Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume I, Part 14

Author: Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, 1853-1935, ed. cn
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: New York, Lewis historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 436


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Hinton, Thomas, first appears as a member of the council on Feb. 8, 1633-34. He did not enjoy the honor long as Harvey soon removed him on the charge that he had given the gov- eruor "ill words," which reason seems to have been accepted by the English privy council as a valid one, and there is no other mention of Thomas Hinton in our records. Neill, in "Vir- ginia Carolorum," says that the councillor was Sir Thomas Hinton, whose daughter married Samuel Mathews, but this seems unlikely, for an account of Virginia written in 1649 asserts that Mathews married a daughter of Sir Thomas Hinton, while the notices of the Vir- ginia councillors in 1634 and 1635 style him simply "Thomas Hinton, Esq." or "Mr. Thomas Hinton." He is "Mr. Thomas Hin- ton" in the account of the examination of Gov. Harvey before the English privy coun- cil on Dec. 11, 1635. Neill says that one Wil- liam Hinton, a brother of Mrs. Mathews, was a gentleman of the King's privy chamber, and it seems probable that Thomas Hinton, the councillor, was another brother. Foster, in his "Oxford Matriculations," states that a Thomas Hinton was knighted July 1, 1619, and thinks he may have been the same as Thomas Hinton of Wiltshire, gent., who ma-


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triculated at Queen's College, Oct. 15, 1591, aged 17. Sir Thomas Hinton was of Chilton- Foliet, Wiltshire. The register of the parish gives the births of Thomas, April 8, 1600, and William, July 25, 1605, sons of Thomas Hin- ton Esq. and Katherine his wife; also the burials of Mrs. Katherine, wife of Mr. Thomas Hinton, Oct. 11, 1609, of Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Hinton (doubtless the son) Sept. 20, 1658, and of Thomas Hinton, Sept. 23, 1658.


Stoner, John. On Sept. 29, 1634, the King wrote to the governor of Virginia stating that the bearer of his letter, John Stoner, had been appointed one of the councillors of that colony, and his majesty's agent to treat for a yearly contract for tobacco. On Jan. 21, of the fol- lowing year, Governor Harvey wrote that Mr. Stoner had died on his voyage to Virginia.


Browne, Henry, came to Virginia about 1034 and was evidently a man of property and influence. He had grants for several large 'tracts of land at various points in James City county, and was known as Col. Henry Browne of "Four Mile Tree,' his plantation locating in the ancient "Pace's Pains." He was also appointed to the council in the year of his arrival and is believed to have remained a inember of that body until the surrender of the colony to the parliamentary forces in 1652. He was one of the strongest of Harvey's ad- herents and when the majority of the council proposed to depose tlie governor, Capt. Browne is said to have disliked the proceed- ings so greatly that he made an excuse of sickness and retired to his home. Before this time, Capt. Thomas Young in a letter of July 13, 1634, states that only two of the council were indifferent to Harvey's conduct as gov- ernor, Capt. Purefoy and another (Browne),


who was "an honest and plain man, but of small capacity and less power." When Har- vey was returned to power, Browne was one of the few councillors who acted with him and was present at meetings held in Jan. and Feb., 1636-37 and Jan., 1639, and was one of the few members of the council whom the King ordered retained. Upon the accession of Gov. Wyatt, the adherents of Harvey were in general disfavor in the colony and Browne was turned out of office, Oct., 1640. It amounted to only a suspension, however, for in the following March he was reinstated. He was included in the royal commission of 1641 under Berkeley, and after the temporary retirement of the royalist element at the time of the protectorate, was restored to the coun- cil when Berkeley was again made royal gov- ernor in 1660. In a deed of 1652, Browne is referred to as "Colonel Henry Browne." He died in 1661 or 1662, leaving a daughter Mary who married Lieut. Col. William Browne, who lived at "Four Mile Tree," and left many de- scendants.


