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Temperance (Flowerdew) West (abt. 1590 - abt. 1628)

Temperance West formerly Flowerdew aka Yeardley
Born about in Hethersett, Norfolk, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of — married 29 Apr 1609 in London, Englandmap
Wife of — married 1618 (to 13 Nov 1627) in Jamestowne Colony, Virginiamap
Wife of — married 31 Mar 1628 (to Dec 1628) in James City, Virginiamap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 38 in Jamestown, Virginiamap
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Temperance (Flowerdew) West resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776.
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Biography

Jamestown Church Tower
Temperance (Flowerdew) West was a Jamestown colonist.
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Temperance (Flowerdew) West is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society
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Temperance (Flowerdew) West has English ancestors.

Temperance Flowerdew,[1] wife of Governor Sir George Yeardley and of acting Governor Francis West, was related by blood or marriage to several people of significance in the first 20 years of the Virginia colony; but not much is on record about the lady herself.

Indeed, the identity of Lady Yeardley was long a mystery. By 1896 it had been discovered that she was called "Dame Temperance Yardley als West" after her death,[2] from which it was mistakenly concluded by some that she was born a West, or at least, she was a West when she married Yeardley, and some old articles identify her thus. Clearly the mistake was corrected at some later date, but the relevant publication has not been identified.

Temperance is now placed [3] as a daughter of Anthony Flowerdew, of Hethersett, Norfolk, and his wife Martha (Stanley).[4] No baptism has been found and her date of birth is unknown. A Stanley Flowerdew, apparently her brother, is said to be mentioned in colony records in 1619, and a nephew, Edmund Rossingham,[5] represented Flowerdew Hundred at the first Assembly in 1619.[6] Temperance is also said to be a cousin-german [first cousin] of John Pory,[citation needed] sometime Secretary of the Virginia Company.

Subsequent events are confused, and accounts vary, relying on guesswork and supposition, as there are no contemporary records of Temperance before 1622. The date of her marriage to George Yeardley is unclear.

The Company census of 1623/4 found her with Sir George and their 3 children, and several servants, living with the Corporation at James City, as Jamestown was then called. In the Muster taken a year later, the same family were again listed at James City.[7]

The Muster (not noted for precision) does not give Temperance's age, but reports that she had arrived on the Falcon "in 1608". This presumably refers to a ship of that name said to have formed part of the expedition (often but misleadingly called the "Third Supply" mission) sent under Sir George Somers and Sir Thomas Gates in 1609 to relaunch the failed colony.[8][9][10]

The Falcon had arrived in Jamestown in August 1609, having evidently survived or avoided the storm which led to the loss of the flagship, the Sea Venture. There is no contemporary record of the Falcon passengers, so Temperance's surname at the time is not known, nor is it known what family members she might have travelled with. Neither she nor any of her kinsfolk appears in Virginia records before 1619.

Her future husband, Yeardley, had apparently also sailed with the 1609 Somers expedition, but separately, traveling with Somers and Gates on the doomed flagship, and eventually arriving at Jamestown from Bermuda in 1610. He was made Deputy Governor in 1616, but was replaced by Argall in 1617. He then returned to England at some point, before or after the death of the absentee Governor, Lord Delaware, in 1618, whereupon he was appointed the next Governor and knighted by the King. He returned to Virginia in 1619. It isn't known whether he had a wife or any children with him when sailing.

Lady Yeardley, as she had become upon her husband being knighted, witnessed the will of John Rolfe on 10th March 1621/2,[11] shortly before the Indian Massacre. She appears in court proceedings in September 1625 and January 1626/7,[12] and was left a third of her husband's estate in his will, written 12th October 1627 (codicil 29th).[11][2][13]

Sir George was buried on 13th November, and on the 16th she renounced any dower rights in Flowerdew Hundred and Weyanoke, affirming that her husband had previously sold those properties to Abraham Piersey.[14][12]

Temperance was named as sole executor of her late husband's will, but authority in England was evidently needed. Letters of administration were therefore granted to his brother Ralph Yeardley on 14th March 1627/8, at the PCC in London, in view of Temperance being overseas.[11][2][13]

