Gabriel Archer (abt. 1576 - 1610)

Born about 1576 in Essex, England

Ancestors

Died 1610 at about age 34 in Jamestown, James City County, Colony of Virginia

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Jamestown Virginia Colony

Biography

Gabriel Archer was a Jamestown colonist.

Gabriel Archer is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society

Gabriel Archer^[1]

Parents: A previous version of this profile claimed, without source, that he was the son of John Archer and Eleanore Frewin. Pending proof of his origins, they have been detached.

Jon Archer, researcher, back in 2001, claimed, without providing sources, that:

"Gabriel Archer was a member of the Archer family that originated at Theydon Garnon, Essex.His parents were Christopher Archer Gent, of Mountnessing, Essex and Mary - they married at Broomfield, Essex in 1575. His brothers and sister were John,Richard and Anne Archer. Christopher inherited land in Mountnessing in the will (proved 1560)of his mother Rose. Christopher Archer and his wife appear in records at the Essex County Record Office as Catholic recusants accused of not attending their local church in the period 1581-1584.I don't know if Gabriel Archer was a Catholic but it seems he may well have been. Gabriel Archer was admitted to St.Johns College,Cambridge University in 1591 where he was a contemporary of John Brereton and Bartholomew Gosnold and on 15/03/1593 entered Grays Inn, Middlesex to study law. The next reference I have of him is in 1596 when he sold 5 messuages, 5 gardens and 170 acres of land in Mountnessing to William Petre (of a wealthy catholic family).I thoughtthis sale might have been to fund earlier expeditions but I have no evidence of this yet." ^[2]

Gabriel was born in 1575. He was born to Christopher and Mary Archer of Mountnessing, Essex in England, in either 1574 or 1575. The above appears to be extracted from a 1997 Virginia Genealogist article that quotes manorial records (available at the Essex Record Office) which include the following entry from the Court Roll of the Manor of Cowbridge in Mountnessing:

Court of 27 Elizabeth [1584-5] ... Christopher Archer, gentleman, ... had died since the last court and that Gabriel Archer was his son and heir... ^[3]

A gentleman from Essex, educated at Cambridge and Gray's Inn;

"Archer, Gabriel Matric pens from St John's, c. 1591. Of Mountnessing, Essex, gent. adm at Gray's Inn, March 15, 1592/3."^[4] Another source claims he was from Mountnessing, Essex county, England, that he entered Gray's Inn as a student of law Mar. 15, 1593.

"In 1602 Archer went with Bartholomew Gosnold to New England and wrote an interesting account of the discovery and naming of Cape Cod and Martha's vineyard. He was among the first to put foot to land at Cape Henry, Apr. 26, 1606

Jamestown

Archer came to Jamestown in 1607 on the Susan Constant with Master Christopher Newport and (71) passengers. ^[5] He settled in the section along the James River called Archuer's Hope was named after him; wrote a narrative about the settlers' experiences; made secretary of the colony in 1607; named councilor in January 1608; returned to England that year, but returned to Virginia in 1609; died the winter of 1609/10.^[6]

On his return he was active in arousing interest in an attempt to locate a colony in Jamestown, and came with the first settlers. Archer was one of the two first settlers to Virginia to be sounded by the savages. He was appointed recorder of the colony, and on May 21, he went with Newport from Jamestown on a voyage of discovery up James river, and afterwards "wrote a Relatyon of the Voyage." The charter permitted a majority of the council to elect the president or turn him out, to turn out any member of the council and elect a substitute. It was, therefore, a veritable hothouse of faction. Archer seems to have furnished his full share to the quarrels of Jamestown, though probably no more than his share. He joined with Smith, Martin and Ratcliffe in displacing Wingfield as president, and afterwards when Ratcliffe admitted him to the council in Dec., 1607, caused Smith to be indicted "upon a chapter in Leviticus" for the death of two of his men on his trip up Chickahominy, and Ratcliffe, the president, approved the sentence of execution. Smith would have been hanged the next day, had not Capt. Newport arrived the evening before (Jan. 2, 1608) and interfered to save his life.

