New Kent's Members of the House of Burgesses - Bios III

West, Colonel John, son of Captain John West governor, etc. He was born at Bell Field on the York river in 1632, being the first child of English parents born on the York river, lived at West Point. He sat on the courts martial that tried the rebels in Bacon's time and was senior justice and colonel of the New Kent county militia. He married Unity daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw Burgess for New Kent county in 1685 and 1686. He had three sons John, Nathaniel and Thomas, and one daughter Unity who married Henry Fox of King William county. 

Foster, Joseph, nephew of Captain Will1am Bassett first of that name in Virginia, he came from Newport, Southampton county, England and was a justice of New Kent county and Burgess in 1688, 1696, and 1700 1702 vestryman of St Peter's parish New Kent and lieutenant colonel of the militia. He died about 1715 leaving issue.

-Most of this information came from Stanard's The Colonial Virginia Register, Cynthia Leonard's The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619-January 11, 1978, A Bicentennial Register of Members and Gardiner's Encyclopedia of Virginia.

New Kent's Members of the House of Burgesses- Bios Part. II

Claiborne, William. The ancient family of Claiborne derives its name from the Manor of Claiborne or Cliborne in Westmoreland county England near the river Eden and which is named in the Domesday Book AD 1086. William Claiborne was born about 1587 and came to Virginia with Gov. Wyatt in 1621 in the employ of the Virginia Company as surveyor general of Virginia at a salary of thirty pounds a year a house and in all probability fees. 

He quickly became prominent in colonial affairs and in 1624 was commissioned by the King as first royal secretary of state a position which he held off and on for eighteen years. In 1626 he became a member of the council. On July 22 1629 he received a commission from Gov. Pott appointing him captain and commander of all the forces to be levied for a war against the Indians and as a reward for the successful conduct of the campaign was granted in 1640 a tract of land on the Pamunkey river. In the latter year he petitioned the King to create an office which should have the keeping of the Virginia seal. The King referred the matter back to the governor and council of Virginia who decided that such an office was appropriate and appointed Claiborne to fill it. In 1634 through the influence of Harvey he lost his place as secretary of state but on Apr 6 1642 Charles I appointed him treasurer of Virginia for life. 

He again commanded forces against the Indians in 1644 and again received a grant of land in reward Claiborne was a great explorer and traded with the Indians as well as fought them. In 1627 the government of Virginia gave him permission to discover the source of Chesapeake Bay and explore any body of water between the thirty fourth and forty first parallels of latitude and on May 16, 1631 the King granted a license to “our trusty and well beloved Wm Claiborne” to trade in the colonies of New England and New Scotland, and commanded Gov Harvey and the council to allow him to do so. Claiborne soon afterwards established a trading post on Kent Island near the present city of Annapolis and this caused him to oppose with great persistence the efforts of the Baltimores to establish the colony of Maryland. When in 1632 that part of Virginia lying north of the Potomac was granted to Cecilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the Virginians including Claiborne protested against it on the ground that it was a territorial spoliation. They brought the matter before the King and urged that in revoking the charter and assembling control over Virginia both his father James and himself had given assurances that the intention was to alter the form of government not to dispute property rights. 

The political existence of the colony remained as much a fact as before and if the King could grant away Maryland he could grant away Jamestown itself. The King and his commissioners of foreign plantations were nevertheless adverse to this view and the legality of Baltimore's charter was upheld. The Virginians hoped however to except Kent Island from its operation on the ground that the Island was actually occupied by Virginia settlers. They argued that the assurances given at the revocation meant at least that actual occupation was to be respected. It made no difference whether Claiborne had any title to the soil or not, under his license to trade the colony of Virginia had extended its laws over it and the occupation was a legal one. When therefore Leonard Calvert, Baltimore's governor, called upon Claiborne to recognize his authority in Kent Island the council of Virginia to whom Claiborne referred the request considered the claim and declared that the colony had as much right Kent Island as any other part of the country given by his Majesty's patent in 1609. This particular phase of the question came before the King like the more general phase and was referred by him as in the former case to the commissioners of foreign plantations. It pended before them for several years and in the interim feeling grew warm. A miniature war developed and several persons were killed on both sides Sir John Harvey interfered in behalf of Lord Baltimore and this so incensed Claiborne's friends in Virginia that he was seized and sent back to England. At length however the commissioners in 1638 decided for Lord Baltimore and Kent Island having been seized in Claiborne's absence in England by Capt. George Evelyn in behalf of Lord Baltimore has remained ever since a part of Maryland. While Claiborne never admitted the justice of the decision it does not appear that he ever tried again to set up Kent Island as independent of Maryland. During the disturbances of Richard Ingle 1645-1647 he visited Kent Island but appears to have come over to look after his property rights which had been confiscated. Instead of posing as a friend of parliament he showed a commission and letter from King Charles I, by whom he appears to have stood till the King's death in 1649. After that time Claiborne went to England and espoused the parliament side and Gov Berkeley in 1650 declared the office of treasurer vacant on account of Claiborne's delinquency. 

