Thomas Pearsall and his friends were located (later) in the Isle of Wight country and so at this time they controlled one of the two independent trading posts in Virginia. But they.....were at a serious disadvantage and were anxiously looking for some place where they could trade with safety......
Lord Baltimore having secured possession of Kent Island found that he had nothing but (now) unoccupied land as Thomas Pearsall and the other traders had taken their locations elsewhere.....At (Lord Baltimore's) instigation Claiborne was indicted....and charged with murder, piracy and sedition.....This act of Baltimore had solidified the Dutch English merchants in opposition to him, as they were all equally guilty with Claiborne. It was evident that should he be convicted and punished it would not be long before they would meet the same fate. As after events proved, Thomas Pearsall and his sons were more or less active in this opposition and took part in the events that immediately followed....
....with one exception, that of the youngest brother Samuel, the next generation of the Thomas Pearsall family had at this time arrived at America. With one exception they came in Dutch bottoms or their own boats. The only ones coming directly from an English port was Thomas Pearsall, aged 26 years, who sailed October 24, 1635, from ye port of London, aboard the ship Constance, Clement Campion master, bound for Virginia, and Samuel who came later with the Brents. The others, who came from Dutch ports of Flushing and Middleborough (sic) were Henry Pearsall, George Pearsall and Nicholas Pearsall, sons of Thomas Pearsall....
On p. 976 the editor refers to Voyages to Holland to America, a journal kept by David Pieterszen de Vries, in discussing the circumstances of unoccupied and abandoned Fort Nassau on the Delaware. It seems that this was proposed as a trading post for these tobacco merchants, and the money to finance the establishment of such a post was to come from "the Dutch-English merchants of whom Thomas Pearsall was one." And so we read:
As to the others engaged in this expedition there is every reason to believe that it was composed of the sons of the Dutch-English merchants, so that it will be entirely within the possibilities of the facts to say that Thomas, Henry, Nicholas and George Pearsall were members of the party.
On p. 982:
The records of the Land Office (of Maryland) show That Thomas Pearsall, 12 February, 1641, demanded lands for his own coming into Maryland, although as a fact he never permanently gave up his Virginia residence.
And p. 983:
There was at this time such a removal of the Dutch-Englishmen from Virginia to Long Island as to amount almost to an exodus....Here again Thomas Pearsall had to divide his forces. He retained the Virginia home. His younger son Samuel took charge of the business
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