Menifie, George, came to Virginia in July, 1623 and settled at Jamestown. He was for long one of the wealthiest and probably the leading merchant in the colony, and repre- sented Jamestown in the house of burgesses in 1629. He made frequent voyages to Eng- land, probably beginning as early as 1625. In 1635, he was appointed a member of the coun- cil, and for a time was inclined to restrain the other councillors from their proposed arrest of Harvey, but after mature deliberation, be- came of a like mind with them. He it was that answered Harvey, when that violent offi- cer asked the council what was the cause of the people's petition against him, and brought down the governor's wrath upon him. Har-


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very struck him violently upon the shoulder and said "I arrest you of suspicion and Trea- son to his Majestie." Upon this the other councillors, headed by Utie, arrested the gov- ernor. He was, with the other leaders of the council, ordered to England by the King to answer the charges preferred against them by Harvey. He petitioned the King to be allowed to return to Virginia and was given permis- sion upon his furnishing a bond of £1,000 to appear before the star chamber at any time appointed. Menifie returned to Virginia almost at once, but was back in England shortly. He and Councillors Peirce, Mathews and West were at length ordered to return to an- swer the charges, but there is nothing to show that any of them went. Menifie's name was included by the King in his commission of councillors in 1641, so it appears probable that his majesty's feelings had changed towards the worthy councillors. In any event, the breaking out of the civil war must have sus- pended all the proceedings. He died in 1644, leaving a daughter who married Captain Henry Perry.


Hooke, Francis. Writing in 1635, Gov. Harvey informed Secretary Windebank that he knows no man so fit to command the fort at Point Comfort as Capt. Francis Hooke, who was an old servant of King James, and requested the King's approval of his appoint- ment to that office. This was evidently re- ceived as the good captain was given the office and was also made a member of the council. Jan. 18, 1636-37. Little further is known of him save that prior to his residence in Vir- ginia, he had been a naval officer and com- manded a ship off the coast of Ireland.


John Donne, the poet and Dean of St. Paul's. He was baptized, May 9, 1605, and led an eventful life. He was associated as sergeant major in the settlement of St. Christopher and, when the Spaniards captured the place, was carried as a hostage to Madrid, where he re- mained a long time a prisoner. He finally made his escape by bribing his jailors and got safely to England. He went to Virginia with Harvey and, in Jan., 1636-37, was a member of the council and marshall of Virginia. Early in 1640, he was in England in the in- terests of Harvey and presented the King with a treatise entitled "Virginia Reviewed" which is still extant and in the British Museum. He also petitioned the King to confirm his title to the various offices which he had held in the colony, and this was done. His death occurred in 1641.


Brocas, William, settled at an early date in Charles River, now York, and early in 1637 was called to the council on the order of the English government and was present at many meetings. He was again appointed in the royal commission of 1641, and once more by Charles II. in 1650. The house of burgesses failed to include him, however, in the council elected by them two years later. Capt. Brocas re- ceived numerous grants of land in York and on the Rappahannock, and about the year 1650, removed to what is now Middlesex county. The good captain appears to have married three times, but died without issue, as it is stated in the records that one John Jackson was his heir-at-law.


Thoroughgood, Adam, was the seventh son of William Thoroughgood of Grimston in Norfolk and brother of Sir John Thorough- good, a pensioner of Charles I. He was born


Donne or Dunn, George, as his name was frequently spelt, was the second son of Dr. in 1602 and came to Virginia in 1621, settling


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ir. Kicotan, now Hampton. He acquired by patent large tracts of land in various localities, the latest being "granted to him at the espe- ciall recommendation of him from their Lord- shipps and others, his Ma'ties most Hon'ble privie Councell to the Governor and Councell of State for Virginia." Capt. Adam Thorough- good was a commissioner and burgess for Elizabeth City in 1629 and 1630 and was ap- pointed to the council in 1637 and the same year was presiding justice of the county court cf Lower Norfolk. He died in the spring of 1640, leaving descendants in Virginia.


