What's
New?
April 29, 2008 - Topic for May Meeting - Dr. Owsley's fascinating topic for the May membership meeting is "Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake." Read more details about his planned presentation for the Williamsburg meeting here.
April 27, 2008 - New Photos of Godspeed taken in the Fall of 2007 have been added. The photos were taken from the home of Henry and Louise Kelley on the Chickahominy River. Henry is a new member of the Jamestowne Society. See the new photos at the bottom of the 400th Anniversary Page.
Update to Reading Resources: Now there are 127 Reading Resources, including 18 which have online texts. The newest addition is "The Lost Colony and Jamestown Droughts," by David W. Stahle, Malcolm K. Cleaveland, Dennis B. Blanton, Matthew D. Therrell and David A. Gay. Published in 1998 in Science Magazine, it's an interesting look at how both the fate of the Lost Colony and the high death rate during early settlement at Jamestowne can be attributed in great measure to severe droughts. Check it out in Jamestowne Reading Resources
April 14, 2008 - Great Northwest Company: The Great Northwest Company, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, has chosen a new Company Governor, who is Dr. William Michael Waring. Ardyth Schaumburg, former Governor, continues to serve the Company in the capacity of Lieutenant Governor. The change has been made on the Jamestowne Society Companies page, with contact information for Dr. Waring.
April 10, 2008 - Washington & Northern Virginia Company: This Company which serves the area of the Nation's Capitol and NOVA, has elected a new Governor. Betsy Graves Smith is now leading the Company. The change has been noted on the Jamestowne Society Companies page, with contact information for her. Rachel L. Wills is in charge of the Company's own website.
March 30, 2008 - History Channel Program Features Dr. Douglas Owsley: The speaker for the Jamestowne Society May meeting is Dr. Douglas Owsley (see the May Meeting info on this site); on March 29, he was featured in a History Channel presentation, "Written in Bone." Jamestowne Society member Jean Tomes was seen in the presentation next to Dr. Owsley in the section on St. Luke's Church. Read more about the program on the History Channel's website.
Slideshow Presentation from 400th: The Michigan Company's website features an interesting slideshow presentation of photos made by Steven Baker at the 400th Anniversary Celebration last May. To view, click here!
March 15, 2008 - New Contact Information for San Antonio Company: A new address has been listed for Nancy Parker Corwin, Governor of the San Antonio Company on the Jamestowne Society Companies page.
March 9, 2008 - Kentucky Company Website: Congratulations to the Kentucky Company on publishing their own website! It's now linked to through the Jamestowne Society Companies page. Anne S. Moore, Governor of the Kentucky Company, is webmaster.
March 6, 2008 - Spring Membership Meeting 2008: Details on the Saturday, May 17, 2008 meeting are now on the website, complete with luncheon reservation form in PDF Format. Note that space is limited, there is a deadline of April 25, 2008, and there will be no late reservations or walk-ins accepted. The speaker will be Dr. Douglas W. Owsley, Head of the Division of Physical Anthropology, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. See all the details on the Spring Membership Meeting 2008 Page.
February 29, 2008 - Update to Reading Resources: The full online text of "Gleanings of Virginia History: An Historical and Genealogical Collection, Largely from Original Sources," compiled and published by William Fletcher Boogher, published in Washington DC in 1903, has been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources. This brings the number of resources listed (including online texts) to 126 resources, including 16 online texts.
Order Form change: Minor change to the Order Form was made today. Particular notice is directed to the new prices of the gold items (see addition noted February 27 below). The Order Form is linked to through the Jamestowne Shoppe section of this site.
February 27, 2008 - Michigan Company Website: Congratulations to the Michigan Company on producing their own website! It is now linked to through the Jamestowne Society Companies page. Emma Winegarner is webmaster.
New Prices on Gold Items: The PDF Order Form was last revised on February 27 to reflect the new costs of gold, and members are encouraged to contact the Executive Headquarters at 804-353-1226 before placing an order to make sure of current prices. The Order Form in PDF is available through the Jamestowne Shoppe section of this site. (Ties are not available at this time).
February 25, 2008 - New Contact Information for Company Governors: The new Governor of the First Louisiana Company is Emily Smith, 71205 Whiskey Oaks Lane, Covington, LA 70433. New addresses for several of the Companies have also been posted on the Jamestowne Society Companies page.
New Order Form is now available in PDF format through the Jamestowne Shoppe section of this site. Prices are subject to change without notice, so it's advisable to call the Executive Headquarters before mailing your order. (Telephone 804-353-1226).
February 7, 2008 - New Mailing Address for Society Headquarters: The Jamestowne Society National Headquarters Office in Richmond has obtained a new post office box and zip code. Therefore, all pages on this website, as well as the Jamestowne Society Shoppe's Order Form, now reflect the new address of P. O. Box 6845, Richmond, VA 23230.
January 12, 2008 - Photo Slideshow from the Michigan Company features photographs by Steven W. Baker of the May 2007 400th Anniversary Celebration festivities. This link has been added at the suggestion of Jim McCall of the First California Company. The slideshow is an excellent recap, and the new link has been added to the 400th Anniversary Celebration Photos Page on this site.
