Why did the Torreys go to the colonies in 1640?
According to William Sr's profile, William Torrey had a "life-lease in Bristol" called "The Torreys" the land owned by John Hollister, whose will refers to it Sept. 12, 1690. [Reg. Xl, 62] [1]
William's 2nd wife was Jane Haviland: "Matthew Haviland - an important merchant in Bristol [2] "Thomas was largely responsible for the establishment of the knitting industry of that island; obtaining a royal grant to import wool and cloth from England and re-export it to Normandy and Spain." see: "Life" under https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/De_Havilland-54.
Phillip's wife Alice Richards owned a flock of sheep. Chances are that Phillip was a farmer to feed these sheep. The wool of the sheep was sent to Bristol and on to Guernsey where it was exported to Normandy and Spain.
William was "A good penman and skilled in the Latin tongue, usually clerk of the deputies" Charles Henry Pope's "Pioneers of Massachusetts". This means he was well educated and fluent in Latin.
William's 2nd son bought a commission of Captain in the british army.
See: COMPATIBLE INCENTIVES AND THE PURCHASE OF MILITARY COMMISSIONS by DOUGLAS W. ALLEN Associate Professor of Economics, Simon Fraser University. This article has benefited
from the voluntary comments of Yoram Barzel, Bruno Frey, Steve Globerman, Dean Lueck,
John Lunn, Clyde Reed, Tom Ross, Desmund Sackey, and Gordon Tullock. Published in [ Journal of Legal Studies, vol. XXVII (January 1998)] 1998 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0047-2530/98/2701-0002$01.50
