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Martha W. McCartney; GR; 929.3 V8i; M123j
also US/CAN 975.54251/J1 D3m
p62 James Benn I: … prior to September 1670 when John Vicars patented 200 acres of land in Isle of Wight County on behalf of his orphan James Benn I. The decedent’s acreage would have escheated to the Crown had not Vicars intervened…
tenant William Peirce, and a Mr. Ewens to Old Point Comfort to meet the incoming ship, but it set sail before they arrived. Rolfe said that the Treasurer left hastily because Kecoughtan’s inhabitants refused to sell its captain and crew the food stuffs they desperately needed.
Nearly 30 Africans were aboard the Treasurer, and official testimony from a member of the ship’s crew indicates that 10 ore more of them were left in Vieginia…
In recent years scholars have surmised that Virginia’s first Africans probably were captured in Angola, on the West Coast of Africa, and were removed from the San Juan Batista, a Portuguese slave ship that was overtaken by English corsairs. There is some evidence that the Africans had been baptized and made Christians in accord with Portuguese law, even though the Dutch and Portuguese seem to have considered them slaves. It is estimated that between 1617 and 1621 approximately 50,000 slaves were exported from Angola, including approximately 4,000 baptized Christians…
By 1624 several New Town lots of half-acres or less had been laid out along the waterfront, abutting south upon a roadway that traced the river bank. Forming the rear boundary of these lots was Back Street, which also contained rows of lots, most of which were elongated. Almost all of the New Town’s lot owners were well-to-do merchants, prominent public officials, or both. Most (if not all) of these people had constructed buildings on their property prior to obtaining their patents. One such New Town resident was fort-captain William Peirce, whose “new dwelling” in 1624 served as the collection point for the tobacco levied as taxes. In 1629 Peirce’s wife, Joan, “an honest and industrious woman” who had lived in the colony for nearly 20 years, reportedly had “a garden at Jamestown containing 3 or 4 acres, ” from which she gathered nearly 100 bushels of excellent figs in a year. Her claim that she could “keep a better house in Virginia for 3 or 4 hundred pounds than in London,” despite having gone to the colony with “little or nothing,” attests to the economic opportunities that awaited new immigrants…
page 55 Anthony Barha: Anthony Barham came to Virginia sometime prior to 1624 and in January 1625 was living on Mulberry Island with is wife, Elizabeth. He owned 100 acres of land in Warresqueak but continued to live on Mulberry Island and served as its burgess in 1630. When Barham prepared his will on September 6, 1651, he made bequests to his wife and daughter, who were both named Elizabeth; to his brother-in-law Richard Bennett; and to Captain William Peirce’s wife, Joan, of urban Jamestown.
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Richard Adler (Aldon): In 1624 Richard Alder, who came to Virginia in 1620, was a servant in William Peirce’s houshold in urban Jamestown. A year later he was a member of Peirce’s household on Mulberry Island.
Joachim Andrewes: Sometime prior to February 20, 1619, Joachim Andrewes, an ancient planter, patented 12 acres in the eastern end of Jamestown Island. … In 1624 Andrewes and his wife were living in urban Jamestown as members of Captain William Peirce’s household.
Angelo: Angelo, a black woman, came to Virginia on the Treasurer in 1619 and was one of the colony’s first Africans. In Febryar 1624 she was living in urban Jamestown in the household of Captain William Peirce, and she was still residing there in January 1625. In late August or early September 1619, Peirce and his son-in-law, John Rolfe, met the Treasurer when it arrived at Old Point Comfort and bartered for some of the Africans who were aboard.
page 70 Henry Bradford (Brodsul): In 16254 Henry Bradford was a servant in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, and in January 1627 he was fined for being drunk. Court testimony Bardford gave during 1627 suggests that he was a cow-keeper. By December 9, 1628, he was dead.
page 85 Edward Bricke: Edward Bricke was living in urban Jamestown in 1624 and was one of Captain William Peirce’s servants. Court testimony taken two years later states that in 1620 he made an accounting of some tobacco that John Rolfe received.
page 102 John Cartwright: On March 10, 1622, John Cartwright witnessed John Rolfe’s will. In February 1625, he was a servant in the urban Jamestown household of Captain William Peirce, Rolfe’s father-in-law.
page 124 Richard Cookeson: On July 22, 1640, Richard Cookeson was identified as a run-away servant who belonged to William Peirce, the owner of land in urban Jamestown.
p140 Alice Delke was in possession of land near Lawnes Creek, adjacent to that of Captain William Peirce (1635)
page 153 Ester Ederife (Evere): On February 16, 1624, Ester Ederife was residing in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, where she was a servant. She was still there on January 24, 1625.