In Sept 1651 Claiborne was appointed with Capt Robert Dennis, Mr. Richard Bennett and Mr. Thomas Stegg on a commission to reduce Virginia to obedience to the parliament of England an office which they succeeded in performing in Mar 1652. They then repaired to Maryland and reduced that province also. The ascendancy of Claiborne in Maryland was complete but beyond renewing this property claim to Kent Island he did not treat it politically different from the rest of Maryland. In Virginia the two surviving commissioners Bennett and Claiborne shared the chief offices between them Bennett became governor and Claiborne secretary of state. Maryland was only temporarily pacified. Lord Baltimore encouraged his adherents to resist and a civil war ensued and much blood was shed. The design of the commissioners appears to have been to have brought about the union of Virginia and Maryland again but Baltimore won such favor with Cromwell in England that the contest was given up and his authority finally recognized. 

When the restoration of Charles II took place Claiborne was deprived of his office as secretary and removed from Elizabeth City where he had formerly lived to Romancoke near West Point the scene of one of his former victories over the Indians. Romancoke was then situated in the county of New Kent which had been cut from York in 1654 when Claiborne was at the height of his power. The county was evidently named by him after his beloved Kent Island. Here he lived many years siding with the government in the disturbances of Bacon's rebellion and dying about 1677 when he was upwards of ninety years of age. To the last he remained unconquered in spirit and as late as 1675 he sent to parliament a long recital of his injuries suffered at the hands of the Baltimores asking satisfaction and urging the union of Maryland with Virginia.

 - This follows the list of June 15, 2013 and is part of a series. Most of this information came from Stanard's The Colonial Virginia Register, Cynthia Leonard's The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619-January 11, 1978, A Bicentennial Register of Members and Gardiner's Encyclopedia of Virginia.



See also my previous posts on Claiborne.

New Kent's Members of the House of Burgesses- Bios Part. I

Abrahall, Robert, came to Virginia about 1650 and settled in New Kent county which he represented in the house of burgesses in 1654 and 1660. In the first year he was captain in the New Kent militia and in the last he was lieutenant colonel. He used a seal having the arms of Abrahall of Herefordshire.

Hammond, Mainwaring, who had been an officer in the royal army during the civil war came to Virginia early in the year 1650. Col. Henry Norwood also a cavalier officer says in his Voyage to Virginia that when he landed in York county Feb 13, 1650 he found that Capt. Wormeley of his majesty's council had guests at his house feasting and carousing that were lately come from England and that most of them were of the writer's intimate acquaintance. These guests were Sir Thomas Lunsford, Sir Henry Chicheley, Col Philip Honeywood afterward Sir Philip and Col Hammond. So far as the records show Col. Hammond held no public office until Gov Berkeley was restored to power in 1660. Soon after his arrival in Virginia however he acquired by patent a large tract of land On March 15 1649 probably 1650. Manwaring Hammond Esq. was granted 3,760 acres on York River on the south side called Fort Royall, 600 acres of which he purchased from Captain Marshall and the remainder of which was due for the transportation of sixty persons to Virginia. On Nov 11 1659 as Col. Mainwaring Hammond he was granted 600 acres adjoining the above. As soon as Sir William Berkeley was reelected governor Hammond who seems to have been one of his favorites was brought into the public service. At the session of March 1659 60 the assembly ordered that Colonel Mannering Hammond according to the desire of Sir William Berkeley Knt, Governor and Capt General of Virginia be constituted authorized and made Major General of Virginia. In Oct 1660 the governor and assembly employed Maj Gen Hammond and Col. Guy Molesworth another distinguished cavalier officer to go to England and procure from the King pardon for the Virginians for submitting to the parliamentary authority. In their lack of knowledge as to what might be the policy of the restored royal government this was no act of mere sycophancy on the part of the colonists but may have been necessary to secure them from fines or other legal penalties. It was ordered that the two agents should be paid 11,000 pounds of tobacco apiece out of the levies of that year and 11,000 more the next year. It was in 1660 also that Gen Hammond was appointed to the council but few references to his services as a member of that body have come down to us. On Feb 3 1661 he and Col Edward Hill sat with the court of Charles City county as itinerant judges and on Nov 6 of the same year he was present as a councilor. It is likely that he soon after sailed for England and never returned to Virginia He had a brother in Virginia named Francis Hammond. 

