Another Internet search located a paper entitled “John and
William Baldwin of Bucks County, Pennsylvania” compiled
by Stewart Baldwin and last updated in June 1999.
The following statement appears
therein:
The Britannia sailed from Liverpool, first arriving at Cork,
Ireland, where they took on provisions and sailed toward
America before 20 3mo. [May] 1699. The voyage was a
disastrous one, as a plague (probably yellow fever) broke
out aboard the ship, and many of the passengers died at
sea or soon after arriving in Philadelphia. The Britannia
arrived in Philadelphia on 24 Aug 1699 with its sick and
weak survivors.
Several other papers included similar information, but no sources
were provided for the “sailed before” date so I continued to search