USA > Virginia > Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume I > Part 16
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"Yea, worthy Bernard that stout Colonel Informs the lady the work most facile And of rich silken stuffs made shortly there He hopes that he and others shall soon wear."
Only two grants of land to Bernard appear in the land books. The first, dated Aug. 10, 1642, was to "William Bernard, Esq., 1200 acres in Isle of Wight county, at the head of Laune's creek, and extending to the head of Pagan creek, due for his own adventure into the Colony four times, and for the transporta- tion of 20 persons ;" and the second to "Col. Bernard, Esq., 600 acres in Lancaster on Divid- ing Creek." Col. Bernard married in 1652 or the year following, Lucy, widow of Maj. Lewis Burwell, of "Carter's Creek," Glouces- ter county, and daughter of Capt. Robert Hig- ginson. Several deeds in York prove this marriage, the earliest of them being from Wil- liam Bernard, Esq., and his wife, Lucy, con- veying to George Reade a tract of land which had been purchased by Capt. Robert Higgin- son on Jan. 9, 1648. Bernard died in or be- fore 1662, in which year his widow had be- come the wife of Philip Ludwell. He left a daughter Elizabeth, who married Thomas
Todd, of Toddsbury, Gloucester county, and has descendants.
Morrison, Francis, governor of Virginia (q. v.).
Harwood, Thomas, was a member of the house of burgesses for Mulberry Island in the years 1629, 1630, 1633 and 1642; speaker of the house 1648 and 1649, and chosen member of the council in 1652. He took a prominent part in the movement to depose Gov. Har- vey, and when he was at length sent to Eng- land, Harwood and Francis Pott went with him, as representatives of the house of bur- gesses and the council. On their arrival in Plymouth, Harvey had them arrested by the mayor, and the letters carried by Harwood were sealed up. They appear to have been soon released, for in Aug., 1635, Harvey wrote to the English authorities that Harwood was in London, and asked that he be "restrained of his liberty." The English state papers give a glimpse of him on his way from Plymouth to London. One Browne gave information that on the 18th of July preceding he was in the house of one Ebbottson at the sign of the Valiant Soldier in Exeter, and Ebbottson spied the post that carried the packet to London, and a stranger with him riding post also, whom Ebbottson went into the street to meet, and they went into the house and drank a pint of wine together and parted, and Ebbottson then told Browne that the stranger was one Harwood new come from Virginia, who informed him that they have had great contentions, and have displaced Gov. Harvey, for he hath done great injuries to that country, and that Harwood was appointed by the country to carry letters to the King and that he would make great haste to be up before Sir John, that he might
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make friends and the case good against him. Sir John Harvey had so carried himself in Virginia that if he returned he would be pistolled or shot. Harwood appears, from a land grant to his son Humphrey, to have died in 1652. He patented large tracts of land in Warwick county, some portion of which is still owned by his descendants in the male line.
Mathews, Samuel Jr., was a son of Sam- uel Mathews, governor of Virginia. The younger Mathews was, like his father, a sol- dier, and is mentioned in the old records as "Lieutenant Colonel Mathews." He was a burgess for Warwick River county in April, 1652, and again in Nov., 1654, and was a jus- tice for the same county in 1652. On March 31, 1654-55. he was elected a councillor. His death occurred in or before 1670, and was survived by a son John, then under age.
Perry, Henry, son of Capt. William Perry, of Charles City county, was a burgess for Charles City in Nov., 1652, and in Nov., 1654. In Jan., 1655, he was granted a commission allowing him to go with any volunteers who might offer themselves to discover the moun- tains. On March 31, of the year before, he had been elected a member of the council, and on April 1, 1658, he was elected again, and was present at meetings held in March, 1659- 60, and on April 4, 1661. Perry married the daughter and heiress of George Menifie, Esq., of "Buckland," Charles City county, and ac- quired with her the estate which still bears that name that was late the property of Mr. Wilcox. He had two daughters and co-heiresses, Eliz- abeth, who married John Coggs, of Rainsliff, Middlesex, England, and Mary, who married Thomas Mercer, citizen and stationer of Lon- don.
