Fourth in a series of biographical sketches on members of the House of Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in American at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island. Robert “King” Carter was elected to the Virginia Houses of Burgesses to represent Lancaster County, VA, in 1691. Who was this man? Robert “King” Carter (ca. 1664-1732) was the son of John Carter (ca. 1613-1670) and Sarah Ludlow Carter (d. 1668). John, member of an English family with ties to the Virginia Company of London, immigrated to Virginia by 1642. He served in the House of Burgesses and on the Governor’s Council and left the bulk of his property, including Corotoman Plantation, to his elder son John II. Robert was sent to England in 1673 to be educated. He studied there for six years, developing important business contacts. In 1690, John II died and left Robert most of his estate, including Corotoman, thus catapulting Robert into the leading ranks of the planter class. Large scale cultivation of tobacco required capital and labor and constant attention to detail. Robert was equal to the task. He kept a close eye on every aspect of his operation, becoming planter, merchant, shipper, and international trader. Corotoman developed into a small village with warehouses, docks, a grain mill, stores, barns, and houses for the labor force. Robert Carter served as vestryman of Christ Church Parish, justice of the peace for Lancaster County, commander of the militias for Lancaster and Northumberland Counties, and naval officer for the Rappahannock River in charge of a customs office. He represented Lancaster County in the House of Burgesses in 1691 and 1692 and from 1695-1699. He presided as Speaker in 1696 and 1697. In 1699, the House appointed him treasurer of the colony. He served until 1705. He served on the Governor’s Council from 1699 until his death in 1732, taking an active part in the government of Virginia. His political activities fostered a Virginia identity separate from England yet equally entitled to self-government, a prerequisite for the Revolution. Carter’s great passion was amassing land. Ignoring primogeniture, he set out to amass enough land to leave each son and several grandsons sufficient land to be leading planters in their own right. He succeeded. He amassed land though purchase, foreclosure, head rights, and as agent for the Culpepper-Fairfax families who owned the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers known as the Proprietary or Northern Neck. In 1688, Robert Carter married Judith Armistead (d. ca. 1699). They had four daughters (Elizabeth, Judith, Sarah, and another Judith) and one son (John III, d. 1742). Circa 1704, Robert Carter married Elizabeth Landon Willis (d. 1719). They had five sons (Robert II, Charles, Ludlow, Landon, and George) and five daughters (Anne, Sarah, Betty, Mary, and Lucy). Robert Carter died at Corotoman on January 10, 1732, the largest landowner and wealthiest man in Virginia, owning at least 295,000 acres of land, much personal property, and numerous slaves. His will ran to forty pages. A devout man, his memorial was in the churches he built. First Mississippi Company Descendants of Robert "King" Carter: Richard C. Bradley, III
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Third in a series of biographical sketches on members of the House of Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in American at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island. John Armistead was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses. Who was this man? John Armistead’s parents, William and Anne, emigrated to VA about 1635 from Yorkshire, England, and settled in Elizabeth City County. It is possible that John Armistead was born in VA about this time. John’s father was prosperous in VA and may have sent his son to Gloucester County in the 1650s to manage his properties there when English settlers moved into that area. The destruction of Gloucester County Records has made it impossible to determine the exact dates of John’s birth and death (c. 1635-aft. 1698) John served as a vestryman of Kingston Parish and was a member of the county court and a colonel in the militia by 1670. He became the sheriff in 1676 and 1680 and opposed tobacco cutting riots caused by planters who wanted to raise the price of tobacco by reducing its supply. In 1682 John arrested women who were destroying tobacco plants, putting him at odds with Robert Beverley. Some researchers say that Armistead married Beverley’s sister-in-law, Judith Hone. Others say Judith’s surname was Robinson because Christopher Robinson calls Colonel Armistead my loving (brother) and refers to his loving sister, “Mrs. Judith Armistead” in his will written 27 Jan 1692/3. Armistead also served in the VA House of Burgesses in 1680 and sat at the first meeting of the General Assembly in 1680-1682. His role in suppressing the plant cutters may explain his absence at the second session, but he returned to the House as a Burgess in 1685. Armistead supported English polices designed to control Virginia after Bacon’s Rebellion. Governor Francis Howard knew Armistead’s sympathies with English rule and grew close to Armistead when the governor resided at times with Armistead’s son-in-law, Ralph