John West (December 14, 1590 – c. 1659) was an early member of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

and acting colonial Governor of Virginia from 1635 to 1637, the third West brother to serve as Governor and one of the founders of the West Family of Virginia, which would include many politicians.

Early and family life

The fifth son and twelfth child of

Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr Thomas West, 2nd and 11th Baron De La Warr ( ; c. 1550 – 24 March 1601/1602) of Wherwell Abbey, Hampshire, was a member of Elizabeth I's Privy Council. Biography Thomas West was the eldest son of William West, 1st Baron De La Warr, by his f ...

, was born at

Testwood Totton and Eling () is a civil parish in Hampshire, England, with a population of about 29,000 people. It contains the town of Totton and is situated between the eastern edge of the New Forest and the River Test, close to the city of Southampto ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His brother

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 ...

was the largest investor in the London Company which received a charter to establish settlers in the New World, then financed several voyages, including those which founded a settlement at Jamestown in 1609. Thomas West, Lord Delaware, was the first governor of what became the Virginia colony, serving from 1608 until 1618. However, first John West was educated, including beginning in 1609 at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, from which he received a degree in 1613.

Virginia

John West arrived in Virginia in 1618, several years after his brother

Francis West Francis West (28 October 1586 – February 1633/1634) was a Deputy Governor of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia. Early and family life Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 28 October 1586, West was one of four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron D ...

who served on the Governor's Council. Fellow colonists thrice elected John West a member of 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 ...

(1628–30), and he represented the "Plantations over the water" alongside John Burland, then Robert Fellgate, until the end of that constituency. In 1630, authorities made the decision to plant a settlement on the York River, "... for the securing & taking in of a tract of Land called ye fforest bordering uppon the cheife residence of ye Pamunkey King the most dangerous head of the Indian enemy ... ic John West received one of the first grants issued for this purpose, 600 acres "on the east side of Felgates". "Felgates" refers to Robert Felgate's 1632 grant of "350 acres lying at Kiskeyacke upon Pamunkey". West sold the 600 acres, along with adjoining land, to Edward Digges in 1650. It became known as the "E.D." plantation, renamed by later owners as "Belfield". Meanwhile, in 1635, after the "thrusting out" of Governor Sir John Harvey, John West was chosen as temporary replacement, and served until 1637 when Harvey was restored to his position. In 1640 West was ordered to England, along with three other "thrusters", to answer charges in the Star Chamber. All four were eventually cleared, and returned to Virginia. In May 1651, West patented 1,550 acres even further upstream on the York River's south branch that he would later sell to Major William Lewis. West patented 850 acres further upstream on the York River in 1652, which patent was granted the following year. In 1654 West also patented 1,000 acres in Gloucester County. Thus, he owned approximately 3,300 acres near the junction of the

Mattaponi The Mattaponi () tribe is one of only two Virginia Indian tribes in the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns reservation land, which it has held since the colonial era. The larger Mattaponi Indian Tribe lives in King William County on the reser ...

and Pamunkey Rivers, which thereby become the York River. The site eventually developed into a town first called "West Point" to acknowledge his family, then for much of the 19th century was called "Delaware" to honor his brother the Baron De La Warr, before returning to the initial name of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. By 1655, West was living on the plantation he had established near West Point, called Richmond West Plantation.

Marriage and children

John West married Anne Percy, daughter of

George Percy The Honourable George Percy (4 September 1580 – 1632) was an English explorer, author, and early Colonial Governor of Virginia. Early life George Percy was born in England, the youngest son of Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland and Lady ...

and Anne Floyd. The couple's eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, married Unity Croshaw. Their younger sons Thomas West and Nathaniel West also became burgesses, as did other relatives.

Death and legacy

The former Governor John West died in the winter of 1659/1660, and was buried at the Jamestown church. In March 1659/1660, the Virginia Assembly passed the following act in recognition of his family's services to the colonial enterprise: West's 3,000-acre land grant on the York River became the location of the present town of

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 ...

. After his death the land passed to his son John West (who also served as a burgess), then to his grandson John West III and to his great-grandson Charles West. Charles West had no issue. His will (dated 28 September 1734) left the West Point estate to his mother, and after her death to his first cousin Thomas West (son of his father's brother Thomas) "and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, for ever ..." The entail was broken in November 1761, when a trust was established to enable 1,000 acres of the land to be sold in order to purchase slaves.''Hering's Statutes at Large''
Vol. 7, Acts of Assembly November 1761

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, John 1590 births 1659 deaths Colonial governors of Virginia People from New Forest District Younger sons of barons John West I English emigrants Burials at Jamestown Church People from West Point, Virginia