Hill, Edward Sr., is supposed to have been the son of "Master Edward Hill," of Eliza- beth City county, buried there in 1622, who distinguished himself by a brave and success- ful defense of his house against the Indians. Our first acquaintance with Col. Edward Hill, the subject of this sketch, is in 1630, when we find him living at the famous old Virginia home, "Shirley," and representing Charles City county in the house of burgesses. Men- tion is again made of him as a burgess for Charles City in 1642, as burgess for Charles City and speaker of the house in Oct., 1644, and in the following year. In March, 1645- 46, the assembly ordered Capt. Hill and Capt. Thomas Willoughby to go Maryland and de- mand the return of certain Virginians who had remained there without permission. While in Maryland, Hill was chosen governor by the insurrectionist party, and stayed there in that office for some months. He held a commission from the council of Maryland, dated July 30, 1646, under the name of Gov. Calvert, but it cannot be proved that Calvert really signed it. On Jan. 18, 1646, Edward Hill wrote from Chicacone, Northumber- land county, to Leonard Calvert, asking pay- ment of his "sallary in that unhappy service." Gov. Thomas Green answered, promising that his demands should be satisfied. Near the end of the year, Gov. Calvert, in command of a small body of troops, entered the Maryland capital and reinstated himself in the govern- ment, whereupon Hill surrendered and re- turned to Virginia. In August of the follow- ing, Mr. Broadhurst was charged with saying that "there is now no governor in Maryland, for Captain Hill is governor, and him only he acknowledged." At a meeting of the Mary- land council held June 10, 1648, Capt. Hill demanded from the governor and council "the
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arrears of what consideration was covenanted unto him by Leonard Calvert, Esq., for his services in the office of Governor of this pro- vince, being half of his Lordship's receipts for the year 1646, and half of the customs for the same year." It was ordered that he should be paid. On Aug. 26, 1649, Lord Baltimore is- sued a proclamation in which he declared that "Captain Edward Hill (the Governor in 1646)" was only his "pretended lieutenant of said province," but never fully authorized by or from him. After his return to Virginia, Hill resumed his seat in the assembly, as a burgess from Charles City. From that time until 1654, when he is mentioned as having been unanimously chosen speaker of the house of burgesses, nothing is known of him except that, in 1650, he was summoned before the council because, without obtaining the license required, he had "collected fifty men to accom- pany him on an expedition to the lands west of the falls, with the avowed intention of find- ing gold and silver in these parts." After his election as speaker, one William Hatcher "maliciously reported" him to be an atheist and blasphemer, to the great indignation of the "Honorable Governor and Council," who "cleared the said Colonel Hill, and certified the same unto the House." On March 31, 1654- 55, Col. Hill was a member of the council, and in March of the year following, the council ordered that he should be given command of "100 men at least," and sent to remove "by force if necessary," 600 or 700 western and inland Indians who had "set down near the falls of James river and were a great danger." Hill, who was at that time commander-in-chief of Henrico and Charles City counties, at the head of a force consisting of colonists and friendly Pamunkey Indians, met the hostile Savages on a small creek in Hanover county,
as John Ledderer recites. His little army was put to confusion, and Tottopottomoy, the chief of the Pamunkeys was killed, whence since that day the creek has been known as Totto- pottomoy Creek. The failure of the under- taking brought down upon Col. Hill, the cen- sure of the assembly, which directed, in 1656, his suspension from all civil and military offices, that he should be "incapable of resti- tution but by an assembly," and charged to his account the expenses of procuring peace with the Indians. Col. Hill was successful, how- ever, in regaining the favor of the assembly, for in April, 1658, he was again a member of the council, and in March, 1659, he was a burgess for Charles City and speaker of the house. His death occurred about the year 1663, and he was succeeded in his large landed estates by his son, Col. Edward Hill Jr., of Shirley, of whom a sketch will appear later.
Dew, Thomas, of Nansemond county, was, in Jan., 1639, appointed by the assembly an inspector of tobacco in Upper Norfolk county. He was a member of the house of burgesses in April, 1642 and again as "Captain Thos. Dew," in Nov., 1652, as "Lt. Col. Thos. Dew" in 1653, and as "Colonel Thos. Dew," in Nov .. 1654. He was elected to the council on March 31, 1654-55, on March 13, 1657-58 and was present as a member in March 1659-60. In Dec., 1656, the assembly passed a resolution on the petition of Col. Thomas Dew, permit- ting that gentleman to make discoveries of the navigable rivers between Capes Hatteras and Fear, with such other gentlenien and planters as would, voluntarily and at their own charge, accompany him. Whether or not Col. Dew remained in the council after 1660, is not known. The following are the grants of land he received : (1) Thomas Dew, four hundred
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acres in the county of Norfolk on Nansemond river, Aug. 1, 1638; (2) 150 acres adjoining the preceding, Aug. 1, 1638; (3) 300 acres in the county of Upper Norfolk, Oct. 10, 1638; (4) 250 acres in the county of New Norfolk, adjoining a former patent of his, Nov. 7, 1640; (5) Thomas Dew, gentleman, 750 acres in Upper Norfolk on the east side of the southern branch of the Nansemond river ; 300 acres of this a regrant, Jan. 8, 1643 ; (6) a regrant of No. 5, Oct. 10, 1670; (7) Col. Thomas Dew, 450 acres in the upper parish of Nansemond county, at the head of Craney creek, which was granted to Randall Crew in 1640, and had come by several sur- renders and descents to Col. Thomas Dew. Perhaps this Col. Dew was not the councillor.
