This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/iRI.2ACIB/274.2
Message Board Post:
Two more things further on this:
1. My feeling is that someone looked at the LDS records for a Thomas Chaffe within the
right date range and chose him. This error was mirriored then on many other sites. I
doubt very much if the surname Chaffee (with 2 ee's) even existed in 1616. This
spelling is more of an American variation that evolved later on.
2. Thomas' ship, the Speedwell is an interesting possibility. It fits in with
Thomas's arrival date, it shows his wife arriving with him, the departure/arrival
location is in the right area. The problem is the it is spelled Claff in the records.
Our feeling is that the actual text is Chaff. Claff is not a common surname to England,
and no Claff person has been found so far in land transaction records in this time period.
It the name is Chaff (as opposed to Chaffy/Chaffey)it puts Thomas (statistically) from
Devon - Exeter/Buckfastleigh area.
Comments appreciated.