Wormeley. This friendship probably led to Governor Francis Howard’s appointment of Armistead to the governor’s Council in 1688. In 1691 Armistead lost his seat on the governor’s council when he refused to swear allegiance “thro Scruple of Conscience” to King William and Queen Mary, who came to the English throne after the Glorious Revolution. On 9 Dec 1698 the Crown ordered that Armistead’s seat on the council restored, but he never took the oath and assumed his seat, possibly because he had died or retired from political life by then. John and Judith Armistead had the following children: (1) Judith, who married Robert “King” Carter, one of the wealthiest planters in VA; (2) Elizabeth, who married Ralph Wormeley; (3) William, who married Anna Lee; and (4) Henry, who married Martha Burwell. First Mississippi Company Descendants of John Armistead: Ann Atkinson Simmons, Grace Atkinson Buchanan, Vaughan Simmons Koga, Eliza Simmons Zimmerman Second in a series of biographical sketches on members of the House of Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in American at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island Colonel Francis Eppes was elected to the Virginia Houses of Burgesses to represent Charles City, VA, in 1639-40. Who was this man? Francis Eppes, son of John and Thomazine (Fisher) Eppes, was baptized 14 May 1597 in Ashford, Kent, England. The exact date of his arrival in Virginia is unknown, but he may have come to VA on the Hopewell, for he later named his plantation on the south side of the James River “Hopewell.” The Hopewell brought passengers to Virginia in May 1622, November 1623, and May/June 1624. Incomplete passenger lists exist for the 1623 and 1624 arrivals, but none for 1622. It is probable that he arrived in 1622 because his brother William arrived in VA on the William & Thomas in 1618. Francis was certainly a resident of Virginia before April 1625 when he was elected from Shirley Hundred to sit in the Assembly at James City on 10 May 1625. Eppes was appointed Commissioner for the Upper Parts of the Colony in 1626 and Commander of forces with Captain Thomas Pawlett when they attacked the Weyanoke and Appomattox Indians in 1627. He was also a member of the Assembly in 1628, by which time he himself held the rank of Captain. Francis Eppes, as well as his wife and two young sons, must have returned to England a few years after coming to Virginia as there is no record of him in Virginia between March 1629 and February 1632. On 8 September 1630 Thomas, the third son of Francis Eppes and Marie, was born in London. Eppes was back in Virginia by February 1632 serving as a member of the House of Burgesses for Shirley Hundred. In 1635 Capt. Francis Eppes was granted 1700 acres in Charles City County on the Appomattox River for the transportation of thirty persons plus his three sons—John, Francis, and Thomas—and himself. This land is the present site of the city of Hopewell. A portion of this tract, owned by the Eppes family of “Appomattox Manor,” remained in the family until 1978; it was acquired by the National Park Service in 1979. Until that time it was the oldest plantation in VA still in the hands of descendants of the original owner. Eppes is found on a list of the “Names of the cheifest … planters that hath both ventured theire Lives & estates for the plantation of Virginia.” Although the list is undated, it was apparently drawn up circa 1635. The maiden name of his wife, Marie, is not proven; but circumstantial evidence suggests she was the daughter of Captain Thomas Pawlett of Charles City. In January 1626 Francis Eppes testified in the controversy between Mr. Thomas Pawlett and the Rev. Greville Pooley, and in his will dated January 1644 Captain Pawlett named Francis Eppes as one of the overseers of his will and left him his drum. Pawlett left to Mrs. Eppes his Bible and 20 shillings to buy a mourning ring in his memory, and his “Godson” Francis Eppes was also named in his will. Capt. Eppes also owned land on Shirley Hundred Island, now named Eppes Island, in 1644. He served in the House of Burgesses for Charles City in 1640 and 1656 and was a member of the Council in 1652. He consolidated his land in a 1668 patent for 1980 acres and died before 30 September 1674 when his son and heir John Eppes renewed the patent in his own name. Francis and Marie Eppes left three sons: (1) John, born 1626, who married Mary Kent and had sons Francis, John, William, Edward, and Daniel; (2) Francis, born 1628, who married 1st -- and had Francis and 2nd Mrs. Elizabeth (Littlebury) Worsham and had William, Littlebury, and Mary; and (3) Thomas, born 1630, who married Elizabeth and left sons Thomas and John. First Mississippi Company Descendants of Colonel Francis Epps: Sharron Hailey Baird, Better Carter McSwain George Percy and 70 English Jamestown colonists raid the Powhatan town of Paspahegh, where they kill approximately two dozen Indians, including the chief's wife and her children. This incident marks a dramatic escalation in the First Anglo-Powhatan War. Percy was part of the first group of 105 English colonists to settle the Jamestown Colony. He departed England in December 1606 and kept a journal of his voyage. He arrived in Virginia in April 1607 and recorded the struggles of the