Francis West (28 October 1586 – February 1633/1634) was a Deputy Governor of the
Colony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (hist ...
.
Early and family life
Born in
Salisbury
Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath.
Salisbury is in the southeast of ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
on 28 October 1586, West was one of four sons of
Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 2nd and 11th Baron De La Warr ( ; c. 1550 – 24 March 1601/1602) of Wherwell Abbey, Hampshire, was a member of Elizabeth I's Privy Council.
Biography
Thomas West was the eldest son of William West, 1st Baron De La Warr, by his f ...
(1556–1602) of
Wherwell
Wherwell is a village on the River Test in Hampshire, England. The name may derive from its bubbling springs resulting in the Middle Ages place name “Hwerwyl” noted in AD 955, possibly meaning “kettle springs” or “cauldron springs.” ...
Abbey in
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
and his wife,
Anne Knollys who made their fortunes in the Virginia colony. His elder brother,
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr ( ; 9 July 1577 – 7 June 1618), was an English merchant and politician, for whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, a Native American people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named. He wa ...
(1577–1618), served as a governor of the
Virginia Company of London
The London Company, officially known as the Virginia Company of London, was a division of the Virginia Company with responsibility for colonizing the east coast of North America between latitudes 34° and 41° N.
History Origins
The territor ...
from 1610–1611. His younger brother,
John West (1590-ca 1659), served as Acting Governor of Virginia from 1635–1637. A fourth brother,
Nathaniel West, died in Virginia in August 1623, aged 30.
Career
Francis West was one of the distinguished passengers on Captain
Christopher Newport's third voyage to
Jamestown, Virginia, which arrived in the summer of 1609; Newport returned to London with a load of iron ore sold to the East India Company. Francis West was selected to the Governor's Council in 1609, and remained such for the rest of his life, although he returned to England many times and the colony's private charter was superseded by a royal charter in 1624 (two years after attacks by native Americans killed many settlers).
Meanwhile, West returned to Jamestown on the ''Mary Ann Margett'' in 1610. The new colony had been suffering from lack of provisions, and the colonists elected West as their "President" in the absence of Sir Thomas Gates or other high official of the London Company, although the following year they elected George Pearcy to that position. From 1612 to 1617 West was the Commandant of Jamestown.
[Tyler, John Gardiner (1915). ''Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography'', Vol. I, p. 44. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company.] From July 30 through August 4, 1619, based on his position on the Governor's Council, West served in what would later become the upper house of the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...
, although he was not listed as one of the elected burgesses in Jamestown's first Legislative Assembly.
In 1622 Captain West was appointed Admiral to New England, where he served alongside Capt.
Christopher Levett
Capt. Christopher Levett (15 April 1586 – 1630) was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first ...
, Governor of Plymouth, on a three-man council under Capt. Robert Gorges, named Governor General of the
Plymouth Council for New England
The Council for New England was a 17th-century English joint stock company that was granted a royal charter to found colonial settlements along the coast of North America. The Council was established in November of 1620, and was disbanded (alt ...
's venture in Massachusetts. West subsequently served as Deputy Governor of Virginia from 17 November 1627 to 5 March 1629.
[ He also served as Captain General of Virginia.
]
Personal life
West married three times. His first wife, Margaret Whitney, whom he married circa 16?5, was a three-time widow lastly married to Edward Blayney, and who died within two years. In March 1627 West remarried, to the widow of Governor George Yeardley
Sir George Yeardley (1587 – November 13, 1627) was a planter and colonial governor of the colony of Virginia. He was also among the first slaveowners in Colonial America. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ill-fated Third Supply M ...
, Temperance Flowerdew. She died in December of the same year, and West unsuccessfully litigated against the former Governor's orphaned children for possession of her estate.[Sturtz, Linda, ''Within Her Power: Propertied Women in Colonial Virginia'', p.24] He married thirdly Jane Davye. He had one son, Francis West in 16??. In 1632, his estate was in Elizabeth Citie, south of the land of James Knott.
Death and legacy
According to some records, he died in February 1633/1634, although this is not certain. However, two years later, fellow colonists "thrusting out" royal governor Governor Sir John Harvey selected his brother, John West, who had previously served as a burgess, as the temporary replacement.
Ancestry
References
Sources
*Nugent, Nell Marion; ''Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants''. Vol. 1. 1623–1666. Virginia State Library and Archives, Richmond, Virginia 1936
*''Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast'' by Peter H. Wood.
External links
* http://www.nps.gov/archive/colo/Jthanout/RepAssem.html
Temperence Flowerdew
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Francis
1586 births
1634 deaths
Colonial governors of Virginia
People from Test Valley
House of Burgesses members
Younger sons of barons
Francis West
Francis West (28 October 1586 – February 1633/1634) was a Deputy Governor of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.
Early and family life
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 28 October 1586, West was one of four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron D ...
English emigrants
People from Salisbury
People from Jamestown, Virginia