A retired American has visited Bermuda for the first time after learning that he has family ties to the island dating back more than 400 years.

Bob Eason, 80, from New Orleans, Louisiana, discovered the link while researching his family tree.

His relative, Edward Eason, was among the 150 crew aboard the Sea Venture when it ran aground here after a hurricane in 1609, becoming one of the first inhabitants of the island.

Edward Eason remained on the island with his wife, and their son, christened Bermudas, was born here in 1610.

He was the first baby boy born on the island.

Bermudas Eason was the second baby to be born in Bermuda after John Rolffe’s daughter, Bermuda, but the only child to survive.

The young Eason family were eventually able to continue on their journey to Jamestown, Virginia, and became farmers.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette this week, Mr Eason said that he had visited the Sea Venture memorial in St George that listed the names of those that had been stranded here — including that of Edward Eason and his wife, “Mistress Eason”.

Mr Eason said: “It was a very moving experience to see my relative there.

“Although Eason isn’t a very common name in the US, there are branches of the family across the country. We’re scattered everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t Easons in every state.

“And it’s strange to think that we’re all descended from this one man. I’m just glad that he survived, otherwise I wouldn’t be alive.“

Mr Eason said that he began researching his ancestry about 20 years ago.

“When you get to my age, these things become important,” he said.

He said that generations of Easons gradually spread west and were successful tobacco farmers.

Mr Eason said: “I’m not proud to say this, but there were slaves in my family’s history who used to help on the plantation.”

Mr Eason arrived in Bermuda this week with his wife on the Norwegian Pearl, and admitted that it was a far less treacherous voyage than the one his ancestor had made.

He said: “I’m just so glad we got to come here.

“I think Bermuda is the world’s best-kept secret. It’s a treasure, a microcosm of different cultures — a bit like the Caribbean but different. We’ve been very impressed.”

Other descendants of Edward Eason have made the journey after tracking their roots to Bermuda.

In 2015, Arlene Eason and her fiancé, Rob Searle, came to Bermuda to get married after uncovering their ancestral link to the island.

In 2017, Ben and Barbara Eason came to Bermuda from their home in Arlington, Virginia to see their surname on the Sea Venture monument.