William Paget, 4th Baron Paget of Beaudesert (1572 – 29 August 1629) was an English peer and

colonist A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

born in Beaudesert House, Staffordshire, England to Thomas Paget, 3rd Baron Paget and Nazareth Newton. His grandfather was

William Paget, 1st Baron Paget William Paget, 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert (15069 June 1563), was an English statesman and accountant who held prominent positions in the service of Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. He was the patriarch of the Paget family, whose descend ...

(1506-1563). William's father and his uncle, Charles Paget were both devout Catholics, and would not conform to the Protestant religion of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

. Thomas Paget fled to Paris on the uncovering of the

Throckmorton Plot The 1583 Throckmorton Plot was one of a series of attempts by English Roman Catholics to depose Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, then held under house arrest in England. The alleged objective was to facilitate a Sp ...

in November 1583, joining his brother who had been in exile there since 1581. The failed conspiracy's plan was for an invasion of England by French forces under the command of Henry, Duke of Guise, financed by

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. English Catholics would then rise up and depose Elizabeth, placing Catholic

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

on the English throne. Europe was ablaze with conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. England's ''old enemy'', France, was in the midst of its

Religious Wars A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a War, war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the exte ...

, which saw the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in the year in which William was born. In 1587 Thomas Paget was attainted of treason by act of parliament while in exile, resulting in him being stripped of his title and lands. He died in Brussels in 1590.

Life

William, a Protestant, applied himself vigorously to England's interests, taking part in the 1596

capture of Cadiz Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

(Gādēs). He never earned the favour of

, but the family title and lands were restored upon him by her Scottish heir King James I in 1604. In 1612 he became an ''adventurer'' of the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

. The Company had been created under Royal Charter to colonise

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

as a merchant venture. It founded its first settlement, Jamestown, in 1607. That colony fared badly in its first years, and a fleet sent to relieve it in 1609 was broken up by a hurricane, with the Company's

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

, the

Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission flotilla to the Jamestown Colony in 1609. She was the 300 ton flagship of the London Company. During the voyage to Virginia, ''Sea Venture'' encount ...

, lost on the reefs of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. This began England's claim to, and the permanent settlement of, Bermuda, and the Virginia Company's Third Charter extended the limits of ''Virginia'' far enough out to sea to encompass Bermuda, which was also known as ''Virgineola''. The first intended settlers arrived in 1612, to join the remaining survivors of the Sea Venture. Ever since, the colony (now called an

Overseas Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

) has had two official names, ''Bermuda'', and ''The Somers Isles''. In 1615, a second company was created by the shareholders of the Virginia Company. Called the

Somers Isles Company The Somers Isles Company (fully, the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles or the Company of The Somers Isles) was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commer ...

, this administered Bermuda until 1684. Eight of Bermuda's nine parishes (originally called ''tribes'') were commercial land, and named for major shareholders of the Company. Paget Parish, in the centre of Bermuda, was named for William Paget in 1617. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the parish is identical to that of Baron Paget de Beaudesert. William Paget died in 1629, and was buried in

West Drayton West Drayton is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and from 1929 was part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District, which became part of Greater London in 1965. The s ...

, in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

Family

William married before 19 June 1602 Lettice Knollys (1583–1655), daughter of Sir Henry Knollys (c. 1542 – 21 December 1582), Member of Parliament representing first

Shoreham, Kent Shoreham is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 5.2 miles north of Sevenoaks. The probable derivation of the name is ''estate at the foot of a steep slope''. Steep slo ...

(1563) and then

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, Esquire of the Body to

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

(son of Sir Francis Knollys and

Catherine Carey Catherine Carey, after her marriage Catherine Knollys and later known as both Lady Knollys and Dame Catherine Knollys, ( – 15 January 1569), was chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I, who was her first cousin. Biography Cather ...

), and Margaret Cave (1549–1600), daughter of Sir Ambrose Cave and Margaret Willington. William and Lettice had the following children: # Dorothy Paget (born c. 1602) # Margaret Paget (born c. 1604 – buried 10 September 1652) married

Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet (1596 – 9 October 1680), of Beverston, in Gloucestershire, and of Ruckholt, at Leyton in Essex, was an English Member of Parliament. Early life William Hicks was born in 1596. He was the son of the wealthy courti ...

, of Beverston # Anne Paget (born c. 1605) married (1) Sir Simon Harcourt (2)

William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159819 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished ...

# Henry Paget (born c. 1607) #

William Paget, 5th Baron Paget William Paget, 5th Baron Paget (13 September 1609 – 19 October 1678) was an English Peerage, peer. Early life He was born at Beaudesert (House), Beaudesert House, Staffordshire, England on 13 September 1609. He was the son of William Page ...

(13 September 1609 – 19 October 1678) married Lady Frances Rich, daughter of

Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (baptised 15 August 1590, died 9 March 1649), was an English courtier and politician executed by Parliament of England, Parliament after being captured fighting for the Cavaliers, Royalists during the Second Engli ...

and Isabel Cope # Thomas Paget (born c. 1611) # Catherine Paget (born c. 1615 – 1695) married Anthony Irby

Notes

References

Paget family
Accessed 4 March 2009
familysearch.org
Accessed 4 March 2009 * endnotes: **

External links

National Archives: Records for Paget, William (1572-1628) 4th Baron Paget
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paget, William 1572 births 1629 deaths History of Bermuda

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

People from Cannock Chase District 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility 4