John Graye Proctor (abt. 1583 - bef. 1627)

Born about 1583 in London, England

Husband of Alice (Graye) Proctor — married 1610 in , London, , England

Descendants

Died before 3 Jul 1627 before about age 44 in Virginia Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Carleton Procter [send private message]

Biography

John Proctor was a Jamestown colonist.

Birth

John Proctor was born about 1583 to John Proctor and Anne Greye and was baptized in 1586^[1] in London, England.

Migration

In 1609, he sailed aboard the Sea Venture^[2]headed for the Colony of Virginia. But the ships encountered a violent storm, likely a hurricane. The flagship Sea Venture was separated from the other ships of the fleet and was about to sink when land was sighted. It was Bermuda! The ship was forced to wreck upon the reefs of the island. All aboard were saved, and would be marooned there for nine months.^[3] The castaways eventually built two small boats, the Discovery and the Patience, from Bermuda cedar and the rigging of the wrecked ship and escaped to the mainland of Virginia.^[4][5]

Plantation at Henrico

John settled at Henrico, far west of Jamestown Island on the south side of the James River. He patented 200 acres on land that abutted north upon the stream that became known as Proctor's Creek.^[6]

One of John's neighbors at Henrico was Capt. Robert Smalley, who died in 1621, leaving a will^[7] in which he directs settlement of a 1617 debt owed him by John Proctor.

In 1621, John's wife, Alice, arrived, traveling on the George.^[8] She would not have long to settle into her new home, when the Indian Massacre of 1622 wreaked havoc and death all around them. Capt. John Smith, in his "Historie," described Alice as a "proper, civil, modest Gentlewoman" who defended her home until the English officers forced her to leave; then the Indians came again and burned the house.^[9]

Plantation at Paces Paines

The Proctors relocated a little further down the James River, still on the south side, in what was called Paces Paines (now Surry County). They are found "over the river" in the 1623 census of the "Living and Dead in Virginia."^[10][11]

A short time later, a more detailed census was taken, the 1624/25 muster. John and his family are listed as living in Paces Paines, James City:^[12]

JOHN PROCTOR came in the Seaventure 1607

ALLIS his wife in the George 1621

SERVANTS

RICHARD GROVE aged 30 yeres in the George 1623

EDWARD SMITH aged 20 in the George 1621

WILLIAM NAYLE aged 15 in the Ann 1623

Provisions:

Corne, 126 bushells; Meale, 2 bushells; Oatmeale, 5 bushells; Fish, 1/2 hundred; Powder, 22 lb; Peeces, 3 and 2 pistolls & 2 petronels; Lead, 45 lb; Armours, 5; Neat Cattell, 7 and 5 Calves; Swine, 9; Houses, 2; Boat, 1.

(Petronel: A portable firearm of the 15th century, resembling a carbine of large caliber.) They were well-armed to defend themselves!

Ancient Planter

John met the qualifications of an ancient planter^[13] and was credited with the grant given him in a 1626 report of land grants sent to England.^[14]

Business in England

John may have made several trips to England to conduct his business. In 1623, he and three others were given patents for the transport of 100 persons, with provisions and necessities for cultivating their own land. He also agreed to act as an attorney for two London merchants to recover funds owed them in Virginia.^[15][16]

Abuse of Servants

On 10 Oct 1624, the Proctors were called before the General Court to answer to charges that they had caused the deaths of two of their servants, Elizabeth Abbott and Elias Hinton. The gruesome details can be found in the Minutes of the court.^[17] No mention is made of the findings of the case.

Death

John Proctor died before 3 Jul 1627, at which time his wife, Mrs. Alice Proctor, was allowed administration of her husband's estate.^[18][19]

Research Notes

• Date of arrival in Virginia: The date 1607 is recorded on the 1624/25 muster for arrival of the Sea Venture. This was probably a recording error, as the Sea Venture was a new ship, launched in 1609. Her maiden voyage probably was the ill-fated voyage to Virginia.^[20][21][22]
• Family: John and Alice Proctor are reported to have had 5-7 children, but the only ones who can be accounted for are George (born in Virginia) and William (born in England).

See also:

• Proctor ISOGG DNA Project (https://isogg.org/ : accessed 20 Jan 2021)

Sources

1. ↑ "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812", database (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 19 Jan 2021) London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/DUN1/A/001/MS07857/001 Ancestry Record 1624 #6491200 Name: John Procter Gender: Male Record Type: Christening (Baptism) Baptism Date: 26 Dec 1586 Baptism Place: St Dunstan in the East, City of London, London, England Father: John Procter Register Type: Parish Register
2. ↑ Passenger List of the Sea Venture Research and compilation by Anne Stevens, packrat-pro.com.
3. ↑ Sea Venture Monument, St. George, Bermuda (accessed 11 May 2021)
4. ↑ Glover, Lorri., Smith, Daniel Blake. The Shipwreck that Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2008.
5. ↑ Doherty, Kieran. "Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of the First English Colony in the New World" St. Martin's Press
6. ↑ McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary; Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2007, p. 70.
7. ↑ Will of Capt. Robert Smalley of Henrico (accessed 11 May 2021}
8. ↑ Passenger List of the George Research and compilation by Anne Stevens, packrat-pro.com.
9. ↑ Smith, John. The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (accessed 11 May 2021)
10. ↑ List of Living and Dead in Virginia
11. ↑ Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, page 40.
12. ↑ Jester, Annie Lash., Hiden, Martha Woodruff. 1883. Musters of the Inhabitants in Virginia 1624/1625, Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1625: FamilySearch International, Title No. 2058494., page 36.
13. ↑ List of Ancient Planters
14. ↑ Coldham, page 74
15. ↑ "Virginia Colonial Records, 1607-1853", database (https://www.ancestry.com/ : accessed 18 Jan 2021) Library of Virginia; Richmond, Virginia; Records of a Quarter Court for Virginia, 25 January 1623; Author: Magdalene College, Cambridge Class Ferrar Papers, Box 'Virginia' No. 1364.; Description: S. M. Kingsbury Introduction to the Records of the Virginia Company 1905, p. 177; Survey Report: SR 06723; Film Number: 575 Ancestry Image
16. ↑ McCartney, page 584.
17. ↑ McIlwaine, H.R., ed. Minutes of the Council and General court of Colonial Virginia, Richmond: The Library Board, 1924; repr. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1979., pp. 22-24.
18. ↑ Nugent, Nell Marion. https://archive.org/details/cavalierspioneer00nuge/page/n45/mode/2up?q=proctor Cavaliers and Pioneers. Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1666, Vol. I], Virginia State Library, Virginia Genealogical Society. Richmond, Press of the Dietz Print Co. 1934, page xxx.
19. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #105703713 John Graye Proctor
20. ↑ Glover and Smith, page 78.
21. ↑ Sea Venture on Wikipedia
22. ↑ Delbridge, J. Andy, 2007. The Sea Venture (accessed 11 May 2021)

See also:

• Kingsbury, Susan Myra. "The records of the Virginia Company of London" Government Printing Office, 1906-1935 4 volumes
• The Deaths of Elizabeth Abbott and Elias Hinton, Encyclopedia Virginia, Retrieved via The Wayback Machine (10 May 2021)
• Family Search Ancestry Record # LDVP-VBZ
• John Graye Proctor on Geni.com
• Paces Paines
• Jamestown Adventurers
• The English Branch of the Proctor Family
• Ancestry family tree: John Greye Proctor

• Warfield, Joshua Dorse. The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland: a Genealogical and Biographical ... Review from Wills, Deeds and Church Records. Baltimore, Maryland: Forgotten Books, 1905.