The 1729 Voyage of the Ship ~ 'George and Ann'
"The voyage that brought the first Barkley's to America"

Charles Clinton, the ancestor of the Clintons in New York, was born in Longford, Ireland in the year 1690.  His grandfather William as an adherent of Charles I, and took refuge in the north of Ireland.  His father, James married Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of one of the Captains in Cromwell's army.  He was a man of wealth and influence, and induced many of his friends and neighbors to emigrate with him to America.  He chartered the ship George and Ann, Capt. Rymer, to transport them and their effects from Dublin to Philadelphia.

The whole number of passengers, including men, women, and children, was one hundred and fourteen.  Among the papers of Mr. Charles Clinton is a document showing that he paid the passage money for ninety four.

Mr.  Clinton was unfortunate in his selection of a ship; but more unfortunate in his selection of a Captain.  Capt. Rymer was a cold blooded tyrant, of whom his officers and sailors were in constant fear, and as base a villain a sever trod the deck of a slave ship.  The George and Ann sailed on the 20th of May, 1729 from the port of Dublin for Philadelphia, poorly supplied with stores for a voyage of the ordinary length, but protracted by the infamy of the master to one hundred and thirty-five days.  The passengers were not isolated individuals who had casually met on ship-board, they consisted of families who had converted their estates, excepting such portion as they could conveniently take with them, into gold, to purchase lands in Pennsylvania, and build a town where they could enjoy the civil and religious privileges denied them in there native land.  They had selected the mild season of the year for their passage, and expected to arrive in Philadelphia in July, in season to select their place of residence, and put up dwellings before the winter. Such were their anticipations.  They did not dream that half of  their number would find watery graves before reaching the shores of America.

Several, besides Mr.  Clinton had considerable sums of gold and silver coins.
This was known to the Captain, and excited his cupidity, and he resolved to prolong the voyage, and to keep his ship at sea until his provisions were exhausted, and his passengers had died of famine and disease, and the seize and appropriate their goods for his own use.  Such was the diabolical plan of Capt.  Rymer.

The ship had not long been at sea before the passengers began to mistrust that the captain had evil designs.  He was tyrannical in the exercise of this authority, and his officers and men where in constant fear of him.  The ship was making slow progress towards her port of destination, the passengers had been put on short allowance, and some had already died of disease endangered by the small quantity and bad quality of the provisions served out. Starvation and death seemed inevitable if no change could be effected, and the passengers, after consideration, resolved to assume the command, if a change could not otherwise be made.  The two Methodists, having some knowledge of the theory and practice of invigation, were appointed to watch night and day all the movements of Capt.  Rymer.

One night soon afterwards, they discovered that though the wind was fair, the ship was sailing in an opposite direction from her true course.  They inquired of the helmsman why he so steered; his reply was, that is the Captains orders.

This fact was communicated to the other passengers.  Several had died of starvation, and many had become so weak and emaciated by want of food and nourishment that they could scarcely stand.  Though weak and feeble they resolved to make an effort to compel the captain to keep his ship on her true course, both by night as well by day.  One of the passengers had a brace of pistols.  These were loaded and put into the hands of the Methodists , and all the passengers who had sufficient strength remaining followed them to the quarter deck.  With the loaded pistols in their hands they charged the captain with treachery, with pro- tracting the voyage, with the designs of keeping the ship at sea till all the passengers had perished of disease or famine, and then seized on their goods. He said in reply that the voyage had been prolonged by head winds, and not by any fault or connivance of himself of his officers.  They then charged him with having kept his ship off her course in the night, thus deceiving the passengers who were mostly landsmen, and unable in the dark weather to judge whether or not the ship was on her true course; with issuing fuller rations to his crew that to the passengers that he might be able to navigate his ship. Seeing the resolute and determined manner of the passengers, he made fair promises; but he made them only that
he might break them.

The Capes of Virginia was the first land made, but no date is given, from whence, according to the pretence of the captain, he was driven by stress of weather to Cape Cod, making land on the 4th of October 1729.

This was only pretence, and though his surviving passengers earnestly persuaded him to land them, according to contract, at Philadelphia, or at New York, or at any port he could make, he refused to accede to their requests, and obstinately kept his vessel at sea, though his passengers were daily perishing for want of food.  Every sailor knows that the gale which would drive a vessel from the Capes of Virginia to Cape Cod, would enable a captain of very moderate attainments to have made a harbor either in the Chesapeake or in Delaware Bay, or to have reached the port of New York.  Like many other villains, he did not see the goal to which his base conduct inevitably led.
When off the Capes of Virginia he had wit enough to perceive the difficulty in which he was involved.  If he listened to his passengers, and made for the port of Philadelphia, he would been immediately arrested on his arrival, and his only alternative was to keep his ship at sea, avoid speaking any vessel, and persist in his diabolical purpose.

The New England Weekly Journal, printed at Boston Nov. 10, 1729, contains the following notice of the arrival of the George and Ann:
"We hear from Martha's Vineyard that some time last month Capt Lothrop, in his passage from this place (Boston) to that island, off of Monomoy espied a vessel which put out a signal of distress to them.  He making up to her went aboard; found her to be a vessel from Ireland, bound for Philadelphia, (asthey said) who have been from thence 20 weeks and brought out 190 passengers,
30 of whom were children, being destitute of provision, (having only but 15 biscuit on board) 100 of them starved to death, among which were children except one, and the remainder of the passengers looked very ghastfully.
They craved hard for water; of which one drank to that degree that he soon after died; two more died while Capt. Lothrop was aboard.  Only three of the sailors were alive (besides the master and mate) and they very sick. They entreated him to pilot them into the first harbor they could get into, but the master was for bringing them to Boston.  They told him if he would not let the pilot carry them into what place he should think fit, they would throw him overboard; upon which Capt. Lothrop having brought the vesseloff of sandy Point, told them there was not but one house there, with provisions; 'tis thought many are since dead.  Not withstanding their extremity, and the sad spectacles of death before their eyes, and near prospect of their own, 'twas astonishing to behold their impenitence, and to here their own profane speeches."

The point which Capt.  Lothrop calls Sandy, was then about four miles north of Monomoy Point.  A vessel then entering Chatham harbor could sail eight miles in a northerly direction within the islands up to the present town of Eastham.  It is certain that Capt. Rymer landed his passengers at Nauset, and in that part of the territory, now called Orleans.

Of the one hundred and fourteen (or 190 as stated by Lothrop)
who embarked at Dublin, less than one-half were living- all the rest
had been committed to the watery deep.

After landing the surviving passengers and some of there goods, Capt. Rymer proceeded on his voyage to Philadelphia.  After his arrival the sailors, relived from the terror in which they had been held, entered a complaint against their Captain.  He was arrested, a preliminary examination was had, and he was sent in irons to England for trial.  The charges of cruelty to his passengers and crew, of extortion, and of an attempt to embezzle the goods of the passengers were proved and he was condemned to be hung and quartered, and this just sentence was duly executed in Dublin.