page 153 Ester Ederife (Evere): On February 16, 1624, Ester Ederife was residing in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, where she was a servant. She was still there on January 24, 1625.
page 155 Henry Farmer: On February 16, 1624, Henry Farmer was a servant in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown.
page 170 John Gather: In early 1625 John Gather was an indentured servant in Sir Francis Wyatt’s household in urban Jamestown. Within a year he had moved to Mulberry Island, where he was employed by Captain William Peirce. He went to England and returned to Virginia with his wife, Joan…
page 202 Robert Hedges: In February 1624 Robert Hedges, a servant, was living in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown. However, by late January 1625 he had moved to Mulberry Island, where he was listed among Captain William Peirce’s servants.
page 172 Alexander Gill: Alexander Gill, Thomas Roper’s servant, arrived in Jamestown in 1623. In early 1624 he was living in the home of Captain William Peirce (Perse) in urban Jamestown, but by January 1625 he had moved to Peirce’s property on Mulberry Island. Sometime prior to February 5, 1627, Peirce was ordered to free Gill or compensate him for his service.
page 206 Richard Hill: On July 1650, Richard Hill was identified as a runaway servant in the employ of William Peirce of urban Jamestown.
page 259 John Lightfoot: John Lightfoot, a yeoman, left England in 1609, was stranded in Bermuda, and did not arrive in Jamestown until 1610. On April 16, 1622, he was identified as a Jamestown resident and a free man, who in 1618 had sold corn to the late Lord Delaware’s men. In early 1625 he was living in Captain William Peirce’s home in urban Jamestown…
page 285 Christopher Miller: On July 22, 1640, Christopher Miller, a runaway servant in the employ of Captain William Peirce of urban Jamestown, was identified as Dutch.
page 288 John Moon: John Moon came to Virginia in 1623 and by January 1625 had seated some acreage on the Governor’s Land, in Pasbehay. In early 1626, when he was ordered to pay his debt to Captain William Peirce of Jamestown, he was identified as “Mr.”, an indication that he was considered a gentleman…
Thomas Moulton: In 1619 Thomas Moulton, a cook and gardener, set sail for Virginia. He was headed for Berkeley Hundred, where he was supposed to serve for four or five years in exchange for 25 acres of land. After the 1622 Indian attack, he became a servant in Captain William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, where he was still living in February 1624.
page 301 Andrew Noxe: Andrew Noxe was described on July 22, 1640, as a runaway servant and employee of William Peirce, who owned a lot on urban Jamestown’s waterfront.
p313 Lawrence Peele came to Virginia in 1620 and during the mid-1620s lived in Elizabeth City. He testified that around August 1622 he was present when one of Dr. John Pott’s servants, Robert Leister of Jamestown, criticized and then threatened Captain William Tucker.
page 314-315 William Peirce: William Peirce patented 200 acres in Northumberland County in October 1649. He may have been living in the northwestern part of Northumberland, which in 1653 was split off to form Westmoreland County. Peirce’s name first appeared in Westmoreland’s court records on October 31, 1657. Over the years he went to court from time to time to witness documents or participate in lawsuits as plaintiff or defendant, or to serve as an attorney. In 1660 he was among those who inventoried the late Colonel Thomas Speke’s estate, and he bought 200 acres from Richard Heabeard. In April 1661 Peirce became a justice of Westmoreland County’s court, a position he held for nearly 30 years. Like many of his peers, he speculated in real estate. In December 1662 he patented 1,200 acres on the Nominy (Nomini) River in Northumberland County and seated his newly acquired property. Then, in March 1663 he sold half of it to Jamestown resident William Drummond I. At that time Peirce indicated that the acreage he was conveying to Drummon contained the plantation’s housing By June 1663 Peirce had patented 4,054 acres of land on the north side of the Rappahannock River, in what was then Old Rappahannock County. In March 1666 he acquired 1,810 acres on the east side of the Nominy River. Finally, in August 1669 he laid claim to 3,110 acres of Westmoreland County land that was adjacent to some property he already owned. One way Peirce generated income was by leasing his land to tenants He continued to speculate in real estate and during the next few years continued to patent and then sell land. When he sold some property in 1674, his wife, Sarah, acknowledged the transaction through her attorney. In 1677 Peirce’s widowed daughter, Elizabeth Vaughan, asked him to recover her debts in Maryland and Virginia and to sell her land in Westmoreland County. Major William Peirce served as a county justice throughout the 1680s and in 1681 became high sheriff. He served as a burgess of Westmoreland County from 1680 to 1682. Finally, in November 1694 he patented 50 acres between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, in what was then Richmond County but formerly had been Old Rappahannock. When William Peirce made his will on February 20, 1702, he identified himself as a resident of Copley Parish in Westmoreland County… No evidence has come to light linking William Peirce of Northern Newck with Captain William Peirce of Jamestown and Mulberry Island. However, the latter and his descendants invested in land on the lower side of the James River in Nansemond and Isle of Wight counties, as did many of their contemporaries who patented land in the North Neck during the Commonwealth period.
