Brokets have always migrated within Britain, but 2 migrations stand out, both from Yorkshire: one northward 14-17th C and the other southward 15-16th C.

They migrated overseas too—as in the 19th C to Australia, China, New Zealand and South Africa—but 1 migration stands out: to North America, beginning 17th C and continuing ever since.

	Contents of this page:	1. Northward within Britain
		2. Southward within Britain
		3. Overseas to North America
		4. Overseas to Australia, China, New Zealand, South Africa

1. Northward within Britain

This was a far-reaching internal migration. There are no records specifically detailing Brokets but—although numbers were tiny—from it probably sprang the largest group in Britain today: the Scottish Brokets. It was a successive migration, apparently at first under the banners of the Percys in the early 14th C, possibly even of the Bruces before. But most, if not all, of these earliest Broket migrants established no lines. Several-generation Brokets in Scotland today may mainly descend from later phases of this ongoing migration in the 15-17th centuries.

The End of the Feudal Society

As late as the 14th C England could still be called feudal; only a small percentage of the population lived in towns. The king granted lands to the barons and the Church. The barons built castles and in return for military service granted land to knights. Knights lived in large manor houses and through bailiffs managed their estates. The farm work was done by serfs. Loyalty shown by vassals to their lords was intense. If a baron expanded his territory many of his retinue would move with him into the new areas. Then during the 15-17th C 'land holding' became 'land owning' and below the aristocracy class strata emerged of knights / esquires / gentlemen / yeomen / husbandmen / labourers.

The Borders

The wild Border territory was the stage for war between Scotland and England from 1286 until at least Flodden Field in 1513 (Miller 1960 p 5). Expansionist barons could establish new power bases in the surrounding region, and even threaten the Crown. The Bruce family, for instance, after gaining territory in Yorkshire established a base in Alnwick in Northumberland from which to expand into southern Scotland or retreat back to. They later became kings of Scotland. Local tenants transferred their allegiance to incoming lords. Loyal retainers accompanying their lords from further south were leased lands or made bailiffs.

Percy

Like the Bruces before them, the Percys were dominant barons first in Yorkshire then in Northumberland and with large scale territorial ambitions across southern Scotland. The 14th C was the great period of Percy expansion. Up till 1309 nearly all their estates were in Yorkshire—among them Bolton Percy and Steeton—with some in Lincolnshire, yet by 1399 they had become the most powerful force along the whole Scottish border. This occurred in two waves: 1309-35 they bought Alnwick from the Vescys—lords of Alnwick since early Norman times and landholders in Bolton Percy in the early 1300s—and gained control of Northumberland, and Berwick and Jedburgh in Scotland; then 1368-99 they became the leading power across Cumberland. After the eclipse of their influence by the Nevilles at the battle of Towton in 1461 they found safe refuge and support in Scotland (Bean 1954 pp 309, 317-9; 1957 p 97; 1958 pp 5-7, 11; 1959 pp 212-3, 226; Clay 1963 pp 10, 11, 111; Miller 1960 pp 11-13; DNB vol 20 p 289a; M J Harrison 2000 pp 6-10, 257, 273-4; St Michael p 1; Pollard 1990 pp 298, 96 - a map of their estates).

The Route North

Moving north from York, the next staging post and major centre of power in post-medieval times was Durham, about a day's march away. The massive Norman cathedral and its castle vividly demonstrate the political and military importance of this semi-independent border territory between England and Scotland. A Broket on the move with his overlord in the 13-14th C would have encamped here. On from Durham, the road led over the Tyne river to Newcastle and then on up to the great castle of Alnwick, the seat of the Percy family, on the east of the wild, hilly territory of Northumberland. The Cheviot Hills stretch inland and the Vescys and Percys had loyal outposts in the valleys to assure protection; often with their own keep-like fortification. Alenam (Alnham) was one such small outpost up the Aln valley. Then round the Cheviots to the NW is the much larger Tweed valley and 10 miles past its upper reaches the road forks at Carnwath: one way to Lanark, Lesmahagow, Ayr and Glasgow, the other to Edinburgh.

