Since very few of the people whose lives are traced were convicts and my ancestor was among the minority who went on to establish families, own land and leave a will it seems unlikely he came as a prisoner.
A quick search on WorldCat informed me that the nearest copy of the source book Colonial Families of Maryland, Bound and Determined to Succeed is in the Los Angeles Public Library (112 miles away). However I was able to purchase an digital copy from Google Books for $15.12.
In his introduction Robert W. Barnes explains that he made a study of 549 transported individuals after their terms of service ended, 17 of whom were convicts.* This book details the lives of 102 of those people including William Lofton.
According to his research my ancestor was transported in 1673; no mention is made of where he departed from, any skill or trade he came with or how old he was when he arrived. However, William must have completed his service by 1690 when he married a woman we know only as Elizabeth and the couple went on to have five children.
William's name appeared as a head of household in Spes Utij Hundred in Baltimore County, Maryland, beginning in 1695 and continuing until 1703. Here's a transcript of the list from 1699 (his name-misspelled-is the last one on the second page):
[Maryland historical magazine by Browne, William Hand, 1828-1912;
Dielman, Louis Henry, 1864-1959; Maryland Historical Society. Source: Archive.org]
No date of death is given but he was buried April 13, 1704, and his estate was inventoried in July of that year. The year of his wife's death is uncertain--October 20, 1703 or 1704.
*Here's my descent from him:
[Ancestry.com]
*In fact very few convicts were sent to Maryland until 1718 when Parliament passed the Transportation Act.
© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
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