"When Newport set out April 10, 1608, to return to England, he carried with him both Wingfield and Archer, whose complaints on their arrival were directed with such good effect against the charter that a petition for a new one creating a more suitable form of government was soon presented to the King, and granted. Under this second charter dated (May 23, 1609) Sir Thomas Gates was made governor, and had the selection of his council, and Archer, flattering himself that he was rid of the dominance of John Smith, returned to the colony. Of the voyage he wrote an interesting account. But the unexpected happened, and Gates was wrecked on the Bermuda Islands. then to the disappointment of all the gentlemen of the rest of the expedition which got to Jamestown, Smith would not give up his commission, in which he was only technically right. Fresh brawls ensued, and after a few months Smith returned to England, while Archer remained and died at James during the Starving Time of 1609-1610."^[7]

Jamestown Discovery Video of Burial

Finding Captain Gabriel Archer

JamestownRediscovery Published on Jul 28, 2015

This short film explores the historical, archaeological, and forensic evidence behind the discovery of Captain Gabriel Archer in the chancel of Jamestown's first church. Archer was born in 1575 in Essex and died in late 1609 or early 1610 at the age of 34 during the “starving time”; a six month period when approximately 250 settlers died at Jamestown from disease, starvation, and Indian attacks. He was one of the most active leaders and was involved in much of the in-fighting and factionalism that characterized the colony’s first three years. In particular, he was a vociferous critic and rival of Captain John Smith and was party to Smith’s eventual departure from the colony in disgrace. The team also found a small, well-preserved silver box resting on top of Archer’s coffin. Extensive, high resolution CT scans of the sealed box (which owing to corrosion cannot be opened) revealed that it contained six fragments of bone and two pieces of a small lead vessel known as an ampulla, used to hold holy water, oil, or blood. The silver box’s contents prove conclusively that it was a sacred object known as a reliquary. To learn more please visit https://historicjamestowne.org and https://3D.si.edu to see a digital model of the burial site. https://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/chancel-burials/founders/gabriel-archer/ He was the nemesis of John Smith and died in late 1609 or early 1610 during the period called the "starving time" along with many others.

Research Notes

( 17 ) Captain Gabriell Archer ( 1575-1609 ), arrived with the First Charter, Gentleman, captain of ship Blessing during the Second Charter, died winter of 1609/1610 at Jamestown, son of John Archer of Mountnessing, Essex and Eleanor Frewin, daughter of Richard Frewin and Margaret Greenwood. Sources do not have him listed on the Second Charter. [MR]

He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge in 1591 Gabriell Archer married Mary Bull

The first Settlers of Jamestown Note: one list states John and Eleanor as parents another list states Christopher Archer and Mary Archer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Archer

From Find a Grave

BIRTH 1575 Mountnessing, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England DEATH 1610 (aged 34–35) Jamestown, James City County, Virginia, USA BURIAL Jamestown Fort James Cemetery, Jamestown, James City County, Virginia, USA PLOT Chancel Grave "C" MEMORIAL ID Find A Grave: Memorial #149915206 Has a photo.

Sources

1. ↑ Jamestowne Society: Archer, Gabriel - A206; died 1609-10, 1607 (Secretary of Colony), 1607 (Councillor). accessed 9 August 2020
2. ↑ GenForum 24 Dec 2001
3. ↑ Simpson, William S., "The Parentage of Gabriel Archer," The Virginia Genealogist, Vol. 41 (1997) No. 1 pp 15-17; American Ancestors, https://www.americanancestors.org/DB285/i/12584/15/0 (subscription required)
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/alumnicantabrigipt1vol1univiala/page/36/mode/2up?q=archer
5. ↑ https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/jamestown.htm
6. ↑ Martha W. McCartney, Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary, Genealogical Publishing Com, 2007, p 88
7. ↑ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. (New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1915) 1:78. (Entry for Gabriel Archer.)

See also:

• Archaeologists Identify Bodies of Lost Leaders of Jamestown

"Beneath the church where Pocahontas was married are the graves of the founders of the first permanent British settlement in America.""

"four skeletons unearthed in the chancel of Jamestown’s historic 1608 church—where Pocahontas married John Rolfe—are the remains of Reverend Robert Hunt, Captain Gabriel Archer, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, and Captain William West."

• http://historicjamestowne.org/archaeology/chancel-burials/founders/gabriel-archer/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Archer
• https://www.geni.com/people/Capt-Gabriel-Archer-of-Jamestown/6000000010646933254
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jamestown_colonists

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Lois Tilton and Nic Donnelly for their assistance in identifying this family. Capt Gabriel Archer