The move northward

The first hereditary centre of people named Broket was in the base territory of the Percys, or in Vescy land—settlements like Brumpton Salden, Newton Kyme, Steeton and Appleton in the hinterlands of York City. There weren't many there in the 13-15th C—maybe never more than half a dozen families at a time.

Young Brokets in Percy or Vescy service travelled north on campaigns. Others may have accompanied them further afield on Crusades. Sir John Sampson of York and Appleton, grandfather of Dionisia, took men with him on military expeditions to Scotland 1296-1300 (M J Harrison 2000 p 73).

One or two were stationed in outposts at Durham or Newcastle. From Alnwick one was granted land up in the outpost of Alnham, where descendants stayed for several generations. Others may have joined raids with their overlords round the Cheviots into the Tweed valley and further west into Lanarkshire and Ayrshire; at other times no doubt north east to Berwick.

One or more may have accompanied Percy advances from their western strongholds south of Carlisle up to Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. As the feudal system disintegrated, one or two may have settled more permanently. Most of their lines died out, however. Then after Flodden Field in 1513, sons of surviving lines ventured independently further up through Lanarkshire towards Glasgow and Edinburgh to find a better future for their families.

2. Southward within Britain 15-16th C

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The second major internal migration was from Yorkshire to Hertfordshire and Essex. Thomas Broket became a Clerk in the Exchequer in Westminster and acted as attorney to the Sheriffs and Escheators of York. Once established there he helped some of his children move south—in particular his eldest son Thomas to Wheathampstead, then a younger son Edward, from whom sprang the largest and longest-lasting Broket dynasty and group in Britain. This was what made the migration major, not that there were large numbers of original emigrants. Between 1400-1500 an estimate of only 6-10 households made the move. They were all kinsfolk.

3. Overseas to North America 17-19th C

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Migration from England to North America began from England's east and south. Migration from Scotland didn't really begin till the 18th C. The sea journeys could be perilous. Conditions on the other side were often harsh and mortality was high, especially in Virginia. Passenger lists give few clues to origins.

Contents of this section:	Background
	Individual adventurers and emigrants

Background

From 1629 to 1775 at least 4 large migrations can be identified (Fischer 1989 p 6):

An exodus of Puritans from the east of England to Massachusetts 1629-40—the 'eleven years' tyranny of Charles I and Archbishop Laud
The migration of a small Royalist elite and large numbers of indentured servants from the south of England to Virginia c 1642-75. The peak was in 'the 1650s, when perhaps as many as 7,200 individuals, many of them servants, went each year from England and Wales to the American colonies' (Sacks 1991 ch 9). 'According to some estimates, about 40 percent of those who arrived in these regions died during their terms, many in the first year' (Sacks 1991 ch 8).
A movement from the north midlands of England and Wales to the Delaware Valley c 1675-1725
A flow from the borders of England and Scotland and from northern Ireland to the Appalachian backcountry mostly during 1718-75.

Voluntary emigration

'Indentured servitude allowed people to travel to North America or the West Indies without paying for their passage or by paying only a part. As a result they became bond servants for a period of years, usually through an agent who arranged for their passage. The practice of indentured servitude was well established by the seventeenth century and lasted until 1785. In addition to their passage, indentured servants received their keep and sometimes a reward when the period of the bond expired. The period of service was usually four years but could be longer if the servant was less than 18 years of age' (http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/ NR/rdonlyres/685AFA68-6D3E-4F73-A9D6-FAC05B94C5F8/0/emigration.PDF Mar 05).

Forced emigration

The practice of transporting convicts who would otherwise have been executed, dates back to at least 1597. By 1660 transportation was an accepted form of punishment following a royal pardon. An Act of 1718 established transportation to English colonies in America as the standard sentence for many less serious offences. One of the most common crimes for which people were transported was the theft of a handkerchief. � By 1718 most convicts were taken to Maryland or Virginia and this continued until 1775. � After 1787 convicts were sent to Australia. � Transportation was for a period of years, usually seven or fourteen years or for life. � Convicts to be transported were handed over to agents who could dispose of their services to local land owners. Ship masters certified receipt of the convicts and obtained landing certificates on arrival in America from the governor or chief customs house officer. These landing certificates were returned to the courts as evidence that the sentence had been carried out (http://www.virtualjamestown.org/indentures/about_indentures.html#Bristol Mar 05).