Gooch, William, probably came to Virginia about 1650, when he received a grant of land on the Potomac. He settled in York, where he was a justice in 1652, and represented the county in the house of burgesses in Nov., 1654. On March 31, 1654-55, the burgesses elected him a member of the council. William Gooch died Oct. 29, 1655, leaving an only daughter, Anne, who married Capt. Thomas Beale of "Chestnut Hill," in what is now called Rich- mond county, and later William Colston, also of Richmond county. Councillor Gooch's tomb bears his arms which are the same as those of the Gooch family of Norfolk, Eng- land. This tomb still remains at the site of the old York church on the "Temple Farm," and in addition to the arms bears the following epitaph :
"Major William Gooch of this Parish Dyed Octob. 29, 1655. Within this tomb there doth interred lie No shape, but substance, true nobility, Itself, though young in years, just twenty-nine v.).
Yet graced with virtues moral and devine The Church from him did good participate In Council rare, fit to adorn a state."
He was an uncle of Sir William Gooch, afterwards governor of Virginia.
Robins, Obedience, son of Thomas and (Bulkelay) Robins of Brackley, Northamp- tonshire, England, was born April 16, 1600, and at the age of twenty-one years, came with his brother, Edward Robins, to Virginia. He settled at first in Jamestown but, in 1628, re- moved to the eastern shore, where he bought lands in Accomac and made his home at Cherrystone. His house and lands were owned by the Robins family until the year 1855. Obedience Robins was a member of the house of burgesses for Accomac in March 1629-30 and was appointed commissioner, jus- tice, in Feb., 1631-32, and commander of the county in 1632. He was again a burgess for Accomac in Jan., 1639, and for Northampton county in 1644 and 1652. Northampton county was formed in 1642 and is said to have been named in honor of Robins' native shire. In the year 1652, he is mentioned first as major, and later as Lieut. Col. Robins, and in March, 1654-55, he was first elected to the council. Three years later he was reelected, and is mentioned as being present at the meetings for a number of years. On March 12, 1656, the assembly appointed him to the office of colonel commanding the "Lower Precinct" of the eastern shore. Councillor Robins married in 1634, Grace O'Neil, widow of Edward Waters. His death occurred in 1662, leaving descendants in Virginia.
Bacon, Nathaniel Sr. President of the council and acting governor of Virginia (q.
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Wood, Abraham, was for many years one of the leading men of the colony. He came to Virginia as a little boy of ten years in 1620 in the "Margaret and John," commanded by Capt. Chester. This was the vessel that fought the famous sea fight with two Spanish men-of-war. Little Abraham escaped un- harmed, and in 1625 was living at Jamestown in the employment of Capt. Samuel Mathews. He represented Henrico county in the house of burgesses from 1644 to 1646. He was placed in charge of Fort Henry at the falls of Appomatox, where, dwelling on the frontier wood, he became well acquainted with the In- dians and their country. On Aug. 24, 1650, Wood, Edward Bland and a number of others set forth from Fort Henry, now the site of Petersburg, and made an exploration to the southwest, where they discovered a new river running west. Bland published an account of this journey in 1652. About the time of this trip, Wood changed his residence to the south side of the Appomatox river, in Charles City, and, as Major Abraham Wood, was burgess of that county from 1652 to 1656. In 1655. he was a justice of Charles City and the follow- ing year was made colonel of the regiment of Henrico and Charles City, in place of Col. Hill, suspended. In the same year, he was appointed on a committee to review the laws of Virginia. On March 13, 1657-58, he was elected to the council and remained a member of that body for many years, being present at the session of Sept., 1671. He appears to have held the office of major general until after Bacon's Rebellion, when, perhaps on account of opposition to the policy of the government, he seems to have lost his position and been re- duced to the rank of colonel. In 1676, Gov. Berkeley wrote that Maj. Gen. Wood of the council kept to his house through infirmity, but
he seems to have recovered as, in March, 1678- 79. he was carrying on negotiations with the Indians and arranging for the chief men of the hostile tribes to meet in Jamestown. He died sometime between 1681 and 1686.
