Adam Thoroughgood horowgood'' (1604–1640) was a

colonist A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

and community leader in the

Virginia Colony 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" (histor ...

who helped settle the Virginia counties of Elizabeth City, Lower Norfolk and Princess Anne, the latter, known today as the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Biography

Young Thoroughgood was from a prominent family in King's Lynn,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England, the ninth son of the Rector of Grimston, Rev. William Thorowgood. He was baptized at St. Botolph's Church in Grimston on July 14, 1604 (as shown in the baptism register). Early in his life he became interested in immigrating to the Americas when he heard about exploits in Virginia from some of the members of

Henry Spelman Sir Henry Spelman (c. 1562 – October 1641) was an English antiquary, noted for his detailed collections of medieval records, in particular of church councils. Life Spelman was born in Congham, Norfolk, the eldest son of Henry Spelman (d. 1581 ...

's family who lived in Congham, a mile to the north of Grimston. At the age of 17, he became an

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 repaymen ...

in order to pay for passage to the Virginia Colony, a project 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 ...

at the time. Around 1622, he settled in an area south of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

and a few miles inland from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. This area had been passed by when the earlier settlements of the London Colony such as Jamestown were established beginning in 1607 in favor of locations further inland which would be less susceptible to attacks by other European forces, such as the Spanish. Having served his period of indenture, Adam returned to England, only to return to Virginia with a wife and 105 men. He was granted a large landholding and became a leading citizen of the area. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1629, 1629–1630 and 1632, to the Governor's Council, and as a Justice of the Court. He also became a captain in the local militia and started the first ferry service in Hampton Roads. And he exported tobacco, which was fast becoming the cash crop which early colonists needed. The London Company lost its charter in 1624 and Virginia became a royal colony. In 1634, the colony was divided into shires, a term still in use in Virginia 350 years later, and was soon renamed

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. Adam is credited with using his place of birth in England when helping name

New Norfolk County New Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was located in colonial Virginia from 1636 until 1637. It was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires (or counties) formed in 1634 in the colony of Virginia by di ...

when it was formed from

Elizabeth City County 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 orde ...

in 1637. From New Norfolk County, there were several additional smaller entities formed including, most notably Norfolk County, which existed from 1691 to 1963 and is now the City of Chesapeake, and most famously, Lower Norfolk County which became the modern City of Norfolk. Despite his widespread and long-lasting influence in South Hampton Roads, his choice of residence was along the

Lynnhaven River The Lynnhaven River is a tidal estuary located in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the United States, and flows into the Chesapeake Bay west of Cape Henry at Lynnhaven Inlet, beyond which is Lynnhaven Roads. It has a small, d ...

, also named for his home in England. In 1635, he earned a land patent for over 5,000 acres (20 km²) in this area for having earlier persuaded 105 new residents to settle in Virginia, including Augustine Warner, an ancestor of both President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and General Robert E. Lee. Thoroughgood appears to have had the foresight to realize earlier than many other leaders that

Lower Norfolk County Lower Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was organized in colonial Virginia, operating from 1637 until 1691. New Norfolk County was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires (or counties) formed in 1634 ...

(which encompassed the modern cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach) was too large for a single site for convenient worship and court affairs. He led the effort to establish a second parish church (now known as Old Donation Episcopal Church), a court, and a

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

house at what was then known as Churches Point on the Lynnhaven River in the eastern portion of the county, that was later subdivided to form Princess Anne County in 1691. The present

City of Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

was incorporated in 1963. In 1640, at the young age of 36, Thoroughgood suddenly became ill and died. The

Adam Thoroughgood House The Thoroughgood House is a brick house located at 1636 Parish Road, in the neighborhood of Thoroughgood, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It was built ca. 1719. It was formerly known as the Adam Thoroughgood House. It was not built by ...

is now an historic museum.

Family

Adam Thorowgood married Sarah Offley of London. Before his death in August 1642 they had 4 children: *Adam, who became Lt. Colonel *Ann, who married Job Chandler of Maryland *Sarah who also married a Maryland gentleman *Elizabeth, who married John Michael, Sr., a member of the Board of Commissioners of Northampton County, Virginia. His widow Sarah married several more times, first to Captain John Gookin, and lastly to Francis Yeardley, youngest son of Governor Sir

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 ...

.Sir George Yeardley, or Yardley, governor and captain general of Virginia, and Temperance (West) Lady Yeardley, and some of their descendants by Upshur, Thomas Teackle https://archive.org/details/sirgeorgeyeardle00upsh/page/4/mode/1up?view=theater

References

Sources

* Bellamy, Joe Davi
''The Bellamys of Early Virginia''
(iUniverse, 2005). * Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard
''The Virginia Colonial Register''
Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1902. , Retrieved July 15, 2011. * Grimston Parish Register
''Thoroughgood House''
Virginia Beach History Museums {{DEFAULTSORT:Thoroughgood, Adam 1604 births 1640 deaths People from King's Lynn Virginia colonial people House of Burgesses members Politicians from Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Governor's Council members English emigrants

Biography

Family

See also

References

Sources