accurate list for each vessel.

There are also a few discrepancies. While Altham says the Burchers were fellow passengers on the Little James, the Land Division identifies them – apparently mistakenly – as having come on the Anne.

Note: The basis for identifying passengers on early ships to Plymouth Colony, including the Anne and Little James is the 1623 Division of Land (Plymouth Colony Records 12:5) which granted acreage to each settler. An indispensable scholarly resource on these early immigrants is Robert Charles Anderson’s Great Migration Study Project with the New England Historic and Genealogical Society, a comprehensive examination of historical and genealogical sources with the goal of identifying all European settlers of Plymouth Colony who arrived before the end of 1633. This ongoing research informs the following list of known – as well as possible or likely* – Anne and Little James passengers.

Passengers on the Anne and the Little James

Anthony Annable
Jane Annable – wife of Anthony Annable
Sarah Annable – daughter
Hannah Annable* – daughter, likely born in colony in 1623 and included in Land Grant
Edward Bangs
Robert Bartlett
Mary Becket (or Bucket)
Fear Brewster
Patience Brewster
William Bridges -stepson of John Oldham
Edward Burcher
Mrs. Burcher – wife of Edward Burcher
Thomas Clark
Christopher Conant
Hester Cooke – wife of Francis Cooke who came on the Mayflower
Hester Cooke* – daughter, possibly born later in colony
Jacob Cooke – son
Jane Cooke – daughter
Anthony Dix [Dike]
John Faunce
Goodwife Flavell – wife of Thomas Flavell who came on the Fortune
Edmund Flood
Bridget Fuller, wife of Samuel Fuller who came on the Mayflower
Godbert Godbertson (or Cuthbert Cuthbertson)
Sarah Godbertson – wife of Godbert Godbertson
Samuel Godbertson – son
Timothy Hatherley
William Heard
Lydia Hicks -daughter
Margaret Hicks, wife of Robert Hicks who came on the Fortune
Phoebe Hicks – daughter
Samuel Hicks – son
Mary Hilton – daughter
Mrs. Hilton – wife of William Hilton who came on the Fortune
William Hilton- son
Edward Holman
Abigail Jenney – daughter
John Jenney
Sarah Jenney – wife of John Jenney
Sarah Jenney – daughter ??
Samuel Jenney – son
Manassah Kempton
Robert Long
Experience Mitchell
Ephraim Morton* -son, possibly born in colony
George Morton
John Morton – son of George Morton
Juliana Morton – wife of George Morton
Nathaniel Morton – son of George Morton
Patience Morton – daughter of George Morton
Sarah Morton – daughter of George Morton
Thomas Morton-son of Thomas Morton who came on Fortune
Ellen Newton
John Oldham
Mrs. Oldham – wife of John Oldham
Lucretia Oldham – sister
Frances Palmer – wife of William Palmer who came on the Fortune
Christian Penn
Abraham Pierce – servant of John Pierce
Mr. [John] Pierce
Joshua Pratt
Mary Priest – daughter of Sarah Godbertson & Degory Priest
Sarah Priest – daughter of Sarah Godbertson & Degory Priest
James Rande
Robert Ratliffe
Mrs. Ratcliffe* – wife of Robert Ratliffe
Nicolas Snow
Alice Southworth – widow of Edward Southworth
Anna Sprague – wife of Francis Sprague
Francis Sprague
Mercy Sprague – daughter
Hugh Stacy
Barbara (Standish) – became wife of Myles Standish after arrival
Thomas Tilden
Mrs. Tilden – wife of Thomas Tilden
Tilden [child]
Sarah Tracy – daughter
Stephen Tracy
Tryphosa Tracy – wife of Stephen Tracy
Joyce Wallen* – wife of Ralph Wallen
Ralph Wallen
Abigail Warren- daughter
Ann Warren – daughter
Elizabeth Warren – wife of Richard Warren who came on the Mayflower
Elizabeth Warren – daughter
Mary Warren – daughter
Sarah Warren- daughter