USA > Virginia > Encyclopedia of Virginia biography, Volume I > Part 7
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town, and on April 25, 1678, the general assembly resumed its sittings at the country's ancient capital, and steps were taken to rebuild the state house and church. Jeffreys, however, did not long survive this meeting of the assem- bly. He died in Virginia, December 30, 1678. The surviving commissioners made a volu- minous report to the English government, in which, under the thin guise of a censure of Bacon, the entire blame of the civil war was really thrown upon Sir William Berkeley and his friends.
Chicheley, Sir Henry, lieutenant-governor of Virginia from December 30, 1678, to May 10, 1680, son of Sir Thomas Chicheley of Wimpole, in Cambridgeshire, was born in 1615, matriculated at University College, Ox- ford, April 27, 1632, and was Bachellor of Arts February 5, 1634-35. He served as an officer in the army of Charles I., and for a short time was imprisoned in the Tower of London. In 1649, after the execution of the king, he emigrated to Virginia with many other cavaliers. Here he married in 1652 the widow of Colonel Ralph Wormeley, and resided at Rosegill, in Middlesex county. On December 1, 1656, he took his seat in the house of burgesses, having been elected to fill a vacancy. In 1660 he was for a time in England, where he was probably a witness of King Charles II.'s restoration. On November 20, 1673, he was commissioned lieutenant- general of the Virginia militia, and on Feb- ruary 28, 1673-74, the king gave him a com- mission as deputy governor of the colony. In the beginning of 1676, when the Indians were ranging the frontier, Chicheley had command of the forces raised to subdue them, but his troops were disbanded by Governor Berkeley
LORD CULPEPER
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COLONIAL PRESIDENTS AND GOVERNORS
before they could attack the invaders. This action occasioned much discontent and was the direct cause of Bacon's rebellion.
During this troublous time Chicheley ad- hered to the governor and suffered very much in consequence. His estate was greatly dam- aged and he endured a severe imprisonment. When the civil war subsided, he was ap- pointed to the council November 16, 1676, and became its president, and on the death of Governor Jeffreys he produced his commis- sion as deputy governor. He remained the colony executive till Lord Culpeper was sworn into office May 10, 1680, becoming, however, the chief executive again when Lord Cul- peper left Virginia in August, three months later. He served till Culpeper's return in De- cember, 1682, during which interval there was unusual distress on account of the low price of tobacco. On the petition of the suffering people, Chicheley called an assembly which met in April, 1682, but in obedience to orders from England to await Lord Culpeper's arrival he adjourned it before it could adopt a law for a cessation of planting, whereupon many planters in Gloucester, New Kent and Middle- sex assembled together and going from place to place riotously cut up the tobacco plants. Chicheley called out the militia and promptly suppressed the disturbances, but issued a gen- eral pardon to all who would behave peace- ably. Major Robert Beverley was deemed, however, the real sinner, as he was prominent in urging the cessation of planting. Therefore, Chicheley had him arrested, and confined him on shipboard and kept him a prisoner for seven months, finally releasing him under heavy bond to appear when summoned. Cul- peper returned in December, 1682, and though he bore instructions to proceed rigorously against the plant cutters, whose action had
entailed a heavy loss of English revenue, he imitated Chicheley's clemency by issuing a similar proclamation of amnesty. To placate his masters in England, however, he executed two of the most violent of the ringleaders and threw the blame of his not executing more upon Sir Henry Chicheley, who had fore- stalled him. Sir Henry had become at this time very old and feeble, and his death occur- red not long after Culpeper's arrival. He died at Rosegill, on the Rappahannock, February 5, 1682, and was interred at old Christ Church, Middlesex county. He left no issue.
Culpeper, Thomas, Lord, governor of Vir- ignia from May 10, 1680, to August 10, 1680, and from December 17, 1682, to May 28, 1683, was the eldest son of John Lord Cul- peper, whom he succeeded as Baron of Thor- seway on the death of the latter in 1660. Lord John Culpeper was one of the most eminent friends of Charles I. in the civil war in Eng- land, and one of the first acts of Charles II., after the execution of his father, was to grant to him and Henry Bennett, Earl of Arlington, and several other great favorites the Northern Neck of Virginia, lying between the Poto- mac and Rappahannock rivers. This grant, after lying dormant during the commonwealth, was revived on the restoration of the king and ultimately became vested by purchase in Sir Thomas Culpeper, who in 1674 received in company with Lord Arlington the benefit of another grant of all Virginia for thirty-one years. Though neither of these grants were intended to interfere with the political govern- ment of the colony as it then existed, their provisions, especially those of the latter grant, were so extensive that had they been com- pletely executed little but the shadow of power would have been left to the central authority.