New England

Most emigrants to New England crossed the Atlantic in family groups from the same town or parish, with only perhaps 25% as hired servants. They made new towns with schools and churches and created a society with the same social stratifications as they had left behind. Few Gentlemen came—although as many as 11% of male heads of households in the Winthrop fleet were identified as Gentlemen. Some other men called themselves 'Gentlemen' late in their lives; they achieved the honorary title, not as a birthright as was normal in Old England, but by self-anointment after years of developing good reputations in the community. The great majority of emigrants to New England were of the 'middling sort'—yeomen, artisans and merchants. Discipline, hard work, and the harsh climate, together with the fact that they developed more than a one-crop economy, gave the Puritans a solid society. In town records, and in diaries and books, they recorded the important events of that society (Fischer 1989 pp 13ff, esp pp 27-8).

Virginia

Virginia was different (as were other colonies in the Chesapeake, such as Maryland and, later, the settlements on Albemarle Sound, which were the beginnings of North Carolina). Virginia developed a one-crop economy: tobacco, the production of which required many hands. The wealthy and well-connected of the colony acquired large acreages, and they imported thousands of indentured servants, mostly young men between the ages of 15 and 24, to work the farms. English servants composed at least 75% of the 120,000 emigrants to the Chesapeake during the 17th C, most were illiterate. Women constituted only about 10 to 20% of the servants. The Chesapeake area had few towns, few churches, and virtually no schools. Most housing consisted of windowless huts built of green lumber, measuring about 16 by 20 feet, with dirt floors. The climate was hazardous, and the mortality rate disastrous, largely due to typhoid, malaria, and dysentery. The colony survived, but normal family structures almost disappeared. More than 75% of children lost at least one parent before reaching the age of 18, and grandparents were virtually unknown. Lacking the influence of town and church authorities, and living in great poverty and ignorance along the creeks and rivers that carried tobacco to the Chesapeake ports, the transplanted Englishmen usually lost most of the civilization which they had brought from home within a generation. Records of births, deaths, and marriages were not maintained, diaries not kept, and histories not written, so that present-day historians and genealogists have a very difficult time learning and proving anything about the people who lived there (Fischer 1989 pp 207ff).

Individual adventurers and emigrants

Of the first 6 below only 2 probably emigrated. The great majority of 17th C Broket emigrants were servants and part of the second great migration.

Broket Emigrants and Adventurers to North America 17-19th C
i	c 1617	Edward, Gent	Sailed c 1617
ii	1609-20?	John, Knight	Investor in the Virginia Company
iii	1623-6	Thomas , Gent	Adventurer of the Virginia Company
iv	1635	Nicholas	Part owner of a cargo shipped from Virginia to London
v	bef 1639	John, Esq	Given 200 acres of land in Virginia
vi	1637-8	John	Sailed to Boston on the Hector
vii	1638	William	To Virginia
viii	1652	Mary	Indentured transportation to Virginia
ix	1652	Edward	Arrived in Maryland
x	1655	Jane	Indentured transportation to Virginia
xi	1657	Samuell	In Virginia
xii	1668	William	Indentured transportation to Virginia
xiii	1669	Bryan	Arrived in Maryland
xiv	1677	William	Arrived in Maryland
xv	1682	John	Arrived in Barbados aged 19
xvi	1689	John	Mariner
xvii	1731	Thomas	Convict
xviii	1784	Robert	Settled in Alexandria, Virginia
xix	1785	John	Sailed to Delaware
xx	1855	Edwin	To Hensonville from Durham

The main interest here is their origins in Britain. Nos i-iii and v were clearly members of the Wheathampstead dynasty, no iv was from Lincolnshire; thereafter till the late 17th C identities are less clear.

i. Edward

This unmarried Adventurer went on a mission in 1617—perhaps to Virginia—for Sir Thomas Smythe (Smith) and associates of the Virginia Company. By 1620 he had died. Edward was probably the son of Nicolas of Willingale. His testament and last will read as follows (written 23 Jan 1617, proved PCC 26 Sep 1620):

