Salt Marsh Destiny: The 1635 Voyage of the Thistle

The small town of Rye, New Hampshire was settled by English venturers, at a spot now called Odiorne’s Point near the mouth of the Piscataqua river, in 1623. The subsequent history of this attractive seaside place is assumedly well documented. But there is another story, which cannot be verified. A few early settlers, and even some of today’s old-timers, have mentioned a rarely talked about second expedition to the area. They say that in 1635 another group, Scottish separatists traveling to the New World to govern themselves and find religious freedom, also found their way to Rye. It is told that their leader was a physician, a man named Iain Macgregor. Salt Marsh Destiny preserves the tale.