Blacky, William, was a burgess from New Kent county in the general assembly of 1657 58 that convened March 13th. He is evidently the William Blacke, burgess from New Kent in the succeeding sessions of 1658 59.

- This follows the list of June 15, 2013 and will be a series. Most of this information came from Stanard's The Colonial Virginia Register, Cynthia Leonard's The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619-January 11, 1978, A Bicentennial Register of Members and Gardiner's Encyclopedia of Virginia.

New Kent's Members of the House of Burgesses

1654         Robert Abrell* (or Abrahall)

1656        ----------------

1658         William Blacky (or Blacke)

1659         William Blacky

1660         Robert Abrahall    William Claiborne    Manwaring Hamond

1661-76    Robert Abrahall(1661 sess.- Mar. 1662)    William Blackey
                 William Claiborne

1680-82    John Langston1 
                 Charles Turner
                 George Morris(Jun. 1680)    John West

1684         John West    Joseph Foster       

1685-86    John West    Richard Littlepage

1688         John West    Joseph Foster

1691-92    John West(1st sess.)    William Leigh2 
                  David Crawford    John Lydall

1693         William Bassett    John Lydall

1693         William Bassett    Gideon Macon*

1695-96    William Bassett    Daniel Parke(1st Sess.)3    Joseph Foster

1696-97    William Bassett    Gideon Macon     William Crawford4 

1698         William Bassett                Gideon Macon

1699         William Bassett                Gideon Macon

1700-02    William Bassett                Gideon Macon

1703-05    Joseph Foster                    Gideon Macon5        William Bassett

1705-06    Nicholas Merriwether       Nathaniel West

1710-12    Nicholas Merriwether        John Stanup

1712-14    Nicholas Merriwether        John Stanup

1715         Nicholas Merriwether        John Stanup

1718         Nicholas Merriwether        John Stanup

1720-22    Nicholas Merriwether        John Thonton    Thomas Massey

1723-26    John Thornton                    Thomas Massey

1728-34    Richard Richardson    ______ Bacon   
                  William Chamberlayne     William Bassett

1736-40    William Macon                   William Chamberlayne⁶    ____ Doran

1742-47    William Bassett                   William Gray

1748-49    William Hockaday              William Massie

1752-55    Richard Adams                    James Power

1756-58    Richard Adams                    James Power

1758-61    Richard Adams                    Lewis Webb

1761-65    Richard Adams                    Gill Armistead        Burwell Bassett7  

1766-68    William Clayton                   Burwell Bassett

1769         William Clayton                   Burwell Bassett

1769-71    William Clayton                   Burwell Bassett

1772-74    Bartholomew Dandridge8    Burwell Bassett

1775-76    Bartholomew Dandridge      Burwell Bassett




1- Disallowed for participating in Bacon’s Rebellion
2- Represented New Kent in 1st session than new county of King and Queen
3- Elevated to Governor’s Council
4- Represented New Kent at one day April session
5- Died during session
6- Died during session
7- The senior and brother in law of General Washington
8- Brother of Martha Washington

- Chiefly from The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619 - January 11, 1978


I will be following this up with brief bios of the members over the next few weeks . . .