Carter, John Sr., was the first of the well known Virginia family of that name to come from England. He settled in Upper Norfolk which he represented in the house of burgesses in March, 1642-43. He was a burgess for Nansemond in Oct., 1649 and for Lancaster from 1654 to 1660. He was justice in Lan- caster in 1653 and, at the division of the county on Dec. 13, 1656, he was appointed pre- siding justice and colonel commandant of Lan- caster. In Nov., 1654, the assembly directed that an attack be made upon the Rappahanock Indians and that Maj. John Carter be ap- pointed commander-in-chief. He was elected to the council on March 13, 1657-58, but was not sworn until the assembly adjourned. On March 8, 1659, Gov. Matthews issued an order to the sheriff of Lancaster to arrest Col. John Carter "for contempt of the late commission of Government sent out by his Highness (Cromwell) and the lords of the Council, to appear before the Governor and Council at Jamestown." He was one of the commission- ers appointed in 1663, by the governor of Vir- ginia to confer with the commissioners from Maryland as to a restriction of tobacco plant- ing. He was a vestryman of Christ Church Parish in Lancaster and the original church there was built under his direction. The pres- ent edifice, one of the finest specimens of colo- nial architecture standing, was built by the councillor's son, Robert Carter. He died on the 10 of June, 1669, as stated on his tomb in Christ Church.
Horsmanden, Warham, was the son of the
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Rev. Daniel Horsmanden D. D., who entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1596, and was rector of Ulcomb, Kent. Dr. Horsman- den, a learned and zealous churchman, was de- prived of his living in 1643, and in other ways suffered much for the King's cause during the civil wars. He died in 1654, leaving a son, Warham St. Leger Horsmanden, who sailed for Virginia after being, it is said, an officer in the royal army. Col. Horsmanden settled in Charles City county, where he was a justice in 1655, and which he represented in the house of burgesses in March, 1657-58. On March 13, 1657-58, he was elected to the council, but it was ordered that he should not be sworn until the assembly adjourned. His service in the council was brief, for he was again a bur- gess for Charles City in March, 1658-59. He probably returned to England at the restor- ation, and in 1683, was living at Purleigh in Essex. His daughter Mary married Col. Wil- liam Byrd, of Henrico county, Virginia, and has many descendants.
Reade, George, son of Robert Reade of Linkenholt, Southampton, England, came to Virginia in 1637, when a young man or youth. His brother Robert Reade, who was private secretary to Sir William Windebanke, secre- tary of state in England, seems to have secured for him the patronage of Gov. Harvey and Secretary Richard Kemp, in Virginia, and to have placed him under their care. On March 27, 1637, Jerome Hawley wrote Robert Reade that "at Christmas last," George Reade "had command of some forces sent upon a new plantation, but the design took no effect through the severity of the weather." Upon Nov. 17 of the same year, Gov. Harvey wrote to Robert Reade that his brother was well and was with him, but that he needed supplies that
were to be sent to him in charge of Mr. Haw- ley. The governor added that he hoped to find a very good opportunity to employ young Reade upon a great business he had on hand against a neighboring Indian tribe, strong in people, in which he himself would appear in person. In a letter dated Feb. 26, 1638, from George Reade himself to his brother Robert, he acknowledges many favors from Gov. Har- vey and Secretary Kemp, but complains of the conduct of Mr. Hawley towards him. Upon May 17, Jerome Hawley sent Robert Reade an account of "the whole business touching his brother," in which he said that since George Reade's arrival in the colony, he had lived in the governor's house and wanted for nothing. In a letter written on April 4, 1639, Secretary Kemp told Robert Reade that George wished some servants to be sent over to him, but the writer advised that they should await the re- sult of the change of government in Virginia before young Reade should further engage himself in the affairs of the colony. In March of the next year, Kemp, wishing to go to Eng- land, requested Secretary Windebanke to get him permission to do so, and promised to make Windebanke's nephew, George Reade, his deputy while he was away, and accordingly, cn Aug. 27, 1640, the King in council appoint- ed Reade secretary of state for Virginia dur- ing the absence of Kemp. Grateful for the many favors he had received from them, Reade was an earnest adherent of Gov. Har- vey and Secretary Kemp during the struggle with the people of Virginia which ended in the expulsion of Harvey, and was doubtless re- stored to grace when Harvey returned. In 1649, Reade represented James City county in the house of burgesses, and soon after removed to York county where he appears as a justice of the county court in 1652. He was a burgess
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for York, in Dec., 1656. Upon April 1, 1658, as "Colonel George Reade," the house of bur- gesses elected him a member of the council, and the same honor was conferred him in March, 1659-60. After the restoration, he was included in the royal commission of coun- cillors and held office until his death. The last mention of his name as present at the council board was on Sept. 10, 1671. Col. George Reade married Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Nicholas Martian of York county, and died between Sep. 10 and Nov. 20, 1671. Upon the last named day, his will was proved in the gen- eral court, by the baths of Thomas Reade and Henry Richardson. He was an ancestor of Gen. George Washington and other eminent Virginians. Mary Martian, a sister of Col. George Reade's wife, married Capt. Wil- liam Fuller, sometime governor of Maryland.
