6. Jamestown Brides Had a Variety of Backgrounds
Contrary to popular belief, the English women who applied and were approved to become a Jamestown bride were from different backgrounds. Part of this misconception is because when the Virginia Company first started advertising for women, the company requested that only decent women from good families could apply. However, the Virginia Company did not explain any further on what they meant by this. Furthermore, there was no real way the company could eliminate the decent women from the indecent women for a variety of reasons.
The first reason was the Virginia Company believed everything the women stated about themselves. For example, when the women discussed how their skills, the company did not ask the women to show or prove their skill, they just listened to how well the women talked about themselves. The second reason dealt with the women’s letters of recommendation. While the company often received letters from highly trusted individuals, such as priests and employers, the Jamestown brides asked people who would brag about them to write the letters. Finally, the company did not look into the relatives of the women. On their application, the women said they were related to anyone from nobility to successful merchants.