John West (1632 - 1689)

Born 6 Jun 1632 in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 15 Nov 1689 at age 57 in New Kent County, Colony of Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: US Southern Colonies Project WikiTree [send private message]

John West resided in the Southern Colonies in North America before 1776. Join: US Southern Colonies Project Discuss: southern_colonies

Biography

John West is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

John West was born about 1632^[1] in New Kent County, Virginia,^[2] at Chicksack Bellfield Plantation on the York River.^[3]

He was the son of Governor John West of Virginia and the grandson of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr.^{[citation needed]}

Name: (Lt) West.^[4]

West served in the militia from 1652 to 1673, ending with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was a supporter of Governor Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion, and appears in the list compiled by the King's Commissioners of those who suffered grievances during the uprising:^[5]

Col. John West a person greatly impaired in his stock & goods by the Rebells, and a most constant Loyall Gentleman during the late Rebellion, and was for some time after Bacon's death Imprisoned by the Rebell Partie.^[6]

West served as a member of the courts-martials which tried the rebels.^[7]

In 1659, West's father died, the last of the four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr who came to Virginia. In recognition of the family's contributions to the colonial enterprise, the Virginia Assembly passed the following Act:

WHEREAS the many important favours and services rendred to the countrey of Virginia by the noble family of the West, predecessors to Mr. John West, their now only survivor, claim at least that a gratefull remembrance of their former merrits be still continued to their survivor, It is ordered, That the levies of the said master West and his family be remitted, and that he be exempted from payment thereof during life.^[8]

John West [Weft] represented New Kent County in the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1680-1682, 1684, 1685-86, 1688, and 1691-1692.^[9]

His will, dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed along with the other County records in a fire in 1787.^[10]

Birth

Birth Date: June 6, 1632/33

Birth Place: "Chiskack Bellfield Plantation" on the York River, New Kent County, Virginia^{[citation needed]}

Parents of John West

Husband: John West

Wife: Anne Claiborne / Percy

Child: John West

Marriage: 1639

Place: Hants, England

Alt Date: 1613^{[citation needed]}

Marriage

In 1664, (some sources state on November 1667) John West married Unity Croshaw, daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw of York, member of the House of Burgesses, in Accomack County, Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

Marriage Date: 4 November 1667.

Marriage Place: Accomack Co, VA.

John West acquired the plantation of Joseph Crowshaw, Poplar Neck, through his marriage to Joseph's daughter Unity. West later sold the property to Gov. Edmund Jenings who renamed the place Ripon Hall.^{[citation needed]}

The location site of Ripon Hall is just north of Queens Creek which empties into York River. The house was near the river bank. The area is now the Camp Peary Naval base.^[11]

The children of Colonel John and Unity Croshaw were:^[12]

1. John West III (b. 1666) married Judith Armistead.
2. Thomas West (1670-1714)married Agnes (?)
3. Capt Nathaniel West (1655-1724). Nathaniel married his second cousin, Martha Woodard (the widow of Gideon Macon). Their son-in-law, William Danridge, was Martha Washington's uncle.
4. Anne West (1660-1708 married Henry Fox.
5. Unity Susannah West, (b. 24 Dec. 1658, married George Thomas Martin (b. 1656) in 1676 and died on 12 MAY 1708 at Elsing Green in King William County.

Children of John West and Cockaoeske^[13]

1. John West

Military

1673: Rank: Lt Col in Virginia

John West is mentioned in various records as captain in 1662, major in 1667 and lieutenant colonel in 1673. He figured prominently in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. In 1680 he was senior presiding justice of the County Court of New Kent and Colonel commanding the militia of that county.^{[citation needed]}

John West Jr was taken prisoner in Bacon's Rebellion. As to what Bacon's men did to him, it is not recorded, but he later sat on the court-martial that tried the rebels and he evened the score. He was active on the side of Governor William Berkeley. However, he later sat on Berkely's Court Martial at Green Spring Plantation which condemned, as Charles II of England said, "more men in that naked country that I did for the murder of my father".^{[citation needed]}

Immigration

Event: Arrival

Event Date: 1651

Event Place: Virginia^{[citation needed]}

Residence: Elsing Green

Elsing Green, a country house, is believed to be named for Elsing Hall, a small country manor house in Norfolk, England. In the seventeenth century the land was acquired by Colonel John West. West was the family name of Lord Delaware, and the town of West Point was named for Colonel West. The fine, small brick Jacobean lodge was built by Colonel West before 1690. Upon his death in 1692 Colonel West’s son Captain Nathaniel West, inherited Elsing Green. Captain West’s only child, Unity West, received Elsing Green as a Dower upon her marriage to Captain William Dandridge^[14]