Warner, Augustine, came to Virginia about 1628, and was a justice of York county. He was burgess for York in 1652, and for Glou- cester in 1655. After removing from York county he settled on the Pianketank in the ter- ritory of the Chiskiack Indians but afterwards removed to another part of Gloucester county, on the Severn river, where his estate became known as "Warner Hall." He served as mem- ber of the council from 1659 to 1667. He was born in 1611, married Mary -- , and died Dec. 24. 1674, leaving issue (1) Sarah, who married Lawrence Townley; (2) Augustine, speaker of the house of burgesses (q. v.).
Elliott, Anthony, first appears in the rec- ords in March, 1654-55, when the assembly contracted with him and Mr. Cornelius Lloyd to furnish beef and pork for certain troops which were to be raised for an Indian cam- paign. Elliott's earliest home was in Eliza- beth City county, where on July 24, 1645, he
received a grant of 300 acres near Point Com- fort creek, which he had bought, Sept. 2, 1643, from Richard Kemp. He represented Eliza- beth City in the house of burgesses in Nov., 1647, and was a justice of that county in Feb., 1649. He probably soon after removed to Gloucester, and was burgess from there in March, 1657-58. During that season, on March 13, he was elected a councillor, but it was ordered that he should not be sworn until after the adjournment of the house. Later he removed to that part of Lancaster county now called Middlesex, and was justice of the peace there in 1666. On March 20, 1650, "Mr. An- thony Ellyott" was granted 1,150 acres on North river in "Mojack Bay," Gloucester, and on Jan. 29, 1652, "Lieut. Col. Anthony Ellyott" was granted 200 more acres adjoin- ing the first tract. It is believed that Coun- cillor Anthony Elliott married Frances, sister of Col. John Armistead of Gloucester, and widow of the Rev. Justinian Aylmer. His will was proved in Jan., 1666, in Lancaster county and names sons William, Thomas and Robert.
Walker, John, was a member of the house of burgesses from Warwick county at various times between 1644 and 1656. On March 13, 1657-58. as Lieut. Col. John Walker, he was elected to the council, and again in March, 1659-60. He appears to have moved from Warwick to Gloucester about 1657, and from Gloucester to Rappahannock about 1662. He owned a considerable tract of land through various grants made to him. He died some- time between 1655 and 1658, leaving several daughters, who have descendants in Virginia.
Willis, Francis, was born in the city of Ox- ford, England, and was a near relative of several persons of his name, members and fel-
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lows of the colleges in the university there. He emigrated to Virginia when a young man and was soon appointed clerk of Charles River county. He appears to have been a friend of Sir John Harvey, and when that governor was succeeded by Sir Francis Wyatt, Willis severely denounced the new governor, the council and the house of burgesses for their hostility to Harvey. For this he was con- demned in 1640 to lose his offices, to be dis- barred from practicing as an attorney, to be fined and imprisoned during the governor's pleasure. His period of misfortune was brief, however, for in two years Wyatt was suc- ceeded by Berkeley, and it is probable that Willis's disabilities were removed. Certain it is that in 1648 he was a justice of York county and in 1652 was one of the first representa- tives of Gloucester county. He was appointed to a committee for the review of the laws of Virginia in March, 1658-59, and a year later. he also became a councillor and held that office for many years, and even after he had returned to England in 1676. He never re- turned to Virginia, but died in Kent some- time between 1689 and 1691. He left all his large estates in Virginia to his nephew Fran- cis Willis, son of Henry Willis, and from him descend our Virginia Willises.
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