Nathaniel Basse (bef. 1589 - bef. 1654)

Born before 19 Dec 1589 in London, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Jourdon) Basse — married 21 May 1613 in England

Descendants

Died before 3 Jul 1654 at about age 64 in Cripplegate, London, England

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Biography

Nathaniel Basse was a Jamestown colonist.

Nathaniel meets the criteria to be a Jamestowne Society Qualifying Ancestor (but is not listed as one).

Nathaniell Basse, son of Homphraye Basse, was born and christened 19 December 1589, at St Gabriel Fenchurch, London, England.^[1][2][3][4] Nathaniel was the second of twelve sons and second of eighteen children of Humphrey Basse and Mary Buschier Basse. His mother was of Italian descent, and his father was a prosperous London girdler of French ancestry who invested in the Virginia Company of London.

The family bible record belonging to John Basse gives the date of marriage of Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan [sic] as 21 May 1613.^[5] This marriage date is also found in Boyd's Inhabitants of London.^[4] It is presumed the marriage occurred in England. It is important to note that this marriage date precludes this Mary Jordan from being the Mary daughter of ancient planter Samuel Jordan as that Mary was born 1621 in Virginia.

Nathaniel sailed to Jamestown in March 1619 with Christopher Lawne.

Basse is noted to have returned to England and obtained from the Virginia Company a confirmation of the patent to Warrosquyoake in November of that year. The company reconfirmed the patent in January 1622. In November 1621, Basse received a separate patent in his own name for a 300-acre tract west of Warrosquyoake on the east side of the Pagan River called Basse's Choice.^[6]

On 4 November 1620, "Vppon the humble Peticon of S'r Richard Worsleep knight Baronett Nathaniell Basse gent, Iohn Hobson gentleman, Antho: Oleuan Richard Wiseman, Robert Newland, Robert Gyuer and William Wellis Associates and fellow Adventurers w'th Cap't: Christopher Lawne deceased the Courte was pleased to graunt vnto them and their heirs a confirmacon of their Old Pattent with all manner of pryveledges therin conteyned, and that the said Plantacon shall from hence forth be called the Ile of Wighte Plantacon …" [p414]^[7]

On 21 November 1621, the Virginia Company granted him a patent of land:^[7]

"Aruthur Swaine x^c for plantinge of … 100 psons } Aduvetures" [p554]

"To Arthur Swayne Nathaniell Basse Adventurers and to their Associate who vndertake to transport 100 psons to Virginia." (note: 100 acres per share of £12.10.0) [p561]

On 16 January 1621/2, the Virginia Company modified the patent: [p575]^[7]

"Hee further signified that whereas a Patent was graunted to Capt: Nath: Bassey and ‖other‖ his Associate for a pticuler Plantacon it was desired that the Patent might be renued onely for inserting the names of such as were to be his Associats w'ch the Court assented vnto."

On 28 January 1621/2, the patent formerly ordered to be drawn up was presented to the Court to be read: [p579]:^[7]

"A third to Capt: Nath: Basse and his Associate … 100 psons"

The patent was read, approved, and recommended to the next Quarter Court.

On 30 January 1621/2, the patent was recommended to the Court for confirmation, and ordered to be sealed: [p585]^[7]

"To Capt: Nath: Basse and his Associate … 100" (Persons)

Basse's Choice, was among the first English settlements in Isle of Wight County, originally named Warrosquyoake. His plantation near Jamestown was later razed.

After the Powhatan uprising, 22 March 1622, Basse returned to Jamestown on the Furtherance about August or September 1622.^[8] This lists Basse as being of Basse's Choyce. The "John Smith's Generall Historie", the Indians "had fired Lieutenant Basse his house, with all the rest there about, slaine the people, and so left that Plantation." (burned the plantation) That was the end of the plantation and Basse moved to roles in governance.

Despite that claim, Basse's Choice continued to be inhabited.

After the uprising, several lists of those killed in the massacre, those died subsequently, and those still living were created. The Basses are listed as follows:

In Declaration of the State of the Colonie and Affaires in Virginia: (August 1622, those killed in the massacre)^[9]

• no Basses listed

In A List of Names; of the Living in Virginia: february the 16 1623(/4):^[10]

At Jordans Journey

• William Basse
• Mrs. Basse

At Basse Choise

• Cap: Nethaniel Basse
• Samwell Basse

In A List of the names of the Dead in Virgin'a since Aprill last: february 16: 1623(/4)^[10]

• no Basses listed

In A Muster of the Inhabitance of Basses Choyse: (early 1624/5)^[10]

Cap't Nathaniell Basse his MUSTER

• Nathaniell Basse aged 35 [arrived] in the furtherance 1622
• 11 others

He may have been the father of John Bass, who married a member of the Nansemond tribe in 1638 and from whom the Bass family of lower Tidewater Virginia is descended. However, a deposition recorded in England on 30 August 1654, states that Basse died without issue.

