John West (1590-1659) York County, VA

​Thirty-third in a series of biographical sketches of qualifying ancestors of the Jamestowne Society whose descendants belong to the First Mississippi Company
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John West was born 14 Dec 1590 in Hampshire, England, as the fifth son of the 2nd Baron de La Warr and immigrated to VA in 1618.  He served as a Burgess from 1628 to 1630.  When Governor Sir John Harvey was ousted, West became the acting governor from 1635 to 1637,when Harvey was restored as governor.  In 1640, West and three other Virginians were summoned to England to explain ousting Harvey to the Star Chamber; all four men were exonerated and returned to VA.

West became a wealthy man in VA and accumulated 6450 acres of land in York and Gloucester counties.  In 1630, a settlement was ordered in York as a foil to the dangerous Pamunkey Indian chief, and West was granted 600 acres on the Pamunkey River.  The 3000-acre land West was granted in York is now the present-day town of West Point, VA.

John West and his wife Anne Percy had one son John, who married Unity Croshaw, the daughter of Joseph Croshaw and granddaughter of the Ancient Planter Raleigh Croshaw.  West and Joseph Croshaw both were both ardent Royalists and opposed Oliver Cromwell.  West died by March 1659, and his son, John, inherited his father’s lands exempt from all taxes for life as a reward for his father’s service to the Colony.

First Mississippi Company Ancestors of John West:  Jim Pryor, Joseph Winston, William McGinnis