page 317 Jane Perkins: Mrs. Jane Perkins patented 27 acres in the mainland on September 9, 1648. Her land, which adjoined the Glasshouse tract (then attributed to Anthony Coleman), was said to have been given to Alexander Stoner of Jamestown by Captain William Peirce, also a landowner in the capital city…
page 319 William Perse, a laborer, came to Virginia in the … (do not have the next page)
page 337 William Rabnett: In early 1624 William Rabnett was a servant in Captain William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, but in March 1626 he was identified as one of the late John ROlfe’s servants. Rabnett’s presence in the Peirce home probably was attributable to the fact that Peirce had been Rolfe’s father-in-law and one of his heirs…
John Rolfe and his pregnant wife left England in 1609 in the 3rd Supply of settlers. They were shipwrecked in Bermuda, where Mrs. Rolfe gave birth to a daughter they named Bermuda .. John Rolfe reached Virginia in May 1610….Pocahontas…
Within a year or two the twice-widowed John Rolfe married Joan (Joane), Captain William Peirce’s daughter The Rolfes resided in urban Jamestown, probably on one of the two parcels that Joan’s parents owned. The couple and their daughter, Elizabeth, who was born around 1621, were sharing a home when John and his father-in-law, William Peirce, went to Old Point Comfort and encountered Virginia’s first Africans…
page 350 Thomas Rolfe, who was born in 1615, was the son of John Rolfe and his wife, Pocahontas (Rebecca) and accompanied them on their May 1616 trip to England…
In 1635 Thomas Rolfe was listed among the headrights of his step-grandfather, Captain William Peirce ….
page 352 Roger Ruce: In February 1524 Roger Ruce was a servant in Captain William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown. By January 1625 he had moved to Captain Peirce’s property on Mulberry Island.
page 353 Elizabeth Salter: During hte mid-1620s Elizabeth Salter, a child, was living in Captain Roger Smith’s household in urban Jamestown. She may have been entrusted to the care of Smith’s wife, Joan (Joane), who was John Rolfe’s widow.
page 356 George Sandys, treasurer of the Virginia colony from 1621 to 1625, resided in the urban Jamestown home of Captain WIlliam Peirce…
page 362 Shacrow (Native AMerican): In November 1624 Edward Grindon said that during Sir Thomas Dale’s government (1611-1616), an Indian named Shacrow, who lived with Lieutentant Skarse, the commander of Jamestown, often used firearms. According to interpreter Robert Poole, Shacrow also stayed with captains William Pierce and William Powell.
page 374 Roger Smith: Captain Roger Smith, who served in the Netherlands with Thomas West, Lord Delaware, came to Virginia sometime prior to 1616. …Sometie prior to 1623 Smith married William Peirce’s daughter, Joan, who had outlived her former husband, John Rolfe. …
In 1624 William Spencer I, a yeoman and ancient planter, secured a patent for a narrow ridge of land in the easterend of Jamestown Island, a parcel that bordered the James River…
Spencer retained his Jamestown Island property until around 1637-1638 and conducted business on Captain William Peirce’s behalf as late as January 1655…
page 437 John West I: John West I, the son of Thomas West, Lord Delaware, came to Virginia in 1618 and established Westover which was attacked by the Indians in 1622. By 1625 he had moved to a plantation on the lower side of the James RIver, across from Jamestown and to the east of Gray’s Creek…receiving a patent for 600 acres on October 8, 1630. His acreage, which extended along the York River, ran from the mouth of Kings Creek (on the west) east to a point just west of Bracken’s Pond,where it interfaced with a tract assigned to Captain Francis Morgan…
page 445 Peter Wilcocke: On July 22, 1640, Peter Wilcocke was identified as a runaway servant in the employ of William Peirce of urban Jamestown.
page 448 Christopher Williams: On July 22, 1640, Christopher Williams, a servant in William Peirce’s household in urban Jamestown, was described as a surgeon and a Dutchman. He came to Virginia sometime prior to 1638 at John George’s expense. By 1652 Williams and John Edwards had a leasehold in James City County, in the western part of Governor’s Land.
page 449 John Williams: On July 1640 John Williams was described as a runaway servant who belonged to William Peirce of urban Jamestown.
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