colonists to cope with the American environment, disease, and the Powhatan Native Indians. "Thus we lived for the space of five months in this miserable distress," he wrote in his journal, "not having five able men to man our bulwarks upon any occasion." Although Percy had a higher social rank than all of the other first colonists, he was initially denied a seat on the Virginia Council. Nevertheless, he took the lead in the early life of the colony, taking part in the expedition to the James River falls in May and June 1607. In autumn 1607, he sided with the President of the colony, Edward Maria Wingfield, who was subsequently deposed by John Ratcliffe, Gabriel Archer, and John Smith. From late 1607 until autumn 1609, Percy had little power in Jamestown but served as Smith's subordinate. When Smith left the colony in September 1609, Percy assumed the presidency of the colony. However, his persistent illness kept him from executing his office, leaving the duties of the presidency to Ratcliffe, Archer, and John Martin. It was during Percy's tenure that the colony suffered through the “Starving Time” in the winter of 1609-10. "Now all of us at James Town beginning to feel that sharp prick of hunger, which no man truly describe but he which hath tasted the bitterness thereof," he recounted later. Percy accomplished little while President, other than to order the construction of Fort Algernon at Old Point Comfort. When Sir Thomas Gates arrived in May 1610, Percy happily surrendered control of the colony to him. In June 1610, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, arrived in Jamestown and with a commission to serve as the colony's governor. De La Warr appointed Percy to the council and named him captain of the Jamestown fort. In August 1610, De La Warr sent Percy and seventy men to attack the Paspahegh and Chickahominy Indians. The force ravaged the Indians' settlements on August 10th, burning their buildings, decimating their crops, and indiscriminately killing men, women, and children. This tactic, used by the Indians, proved most effective. Percy also led the successful defense of James Fort against an Indian attack and earned the praise of De La Warr. When the Governor returned to England in March 1611, he appointed Percy to lead the colony in his absence. "But the winds not favoring them, they were enforced to shape their course directly for England--my lord having left and appointed me deputy governor in his absence, to execute martial law or any other power and authority as absolute as himself." Percy's term as Governor lasted until April 22, 1612, when he departed for England. -John Graves, Jamestowne Society Communications Committee 2018-2019 First in a series of biographical sketches on members of the House of Burgesses whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company in honor of the 400th anniversary of the July 30, 1619, meeting of the first representative governmental body in American at the 1617 Church on Jamestown Island Captain John Haynie was elected to the Virginia Houses of Burgesses to represent Northumberland County, VA, in 1657. Who was this man? By 1650, John Haynie was living in Northumberland County, VA, and states in a deposition recorded in 20 August 1655 that he is 31 years of age or thereabouts; it is this court record that establishes his birth year as 1624. His will was recorded at a court held 22 July 1697, but his actual will was destroyed by a fire in 1710. John Haynie transported 34 people from England into the VA Colony; he was a surveyor, a Justice, a planter, a King’s Attorney for Northumberland County, a Captain in the Susquehanna War, a vestryman in Wicomico Parish and later a member of St. Stephens Parish in present-day Heathsville, VA. About 1650, Haynie married Jane Morris, daughter of Nicholas and Martha Morris who were in the VA Colony by 1641. John and Jane Haynie had six children: Richard [married (1) Elizabeth Bridgar (2) Elinor]; Anthony [married Sarah Harris]; John Haynie [married (1) Mary Sadler (2) Jane]; Martha [spouse unknown]; Elizabeth [married Peter Presley]; and Anne [married Thomas Harding]. Jane and John Haynie also reared Jane Morris, the only child of Jane Morris Haynie’s brother Anthony; and Thomas Harding, Jr., orphan of Anne Haynie Harding and Thomas Harding. According to VA Land Patents recorded in Cavaliers and Pioneers, John Haynie owned about 4750 acres in Northumberland County and was a wealthy planter elected to represent Northumberland in the VA House of Burgesses in 1657. He was also appointed the clerk of the market for Wicomico and set up an ordinary near the courthouse in 1681. Although clerks for the Northumberland County records spell John Haynie’s name as Haney and Haynie, John Haynie was literate; his signature showed that he spelled his name as Haynie. Tidewater Virginia Families and other books on early Virginia families speculate that Captain John Haynie was probably the son of John and Elizabeth Hayney. John Hayney came to VA from Devon on the Margett and John in 1621; Elizabeth Hanie arrived on the Abigail in 1622. They first lived on Company land in Elizabeth Cittie at Buck Roe, near today’s city of Hampton, in a palisaded home with Nicholas Rowe and his wife and two indentured servants. John and Elizabeth