Updates to the Jamestowne Society Companies page: (1) Jan Tyler, Governor of the First Colorado Company has submitted an address change, and the new address is now listed; (2) Hugh A. Williams, Jr. is now Governor of the First North Carolina Company, and his contact information has been added to the Companies page as well. Company Governors are encouraged to submit additions/corrections as they arise.
First Colorado Company's November meeting is highlighted with photos and information at Blacktie-Colorado.com's website. Read about the meeting, and see the group photo of those in attendance. You'll also want to view the Photo Slideshow of the occasion!
December 24, 2007 - Jamestowne Society Companies: A correction has been made to the listing of the Governor for the Great Northwest Company. This company, headquartered in Sequin, Washington, has Ardyth Hatcher Schaumburg leading it.
December 3, 2007 - Update to Reading Resources: The full online text of "Colonial Churches in the Original Colony of Virginia: A Series of Sketches by Especially Qualified Writers, Second Edition" includes thirty-five illustrations, and has information on the Jamestowne Church as well as other early churches in the colony. Published by Southern Churchman Company in Richmond in 1908, the original was from the University of Michigan. The citation and link have been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources:
November 30, 2007 - Updates to Membership Application and Process Page and to Order Form: In order to clarify the membership application process, the Membership Process page has been updated to make clear the steps necessary to join the Society. The Order Form which is accessible through the Jamestowne Society Shoppe page has been updated to reflect a change in the cost of a copy of lineage papers.
November 23, 2007 - Updates to Reading Resources: Texts of four more books from mid-1800s and the early 1900s are available online. They are (1) a 1907 thesis by George Thomas Surface, "Studies on the Geography of Virginia;" (2) "History of the Virginia Company of London, with Letters to and from the First Colony Never Before Printed," by Edward Duffield Neill (pub. 1869); (3) "The Legislature of the Province of Virginia: Its Internal Development," 1907 thesis by Elmer Isaiah Miller; and (4) "Pioneers of the Old South: A Chronicle of English Colonial Beginnings," published in 1918 by Mary Johnston. Their citations and links have been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources:
November 18, 2007 - First Georgia Company has new Governor - J. V. Michael Motes' listing has been added to Jamestowne Society Companies with his contact information.
Newly Updated Application Software from Walt Beam has been added to the Membership Process and Application section of this site.
Executive Director Kelly Carson Johnson who has been at the Jamestowne Society for five years, is leaving on November 23, and the new Executive Director who will begin duties on November 26 is Faye Chewning Weems.
November 13, 2007 - New Council Members - A listing of new Council Members installed on November 10 has been added to the Officers and Council Members section of this site.
November 11, 2007 - Photos and News from the Fall Meeting - See photos and read about the November 10 Fall Membership Meeting at the Commonwealth Club. Information about new officers and Council members will be added shortly!
November 10, 2007 - Link to Richmond Marathon Map - Important to you if you're attend the November 10 meeting - the link has been added to the November 10 Meeting Information page..
November 5, 2007 - Updates to November 10 Meeting Information - The speaker will be Chief William P. Miles, Chief of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe since 1990, and Director of the Richmond Field Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Read more on the November 10 Meeting Information page. Times for Council Meeting, Reception and Luncheon have been added as well.
October 15, 2007 - Updates to Reading Resources: Digitizaton of books from the 1800s and early 1900s has made possible complete online texts of these volumes. There are 8 which are of interest to Jamestowne Readers, their citations and their links have been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources:
(1) "(The) Adventures of Captain John Smith, the Founder of the Colony of Virginia," by Lambert Lilly (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1842)full text online;
(2) "Captain John Smith (1579-1631), Sometime Governor of Virginia, and Admiral," by Charles Dudley Warner (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1881), full text online;
(3) (The) Cradle of the Republic, Jamestown and James River," by Lyon Tyler Gardiner (Richmond, VA: Whittet & Shepperson, 1900), full text online;
(4) "Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography," edited by Lyon Gardiner Tyler (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915), full text online;
(5) "(The) Founding of Jamestown, Percy's Discourse of Virginia, Wingfield's Discourse of Virginia, 1607, 1619," American History Leaflets, Colonial and Constitutional, No. 36, edited by Albert Bushnell Hart and Edward Channing; Parker P. Simmons, 1907), full text online;
(6) (The) Historie of Travaile into Virginia Britannia, Expressing the Cosmographie and Comodities of the Country, Togither with the Manners and Customes of the People, Gathered and Observed as Well by Those Who Went First Thither, as Collected by William Strachey, Gent., The First Secretary of the Colony," edited by R. H. Major (London: The Hakluyt Society, 1849) full text online;
(7) "(The) Site of Old 'James Towne,' 1607-1698," by Samuel H. Yonge (Richmond: Wm. Ellis Jones, Printer, 1903), full text online;
(8) "Virginia Vestusta, During the Reign of James the First, Containing Letters and Documents Never Before Printed, a Supplement to the History of the Virginia Company," by Edward D. Neill (Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1885), full text online.
