Virginia and Massachusetts - Activities - Becoming Virginians

Home > Teacher's Guide > Activities > Virginia and Massachusetts

Examine the Differences: Virginia and Massachusetts

In the exhibit we say that "Virginia was an establishment colony in the 1600s. People came to Virginia for economic advancement rather than political and religious freedom." In contrast, Massachusetts was settled by religious dissenters--people unhappy with the Church of England. Largely because of this difference, a number of gerneralizations can be made about the early English settlers in Virginia and those in Massachusetts. This page compares the earliest, largest period of English migration to each colony—Virginia from 1642 to 1675 and Massachusetts from 1629 to 1641. The information is based on David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (Call number: E169.1 .F539).

IN VIRGINIA:	IN MASSACHUSETTS:
Men outnumbered women by 9:1 ratio	Men outnumbered women by a 3:2 ratio
75 percent of the settlers came as indentured servants. 75 percent of this number were between the ages of 15 and 24.	Fewer than 25 percent of the settlers came as indentured servants. 40 percent of all immigrants were over 25 years of age, and nearly half were children under the age of 16.
Most adults were illiterate. Although almost all gentry could read and write, only 25 to 30 percent of indentured servants and fewer than 1 percent of all slaves could sign their names.	Two-thirds of all adults could sign their names.
Despite official efforts to establish towns, Virginians lived in the countryside.	Residents lived close together in towns.
Largely because of the climate, the death rate was twice as great as the death rate in Massachusetts. Nearly half of all children died before reaching adulthood.
50 percent of child names came from the Bible. Virginians preferred the names of medieval knights and kings for the boys--William, Robert, Richard, Edward, George, and Charles. For girls, they selected Christian saints and English folk names--Margaret, Sarah, Elizabeth, Jane, Catherine, Anne, Mary, and Frances.	90 percent of child names came from the Bible. More than half the girls were named Elizabeth, Sarah, or Mary. John, Joseph, Samuel, and Josiah were popular for boys.