Francis Moryson
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Francis Moryson (bef. 1628–1680/81) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
soldier who became a
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
colonial official and agent. A
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
in the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, he emigrated to the Virginia Colony, where he held several posts before returning to England and becoming the colony's agent, and finally briefly served on the commission investigating
Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Colony of Virginia, Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon (Virginia colonist), Nathaniel Bacon against List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colon ...
.


Early and family life

His father Sir Richard Moryson (c.1571-1628) had been lieutenant general of the ordnance for King James, as well as a member of Parliament for Leicester in 1621. His mother Elizabeth Harrington, was the daughter of Sir Henry Harrington. He had at least two brothers, Richard and Robert Moryson, and a sister, Letitia, who married Lucius Cary, Lord Falkland. He married Cecelia, sister of Giles Rawlins, and both she and their son Henry survived him.


Career

A Cavalier refugee, Major Moryson emigrated to Virginia in 1649 around the time of the execution of Charles I, sailing on ''The Virginia Merchant'' in September alongside Col. Henry Norwood and Majors Richard Fox and Francis Cary. However, their vessel ran aground off Cape Hatteras during a November storm. Rather than deposit the passengers at Jamestown, the colony's capital as planned, the ship's crew left them on a small island in Assatague Bay on the
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, where they nearly starved, as Norwood later recalled in a book. Native Americans discovered the party, nursed them to health, and a Virginia fur trader, Jenkin Price, transported them first to Northampton County and then to George Ludlow's York County home. Finally Ralph Wormeley brought Moryson to Jamestown, where Moryson became the guest of Governor Sir William Berkeley. When ''The Virginia Merchant'' had grounded again in the James River, Berkeley had ordered a search for Moryson's party, possibly because they may have carried a payment of 1000 pounds from Edmund Custis. Moryson may have also stayed with relatives, for his brother Richard, who died in 1648, had for a decade served as commander of Fort Point Comfort, and left a plantation nearby. Richard's widow twice claimed Francis as a headright in 1650. Another brother, Robert Moryson, also later commanded the fort, as would Robert's son Charles Moryson after this man returned to England. In 1654 Francis Moryson bought 24 acres near Jamestown, and the following year leased 120 acres on the James River. Voters in
James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...
elected Moryson as one of their delegates 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 established ...
, and fellow burgesses elected him as their
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in 1656. By March 1656, Moryson probably moved to Jamestown, the assembly having purchased a house there from Governor Berkeley as a residence for their Speaker. They also voted Moryson 6,000 pounds of tobacco for the time and care he was devoting to the public business. As Speaker, Moryson wrote a letter to
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
and another to Secretary of State
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, supporting
Edward Digges Edward Digges (14 February 1620 – 15 March 1674/75) was an English barrister and colonist who served as List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colonial Governor of Virginia from March 1655 to December 1656. He was the son of the English polit ...
, Samuel Mathews Sr. and Richard Bennett as the Virginia colony's agents in England in a continuing boundary dispute with the Maryland Colony. When the late Speaker
William Whitby William Whitby (died March–October 1655) emigrated from England to the Virginia colony where he became politician and major landowner. He represented Warwick County as a burgess several times, and became Speaker of the Virginia House of Burge ...
's widow Katherine returned to England in 1657, the Lancaster County Court named Moryson as guardian of her three young brothers, who remained in Virginia. When Governor Sir William Berkeley began his second term in 1660, Moryson received an appointment to the Governor's Council, which the king's commission approved by July. Two years later he became the commander of the fort at Point Comfort, the post his brothers had previously held. Moryson also became the colony's acting Governor when Governor Berkeley left for England on April 30, 1661. Moryson remained the colony's acting governor through 1662, and in addition to seeking peace with the local native Americans, he also supervised revision and publication of ''The Lawes of Virginia Now in Force'' (London 1662), which had a provision which proved problematic that allowed parish vestries to fill their own vacancies rather than allow such to be chosen by parishioners. Before leaving to England in March 1663, Moryson also donated a silver communion service to the church at Jamestown. Moryson returned to his wife and home in
Bishop's Waltham Bishop's Waltham (or Bishops Waltham) is a medieval market town situated at the source of the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It has a foot in the South Downs National Park and is located at the midpoint of a long-established route betwe ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
in 1663, with his nephew Charles succeeding him as commander at Point Comfort. Morison then acted as the Virginia colony's English agent for a 200 pound sterling annual salary, with particular directions to protest against the grant of the
Northern Neck Proprietary The Northern Neck Proprietary – also called the Northern Neck land grant, Fairfax Proprietary, or Fairfax Grant – was a land grant first contrived by the exiled English King Charles II in 1649 and encompassing all the lands bounded by the Pot ...
to royal favorites. Moryson secured a charter for the Virginia colony before his final (and brief) trip back in 1677. He was a member of the royal commission investigating
Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Colony of Virginia, Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon (Virginia colonist), Nathaniel Bacon against List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colon ...
, which had destroyed the colonial capital at Jamestown. The report proved critical of Governor William Berkeley's management.Kukla, pp. 56-57


Death and legacy

Moryson died in 1680 or 1681 in Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire. By 1699 his son Henry was colonel of the Colstream Foot Guards His silver communion service remains, occasionally used by historic
Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epis ...
in Williamsburg.Tyler p. 49


References

1620s births 1680s deaths Speakers of the Virginia House of Burgesses People from James City County, Virginia People from Bishop's Waltham English emigrants Shipwreck survivors
Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...
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