Taking a break from Europen History

Let's roam back over the ocean to the New World, for a blink of an eye. I've come across this rather interesting book Lost States by Michael J. Trinklein. Michael wrote and produced the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary Pioneers of Television as well as The Gold Rush and The Oregon Trail. He lives in Cedarburg, Wi, which just makes him all the more special.
His book is full of original old maps and facinating history that most of us didn't learn in school.

"In 1608, twelve years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, a man living in what is now Maine believed he'd be better off in old England.  After building an oceangoing ship from scratch, he sailed to the British Isles to seek his fotune.  His story may sound bizarre, but the facts are indisputable.

It began in 1606, when King James of England granted the right to start colonies on the American east coast.  The first group of colonists ended up near Florida, where they were captured by the Spainish.

Oops.

The second group veered north and in 1607 landed in what is now Maine.  They built a fort and hunkered down for the winter.  Things were going reasonable well until the colon's leader, George Popham, abruptly died.

So in early 1608 25 year old Ralegh Gilbert took over the "Popham Colony."  The nephew of Sir Walter Raleigh, Gilbert led the group in the completion of their signature project:  the construction of a seaworthy ship, built from local timbers.  It was a demonstration project of sorts, proving that the New World was a good place for ship building.

By now you're likely wondering why the Popham Colony isn't as famous as the Pilgrims' Plymouth Colony.  Blame Gilbert's family back in England.  A bunch of them died, which meant that Gilbert inherited a big castle, located in Devon.

So Gilbert decided to sail back to England to claim his new found wealth.  Lacking a clear leader, the Popham colonists followed, thus ending the story of New England's first colony.

Had they stayed, the group might have enjoyed a history much like the settlers of Plymouth Colony, which surely would have resulted in a strikingly different map of New England.

Popham colonists chose a prime location for their settlement.  The site has been home to a variety of military forts over the years, from the revolutionary era through World War I.  It's a popular recreation spot as well.  Today, the remnants of the colony are located within Popham Beach State Park."

My earliest ancestor, that I have found so far was 17 year old Thomas Baker, the son of Francis Downe and Thomas Baker of Kent, who arrived in New Haven, CT in 1635. He listed himself as a "planter" and after 15 years he relocated to Long Island, New York where he was one of the founding fathers of East Hampton.  He represented the town in the colonial assembly.