Nathaniel West of Poplar Neck (c. 1665 – 1723) was a planter, military officer and politician of the British

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 ...

who was one of the first two representatives for

King William County King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater R ...

in the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been establishe ...

, and later represented New Kent County in that legislative assembly.

Early and family life

West was born into the

First Families of Virginia First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They descended from English colonists who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsbur ...

, the third son of Colonel John West and his wife Unity Croshaw. He had a sister, like their mother named "Unity," who would marry Henry Fox. His elder brothers John West and Capt. Thomas West would also represent King William County in the House of Burgesses. The family's main plantation house, founded by his grandfather John West, was near the confluence of the Mattiponi and Pamunkey Rivers (which thereby form the York River), and the town now known as

West Point, Virginia West Point (formerly Delaware) is an incorporated town in King William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,306 at the 2010 census. Geography West Point is located at (37.543733, −76.805366). The York River is formed at Wes ...

, but which beginning in 1705 was called "Delaware" to honor his relative

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 ...

Career

Nathaniel West farmed using enslaved labor. He also held various local offices, particularly within the militia, receiving promotions from Captain to

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

. He became a member of the Virginia

: first as one of the first two representatives from

King William County, Virginia King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,810. Its county seat is King William. King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater ...

(1700–1702), and later for New Kent County (in the 1703–1705 session).Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 60, 64

Marriage and issue

On May 14, 1702, Nathaniel married Martha Woodward Macon (1665–1727) in

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,045. The county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown. L ...

. Martha was the widow of Gideon Macon, who represented New Kent County several times in the House of Burgesses. They lived at Poplar Neck plantation and had one daughter, Unity, who married, as his second wife, William Dandridge (1689–1743), brother of

John Dandridge Col. John Dandridge of Chestnut Grove (14 July 1700 – 31 August 1756) was a colonel, planter, politician, and Clerk of New Kent County, Virginia from 1730 to 1756. He may be best known as the father of Bartholomew Dandridge and the first Fi ...

Death and legacy

Nathaniel and Martha West both died in 1723 in New Kent County, Virginia.

Notes

References

* "St. Peter's Parish Records, St. Peter's Parish, New Kent, VA * "Genealogy of the Harris and Allied Families. Gandrud, Pauline Myra Jones, 1929. * "The Sneads of Fluvanna. Hatcher, William E., 1959. * "Gideon Macon, York and New Kent Co., VA (Sons of the Revolution in the State of Virginia Quarterly Magazine, Volume 4, Number 3, July, 1925) * "Middle Peninsula Historic Marker "Cockacoeske" * "The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. Rountree, Helen C., University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. * "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." W. Martha W. McCartney. * "Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast by Peter H. Wood. * "Tax Rolls, March 1660. 3 March 1659. 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Nathaniel 1665 births 1723 deaths Virginia colonial people House of Burgesses members People from New Kent County, Virginia Nathaniel West (captain) People from King William County, Virginia