In the name of God amen I Edward Brocket gent intending at this present a Sea voyage furnished by Sir Thomas Smythe Sir Dudley Digges Sir John Wolstonholme knightes and other Adventurers and knowing and considering the uncertaintye 'of life' and hazard of Danger Doe declare my testament and last will in forme folowing. I do will and bequeathe to my very loving freind Edward Temple Citizen and Woodmonger of London aswell all and euery suche wages enterteynement and allowannce as shall or oughte to come to me in and by my saied intended voiage as allso all and euery Adventure which to me shall happen to be or appertayne by reason of the sayde voyage and all other my goodes Chattells Rightes and Credittes Whatsoeuer: And I do ordayne and constitute the saied Edward Temple my sole and onlie Executor of this my last will and testament: And I do hereby revoke all other willes by me made. In witnesse whereof hereunto I haue set my seale the three and twentith Daye of Januarye in the fifteenth yere of the Raigne of oure Soveraigne Lord James by the grace of god kyng of England ffrance and Ireland and of Scotland the one and ffiftith: 1617: Edward Brockett. Sealed subscribed and published in the presence of William Doee: Roger Parre / /

ii. Sir John III

Between 1609 and about 1620 Sir John invested in the Virginia Company (http://www.apva.org/history/vaco.html Aug 2004). Before 1639 he gifted 200 acres of land in Virginia to his son John of Caswell Esq. This doesn't mean that either of them actually went there, however. Both were buried in Wheathampstead.

iii. Thomas

1623-6 Thomas Brockett, Gentleman, was listed as an Adventurer of the Virginia Company (Kinsbury 1906- vol 4 p 366). He was either:

Sir John III's younger son
a son of Gentleman William of Esyndon—who d 1609
a son of Nicolas and Joanna of Willingale Doe, which would make him an elder brother to Edward above.

iv. Nicholas b 1593

Nicholas Brockett was involved in a lawsuit in 1635 involving wages due to sailors on the ship Increase, which had transported cargo to Virginia, and in which Nicholas had an interest. With little doubt this was the Nicholas aka John from Lincolnshire and London who later sailed to the Bermudas. The only other known relevant Nicholas was the son of Richard of Ippolletts, mentioned in his father's will of 1603.

v. John of Caswell Esq

Son of Sir John III.

vi. John 1637

A company of English Puritans led by Rev John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, a London merchant, sailed from London and arrived Boston 26 June 1637. John of New Haven was among them. Was he Samuell's elder brother?

vii. William 1638

William emigrated to Accomack Co, Virginia 1638 (Filby 1981 citing Greer 1912 p 45), probably as an indentured servant. Nugent listed him as Brackett (1934- p 110); Filby listed 7 Brackets emigrating 1620-50.

Most male indentured servants at this time were aged 15-24, so William was probably b c 1614-23. If he was a Brockett, John and Joan of Dunton were possible parents—their son William was baptised 1618—although as a Yeoman's eldest son would he have signed up to servitude? If he did, his cousin may have been John emigrant to New Haven the year before. It is also possible—but perhaps even less likely—that he was the son of Edward of Hitchin, Ippollits and Wales, bap 1621 and who received a new stepmother in 1635.

viii. Mary 1652

In 1652 Robert Younge received 260 acres in Rappahanock Co, Virginia, for transporting indentured servants James Baggs, William Motley, Thomas Haines, Anthony Rone, William Syms and Mary Brockett (Nugent 1934- p 369).

Because there were so few women among the colonists they were probably quickly married once they had served out their indentures.