Basse served several roles in governance.^[6] He represented his plantation, Basse's Choice, as a Burgess in the General Assembly sessions of February and March 1623/24, represented Warrosquyoake (later Isle of Wight) in May 1625, March 1628, and October 1629.^[11] In June 1625, he signed a petition requesting Charles I to preserve the General Assembly as a fixture of the new royal government of the colony. In March 1630, Governor Sir John Harvey appointed Basse to the governor's Council where he served until 1632.^[12] He is named as a member on documents dated 20 December 1631 and 21 February 1632. On 6 March 1632, Harvey commissioned Basse "to trade between 34 and 31 degrees North Latitude and to go to New England, Nova Scotia, or the West Indie Islands with instructions to invite the inhabitants hither if any so inclined," and sometime the same month Basse became presiding justice of the court of Warrosquyoake.

Basse's post 1632 records of activities to his death are limited. "Extant records do not indicate whether Basse traveled to the other English colonies as directed, or whether he ever returned to England. He probably either remained in Virginia or returned to the colony following the voyages."^[6]

Nathaniel Basse appears to have died on a return trip to England and was interred in the Church (not the church yard) of St Alphage, City of London, 3 July 1654.^[13] The Church was destroyed in World War II.

From the 13 March 1659/60 Grand Assembly held at James City:

Whereas Mr. Theodorick Bland petitioned this Assembly for damages in a case wherein he had judgement the last Assembly against Mr. William Dromond who was attorney of the Coheirs of Basse, It is ordered, That the said Dromond pay unto the said Bland two thousand five hundred pounds of tobacco damages according act als. execution.^[14]

From the Encyclopedia Virginia:

"The dearth of documentation also obscures much of Basse's personal and family life. Tradition has it that he married Mary Jordan in London on 21 May 1613, that the third son of their ten sons and three daughters married a member of the Nansemond tribe in 1638, and that the Bass family of lower Tidewater Virginia is descended from this son. However, a deposition in England on behalf of his three surviving sisters, identified as his coheirs, asserted that he had died in Virginia without issue, an assertion borne out by a suit brought by Theodorick Bland against William Drummond, attorney of Basse's coheirs, and settled in 1658. Nathaniel Basse died, probably in Virginia, sometime before this 30 August 1654, deposition was taken."^[6]

The assertion there are no living heirs outside these three sisters would have benefited Basse's sisters, and there is no indication there was an investigation sent to the colonies to determine the validity of their claim. Yet, we find the burial of the person believed to be this Nathaniel Bass in London in 1654.

Timeline

From the Encyclopedia Virginia:^[6]

• 19 Dec 1589 - Nathaniel Basse, the second of eighteen children born to Humphrey Basse and Mary Buschier Basse, is christened in the parish of Saint Gabriel Fenchurch in London.^[1][3][4]
  
• 21 May 1613 - Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan were married on this day in London.^[5][4]
  
• Mar 1619 - Nathaniel Basse arrives in Jamestown with Christopher Lawne and other colonists associated in the settlement of Warrosquyoake Plantation in what is now Isle of Wight County.
  
• 1620 - Nathaniel Basse travels from Jamestown to England to obtain from the Virginia Company a confirmation of the patent to Warrosquyoake.
• Nov 1621 - Nathaniel Basse receives a patent in his name for a 300-acre tract of land a short distance west of Warrosquyoake on the east side of the Pagan River. It becomes known as Basse's Choice.
  
• Aug or Sep 1622 - Nathaniel Basse returns to Virginia on the Furtherance.^[8]
  
• Feb-Mar 1624 - Nathaniel Basse represents Basse's Choice in the General Assembly.
  
• May 1625 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
  
• Jun 1625 - Nathaniel Basse signs a petition requesting that Charles I preserve the General Assembly as a fixture of the new royal government of the colony.
  
• Mar 1628 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
  
• Oct 1629 - Nathaniel Basse represents Warrosquyoake in the General Assembly.
  
• ca. 1630–1632 - Nathaniel Basse serves on the governor's Council.
  
• Mar 1632 - Nathaniel Basse becomes presiding justice of the court of Warrosquyoake.
  
• 6 Mar 1632 - Governor Sir John Harvey commissions Nathaniel Basse "to trade between 34 and 41 degrees North Latitude and to go to New England, Nova Scotia, or the West Indie Islands with instructions to invite the inhabitants hither if any so inclined."
  