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Eventually, by purchase Lord Thomas Cul- peper possessed himself of both patents and all the privileges and benefits of each. Natu- rally these grants were very distasteful to the Virginians, and for a long time they paid no attention to the demands of the patentees and of Culpeper, and sent various agents to Eng- land to protest against them. In 1675 Cul- peper obtained from the king a commission to succeed Sir William Berkeley, on his demise, as governor of Virginia, and in May, 1680, he came to Virginia, hoping doubtless to put some life into the privileges of his pro- prietorship. He brought instructions intended to put the government of Virginia on a more royal basis, but he succeeded in carrying out only a part of his policy. The clerk of the assembly, who had hitherto been elected by that body, became now the appointee of the governor, a permanent revenue was established rendering the salaries of the governor and council independent of the people ; and instead of annual meetings of the assembly, the cus- tom of calling it for special occasions and pro- roguing it from time to time, was begun. In August, not long after the adjournment of the assembly, Culpeper set out for England by way of New England, whereupon, Sir Henry Chicheley reassumed the government. Cul- peper was absent for more than two years from Virginia, during which time, on account of the low price of tobacco, the Plant Cutters rebellion occurred. Culpeper was ordered by the king to return to his charge, and he arrived in Virginia December 17, 1682, but found the rebellion already suppressed by Sir Henry Chicheley. To serve as an example, he, how- ever, executed two of the ring leaders, and continued under bond for his appearance Major Robert Beverley, clerk of the assembly, who had been arrested by Sir Henry Chiche-
ley as the chief instigator. Before leaving England he had received fresh instructions aimed at the rights and liberties of the assem- bly, but Culpeper declined to oppose himself to the popular will on most of the questions. The assembly, however, lost its power as the court of appeals, and the council, by order of the crown, was made the court of last resort, except in cases of £300 value, when an appeal might be made to the privy council in Eng- land. Culpeper soon gave the king and his advisers an opportunity of punishing him and replacing him with a more efhcient instrument of tyranny. Directly in face of an order of the council forbidding him to receive any pres- ents, he accepted large sums of money from the assembly, and contrary to another express order forbidding any colonial governor from absenting himself from his government with- out special leave, he returned a second time to England after a stay in the colony of only about five months. He was at once deprived of his office, and Lord Howard of Effingham dispatched to succeed him. A year later he sold the larger share of his Virginia rights to the crown for an annuity of £600 for twenty years, retaining only the portion of the terri- tory called the Northern Neck, which was now confirmed to him by a patent from the crown dated September 27, 1688. While governor, however, he made a little headway in bringing the residents of the Northern Neck to submit to him as proprietor, and for many years after his death, which occurred in 1690, the inhabi- tants continued indifferent. It was not till 1703, when Robert Carter became the manag- ing agent, that the people began to patent lands in his office. The proprietor then was Thomas Lord Fairfax, who before 1692 married Kath- erine, Lord Culpeper's only daughter, and heiress by his wife, Lady Marguerite Hesse.
LORD HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM
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COLONIAL PRESIDENTS AND GOVERNORS
Spencer, Nicholas, president of the coun- cil and acting governor after Lord Culpeper's departure from Virginia, May 28, 1683, to the incoming of Francis Lord Howard of Effing- ham in February, 1684. He was the son of Nicholas Spencer, Esq., of Cople, in Bedford- shire, England, by his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Edward Gostwick. He first engaged in merchandizing in London, and like many merchants became interested in Virginia, to which he emigrated in 1659. He settled in Westmoreland county, where the parish of Cople was named in honor of the home of his family ; was a member of the house of bur- gesses from 1666 to 1676; and was secretary of state from 1679 till his death in 1689. Placed by Lord Culpeper, who was his cousin, at the head of the council, he succeeded him as acting governor, on his departure from Virginia, in September, 1683, according to an order issued shortly before by the privy council establish- ing the rule which was always afterwards fol- lowed that the president of the council should succeed to the executive duties in case of the absence or death of the incumbent. Spencer's administration was quiet, except for some in- roads of the Seneca Indians, who were driven off with the aid of the tributary tribes. In February, 1684, Lord Howard arrived, and Spencer acted as one of his councillors till his death, September 23, 1689. He married Frances, daughter of Colonel John Mottrom. of Northumberland county, and left several children who have descendants in Virginia.