Mary was probably b c 1628-37, perhaps a younger sister of emigant William and daughter of John and Joan of Dunton, baptised 1634. Alternatively she may have been the daughter of Francis and Chatherin, baptised in Kirkby on Bain, Lincs, the same year (IGI). A third and perhaps less likely possibility—because it would mean that she emigrated aged 31—is that she was baptised Dorking 1621, possible older sister of Jane, emigrated 1655.

ix. Edward 1652

Arrived in Maryland 1652 (Skordas 1968 p 61). Edward was probably b c 1628-37, possible son of Nicholas and Agnes, baptised St Dunstan Stepney, London 1635 (IGI).

x. Jane 1655

In Oct 1655 William Thomas of Northumberland Co, Virginia, received 200 acres for transporting indentured servants John Gibbins, Elizabeth Glissen, Joan an Irish woman and Jane Brockett (Nugent 1934- p 325). Jane was probably b c 1631-40, possibly a daughter of John and Mary, baptised Dorking, Surrey 1628 (IGI). Alternatively she may have been the daughter of Mathewe and Alice, baptised 1640 in Mareham Le Fen, Lincs (IGI).

xi. Samuell 1657

In 1657 Samuell was recorded in Northumberland Co, Virginia as a witness and a purchasor:

'It appeareing to the Court by the Oathes of Thomas Gaskin & Samuell Brockett, that Henry Mayes hath paid fower hundred & fifty pounts of tobacco & caske unto Thomas Brewer out of a Bill of 465 lb & caske dated the first of March 1655. It is therefore ordered that the said Brewer acquitt & discharge the said Mayes of & from the said summe of 450 lb. of tobacco and caske out of the said Bill & also to pay him all Court charges' (Northumberland Co Order Book Abstracts - 1652-7, p 94: Northumberland County Court 20th July 1657).

'July the 24th 1657. The goods of Thomas Reede deceased sold at an out cry as foll. To John Hulett, to Mr. Dameron, To Mr. Thomas Brewer, To Richard Nelmes, To Samuell Brockett, to Jno: Hulett 2330 Present William Presley, Sherriffe of Northumberland County 21th 9 br. This Out Cry was recorded' (Northumberland Co, VA, Deed and Will Abstracts 1655-1658, p 110).

Northumberland Co was the same county to which Jane was transported in Oct 1655. Samuell was probably aged 30-50 and b c 1607-27. How long had he been in Virginia? The only known Samuels born 1600-40 were the sons of:

Rev Edmund and Mary of Luton, bap 2 Apr 1609. Samuel married Ann WESTLEY in 1640 in Graveley and no further record is known of them in England. Edmund's elder sons were gentlemen, however.
John, bap 24 Feb 1626 Radwell, Herts (IGI). Radwell is c 5-6 m N of Hitchin and Pirton, where John 4th s/o William III of Hitchin was bap 1600 and working in 1652, but it is not known if John or his three younger brothers married.
Edward and Ann of Dunton, bap 29 Mar 1626. Although Samuel was mentioned in his father's will of 1660, had he left Old England during its Civil War? His elder brother John—not mentioned in his father's will—may well have been John of Newhaven.
Thomas and Kathren of Reading, bap 27 May 1635. It is unlikely that Samuell, son of apparently 'ordinary' folk, would have been witnessing and purchasing in the New World aged only 22, although John, his nephew may have emigrated to Barbados 1682, aged 16.

xii William 1668

William entered a 4 year indenture in Bristol on 6 Aug 1668, bound for Virginia. He was the only Broket in an online database of over 15,000 indenture contracts of servants sent to foreign plantations from the Registers of:
                    Bristol 1654-86
                    Middlesex 1682-85
                    London 1682-92 and 1718-59

          (http://www.virtualjamestown.org/indentures/about_indentures.html Mar 05).

The original Bristol Registers, entitled 'Servants to Foreign Plantations' are in the archives of the Corporation of the City of Bristol, England, and list all 10,000+ indentured servants who left from Bristol for the New World 1654-1686. Bristol was at the centre of colonial trade, supplying Virginia, Maryland, and the West Indies with the labour necessary to make their settlement successful (Sacks 1991 ch 8). The online database data were taken from a transcript of the original Bristol Registers by Coldham (1988).

William's place of origin and parents' names were not shown. Was he a local lad who signed up on his own initiative? The agent's name was Sarah Tandy. Other Tandys are recorded as agents, but Sarah only once. 'The servant trade never became concentrated in a small number of hands. Most servant traders limited themselves to shipping one or two servants a year' (Sacks 1991 ch 9).