The current site of West Point, Virginia was once the site of Cinquoteck, a Native American village of the local Mattaponi, a tribe affiliated with the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Confederacy. During the first half of the 17th century, the Confederacy and the English colonists who established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown in 1607 were frequently in conflict. By mid-century, the natives had been largely overcome by the ever-expanding Colony of Virginia, including the area of Cinquoteck. By treaty, the colonial government established reservations for the Mattaponi and Pamunkey in this area. More than 350 years later, Pamunkey and Mattaponi members continue to occupy the reservations, located a few miles north of modern-day West Point. Both are state-recognized tribes.

In 1655, the former site of Cinquetock had been absorbed within the boundaries of Port Richmond West Plantation. It was the home of John West, Governor of Virginia, and was part of the land grant made in honor of his son's birth on 1632.

After the death of Governor John West, portions of the plantation were sold off by the West family, and a settlement began on the York River at what became known as West Point. In 1691, the Virginia General Assembly directed that West Point be chartered as an official port of entry. In 1705 the House of Burgesses authorized the town to qualify as a "free borough", and renamed it "Delaware" in honor of Governor John West's brother, former Royal Governor Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (also spelled Delaware).^{[citation needed]}

Death

Death Date: 15 Nov 1689^{[citation needed]}

Death Place: West Point, New King William Co, VA^{[citation needed]}

Death Place: New Kent, VA ^{[citation needed]}

His will, which was dated November 15, 1689 and probated about 1691 was destroyed in the later destruction of the County records. ^{[citation needed]}

Timeline

1633: "1st Christian Child Born on York River". Only child of Gov John West ^{[citation needed]}

1659: Thomas West, the father of John West, died, ^{[citation needed]}

In the Tax Rolls for 3 March 1660, it's recorded that the Virginia Assembly at that session enacted the following order: "Whereas the many important favors and services rendered to the country of Virginia by the Noble family of West, predecessors to Mr. John West, it is ordered that the levies of the said Master West and his family be remitted and that he be exempted from payment there of during life." ^{[citation needed]}

1662: Captain of militia ^{[citation needed]}

1664: Married Unity Croshaw ^{[citation needed]}

1667: Major of Virginia Militia ^{[citation needed]}

1673: Colonel, New Kent Co. Militia. ^{[citation needed]}

1676: Taken Prisoner during Bacon's Rebellion. ^{[citation needed]}

1680: Senior Presiding Justice of the Court of New Kent ^{[citation needed]}

1685-1691: Burgess from New Kent.^[9]

15 Nov 1689: Date of Death ^{[citation needed]}

Research Notes

Origins

According to a 1966 letter from Ruth Sherman Hyde to Olie Low Garrett, John West was the son of Lord Delaware. He was governor of Virginia in 1635.^{[citation needed]}

An Article entitled, "Lord Delaware: The Governor Who Named Hampton" appeared in Virginia Tidewater Genealogy, Vol. 20, #4 in December 1989. That article states that John West was the BROTHER and not the son of Sir Thomas West, Lord Delaware. This article also states that John West, Sr. was governor of Virginia from 1635-1637.

Tradition: Cockacoeske and John West

West was said to have fathered a son with the Pamunkey leader Cockacoeske about 1656, several years before West's marriage to Unity Croshaw. The child became known as Captain John West.^[13] Although there is evidence that Col. West was living apart from his wife in 1685,^[15] the year before Cockacoeske's death, the reasons for their separation remain unknown.

There is nothing to support the following claims:

Another version of the story

I cannot give all of supporting evidence, but the story goes that Pocahontas took a number of her relatives to England, with her, including her first cousin, daughter of Powhatan's sister, name unknown (but Leonard-reacher called her Rachel as a possibility, since that name came down in the Crowshaw family). The Indians all took Christian names upon baptism. Pocahontas' name was Rebecca. Anyway, Pocahontas and her relatives stayed at the estate of Lord Delaware, Thomas West, in England, where Rachel supposedly bore an illegitimate son by Thomas West called Toby West or his Indian name, Totopotomoi. Rachel ended up marrying Joseph Croshaw and moved back to Virginia. Her daughter, Unity Croshaw, married Col. John West, nephew of Lord Delaware. Before marriage to Unity. John West has a known illegitimate son, John West by Cockacoeske, Queen of the Pamunkeys. Cockacoeske was also married at one time to Totopotomoi. (Unity Croshaw West also went by Susanah. In land grant dated Oct 23, 1690 there is reference to "Widow Susanah West & son John West Jr ").^{[citation needed]} "Pocahontas' son, Thomas Rolfe, moved back to Va. where he had a daughter, Jane, who was often cared for by Unity (Croshaw) West.^{[citation needed]} The connections seem to be endless . Rachel would have been in line for the ruling position of the Pamumkeys. When Totopotomoi took over, it would mean that his mother had to be dead. Checked the Croshaw's family and sure enough, at the time Totopotomoe took over, Joseph Crowshaw's first wife had recently died.^{[citation needed]} Also, you will see in Cavalier's and Pioneers by Nugent that Toby West has a patent for 500 acres of land that was later taken up by Col. Joseph Crowshaw. One of the early writings states that Totopotomoi's land was overtaken by an English Colonel.^{[citation needed]} Somehow, that 500 acres to have gotten back to Cockacoeske's son, John West, By Col. John West, as Indian John West left a will in Stafford Co. in which he left 500 acres "at Pamunkey" to his son^[16][17][18] A previous version of this profile claimed, without source, that the liaison with Cockacoeske resulted in multiple offspring, took place during West's marriage to Unity, and resulted in Unity leaving West. There is no documentation to support more than one son and dates suggest the liaison occurred prior to West's marriage to Unity Croshaw.^{[citation needed]} Also, Col. Joseph Crowhaw's father, Raleigh Croshaw, appears to have had an Indian wife (not Joseph's mother, however) from his long residence with the Patawoneck Tribe in Va. William Crowshaw, the Indian, was probably a son by the Indian marriage of Raleigh Crowshaw.^[19]

Burial

Someone added the below unsourced burial above the Biography heading:

Burial: Jamestown Fort James Cemetery^{[citation needed]}

Sources

1. ↑ Jamestowne Society: West, John II - A8606; born 1632, died 1691, New Kent Co.: 1680-82, 1684, 1685-86, 1688, 1691-92 (Burgess). accessed 6 February 2024
2. ↑ https://familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L14D-1KM
3. ↑ Removed from Birth Place datafield in merge completed 6 February 2024. (Also removed: "II" as suffix.)
4. ↑ American Marriages Before 1699 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. More details/better source sought.
5. ↑ John West (Colonel) (Wikipedia); better source sought.
6. ↑ "Persons who Suffered by Bacon's Rebellion. The Commissioners' Report", The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jul., 1897), pp. 64-70
7. ↑ Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, publisher? Date? p.27
8. ↑ Hening, Statutes at Large, vol. 1, p. 547
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} McIlwaine, H. R. and J. P. Kennedy, Editors. Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. 13 Volumes. Richmond, Virginia, 1905-1915. Editors: vols. 1-9, H. R. McIlwaine; v. 10-13, J. P. Kennedy. Vol. 2, pages x, xi, xii, xiii, xiv, xlii, xliii, 120ff
10. ↑ New Kent County, Virginia Genealogy Project. More source details sought.
11. ↑ "Marston Parish 1654-1674: A Community Study", by McKinney; more source details sought
12. ↑ Dorman, John Frederick, Adventurers of Purse and Person, 4th ed., v.3, p.490
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} The Beginning, Progress, and Conclusion of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, In the Years 1675 and 1676 Jefferson Papers, American Memory Collections, Library of Congress, date? Column? Page ?
14. ↑ Elsing Green. Better source sought.
15. ↑ Appleton, Thomas H. et al, Searching for Their Places: Women in the South Across Four Centuries, publication details?
16. ↑ Rountree, Helen C., The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture, University of Oklahoma Press, 1989. Page? quote?
17. ↑ Martha W. McCartney, "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." Publication details? Page? Quote?
18. ↑ Peter H. Wood, "Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast. Publication details? Page? Quote?
19. ↑ This information was supplied to me by William L. Deyo. Where?

See also:

• Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), volume IV, pages 325-329: WEST 15. Thomas West, Knt., 15.vii. [Col.] John West.

Col John West married Ann and had one son John, page 328.

• DAR Application for Margaret Ruffin Hyde.

• U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Volume: 345

• "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." W. Martha W. McCartney.

• "Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast by Peter H. Wood.

• "Lord Delaware: The Governor Who Named Hampton" appeared in Virginia Tidewater Genealogy, Vol. 20, #4 in December 1989.

• Simpson, William C. Jr. (1998) “The Huguenot Trail: The Life and Descendants of Reverend Claude Philippe de Richebourg and His Wife Anne Chastain”

• Find A Grave: Memorial #145906688