Howard, Francis, Baron of Effingham, gov- ernor of Virginia from February, 1684 to October 20, 1688, was a distant kinsman of Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, who commanded the English fleet in 1688 in its famous battle with the Spanish Armada. He
was son of Sir William Howard of Lingfield, in Surrey county, England, by his wife Frances, daughter of Sir George Courthope, of Whiligh, county of Sussex, knight, and suc- ceeded in 1681 to the title of Lord Howard of Effingham on the death of Lord Charles Howard, grandson of the hero of the battle of the Armada. He was commissioned governor of Virginia, September 28, 1683, and arrived in Virginia in February, 1684. Among his first proceedings was one to summon Robert Beverley before the council on the old charge of instigating the plant cutters. Found guilty, Beverley was released on his making an humble and abject apology, which doubtless, like Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., on a similar occa- sion, he regarded as a mere formality. It was far from making him submissive to the governor's will, and when the governor set to work to exalt his prerogatives at the expense of the liberties of the assembly, Beverley as clerk, and his friend Philip Ludwell, firmly resisted him. Hitherto the governors of Vir- ginia had seldom, if ever, used their negative on the laws of the assembly. Lord Howard asserted this right, and was successful in making it a part of the constitution ever after- wards. He attempted to get the house to authorize himself and the council to lay taxes on urgent occasions, but failed. He exacted a fee for attaching the seal of the colony to land grants and, erecting a new court of chan- cery, made himself a petty lord chancellor. All who opposed him in any way were made to feel the effects of resentment. Robert Beverley was removed from his office as clerk and Ludwell was suspended from the coun- cil. In one measure, at least, Howard deserved the gratitude of the people. In the summer of 1684 he went to Albany, and there with the governor of New York made a treaty with the
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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
Five Nations, which put an end to the raids of the Senecas on the frontiers. At length Howard departed for England, October 20, 1688, leaving Nathaniel Bacon, Sr., in charge of the government. The assembly sent Lud- well as their agent to urge complaints against him. He did not return, but he was allowed to retain his office of governor as an absentee with half his salary, while his duties were dis- in 1658-59, and was reappointed to the coun- cil in 1660; appointed auditor general March 12, 1675, resigning in December, 1687, was president of the council, and as such acting governor during the absence of Lord Howard in New York in the summer of 1684, during his absence on a visit to the southern part of the colony in December, 1687, and in the inter- val between his departure for England, Octo- charged by a lieutenant. He died March 30, . ber 28, 1688, and the arrival of Governor Francis Nicholson, May 16, 1690. He did not approve the course of his young kinsman Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., and it was at his house on King's creek that Sir William Berkeley first put foot to land after his return from the eastern shore in 1676.
1694. While he lived in Virginia, he spent much of his time at Rosegill, the house of the Wormeleys, on the Rappahannock. On August 31. 1685, his wife Lady Philadelphia Howard (daughter of Sir Thomas Pelham), died in Virginia, aged thirty-one, and her remains were carried to England and interred at Ling- field. On the way over, his daughter Margaret Frances, who accompanied her mother's body, also died.