October 7, 2007 - Updates to Reading Resources: Jim McCall of the First California Company contributed information on Seth Mallios' book, "The Deadly Politics of Giving; Exchange and Violence at Ajacan, Roanoke and Jamestown" (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2006). Jim notes that Seth was a site supervisor for Jamestown Rediscovery and editor of "The Journal of the Jamestown Rediscovery Center." The book has been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources.
September 19, 2007 - Updates to Reading Resources: Bibliographic information on (1) James Horn's 2007 book, "Captain John Smith: Writings with Other Narratives of Roanoke, Jamestown and the First English Settlement of America," and (2) Warren Billings' 2007 Revised Edition of "The Old Dominion in the Seventeenth Century: A Documentary History of Virginia, 1606-1700" has been added to Jamestowne Reading Resources.
September 17, 2007 - Society Governor Photo: A photograph of W. Harrison Schroeder, Jamestowne Society Governor, has been added to the Jamestowne Society Governor's Message page.
Richmond Law Magazine article: Summer 2007 edition contains a feature article on the presentation of a plaque on Jamestowne Island commemorating the special bond between English and American legal systems. The presentation took place in April 2007, and was made by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and other dignitaries and special guests, including the Chief Justice of England and Wales. A PDF file containing the article may be accessed by clicking here - a perspective is included, within the article, by S. G. Rager, Webmaster and alum of the University of Richmond School of Law.
September 16, 2007 - How to obtain May 12 Photos: A link to Convention Photography, the official photographer for the Jamestowne Society 400th Anniversary weekend events, has been added to both the 400th Anniversary Commemoration page and to the 400th Anniversary - More Photos page on this site.
September 11, 2007 - November Meeting Notice: A special page has been added giving details on the Saturday, November 10, 2007 meeting at the Commonwealth Club in Richmond. You'll also find a link to PDF files containing a map of the Club location, and driving directions to get you there. Reservations deadline is October 31, and capacity is limited. Click here to access the November Meeting Notice.
September 9, 2007 - Jamestowne Society Fellowships: In the old website, this page was called "Fellowship." The contents of the old Fellowship page have been placed on the Jamestowne Society Fellowships page, which contains clear, concise directions for applicants who want to apply for the $2000 annual award. The new "Articles for Sale" page from the old website is now a redesigned Jamestowne Society Shoppe, with color photographs of all items available for sale.
First Texas Company, First Georgia Company Site and New York Company pages still reside on the Jamestowne Society domain. All three pages have been updated a bit. All three are encouraged to establish their own domain names and branch out on their own as others have already done. We know you can do it!!!
September 8, 2007 - Jamestowne Reading Resources: In the old website, this page was named "Bibliography." The contents of the old Bibliography page have been placed on the Jamestowne Reading Resources page, along with many new additions. Selections appropriate for young readers are marked with an asterisk (*). The resources are alphabetically listed by author. Total listings are 110, including 50 new ones.
September 7, 2007 - First Ohio Company link added: to the Companies page; First Ohio Company Governor Beth Kennard submitted the new link - be sure to visit the First Ohio Company website! They've done a great job with their web presence - people can find them easily, and navigate their site quickly.
September 3, 2007 - Vista-compatible application software: Walt Beam, who has dedicated many hours to the development and updating of the Jamestowne Society Membership Application software, has provided a new Vista-compatible application. So now prospective Members can use this on the newest computers, and current Members can use this to produce their supplemental applications. You'll be able to now access this updated software from the Membership Process and Application Page. Thanks, Walt!
Time and Weather: Descendants of Jamestowne settlers are scattered all over the globe today. When you visit the "What's New?" page, now you can see at a glance what time it is in Jamestown, and what the temperature is. If you click on the "Weather Gizmo" provided by Weather Underground, you can see what the forecast is. Our ancestors could have made use of this technology!
September 1, 2007 - Website redesign launched: Whether or not our settler-ancestors greeted each other with the contemporary phrase, "What's new?" - it's a relevant question regarding websites. The Jamestowne Society site, on September 1, 2007, began a new journey with new and updated design and content. When you visit (and we hope you'll find reasons to return again - soon and often), check this page first. New additions will be outlined here for you, with the date added. If you're a webmaster with links to various pages in the old Jamestowne Society site (prior to 9/01/07), efforts will be made in the coming weeks to notify you where possible of the changes. In some cases, you may not find a corresponding page published in the new site. Comments from visitors are always welcome. Direct your comments concerning membership and Society matters to Kelly Carson Johnson, Executive Director of the Jamestowne Society. Comments concerning the site should go to Susan Godman Rager, Webmaster. At the bottom of this page (and of every page on the site) you will find buttons to click that will pop an e-mail for you already addressed to the appropriate person to make e-mail contact easier. The name and address of Society Headquarters (and phone number) are also at the bottom of each page for convenience.
The input of Jamestowne Society members and guests is always welcome. The site exists for you, to provide information on Society membership, activities and events, to allow you to remember your participation in past events, and to allow Members to purchase insignia and other items through the Jamestowne Society Shoppe. Enjoy your visit and please come back again! Spread the word about the new site design and content! -- Susan Godman Rager, Webmaster