Very soon afterwards, in late March 1628,[15] she married Capt Francis West, who had been elected in the colony to act as Governor. He had recently lost his first wife, Margaret (widow of Capt William Powell and then of Edward Blaney), after a brief marriage.[12]

But he was to have no children by Temperance, as she died in December the same year, not leaving a will. On 14th February 1628/9, Ralph Yeardley (described as a London apothecary) was granted commissions at the PCC to administer her goods and her husband's, during the minority of her three named children.[2][13] [16]

Temperance was named one of the Virginia Women in History by the Library of Virginia in 2018.[17]

Research Notes

1. One Temperance Flowerdew married a Richard Barrow at St. Gregory by St. Paul's, in London, on 29th April 1609,[18] shortly before the Somers fleet sailed on 2nd June. There is nothing to connect this marriage with our subject except the name, which is unusual enough, but the habit of naming babies after relatives makes it dangerous to assume that any name is unique. If this is in fact the same lady, presumably she sailed with her new husband, but no trace of him or his death has been found in Virginia.

McCartney is presumably aware of that marriage record, but chooses not to mention it. She does however have that Temperance married George Yeardley in Virginia in 1613.[19]

The 1624/5 Jamestown Muster shows that Temperance arrived aboard the Faulcon in 1608.[20] It should be noted that the muster also shows George "Yearlley" arrived in 1609 aboard the Deliverance.[21]

Several writers say that Temperance and Yeardley were married in England on 18th October 1618. Presumably these reports trace back to a single original source, not yet identified. It would seem that the primary source, if any, is not a register entry or license grant, since no venue is stated; nor do we know what name the bride was using at the time, which would settle the question of whether she had a previous marriage.

Yeardley had it recorded in the Muster that his children Elizabeth, age 6, Argall, age 4, and Francis, age 1, were all born in the colony. The date of the Muster was 5 years and 9 months after Yeardley returned to Virginia, so if Elizabeth was born in the colony and had indeed turned 6, her pregnant mother must have sailed ahead, or perhaps never left the colony.

The eldest son Argall is said to have patented land in 1637,[3] and was appointed to the Council in 1639, suggesting that he at least was somewhat older than stated, and probably born before his father's return to England. Argall's brother Francis patented land in January 1642/3, suggesting a date of birth of 1621 or earlier.

These considerations might tend to support the earlier marriage date.

It can be noted that in 1618, Yeardley was shortly to acquire considerable inheritable estate and steps might have had to be taken to reduce the risk of his heir's legitimacy being open to challenge.

On the other hand, with few records and few survivors, it would have been easy and probably not uncommon for young people, especially orphans, to overstate their age and attain their majority early.

2. Opinions differ as to who was the mother of Francis West's children, if indeed they ever existed. (A potential source of confusion might be that West had Yeardley stepchildren called Francis and Elizabeth.)

Tree-based information:

  • Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Geni.com.