Bacon, Nathaniel, Sr., president of the council and acting governor of Virginia, was baptized at St. Mary, Bury St. Edmund's, August 29, 1620, and died in York county, Virginia, March 16, 1692. His father, Rev. James Bacon, was rector of Burgate, Suffolk, and died August 25, 1670, and his grandfather, Sir James Bacon, of Friston Hall, Suffolk, was first cousin of Francis Bacon, Lord Veru- lam. Nathaniel Bacon, the subject of this sketch, was first cousin once removed of Na- thaniel Bacon, Jr., "the Rebel." He travelled in France in 1647, and was probably a gradu- ate of Cambridge; came about 1650 to Vir- ginia, where he settled first in Isle of Wight county, and then at "King's Creek," York county, on one of the first tracts of land patented on York river. He was chosen mem- ber of the council in 1657, but held the office for only a year ; was burgess for York county
Lord Howard had left the colony just before the abdication of James II., and the uncer- tainty attending affairs in England created something like a panic in Virginia. Rumors of terrible plots of Catholics and Indians were circulated, which President Bacon and his council allayed as far as possible. But the difficulties of maintaining order might have became insuperable, had not the news of the accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange arrived. Colonel Bacon's health was very feeble at this time, and he died March 16, 1692. As he had no children he bequeathed his estate to his niece Abigail Smith, who mar- ried Major Lewis Burwell, of Gloucester county, and has many descendants in Virginia and the south.
Nicholson, Sir Francis, lieutenant-governor from May 16, 1690, to January, 1694, and from 1698 to April, 1705, was born in 1660; obtained a commission in the English army as ensign January 9, 1678, and as lieutenant May 6, 1684. He was a strong Tory and church- man. When in 1686 the whole body of col-
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COLONIAL PRESIDENTS AND GOVERNORS
onies north of Chesapeake Bay were formed into a single province under Sir Edmund An- dros, Nicholson, was appointed lieutenant-gov- ernor, and remained at New York to repre- sent his superior officer. When Andros was deposed by the men of Boston in 1689, Nichol- son's hot temper betrayed him into violent language and conduct, which induced a rebel- lion headed by Jacob Leisler. Nicholson left the colony for England, which temporarily in- creased the anarchic conditions in New York, though they ended in the execution of Jacob Leisler and several of his rebel associates. In spite of his failure, Nicholson was appointed lieutenant-governor of Virginia in 1690, and for four years discharged the duties of his new office with ability and entire credit to himself. He instituted athletic games and offered prizes to those who should excel in riding, running, shooting, wrestling and fen- cing. He did all he could to promote the founding of William and Mary College, and contributed largely from his own private means for that purpose. In 1694 Lord Howard of Effingham, the titular governor of Virginia, under whom Nicholson served as deputy, died. and that post was conferred upon Sir Edmund Andros, while Nicholson was appointed in January, 1694, governor of Maryland. Here he proved himself, as in Virginia, the patron of learning, and laid out Annapolis and estab- lished King William's school, now St. John's College. His arrogant disposition precipitated him into quarrels with the commissary Thomas Bray and other leading men, and in 1698 he returned to Virginia as governor. His second term of office opened auspiciously. He caused a general census of the colony to be made in respect to schools, churches, and population, and as the state house had been accidentally burned at Jamestown, persuaded the English
government to transfer the seat of govern- ment to Middle Plantation, which he named Williamsburg in honor of the reigning king, William, formerly Prince of Orange. But his peppery temper soon involved him into diffi- culties with his council and with James Blair, president of the college. He also displeased the assembly by trying to get them to con- tribute towards a fort on the northwest fron- tier of New York. Displeased in turn at their unwillingness, he advised the crown that all the American colonies should be placed under one governor and a standing army be main- tained among them at their own expense, be- lieving it to be the only means of preserving an effective unity against Canada and the French. But this recommendation was not approved by Queen Ann and her ministers, and in April. 1705, he was recalled. During the next fifteen years such public services as he discharged were of a military character, and he headed two expeditions against Canada, but for want of a fleet the expeditions proved failures. In 1713 Nicholson was appointed governor of Acadia, but here again he met difficulties owing to his imperious temper. When in 1719 the privy council decided that the proprietors of South Carolina had for- feited their charter, Nicholson was appointed governor, and speedily restored order to that distracted province. Here Nicholson showed the best side of his character, promoted the building of schools and churches, and suc- ceeded in conciliating the Cherokees. In June, 1725, Nicholson returned to England on leave, and does not seem again to have visited America. He had been knighted in 1720 and was promoted to lieutenant-general. He retained the colonial governorship of South Carolina until his death, which took place in London, March 5, 1728. He never married
1
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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
and by his will left all his lands and property in New England, Maryland and Virginia to the Society for the Propagation of Christianity in Foreign Parts, and to educate in England young New England ministers to be sent back to their native country.
Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of Virginia from 1692 to 1698, was the second son of a Guernsey gentleman belonging to Charles I.'s household. He was born in London, Decem- ber 6, 1637, appointed gentleman in ordi- nary to the Queen of Bohemia in 1660, served in the regiment of foot sent to America in 1666, was major in Rupert's dragoons in 1672, and succeeded his father as bailiff of Guern- sey in 1674. The same year he was appointed by James, Duke of York, to be governor of the province of New York, which had been granted to the duke by Charles II. In 1678 he was knighted while governor from New York. He engaged in some disputes with the authorities of the neighboring colonies and in 1681 was recalled to England. The authorities in England had borne with great patience the oppressive governments of the New England oligarchies, and their conduct brought punish- ment not altogether undeserved. Their char- ters were confiscated, and Andros was appointed in 1686 governor of the various colonies consolidated to form the dominion of New England. In this position Andros made himself very unpopular by his energy in carry- ing out the instructions of James II. Acting under the king's directions he put restrictions on the freedom of the press, and appointed a general council by whose advice he laid taxes and carried on all government and legislation. This was a reversion to the Spanish type of colonial government, which could not be jus- tified, but he performed a good part in pro-
claiming liberty of conscience, in subduing the Indians, and in repressing the pirates, who were the scourge of the New England coast. His unpopularity continued to increase, how- ever, and when the news of the abdication of King James arrived, the people of Boston, on April 18, 1689, suddenly seized the governor and some of his subordinates and imprisoned them. Sir Edmund was sent over to England, where, to the disappointment of his enemies, he was released without a formal trial. King William seemed to think that he had only done his duty in carrying out the instructions sent him, and so returned him to America as gov- ernor of Virginia. Here he showed both his good and evil side. He promoted manufac- tures and agriculture, put in order the govern- ment records which were in a chaotic state, and by his affability made himself generally popular with the people, but he quarrelled with Commissary James Blair, and after help- ing him to establish the new college at Wil- liamsburg, permitted his angry feelings against Dr. Blair to make him an enemy of the insti- tution. The result was that, through the in- fluence of the commissary and his relations and friends on the council. Andros was recalled in 1698. In 1704 Andros was appointed gov- ernor of Jersey, which office he held until 1706. The remainder of his life seems to have been passed in London, where he died Feb- ruary 22. 1713-14.
Hamilton, George, Earl of Orkney, gov- ernor-in-chief of Virginia from 1697 to his death in 1737, never residing in the colony, but enjoying his office as a pensionary sine- cure for forty years ; was fifth son of William. Earl of Selkirk, who became Duke of Ham- ilton. He was born at Hamilton Palace, Lan- ark, and was baptized there February 9. 1666.
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He had a long and distinguished career in the British army, and was present at the battles of the Boyne, Anghrim, Steinkirk, Blenheim and Oudenard, and at the sieges of Limerick, Athlone, Namur, Stevensvaert, Menin and Tournay. He was made colonel of the Royal Foot, August 3, 1692, major-general March 9, 1702, and lieutenant-general June 1, 1704. On January 10, 1696, Hamilton was created Earl of Orkney, and in 1697 became titular gov- ernor of Virginia, drawing a salary, but not performing any duties. On February 12, 1707, he was elected one of the sixteen representa- tive peers of Scotland to sit in the first parlia- ment of Great Britain. In 1710 he was sworn of the privy council, and the same year was appointed general of the Foot in Flanders. He was likewise appointed afterwards constable, governor and captain of Edinburgh Castle, lord lieutenant of the county of Clydesdale, and on June 12, 1736, field marshal of "all of his majesty's forces." On November 25. 1695, he married his cousin, Elizabeth Villiers, the well known mistress of William III., and from this marriage the present Earl of Orkney is descended. Orkney was no military strate- gist, and was not very successful when first in command, but he was an admirable subordinate. He died at his residence in Albemarle street, London on January 29, 1737, and was buried at Taplow, and September 6 of that year was succeeded as governor-in-chief of Virginia by the Earl of Albemarle.
Nott, Edward, lieutenant-governor of Vir- ginia under the Earl of Orkney, from August 18, 1705, to August 23, 1706, was born in Eng- land in 1657. He served very gallantly in the West Indies as major and colonel of a regi- ment. On August 15, 1705, he succeeded Col- onel Francis Nicholson as governor of Vir-
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