Townsend, Richard, was born in 1606 or [607 and came to Virginia in 1620 as an ap- prentice to Dr. John Pott, afterward governor, who was to teach him the art of an apothe- cary. The doctor did not carry out his part of the contract satisfactorily to Townsend, who in 1626, complained to the authorities that Pott had neglected to do his duty in the mat- Jer. The student of drugs probably aban- ioned his intended profession when he came of age, and in course of time rose to be one of the leading men of the colony. He was burgess for the plantations between "Archer's Hope" and "Martin's Hundred," in Oct., 1628 and, removing in 1630, to what is now York county, became a commissioner or justice there in: 1633, and presiding justice in 1646. Some- time in 1636-37, the secretary in England wrote to the governor and council in Virginia that Capt. Richard Townsend, having been recommended as "an able man for the execu- tion of that service, in respect to his knowledge of the affairs of the Country," had been ap- pointed a member of the council and that the King directed that he be forthwith sworn. He was probably turned out of office as some of the councillors were at the accession of Wyatt


to the governorship, for he appears again as a burgess in 1642. He was again sworn to the council in that year, however, and prob- ably retained his seat until his death, although his name does not appear in that connection later than Feb., 1645-46. Townsend was a prominent man in the colony and acquired considerable tracts of land there by grant. He seems to have made a number of trips to Eng- land.


Wormeley, Christopher, a son of Christo- pher Wormeley of Yorkshire and a descend- ant of Sir John de Wormeley, was governor of the island of Tortuga from 1632 to 1635, during which last year it was taken by the Span- iards, a loss said to have been due to the care- lessness of the governor. He appears to have come directly to Virginia as he was a justice of Charles River county in 1636. In 1639 and 1640, he was commander-in-chief of Charles River and Elizabeth City counties. In 1636- 37, he was appointed a member of the council, and, being a supporter of Harvey, received a share of the governor's unpopularity. When Secretary Kemp fled to England in 1640, Wor- nieley seems to have accompanied him. He and Kemp were accused of cruelty and op- pression in the colony and had considerable difficulty in making their return to Virginia. being twice prevented from doing so by orders from the house of lords, the second order being served on them when they were already on shipboard and about to depart. These charges seem to have had a foundation in fact. Wor- meley actually confessed later to having tried a case against one Taylor unjustly, when a commissioner of Elizabeth City. Moral standards seem to have been somewhat lax in Virginia in 1640 for, although the council di- rected Wormeley to make reparation to Tay-


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lor, yet his sins do not seem to have debarred him from his office as councillor, and he was present at meetings of the council in 1642 and 1643. It seems probable that he died shortly after the latter date.


Evelyn, Robert, was a member of a family ¡that had several representatives in Virginia and Maryland early in the seventeenth cen- ¡tury. He was a relative of John Evelyn, the diarist and author of "Sylvia," and a brother of Capt. George Evelyn who emigrated from England to Maryland. Capt. Thomas Young, an uncle of Robert Evelyn, having obtained permission to trade in America and to explore there, sailed from England in 1634 with two ships, taking his nephew, Lieut. Robert Eve- lyn, as his second in command. They arrived at Point Comfort, in Virginia, on July 3, and 011 the first of September, Evelyn, in a small shallop, which Young had built, departed for the Delaware, whither he was soon followed by his uncle. Here they built a fort where Evelyn says he remained four years trading with the Indians. He doubtless means that he and his uncle retained an interest in the place for that length of time, for in 1634 Evelyn himself returned to England and was again there in 1637. In the latter year he made another trip to Virginia, carrying a recommendation from Secretary Windebanke to Gov. Harvey, who was "to let him passe without let or hinderance on this great and secret service of his Majesty's. What this great and secret service was does not appear, but it most probably relates to some rose col- ored accounts of profit in trade which Young and Evelyn had given. Immediately upon his arrival in Virginia, Gov. Harvey and Secre- tary Kemp chose Evelyn to be surveyor-gen- eral of the colony, in place of Gabriel Hawley,