• 14 Aug 1638 - John Bass, who may be the son of Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan Basse, marries Elizabeth, a Nansemond woman who has converted to Christianity.
  
• 30 Aug 1654 - A deposition in England on behalf of the three surviving sisters of Nathaniel Basse, identified as his coheirs, asserts that Basse died in Virginia without issue.

Research Notes

Without Issue?

The statement "there is no indication there was an investigation sent to the colonies to determine the validity of their claim" may be true. But it appears from the 13 March 1659/60 session of the Grand Assembly held at James City, that the court case may have played out in both England and Virginia if the phrase "Coheirs of Basse" refers to the three sisters.

Children

One suggested list of children^{[citation needed]}

Child: Humphry Basse

Child: William Basse

Child: Anne Basse

Child: Richard Basse

Child: Gregory Basse

Child: Samuel Bass

Nathaniel and Mary's children were:^{[citation needed]}

1. Humphrey (1615-1622)
2. Samuel (twin of Humphrey)
3. John (1616-1699)
4. William (1618-1641)
5. Anthony (b1620)
6. Edward (1622-1696)
7. Mary
8. Genevieve (b1624)
9. Anne (twin to Genevieve)
10. Richard (b1625)
11. Gregory (b1628)
12. George (twin of Gregory).

While giving birth to a stillborn son in 1630, Mary died, and is buried somewhere in Virginia.^{[citation needed]}

Not a Jamestowne Society Qualifying Ancestor

Although Nathaniel Basse was a member of the Virginia Governor's Council 1630-32 and elected to the House of Burgesses from 1623/24 to 1629, he is not included on the Jamestown Society Qualifying Ancestors list. Is it possible his ommission was a result of the question of his heirs or lack thereof? Shirley Dalton 21:20, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

My understanding is Nathaniel Basse (bef.1589-bef.1654) can not be added as he died without issue based on the London Mayoral Court case. Spratlin-29 18:35, 8 November 2022 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/GAB/A/001/MS05293
2. ↑ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 > Nathaniell Basse; database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/297420?token=27f4aba6818a899feb1567965d9771109fa22fc4533867aa12f0dedc18efc9cb).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWWS-RBH : 19 March 2020), Nathaniel Basse, 1589. GS Film No. 394830
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Boyd's Inhabitants of London, Family of Humphrey Bass, subscription image
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} North Carolina State Archives, Digital Collection, John Basse Family Bible Record
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Daphne Gentry, "Basse, Nathaniel (bap. 1589–1654)", Encyclopedia Virginia (Basse, Nathaniel (bap. 1589-1654}
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Susan Myra Kingsbury, The Records of the Virginia Company of London, Vol. I, p414, p554, p561, p575, p579, p584; image copy, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/recordsofvirgini01virg_0/page/n6/mode/1up).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Coldham's Emigrants.
9. ↑ Susan Myra Kinsbury, The Records of the Virginia Company of London, Vol. III (Washington, DC: Goverment Printing Office, 1933), p541-571; image copy, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/recordsofvirgini03virg/page/n8/mode/1up).
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; …; 1600–1700. (London: John Camden Hotten, 1874), p171, p184, p241, p272; image copy, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/originallistsofp00hottuoft/page/n6/mode/1up).
11. ↑ McIlwaine, H. R., Editor. Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia; 1619-1658/59. Richmond, Virginia: [Library Board, Virginia State Library; 1915. Vol. 1, Pages viii, ix, x
12. ↑ New River Notes, Colonial Virginia Register
13. ↑ London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: P69/ALP/A/001/MS05746/001
14. ↑ Henry Read McIlwaine (editor), Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1659/60–1693 (Richmond, Virginia: Library Board, Virginia State Library, 1914), p5; digital images, Archive.org Vol. 2, Page 5.

• Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, LL. D., Editor. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915. Volume 1. Ebook found at The Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography Page 100

See also:

• Albert Dehner Bell, "Bass Families of the South; a collection of historical and genealogical source materials from public and private records" (Rocky Mount, North Carolina: self, 1961), pp63-64. (transcript of 'Booke of John Basse Norfolk County Virginia AD 1675': details on family members including that Mary's last son was NOT stillborn).
• Nathaniel Basse's descendants are Y-DNA R1b-M269-L47 through only 3 of his sons: John Basse {then only his son Richard Basse with Jane Bryant-Basse only}, William Basse, and Edward Basse. Note: this note, left on the profile without attribution, should be investigated.

Acknowledgments

• Contribution to biography by Daphne Gentry and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography.
• Thanks to Donna Glover for starting this profile.
• Bass Basse-1 was created by Peterson-4588 on Oct 24, 2014.