Sources

  1. Jamestowne Society: Flowerdew, Temperance - A9518; died December 1628 (Muster 1624/5), wife of Richard Barrow, George Yeardley, Francis West.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "English Documents Relating to Yardley", in American Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, issue 1, p. 101, citing the researches of Miss Mary Winder Garrett, a descendant.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Wikipedia
  4. James P. C. Southall. "Concerning George Yardley and Temperance Flowerdew: A Synopsis and Review." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 55, no. 3 (1947): 259-266. Accessed March 22, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245492.
  5. Said to be the son of Denis Rossingham and Temperance's elder sister Mary Flowerdew, and also said to have been an investor. He made a claim against Yeardley's estate for services rendered, having been ignored in the will. (McCartney, p. 611; [1])
  6. "The Father of Representative Government in America", in American Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, #1 (Jan 1896), p. 10.
  7. McCartney unaccountably says that only 2 children were listed in 1623/4, but from the order of names - Sir George, Temperance, Argall, Frances, Elizabeth - it's evident that there were 3. If she was misled by the spelling "Frances", that would be a strange mistake for an historian of this period, when the spellings were entirely interchangeable.
  8. Wikipedia: the 1609 Somers expedition.
  9. Kolb, Avery E: "Early Passengers to Virginia", in V.M.H.B, Vol. 88 no. 4 (Oct 1980), p. 408. Kolb estimates 100 passengers, of which Temperance was the only survivor listed in the Muster.
  10. Ships Arriving at Jamestown, in N.E.H.G.R, Vol. 30 #4 (Oct 1876), p. 415.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Waters, Henry F: "Genealogical Gleanings in England", in N.E.H.G.R, 38 (1884), p. 68 (will of John Rolfe), p. 69 (abstract of the will of Sir George Yeardley, and admon, citing PCC Ridley 9 and Admon Act Book 1628). Also at American Ancestors.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 McCartney
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 PCC Wills, Ridley 9, PROB 11/155/195
  14. Minutes of the Council and General Court, ed. McIlwaine, p. 157
  15. Some writers say 31st March, [citation needed]
  16. This record supplies the explicit confirmation that Temperance was the mother of the Governor's children.
  17. LVA website
  18. "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKGT-PMP : 10 February 2018), Richard Barrow and Temperance Flowerdew, 29 Apr 1609; citing Saint Gregory By Saint Paul, London, FHL microfilm 375,028.
  19. The primary source for this has not yet been identified, but is presumably one of the sources listed. No such marriage is mentioned by any earlier writer.
  20. 1624/5 Muster: Temperance:
    • Name: Temperance Lady Yearlley (age not given)
    • Muster: Yearley George Sr Kt &ct.
    • Location: James Citty / Corporation: James Citty
    • Ship: Faulcon
    • Date of Arrival: 1608
    • Muster Date: 24 January 1624/5
  21. Jamestown Muster, 1609 arrivals.
  • The Brief and True Report of Temperance Flowerdew: A Novel by Denise Heinze: Determined to set the historical record straight, and clear her conscience, Temperance Flowerdew—the wife of Virginia’s first two governors—puts quill to paper, recounting the hardships that nearly brought the Jamestown colony to its knees, and the extraordinary sacrifice of her servant girl, Lily.
  • McCartney, Martha W: Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 2007, p. 774. Cites the colonial primary sources. See p. 771 for George Yeardley and p. 731 for Francis West.
  • (Not seen) Dorman, J.F: Adventurers of Purse and Person, Vol. 3 (R-Z) (2007), under Yeardley and West. Also Vol. 1 (A-F) (2004) for the 1624/5 Muster.
  • Colonial Records of Virginia (1874), p. 41. Company census of Feb 16th 1623/4 ("Living and dead list").
  • Hotten, John Camden: Original Lists (1874). 1623/4 census, p. 173. 1624/5 Muster (Jan 24th), p. 222.
  • Virtual Jamestown, 1624/5 Muster (Jan 24th). Listing of the household of Sir George "Yearlley" at James City, not including the servants at Hog Island. Note the list runs to 2 pages.
  • Wikipedia contributors. (2019, September 27). Temperance Flowerdew. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 06:06, September 28, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temperance_Flowerdew&oldid=918250456
  • Encyclopedia Virginia, biography of Sir George Yeardley.
  • Tyler, Lyon Gardiner: Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol. 1, p. 39. Transcribed on VAGenWeb. Biography of Sir George Yeardley.
  • Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. 5, p. 356, WEST 15.iv.
  • Virginia Changemakers, 2018, biography.
  • LeSourd, Nancy: Liberty Letters blog.
  • Upshur, Thomas Teackle: "Sir George and Lady Yeardley and some of their Descendants", in American Historical Magazine, Vol. 1, #4 (Oct 1896), p. 339.
  • Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Gale Research. The Generations Network, Inc., 2009. Filby, P. William, ed. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009. Jamestown 1624; pp. 41.
  • American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). Godfrey Memorial Library, co. The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Godfrey Memorial Library. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Middletown, CT: Godfrey Memorial Library.
  • Virginia Census, 1607-1890. Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, co. The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.
  • Wikipedia: Starving Time
  • WILLIAMS 2011.GED on Jun 22, 2011 by Ted Williams.




