William Tucker (born 1624) was born to two of the

first Africans in Virginia The first Africans in Virginia were a group of "twenty and odd" captive enslaved persons originally from modern-day Angola who landed at Old Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia in late August 1619, whose arrival is seen as a beginning of the histo ...

who landed in

Jamestown Colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement ''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Reco ...

before his birth. He was the first African American that was born in the

British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Counci ...

that later became the United States.

Birth

William Tucker was born near Jamestown of 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 ...

, and appears on the ''Virginia Muster of 1624/5'', the first comprehensive census made in North America. His parents were Isabell and Anthony, African

indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...

s. When he was born, there were 22 Africans in the colony, most of whom arrived in 1619. His parents were servants to Mary and Captain William Tucker, who was an envoy to the

Pamunkey The Pamunkey Indian Tribe is one of 11 Virginia Indian tribal governments recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the state's first federally recognized tribe, receiving its status in January 2016. Six other Virginia tribal governments, t ...

Native Americans for the colony. The Tucker plantation was located at or near the current site of

Bluebird Gap Farm Bluebird Gap Farm is a public city park and petting zoo located in Hampton, Virginia, at 60 Pine Chapel Road. It is designed to resemble a working farm, and features farm animals and fowl of all types, and wild animals native to Virginia. It ...

in Hampton. Isabell and Anthony were wed in 1623 or before, with Captain Tucker's support. Under English law, indentured servants were not married while they still had time on their contract. About the time William was born, there were two white children of indentured servants born in the colony. Tucker had 17 servants.

Baptism

He was baptized in the Anglican Church becoming the first African child baptized in English North America. He was named after Captain Tucker. The captain's plantation was located on the

Hampton River The Hampton River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tidal estuary which empties into Hampton Roads near its mouth. Hampton Roads in turn empties into th ...

. Nearby was a Native American village, once known as

Kecoughtan, Virginia In the seventeenth century, Kecoughtan was the name of the settlement now known as Hampton, Virginia, In the early twentieth century, it was also the name of a town nearby in Elizabeth City County. It was annexed into the City of Newport News in 19 ...

of the Kecoughtan tribe. It is now

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. The closest Anglican Church was the Elizabeth City Parish, now the St. John's Episcopal Church. There were two trains of thought about baptism of African Americans. It was desirable to have as many Christians in the colony as possible. It was not believed, though, that baptizing a person changed their status as a servant or an enslaved person, which was formalized in 1667 by the Virginia Assembly. Enslaved people were still considered chattel, or personal property.

Childhood

As a boy, he considered one of the captain's 17 servants.

Elizabeth City County, Virginia Elizabeth City County was a county in southeastern Virginia from 1634 until 1952 when it was merged into the city of Hampton. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth River Shire, it was one of eight shires created in the Virginia Colony by order ...

was established in 1634, reportedly with support of William's parents. It is now

His parents were freed around 1635 (when William was about 10 or 11 years of age) and they established a farm in Kent County, Virginia.

Legacy

* The 2-acre Tucker Family Cemetery in Hampton was named after him. Next to the cemetery is the Aberdeen Gardens neighborhood that was established by African Americans. The cemetery, which was previously called the Old Colored Graveyard, contains the remains of people that believe they were related to William. There are many unmarked graves, but it is believed that his is interred there. It is around one mile to the

, which is believed to be the site of Captain William Tucker's plantation.

Notes

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, William 1624 births Date of death unknown People from Jamestown, Virginia 17th-century African-American people People from Elizabeth City County, Virginia