In 1696 Jonathan Dickinson left Jamaica with the intention of
settling with his family in Philadelphia. Dickinson and his family,
which included his wife, Mary, their six-month old son, Jonathan,
and his ten slaves, took passage on the barkentine Reformation. The
Journal opens with a list of everybody on the Reformation which
looks like the "Cast of Characters" for a play. This list included
the Commander (or Master) and the Mate of the Reformation, five
sailors, "the Master's boy", "the Master's Negro", the Dickinsons
and their slaves, Robert Barrow, a prominent Quaker preacher,
Benjamin Allen, a "kinsman" of Dickinson, and Venus, "an Indian
Girl".
The Reformation sailed from Port Royal on August 23, 1696 as part
of a convoy under the protection of the Royal Navy frigate HMS
Hampshire. While drifting in calm weather, the Reformation became
separated from the convoy. On September 18 a sudden wind blew a
boom across the quarterdeck, breaking the leg of the Master, Joseph
Kirle. On the same date Venus, the Indian girl, died after being
ill for several days. By September 20, the Reformation was still in
the straits between Cuba and Florida trying to avoid ships of the
French fleet that they believed to be in the area. On September 24
a storm, which may have been a hurricane, drove the ship onto a
reef and then onto shore on Jupiter Island, Florida, a little ways
north of Jupiter Inlet near present-day Hobe Sound.
All of the ship's party survived the shipwreck, and they soon began
retrieving provisions and supplies from the wreck. Several of the
party were sick, including the Dickinson infant, Robert Barrow,
Benjamin Allen, and Joseph Kirle, whose leg had been broken a few
days earlier. Within a few hours they were discovered by the local
Jaega Indians from the town of Jobe (Dickinson spelled the name
"Hoe-Bay"). The Jobes appropriated everything the shipwrecked party
had brought out of the ship, and much that was still on the ship.
The Jobes made threatening gestures and called the castaways
"Nickaleer", by which they meant "English." Dickinson and Robert
Barrow, being staunch Quakers, persuaded the others to not resist
the Jobes, but to put their trust in God to protect them. One of
the crewmen, Solomon Cresson, could speak Spanish well, and they
resolved to say that they were Spanish. The Jobes acted like they
did not believe them, but may have been afraid of mistakenly
treating Spanish nationals too harshly. The castaways indicated
their desire to travel to Saint Augustine, but the Jobe Cacique
(which Dickinson spelled "Caseekey") wanted them to go to Havana,
Cuba instead.