are listed in the Muster of Virginia inhabitants in 1624/25. In 1632 John Hayney, planter, lived at Point Comfort Island; in April 1635 in Accomack County; and in June 1635 Charles River County (later York County). By the time he was 41 years of age in 1635 he was living on land on the Poquoson River about 75 miles from the 1650 home of Captain John Haynie in Northumberland County, VA. This county first began to be settled in 1635 by the English merchant class. If Captain John Haynie was the son of John and Elizabeth Hayney, he was born in Virginia at Buck Roe in Elizabeth Cittie. First Mississippi Company Descendants of Captain John Haynie: Shirley Haynie Godsey; Anna, Lauren, & Harrison Parmer; Alden, Meril, & Emeril John IV Lagasse; Cherry Haynie Lovelace & Caroline Lovelace; Kim Reed;, Lauren Stacey; Leslie Reed-Jones; Susan Burroughs; Mary Flood; Marcia Flood Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, arrives in James Cittie to begin his term as the Virginia Governor. He arrives with fresh supplies and settlers just in time to intercept the outgoing governor, Sir Thomas Gates, and the surviving colonists who had planned to abandon Jamestown and return to England.
Thomas West was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford. He later served in the army under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and was subsequently charged with supporting Essex's insurrection against Queen Elizabeth. He was acquitted of those charges. West succeeded his father as Baron De La Warr in 1602 and became a member of the Privy Council, a non-executive body of advisors mostly comprised of former members of Parliament. Lord De La Warr was appointed governor-for-life and captain-general of the Virginia Colony which replaced the governing council under the presidency of Captain John Smith. Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, arrives in James Cittie to begin his term as the Virginia Governor. He arrives with fresh supplies and settlers just in time to intercept the outgoing governor, Sir Thomas Gates, and the surviving colonists who had planned to abandon Jamestown and return to England. Thomas West was educated at Queen’s College, Oxford. He later served in the army under Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and was subsequently charged with supporting Essex's insurrection against Queen Elizabeth. He was acquitted of those charges. West succeeded his father as Baron De La Warr in 1602 and became a member of the Privy Council, a non-executive body of advisors mostly comprised of former members of Parliament. Lord De La Warr was appointed governor-for-life and captain-general of the Virginia Colony which replaced the governing council under the presidency of Captain John Smith. In November 1609, the Powhatan Indians attacked James Fort killing John Ratcliffe, captain of the Discovery, one of the three ships to have landed at Jamestown in 1607. This attack by the Powhatan Indians became known as the First Anglo-Powhatan War. Ratcliffe was the Colony’s Council President. As part of England's response, De La Warr recruited a fighting force of 150 men and outfitted three ships at his own expense. They sailed from England in March of 1610. They arrived at James Cittie on June 10th just in time to persuade the original settlers not to give up and go home to England. As a veteran of English military campaigns against the Irish, De La Warr employed "scorched earth" tactics against the Native Americans. His troops raided villages, burned houses, torched cornfields, and stole provisions. These tactics, identical to those practiced by the Powhatans themselves, proved most effective. Lord De La Warr returned to England due to illness in the spring of 1611 leaving his deputy, Sir Samuel Argall, in charge of the colony. After receiving complaints from the Virginia settlers about Argall's leadership, Lord De La Warr again set sail for Virginia in 1618 to investigate the charges of tyranny. He died at sea in route to Virginia. It was thought for many years that Lord De La Warr had been buried in the Azores or at sea. By 2006, researchers had concluded that his body was indeed brought to Jamestown for burial. Digs currently going on inside the Memorial Jamestown Church has unearthed the remains of bodies buried in the chancery. As was the custom in England, only the most important people were buried in a church chancery. It is speculated that the remains of Lord Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, may have been found. DNA analysis may soon confirm this suspicion. It is a very exciting time for those having a keen interest in our Nation’s earliest history as James Cittie, or Jamestown as it became to be known, is the birthplace of America and the archaeological digs are unlocking her secrets. Captain Edward-Maria Wingfield, president of the ruling council, chooses the site for a permanent settlement and names it James Cittie. The first permanent English settlement in North America is thereby officially established. The settlement and the adjacent river are named in honor of the English King, James I. Edward-Maria Wingfield was the only member of the Virginia Company’s leaders to go to Jamestown to oversee his investment and became the colony’s first president. Wingfield