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Comments: 9

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Flowerdew-164 and Flowerdew-5 appear to represent the same person because: Name and date match. I am merging several Notable duplicates created in Mar 2023 - feel free to message me if you need more information.
Hello Profile Managers!

We are featuring this profile in the Connection Finder this week. Between now and Wednesday is a good time to take a look at the sources and biography to see if there are updates and improvements that need made, especially those that will bring it up to WikiTree Style Guide standards. We know it's short notice, so don't fret too much. Just do what you can.

Thanks!

Abby

posted by Abby (Brown) Glann
This is incredibly upsetting to see, but an ephemera store in Tolland, CT has an extensive record for this family, on sale for $1200 , ugh

https://www.eclectibles.com/product-p/25020104.htm

posted by Lauren Millerd
Why isn't Temperance Flowerdew marriage to Richard Barrow shown under profile (married 29 Apr 1609, London, England). The 1st source, under existing profile, indicates marriage to Richard Barrow but it is not included in profile? Record of marriage can be found under familysearch sources for Temperance Flowerdew.
posted by Ron Ragland
Hi! I'm transferring management of the West family from Virginia Project to US Southern Colonies Project. Not sure why Temperance wasn't a project-managed profile. She is now. Thanks!
posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
and this article: ames P. C. Southall. “Concerning George Yardley and Temperance Flowerdew: A Synopsis and Review.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 55, no. 3, 1947, pp. 259–266. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4245492. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021.

which says in part that on 28 November 1618, John Pory wrote to Sir Dudley Carleton that he had been chosen to be "Secretary of Estate" in Virginia and "this Sir George Yardley hath married my cousin German and infinitely desires my company..." citing Alexander Brown, The First Republic in America. https://archive.org/details/firstrepublicina01brow/page/294/mode/2up?q=Yardley

posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
edited by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
From “Yeardley, Flowerdewe, West (Continued).” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 25, no. 2, 1917, pp. 201–208. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4243597. Accessed 24 Mar. 2021.

"...parentage of Temperance.... statement made by Edward Rossingham that George Yeardley was his uncle. His litigation with Ralph Yeardley revealed that Lady Yeardley was his aunt.... further search in Chancery Proceedings revealed the maiden name of Mrs. Rossingham and Lady Yardley. ... Edward Rossingham's grandmother Martha ... bequeathed her signet ring to her daughter Temperance Yardley, otherwise Flowerdew."

posted by Kathie (Parks) Forbes
The following was on daughter Elizabeth's profile but belongs associated with her parents. I wasn't sure where in the narrative to place it but didn't want to lose it:

"= Research Notes = "Sir George Yeardley, or Yardley, governor and captian general of Virginia, and Temperance (West) Lady Yeardley, and some of their descendants"

Sir George Yeardley was one of the ablest and most popular of Virginia's Colonial Governors. His public acts are matters of history, and as many of them have been published and commented upon in several magazines during the past few years, I shall confine myself in this article to giving a list of as many of his descendants as the limited time at my disposal has allowed me to trace. If simply a matter of mentioning those who have borne Yeardley as a surname my list would be short and easy of compilation, for the name became extinct in his line of descendants, in the fourth generation, and only one son and one grandson lived to have issue, and the surviving children of the latter were three daughters, neither of whom married a Yeardley, and after their marriage the name of Yeardley, except as a baptismal name, disappeared from Virginia so far as I have discovered. It is only recently that the maiden name of Temperance, Lady Yeardley, has again become known in this country. For many years, historians and genealogists have sought it in vain. She came to Virginia in the "Falcon". <ref> https://archive.org/stream/sirgeorgeyeardle00upsh/sirgeorgeyeardle00upsh_djvu.txt </ref>

see also ...

> Hotten's Original List of Immigrants; Capt. Nelson Martin, Master

> N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg. p415 and was Temperance West when she married Sir George. Her parentage is still undecided. "

posted by Jillaine Smith
Flowerdew-127 and Flowerdew-5 appear to represent the same person because: Lady Temperance Flowerdew and Temperance Flowerdew have identical names, date and place of birth and date and place of death. It is highly likely that they are the same person.
posted by Susie MacLeod