Capt. Robert ANDREWS (1593 – 1643)
Robert Andrews was born about 1593 in Norfolk, England. He married Elizabeth (Franklin) about 1618 in Norwich, Norfolk, England. Capt. Robert Andrews came from Norwich, Norfolk, England, early in the year 1635, as owner and master of the ship”Angel Gabriel” which sank in the Great Colonial Hurricane [modern scientists believe this was a category four storm], Robert died 1 Mar 1642/43 in Ipswich, Mass.
Elizabeth was probably a widow with a young daughter Elizabeth when she married Robert.
Children of Robert and Elizabeth:
1- Elizabeth Andrews (probably from mother Elizabeth's first marriage), born 1616 Norwich, Norfolk, England, first married Humphrey Griffin 1639 Ipswich, MA, second married Hugh Sherratt 10 Feb 1662/63 Haverhill, MA, Departed 8 Apr 1670 Haverhill, MA.
2- Alice Andrews, born about 1618 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married William Franklin abt 1638 Ipswich, MA, Departed 2 Apr 1641 Boston, MA.
3- Abigail (Rebekah) Andrews [our ancestor], born 1622 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married Capt. Danial Hovey [our ancestor] 1640, Departed 24 Jun 1665 Brookfield, MA.
4- John Andrews, born 1629 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married Sarah Holyoke abt 1660 Ipswich, MA, Departed 13 Mar 1665 Ipswich, MA.
5- Thomas Andrews, born abt 1631 Norwich, Norfolk, England,unmarried, Departed 27 Nov 1683 Ipswich, MA.
The Angel Gabriel was a 240 ton English passenger galleon. She was commissioned for Sir Walter Raleigh's last expedition to America in 1617 and took part in the Duke of Buckingham’s 1627 assault on Cadiz. She sank in a storm off Pemaquid Point, near the newly established town of Bristol, Maine, on August 15, 1635. The sinking occurred during the middle of the Great Migration.
The ship was initially built as the Starre in 1615 and renamed the Jason by Sir Walter Raleigh for use in his second expedition to Guiana (then under control of the Spanish) in 1617. Following Raleigh’s return it was seized and became a merchant ship, renamed the Angel Gabriel....
The ship “Angel Gabriel” pulled into Pemaquid Bay (Pemaquid, Maine) on August 13, 1635 and laid at anchor. The next day there was a terrible rain storm which ravaged the whole coast from Nova Scotia to New York starting at morning. The Angel was torn to pieces by the savage storm and cast away. Most of the cattle, 1 seaman and 3 or 4 passengers died. The others escaped to shore. Among the few personal belongings saved was a chest belonging to the Burnham boys. The tides had been as high as 20 feet.
Some passengers set up tents along the shore and John Cogswell [Coggswell] went to Boston and sought the help of a Capt. Gallop who commanded a smallbark, or barque as it was called then. He took some passengers to Ipswich and made another trip the end of October. Andrew probably went to Chebacco [southeast Ipswich, then Essex] with his nephews, the three Burnham brothers, and John Cogswell and his family in Capt. Gallop’s barque.
Pemaquid Point Light House
In a book entitled “Ancient Pemaquid,” by J. W. Thornton, 1857, it says:
“On the last wednesday of May in this year (1635), the Angel Gabriel, a strong ship of 240 tons, and carrying a heavy armament of 16 guns swung at her moorings in the King’s Road, four or five miles distant from the city. Her destination was Pemaquid. On her deck was a company of many Godly Christians, some from other ships, bound for New England; one of them was Richard Mather, visited there by Sir Ferdinando Georges [Gorges] but the chief personage in the company was John Cogswell, a London merchant of wealth who with the fragments of his freight, and accompanied by his servants, settled at Ipswich.”
In the fury of an easterly storm the ship with her cargo were totally lost; some of the passengers not escaping death, most notably the Blaisdell family. This shipwreck is chronicled as one of the greatest disasters in the annals of Pemaquid.
1- Elizabeth Andrews (probably from mother Elizabeth's first marriage), born 1616 Norwich, Norfolk, England, first married Humphrey Griffin 1639 Ipswich, MA, second married Hugh Sherratt 10 Feb 1662/63 Haverhill, MA, Departed 8 Apr 1670 Haverhill, MA.
2- Alice Andrews, born about 1618 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married William Franklin abt 1638 Ipswich, MA, Departed 2 Apr 1641 Boston, MA.
3- Abigail (Rebekah) Andrews [our ancestor], born 1622 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married Capt. Danial Hovey [our ancestor] 1640, Departed 24 Jun 1665 Brookfield, MA.
4- John Andrews, born 1629 Norwich, Norfolk, England, married Sarah Holyoke abt 1660 Ipswich, MA, Departed 13 Mar 1665 Ipswich, MA.
5- Thomas Andrews, born abt 1631 Norwich, Norfolk, England,unmarried, Departed 27 Nov 1683 Ipswich, MA.
The Angel Gabriel was a 240 ton English passenger galleon. She was commissioned for Sir Walter Raleigh's last expedition to America in 1617 and took part in the Duke of Buckingham’s 1627 assault on Cadiz. She sank in a storm off Pemaquid Point, near the newly established town of Bristol, Maine, on August 15, 1635. The sinking occurred during the middle of the Great Migration.
| Category 4 hurricane (SSHS) | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 1635 |
| Dissipated | August 25, 1635 |
| Highest winds | 1-minute sustained: 135 mph (215 km/h) |
| Lowest pressure | ≤ 930 mbar (hPa); 27.46 inHg (Estimated [1]) |
| Fatalities | 46+ direct |
| Areas affected | Virginia, Long Island, New England, other areas? (Information scarce) |
| Part of the 1635 Atlantic hurricane season | |