deceased. This appointment was ratified by the English government, which also appointed him a member of the council. In 1640, Eve- lyn again went to England and in the next year, published a pamphlet giving directions te emigrants to America. Before this time he appears to become a resident of Maryland and was a member of the assembly of that colony. He continued to play a prominent part in the affairs of Maryland for a time, but after 1642 he is not mentioned in the records. A nephew, Mountjoy Evelyn, son of Capt. George Eve- lyn resided in James City county, Virginia.


Hawley, Jerome. Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage" gives the pedigree of the present baronet of the name of Hawley, tracing to an ancestor in Somersetshire, from whose eldest son the extinct Lords Hawley were descended, and whose second son, Jeremy Hawley, of Boston, near Brentford, Middlesex, England, was the father of (1) James Hawley, Esq., of Brentford; (2) John, who married Amy, daughter of Thomas Studley, possibly the first "Cape Merchant" of Virginia; and (3) Capt. Henry Hawley. John and Amy (Stud- ley) Hawley had issue: (1) Jerome, of Vir- ginia and Maryland; (2) Capt. Henry, gov- ernor of Barbadoes; (3) Dr. Richard, of Lon- don, ancestor of the present baronet; (4) James, who was also interested in the colonies and perhaps lived in Northumberland county, Virginia ; (5) William, who came from Barba- does to Maryland after the death of his brother Jerome, and was a signer of the Prot- estant Declaration of 1650. There were two other sons, who were probably Gabriel, who died in Virginia while holding the office of surveyor-general, and John, who came to Vir- ginia in 1619. Jerome Hawley was a coun- cillor of Maryland in 1634, and returned to


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England in the summer of 1635. On Jan. 5, tion of Virginia, and held all of the more im- 1637, the King appointed him treasurer of Virginia and a member of the council there. At this time he was "one of the gentlemen servers to Queen Henrietta Maria. He came to Virginia in March, but soon returned to Maryland, where he had large interests. He died about Aug., 1638, deeply in debt, and on the 14th of that month the Maryland author- ities, who spoke of him as "late of St. Maries," appointed Thomas Cornwallis administrator of lıis estate.


Sibsey or Sipsey, John, is first mentioned on Sept. 2, 1624, when, as John Sipsey, of Kichoughtan, "yeoman," he was granted a tract of 250 acres on the "south side of the river over against Kiccoughtan," as Hampton was then called. He returned to England after this time, for in the winter of 1626-27, a ship going to Virginia carrying some plant- ers and servants, chiefly Irish, ran aground in Barnstable Bay, the principal persons on board being Fell (Felgate?) and Sipsie. In Sept., 1632, and Feb., 1633, John Sibsey was a burgess for the upper parish of Elizabeth City, and in 1636-37, probably in January, he was made a councillor. He must have been one of the council for a very short time, how- ever, for in 1639 he was burgess for Lower Norfolk, where he had acquired a consider- able estate. On June 1, 1635, he had received two grants of 1500 acres each, one on the western branch of the Elizabeth river, and the other nearby, probably adjoining. In 1640 he was one of the residents of Lower Nor- folk who subscribed to pay the salary of Thomas Harrison, the well known Puritan minister, and in 1641 he was again a burgess for that county. During a long period Capt. Sibsey was one of the leading men in this sec-


portant county offices. He was a justice from July, 1637, for many years succeeding, sheriff in 1642 and 1645, commander of Lower Nor- folk in 1645 and 1646, and deputy lieutenant of the county in 1646. From an entry in the Lower Norfolk records, in 1646, it may be seen that Sibsey then had a son Thomas, and fiom another, dated June 22, 1647, that he was a co-partner in the ships "John and Bar- bary" and "America," and a freighter in the ships "Bellman" and "Blessing."


