William Powell (Virginia colonist)
William Powell | |
---|---|
Member Virginia House of Burgesses | |
In office 1619–1619 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1577 England |
Died | 1623 Virginia |
Residence | James City County, Virginia |
Occupation | Planter, Burgess, Militia Officer |
Military service | |
Branch/service | James City County, Virginia militia |
Years of service | About 1611 to 1622 |
Rank | Captain |
William Powell (before 1586 – January 1623), was an early
Early life in England
Sources conflict as to whether William Powell was born in 1577 or 1585 or whether these were the years of birth of one or two other men of the same name. Although his date of birth is uncertain, the colonist William Powell obviously was born in England.
Settlement in Virginia
William Powell, described as a gentleman, arrived in the
On February 9, 1610,
Deputy Governor
In 1620, Argall contracted with, or possibly even ordered, Powell to clear land and build houses for new colonists at Martin's Hundred. Powell tried to force the newcomers to pay for the work, but they were able to show this would be unjust because Argall had actually put their site in the wrong location.[1]
In April 1622, soon after the Indian massacre of March 22, 1622, Captain Powell established, or at least secured rights to, property in order to establish a large plantation on the
Militia leader
A great
Soon after beginning the Chickahominy River enterprise mentioned above, Captain William Powell was killed leading a party of militia against the Native Americans (Indians). The militia were seeking revenge for the March 22, 1622 massacre. Captain William Powell, as he is identified in the list of Burgesses,[8] may have died in late 1622 or possibly in January 1623. A letter of January 24, 1623 from colonist John Harrison to his brother, Richard Harrison, states that Captain Powell, and others, were dead.[15]
Aftermath
In 1620, Powell and another colonist named John Smith took some land on
On a date between March 4, 1626 and the end of 1628, Edward Blaney, one of James City County's burgesses in 1623, married Margaret Powell, the widow of Captain Powell. Like Powell, Blaney lived on the south side or "Surry side" of James City County, across the James River from Jamestown, Virginia.[9]
See also
Notes
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8063-1774-8. p. 576
- ISBN 978-0-8063-1763-2. Retrieved July 21, 2011. p. 765
- OCLC 2053984. Retrieved July 21, 2011. p. 26
- ^ None of the Sea Venture passengers were lost in the storm or the stranding of the ship but some of them did not survive their time on Bermuda.
- ^ Tyler gives a February 9, 1611 date. Although this does not correlate with an earlier presence of Powell in Virginia, it would not require Powell to have been in Virginia before the arrival of the Sea Venture passengers. On the other hand, Powell's name is not on the extant partial lists of Sea Venture passengers and the date could be equivalent to 1610 because of the peculiarities of the old calendar that was still in use at that time.
- ^ Tyler, 1906, pp. 102–103
- ^ Argall was Lt. Governor or Deputy Governor between 1617 and 1619. He also was referred to as Principal Governor of Virginia but this only may have been after the death of Governor Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, who died at sea on his way back to Virginia, in large part to investigate Argall's alleged harsh conduct, on June 7, 1618. Argall had been one of Governor West's ship captains on his early voyages to Virginia. Argall may have wanted a second in command in the colony in the events something happened to him, even before he learned of Governor West's death. Argall was succeeded as governor in 1619 by George Yeardley. No further mention of Powell as lieutenant governor has been found.
- ^ OCLC 253261475, Retrieved July 15, 2011. p. 52
- ^ OCLC 6148616. Retrieved July 20, 2011. p. 88
- ^ Dorman, 2005, p. 765
- ^ Ancient planter is a term applied to colonists who migrated to the Plantation of Virginia "before the coming away of Sir Thomas Dale" in 1616, and continued there for at least three years. These colonists received the first land grants in Virginia. Those who paid their own passage to Virginia received a "first dividend" of 100 acres (0.40 km2), free of quit-rent. Those who were brought at the Company's expense also received 100 acres, subject to an annual rent of one shilling per 50 acres.
- OCLC 1150082. Retrieved July 21, 2011. p. 306
- OCLC 554689. Retrieved July 21, 2011. p. 135
- OCLC 3512595.
- ISBN 978-0-8063-1192-0. Retrieved July 21, 2011. p. 31
- ^ Dorman, 2005, pp. 636–637
References
- Boddie, John Bennett. Colonial Surry. Richmond: Dietz Press, 1948. OCLC 6148616. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- Boddie, John Bennett. Seventeenth century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: a history of the county of Isle of Wight, Virginia, during the seventeenth century, including abstracts of the county records. Chicago, Chicago Law Print. Co. 1938. OCLC 11904209. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- Chandler, Julian Alvin Carroll and Travis Butler Thames. Colonial Virginia. Richmond, VA: Times-Dispatch Company, 1907. OCLC 554689. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- Coldham, Peter Wilson. The complete book of emigrants, 1607-1660: a comprehensive listing compiled from English Public Records of those who took ship to the Americas for political, religious, and economic reasons; of those who were deported for vagrancy, roguery, or non-conformity; and of those who were sold to labour in the new colonies. Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987. ISBN 978-0-8063-1192-0. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- Dorman, John Frederick. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Virginia, 1607-1624/5: Families G-P. Fourth Edition, Volume 2. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8063-1763-2. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- Henry, William Wirt. The First Legislative Assembly in America. In Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1893. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1894. OCLC 1150082. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
- McCartney, Martha W. Virginia immigrants and adventurers, 1607-1635: a biographical dictionary. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-8063-1774-8.
- Shomette, Donald G. Pirates of the Chesapeake, Centreville, MD: Tidewater Publishers, 1985. ISBN 978-0-87033-607-2.
- Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Virginia Colonial Register. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1902. OCLC 253261475, Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- Stith, William (1740). The History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia. Reprinted for Joseph Sabin in 1865. Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Co., 1965. OCLC 3512595.
- Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. The cradle of the republic: Jamestown and James river. Richmond, VA: Hermitage Press, 1906. OCLC 2053984. Retrieved July 21, 2011.