Hugh Gwyn ( 1590 - 1654) was a British colonist who owned the first legally-sanctioned slave in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...

, John Punch. Gwyn served several terms in the Virginia House of Burgesses and was a justice.

Biography

Sir Hugh Gwyn (sometimes spelled "Wynne", "Wing", or "Gwinne") either immigrated to Jamestown with the 1608 second supply, or arrived on the ''George'' as a servant to Captain William Peirce. Gwyn claimed to discover Gwynn's Island in . According to legend, Gwynn saved Pocahontas from a sinking canoe near the island. At a January 1624 muster, Hugh Wing was listed as aged 30 years. In 1635, Gwyn petitioned King Charles I for ownership of the island and in 1640 was given . Gwyn built a log cabin and named the area "Gwynnville" . He was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses representing Charles River County in 1639 and York County in 1646. He also served as a judicial officer in 1641. Gywn died around 1654. Elizabeth Gwynn and Hugh Gwynn (likely a son) carried on the name in Virginia. A relation, Hugh Gwynn, was the son of

Sir Owen Wynn, 3rd Baronet Sir Owen Wynn, 3rd Baronet (1592–1660) inherited his title after the death of his brother Sir Richard Wynn, 2nd Baronet in the summer of 1649. He married Grace Williams, daughter of Hugh Williams, and niece of John Williams, Archbishop of York. ...

and represented Gloucester in the House of Burgesses from 1652 to 1690.

First slave in Virginia

In 1640, indentured servants John Punch ("a negro"), Victor ("a Dutchman"), and James Gregory ("a Scotchman") fled their master Gwyn. The three were captured and returned to Gwyn. The General Court of Virginia ruled that all three be whipped, but Punch would be Gwyn's slave for life as punishment for escaping.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyn, Hugh 16th-century births 1650s deaths House of Burgesses members

Biography

First slave in Virginia

See also

References