Hobson, John. On June 2, 1620, and Jan. 30, of the year following, Sir Richard Worse- ley, Bart., Capt. Nathaniel Basse, John Hobson, Gent., and Capt. Christopher Lawne agreed with the Virginia to transport 100 persons to Virginia and receive a "confirmation of their old patent." Their settlement was to be called "the Isle of Wight's plantation," and it is pos- sible that all the patentees were, as Worseley certainly was, residents of the Isle of Wight, in England. Hobson came to Virginia about this time, but exactly when he arrived there or how long he remained is not known. In 1637, Capt. John Hobson, "who hath formerly been in Virginia and is now ready to return," was added to the council. He sailed from England soon after June 4. 1637, upon which day, at the request of "Captain John Hop- sonn, one of his Majesty's Council in Vir- ginia," the seamen of the ship in which he was about to take passage were exempted from empressment. He was present as a member of the council Feb. 20, 1637, and on the 4th of June following, and was included in the commission of councillors under Gov. Berkeley, Aug. 9, 1641. On March 16, 1635, "Captain John Hobson, Esq., one of the Coun- cil of State," received a grant of land extend-


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ing from Pagan Point Creek, "hereafter to be called Hampstead Point," to Warruschis- queake river, "hereafter to be called New Town Haven," due him for "a share of his adventure." The grant was dated May 2, 1621, in the time of the Virginia Company, of which Hobson had been a member. When Capt. Hobson died is not known.


Willoughby, Thomas, was a nephew of Sir Percival Willoughby, of Wollaton, who was from Kent, married his relative, the heiress of the Willoughbys of Wollaton, and had several brothers. At least so runs the family tradition. Thomas was born in 1601, came to Virginia when he was nine years old, and lived first, in Elizabeth City county, and afterwards in Lower Norfolk. After reach- ing manhood, he was for many years one of the leading merchants of the colony. There is to be found in Sainsbury's "Calendar of Colonial State Papers" (vol. i.) a certificate, dated 1627, by Thomas Willoughby, of Rochester, aged twenty-seven years, in regard to a ship in which he was about to go to Vir- ginia. There can hardly be a doubt that this was the Virginian returning from a visit to his old home. As soon as he arrived in Vir- ginia, he was engaged in warfare with the Indians, for on July 4, 1627, Lieut. Pippet and Ensign Willoughby were ordered to attack the Chesapeakes. As "Lieutenant Thomas Willoughby," he was appointed a commis- sioner (justice) for Elizabeth City, on March 26, 1628-29, and again in Feb., 1631-32, and Sept., 1632. On March II, 1639, "Capt. Thos. Willoughby, Esq.," was presiding jus- tice of Lower Norfolk. He represented the "Upper Part of Elizabeth City," in the house of burgesses at the session of March, 1629-30, and was again a member for "Waters Creek


and the Upper Part of Elizabeth City," in Feb., 1631-32. In Sept., 1632, he was a bur- gess, but was absent, at least at the beginning of the session, being in England about this time. On Jan. 6, 1639, Willoughby was pres- ent as a member of the council, and on Aug. 9. 1641, he was again commissioned as a coun- cillor under Gov. Berkeley, and was present at the meetings of Feb., 1644-45, March, 1645- 46, and Oct., 1646. In the last named year he was "high lieutenant." of Norfolk county. He was included in the commission of the council issued by Charles II. at Breda in 1650, but was not among the councillors elected by the house of burgesses in April, 1652. In Nov., 1654, the assembly made the following order : "It is ordered by the present Grand Assembly in the difference between Capt. Thos. Wil- loughby and Bartholomew Hodgskins (Hos- kins) that Hodgskins the then sheriff is noway liable to make Willoughby any satisfaction, and the former proceedings against the said Willoughby were grounded upon very good reasons, because it appeareth that the said Willoughby was not sworn nor acted as a Councillor of this Country before the Levy was made which he refusing to pay, occa- sioned all the damage, which in this petition hic doth pretend to." Thomas Willoughby patented large tracts of land in Lower Nor- folk county which his descendants owned for several generations. Part of this estate, Wil- loughby Point, near Norfolk, known as the "manor plantation" was until lately the prop- erty of descendants through female lines. The name of Capt. Willoughby's wife is not known, unless, as seems probable, it appears under a patent to him in 1654, when Alice, Thomas and Elizabeth Willoughby are men- tioned as head rights. In the old records of Lower Norfolk is the following: "At a Court


