Ensign Washer
Encyclopedia
Ensign Washer or Ensign Thos (Thomas) Washer was an early Virginia colonist who settled in the area that became Isle of Wight County, Virginia
. Along with Christopher Lawne
, he represented Lawne's Plantation as a burgess
in the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619.
"Ensign" is a military grade or rank, not the colonist's first name, and there is some suggestion that he was a lower ranking military officer before he arrived in Virginia. He also would have been a member of the local militia after his arrival in Virginia. Sources seem to be uniform in their identification of Washer as "Ensign" and only one source has been found which states that his name was "Thos" (Thomas). Even if this is true and can be verified, the colonist is shown as Ensign Washer here because that is how he is shown in sources which identify him as a member of the first House of Burgesses.
Before 1619, Ensign Washer, Captain Nathaniel Basse and Giles Jones received patents for land along the Pagan River
. Captain Christopher Lawne then settled near the mouth of Lawne's Creek in the same vicinity. Although the area was known as Lawne's Plantation and its representatives were listed as representatives from the plantation, the colonists also had named the area "Warresqueak County" after the Native American
tribe who lived there. Along with Christopher Lawne
, Washer represented Lawne's Plantation in the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619. In 1620, a movement began to change the name of "Warresqueak County" to "Isle of Wight County" but this was not approved until the Virginia General Assembly itself made the change in 1637.
The Daughters of the American Revolution state that Ensign Washer had a daughter named Margaret (Polly). Little if anything more is known about Ensign Washer or what may have become of him. Records do not show him as among the dead of the Indian massacre of 1622
nor do they list him in the muster of 1624. Yet his name survives as a member of the first representative assembly in the area that would become the United States of America.
Isle of Wight County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 35,270 people, 11,319 households, and 8,670 families residing in the county. The population density was 94 people per square mile . There were 12,066 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
. Along with Christopher Lawne
Christopher Lawne
Christopher Lawne was an English merchant and Puritan of note, born in Blandford, Dorset, who emigrated to Virginia Colony on the Marygold in May 1618 and died the following year....
, he represented Lawne's Plantation as a burgess
Burgess
Burgess is a word in English that originally meant a freeman of a borough or burgh . It later came to mean an elected or unelected official of a municipality, or the representative of a borough in the English House of Commons....
in the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619.
"Ensign" is a military grade or rank, not the colonist's first name, and there is some suggestion that he was a lower ranking military officer before he arrived in Virginia. He also would have been a member of the local militia after his arrival in Virginia. Sources seem to be uniform in their identification of Washer as "Ensign" and only one source has been found which states that his name was "Thos" (Thomas). Even if this is true and can be verified, the colonist is shown as Ensign Washer here because that is how he is shown in sources which identify him as a member of the first House of Burgesses.
Before 1619, Ensign Washer, Captain Nathaniel Basse and Giles Jones received patents for land along the Pagan River
Pagan River
The Pagan River is a tributary of the James River located in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The historic town of Smithfield is located on the banks of this river....
. Captain Christopher Lawne then settled near the mouth of Lawne's Creek in the same vicinity. Although the area was known as Lawne's Plantation and its representatives were listed as representatives from the plantation, the colonists also had named the area "Warresqueak County" after the Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribe who lived there. Along with Christopher Lawne
Christopher Lawne
Christopher Lawne was an English merchant and Puritan of note, born in Blandford, Dorset, who emigrated to Virginia Colony on the Marygold in May 1618 and died the following year....
, Washer represented Lawne's Plantation in the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619. In 1620, a movement began to change the name of "Warresqueak County" to "Isle of Wight County" but this was not approved until the Virginia General Assembly itself made the change in 1637.
The Daughters of the American Revolution state that Ensign Washer had a daughter named Margaret (Polly). Little if anything more is known about Ensign Washer or what may have become of him. Records do not show him as among the dead of the Indian massacre of 1622
Indian massacre of 1622
The Indian Massacre of 1622 occurred in the Colony of Virginia, in what now belongs to the United States of America, on Friday, March 22, 1622...
nor do they list him in the muster of 1624. Yet his name survives as a member of the first representative assembly in the area that would become the United States of America.