came from a wealthy family England and served in the military in Holland and Ireland. His leadership in Virginia became controversial as the colonists were displeased with the way Wingfield ran the colony. They eventually removed Wingfield from office and had him jailed for a short period. Wingfield stayed in the colony less than a year and returned to England where he died sometime after 1619. Edward-Maria Wingfield was born in 1550 in Stonley Priory located about one-hundred miles north of London. His father, Thomas-Maria Wingfield, received the added name “Maria” from his godmother, Queen Mary of France (Henry VIII’s sister), and passed it on to his son. Young Edward attended a school for barristers in 1576 but he left his studies uncompleted after three years to fight against the Spanish in Holland. He also saw military service in Ireland before his involvement with the Virginia Company. Wingfield became one of the chief financial contributors to the Virginia Company along with Rev. Richard Hakluyt (the younger), George Popham, Thomas Gates, George Somers, Thomas Hanham, Raleigh Gilbert, and William Parker. When the young company was in financial trouble, Wingfield mortgaged his estate to support the venture. Edward-Maria Wingfield was the only senior company member to risk his life in the New World. This made him the logical choice for the first president. However, his presidency was short-lived and unhappy due to many factors. Primarily it was his military background and management style that created a rift with the people of the colony. Edward-Maria Wingfield was a rather mysterious figure who deserves credit for getting the colony up and running. He risked his life at age 56 to make the voyage to Jamestown while the rest of his peers waited in London to watch their investment from afar. Many historians have commented on Wingfield’s shortcomings in leadership but none can deny the important role he played in establishing Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. - John Graves, Jamestowne Society Communication Committee 2018-2019 Bacon’s Rebellion begins this day or did it really? There is disagreement as to when the rebellion actually started as it was an ongoing disagreement between Governor William Berkeley and indentured servants and slaves led by Nathaniel Bacon that escalated over the summer of 1676. (Did you know Berkeley and Bacon were related? Bacon was Berkeley's wife's cousin.) At the heart of the disagreement was how to best deal with troublesome Indians. In some regards, the Indians were used as a scapegoat for other difficulties... not an untold story in our early history. The finger of blame and shame in this nasty affair are cast in differing directions but ultimately point to Bacon for who among us can embrace a pyromaniac? Bacon and his supporters burned Jamestown on 16 September 1676. A few weeks, Bacon died and the rebellion quickly lost support. As Gov. Berkeley regained control, he began exacting revenge on the rebellious leaders who had challenged his authority and destroyed much of Jamestown. In all, 23 rebels were hung and Berkeley confiscated their property without trial. Upon receiving a report on the rebellion and Berkeley’s retaliation, King Charles II was reported to have said, "That old fool has put to death more people in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father." Berkeley was relieved of his position and called back to England where he died. Should you have an interest in Bacon's Rebellion visit www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm for a detailed account: - John Graves, Jamestowne Society Communication Committee 2018-2019
One Hundred and four of Virginia’s colonists, having made landfall three days earlier, erect a wooden cross at what they named Cape Henry, the southern boundary entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. By doing so, they are thanking God for their safe passage and claim the land for King James I. The cape is named for their king’s eldest son, Henry Frederick Stuart. In keeping with instructions of the Virginia Company of London, a search for a good defensible place to colonize ensues. Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales was the elder son of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland, and his wife, Anne of Denmark. Heir to the throne died 6 Nov 1612, age 18, of Typhoid Fever. Portrait painted circa 1610. Courtsey National Portrait Gallery, London. - John Graves, Jamestowne Society Communication Committee 2018-2019
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To Our ContributorsWe welcome properly researched contributions of ancestor profiles, vignettes and comments from members that focus on their ancestors’ roles in Jamestown’s history, plus other aspects of their lives, events and experiences in the colony. PLEASE NOTE that all information must be documented and backed up by primary source documents, and not unverifiable information and family and urban legends. Submissions without this backup may be rejected. Please limit contributions and blog entries solely to the ancestors themselves, and do not include subsequent lineage information. Entries should be no more than 400 words. Archives
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