Most male indentured servants at this time were aged 15-24, but there were plenty of examples of recruitment well under the age of 14, even though this meant being released later as unattached minors. It was not against the law and nothing in the Bristol ordinance demanded consent from parents or masters before indentures for underage servants could be entered (Sacks 1991 ch 8 footnotes 12, 19). An age of 14-24 in 1668 would date William's birth 1644-54.

William and Mary from Wells, Somerset, had a surviving son William at that time—baptised 24 Sep 1654. The apparent poor economic status of the Wells clan and its nearness to Bristol, make it a likely source for a young indentured servant such as William.

A land sale in 1702 in Norfolk County, Virginia, probably made by this William and his wife—also a Mary—accords with a 1650s birth date for William. Later records suggest that they were the ancestors of William of Craven Co, North Carolina, 1748-1821, who married Martha IVES in 1771, and from whom many surviving lines descend (Nash 2000 p 32ff; EJ Brockett 1905 p 76).

The only other known Williams born 1640-55 were the sons of:

Thomas and Ellen of Codicote, baptised 1642. Thomas was the 6th son of John of Codicote Gent, and although the family's prosperity had declined considerably by the end of John's lifetime, Thomas would probably have sent his son to school. William, however, signed the 1702 land sale with an 'X'—he was illiterate.
Joseph and Mary of Southwark, baptised 1640. Joseph was a Cheesemonger, educated and well-off, and although William was their 7th son, he was unlikely to have been unschooled or have become an indentured servant.

One could also speculate that emigrant William was the son of Frances of Dorking, bap 1624, brother of Jane, the possible emigrant of 1655.

xiii. Bryan 1669

Arrived in Maryland 1669 (Skordas 1968 p 61). Bryan was probably b c 1645-54. The Bryane baptised 1626 York was probably too old to emigrate in 1669. It is possible that he was the second son of William Esq and Sarah, alive as a child 1637.

xiv. William 1677

Arrived in Maryland 1677 (Skordas 1968 p 61). William was probably b c 1653-62. The only known William born in this period lived and worked in Durham 1655-1705.

xv. John 1682

Arrived in Barbados in 1682 aged 19 (Chandler 1979). John was b c 1663, probable son of Thomas and Abigall, baptised Reading 1666 (IGI).

xvi. John 1688

John of Stepney Middlesex Mariner invested in a ship bound for the West Indies, arriving Jamaica Aug 1688.

xvii. Thomas 1731

Transported as a convict 1731 (Filby 1981 citing Coldham 1974). He may have been a Brackett (Virginia tax list).

'In 1717, the British Parliament adopted a policy of transportation, which banished convicts to the American colonies, usually for 7 years, and this allowed them to be bought and sold as indentured servants during their sentences. ... Neither men nor women could marry until they completed or purchased their service contracts' (http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/refserv/html/servant.html Nov 04).

xviii. Robert of Alexandria, Virginia 1784

Perhaps Robert was the earliest Brocket emigrant from Scotland.

xix. John 1785

From 1675-1725 Delaware was a destination for North Midlands emigrants, but by 1785 Scottish and Irish emigrants may well have predominated (Fischer 1989 pp 419ff & 605ff). John sailed for North America in the Faithful Stuart 19 Jul 1785. He survived shipwreck off Delaware and went to join his brother Robert in Alexandria, Virginia until moving 1788 to Dominica in the West Indies, where he allegedly left an estate in 1796 worth £15,000 (Franklin Brockett's Family History 18; Filby 1981 citing Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 1970 26:3 & 4).

xx. Edwin of Hensonville 1855

Edwin son of Robert Brockett born 1830 Durham emigrated to Hensonville, USA in 1855. This was probably Durham County rather than City: a marriage of Robert Edwin was recorded in 1900 Sunderland. Edwin was a businessman and postmaster at Hensonville 1861-71, and Windham 1871-81, succeeded by his son, Charles. He married 1st 1855 Huldah Parsons of Windham, and 2nd 1871 Henrietta Peck née Goslee of Windham (http://www.rootsweb.com/~nygreen2/edwin_brockett.htm—retyped from Beers' History of Greene County by Sylvia Hasenkopf).

4. Overseas to Australia, China, New Zealand, South Africa

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