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held 16th August, 1658. Upon Peticon of Mr. Tho. Willoughby a commission of Adm'con is granted unto him on his father's estate, Capt. Tho. Willoughby who deceased in Eng- land, hee putting in Security according to law."


Wormeley, Ralph, was a son of Christo- pher Wormeley, Esq., and a descendant of Sir John de Wormeley, of Hadfield, county York, England (1312), and brother of Chris- topher Wormely, Esq., acting governor of the Tortuga Island, 1631-1635, who also settled in Virginia. He was born about 1620 and came to Virginia about 1635, and settled in York county. He was a justice of the county in 1648, with the rank of captain, and in 1650 was made a member of the council. He died in 1651. In 1646 he married Agatha Elton- head, widow of Luke Stubbins, gentleman, of Northampton county, Virginia. She was the daughter of Richard Eltonhead, of Eltonhead, county Lancaster, England, and on the death of Wormeley she married Sir Henry Chicheley, a royalist who fled to Virginia in 1649 and was afterwards lieutenant governor. He was father of Ralph Wormeley, who became secre- tary of state of Virginia. He died in 1651.


Littleton, Nathaniel, was the sixth son of Sir Edward Littleton, of Henly, Shropshire, and brother of Sir Edward Littleton, lord keeper, served in the Low Countries, in the Earl of Southampton's company, in 1625, and emigrated in 1635 to Virginia, where he set- tled at Nadua Creek, Accomac county. In 1640, he was chief magistrate of that county, and on March 18, 1644, was appointed com- mander of Accomac, an office which he held for a number of years. On April 30, 1652, he was elected to the council, and was a mem- ber until his death about two years later.


Prior to March 1, 1652, Capt. Littleton, "Gov- ernor of Accomache," had married the widow of Charles Harmar. She was Ann, daughter of Henry Southey, Esq., of Rimpton, Somer- setshire, to whom the company had issued a patent in reward of his undertaking to trans- port 100 persons to Virginia. Councillor Littleton's death occurred in or before 1654, and that of his wife in 1656. He has numer- ous descendants in Virginia.


Harmer, Ambrose, came to Virginia in about the year 1625. This much may be gathered from his petition to the King, asking to be given legal control over Benoni Buck, the first idiot who had ever lived in Virginia. The petition was dated 1637, and in it Mr. Harmer stated that he had had the tuition of Benoni and his brother, children of the well known Virginia clergyman, Rev. Richard Buck, for thirteen years past. Just when Harmer was appointed to the council does not appear, but he was present at meetings on Jan. 6, 1639, and March 5, 1640. He was left out of the commission of councillors of Aug. 9. 1641, but whatever the cause may have been, it was not unpopularity with the people, for he represented James City county in the house of burgesses at the sessions of Feb., 1644-45, Nov., 1645, March, 1645-46, and Oct., 1646, when his name appears for the last time in the records, and he was speaker of that honorable house. The land grants show a deed, dated April 18, 1642, from "William Taylor of Chisciacke, gent., to Ambrose Har- mer, of Virginia, Esq., and Jane now his wife," reciting that on Nov. 9, 1638, a grant of 1200 acres was made to the said William Taylor, "the land lying on Chickahominy, in James City County, due him for the trans- portation of twenty-four persons, and said




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