First Families of Virginia
Encyclopedia
First Families of Virginia (FFV) were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They originated with colonists from England
who primarily settled at Jamestown
, Williamsburg
, and along the James River
and other navigable waters in Virginia during the 17th century. As there was a propensity to marry within their narrow social scope for many generations, many descendants bear surnames which became common in the growing colony.
and English Interregnum
period (1642–1660) years after the first thanksgiving in Virginia (1619) held by Captain John Woodlief. Royalists left England on the accession to power of Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament. Because most of Virginia's leading families recognized Charles II
as King following the execution of Charles I
in 1649, Charles II reputedly called Virginia his "Old Dominion" - a nickname that endures today. The affinity of many early aristocratic Virginia settlers for the Crown led to the term "distressed Cavaliers", often applied to the Virginia oligarchy. Many Cavaliers who served under King Charles I fled to Virginia. Thus it came to be that FFVs often refer to Virginia as "Cavalier Country". These men were offered rewards of land, etc., by King Charles II but they had settled in Virginia and so remained in Virginia.
Most of such early settlers in Virginia were so-called "Second Sons". Primogeniture
favored the first sons' inheriting lands and titles in England. Virginia evolved in a society of second or third sons of English aristocracy who inherited land grant
s or land in Virginia. They formed part of what became the southern elite in America.
In some cases, longstanding ties between families of the English aristocracy simply transplanted themselves to the new colony. In one case, for instance, ancestral ties between the Spencer
family of Bedfordshire and the Washington
family meant that it was a Spencer who secured the land grant on which the Washingtons would later build their Mount Vernon
home. These sorts of ties were common in the early colony, as aristocratic families shuttled back and forth between England and Virginia, maintaining their connections with the mother country and with each other.
The reins of power were held by a thin network of increasingly interrelated families. "As early as 1660 every seat on the ruling Council of Virginia was held by members of five interrelated families," writes British historian John Keegan
, "and as late as 1775 every council member was descended from one of the 1660 councillors."
The skein of ties among Virginia families was a legacy of England's ancestral feudalism: in a pre-industrial economy based largely on the possession of land, the ownership of that land was tightly controlled, and often passed between families of corresponding social rank. The Virginia economy, predicated on the institution of slavery and not on mercantile pursuits, meant that the gentry could keep tight rein on the levers of power, which passed in somewhat orderly fashion from family to family. (In the more modern mercantile economy of the north, social mobility became more prominent, and the power of the elite was muted by the forces of the market economy
.)
Many of the great Virginia dynasties traced their roots to families like the Lees
and the Fitzhughs who traced lineage to England's county families and baronial legacies. But not all: even the most humble Virginia immigrants aspired to the English manorial trappings of their "betters". Virginia history is not the sole province of English aristocrats. Such families as the Shackelfords, who gave their name to a Virginia hamlet, rose from modest beginnings in Hampshire to a place in the Virginia firmament based on hard work and smart marriages. At the same time other once-great families were decimated not only by the English Civil War
, but also by the enormous power of the London merchants to whom they were in debt and who could move markets with the stroke of a pen.
. She was the youngest daughter of Nonoma Winanuske Matatiske and Chief Powhatan
, who had created the Powhatan Confederacy in the late 16th century and led during the first ten years of the settlement which began at Jamestown
in 1607.
In 1614, Pocahontas married English-born colonist John Rolfe
, who arrived in Virginia in 1611 after a trip of great hardship. It included being shipwrecked on Bermuda
and the deaths of his first wife and their young son. Rolfe had become prominent and wealthy as the first to successfully develop an export cash crop
for the Colony with new varieties of tobacco
. The combination of notable Native American and English heritage began when their only son, Thomas Rolfe
, was born in 1615, and his offspring. Many married other persons of FFV heritage, as there was a propensity to marry within their narrow social scope for many generations.
authored the first history of Pocahontas and her descendants, delineating the ancestry of the Native American woman as it spread among FFV families such as the Bollings, Whittles, Blands, Skipwiths, Flemings, Catletts, Gays, Jordans, Randolphs, Tazewells and many others. The intermarriages between these families meant that many shared the same names, sometimes just in different order—as in the case of Lt. Col. Powhatan Bolling Whittle of the 38th Virginia Infantry
, Confederate States of America
, the uncle of Matoaka Whittle Sims.
In the early 20th century there was a surge of interest in Virginia traditions and heritage, especially among the FFV. In 1907, the Jamestown Exposition
was held near Norfolk to celebrate the tricentennial of the arrival of the first English colonists and the founding of Jamestown. Preservation Virginia, formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, founded in Williamsburg in 1889, emphasized patriotism in the name of Virginia's 18th-century Founding Fathers. Many FFV members attended the College of William and Mary
including several members of the influential Page family, who helped establish the original College site and grounds.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
who primarily settled at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, and along the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
and other navigable waters in Virginia during the 17th century. As there was a propensity to marry within their narrow social scope for many generations, many descendants bear surnames which became common in the growing colony.
English heritage, second sons
Many of the original English colonists considered members of the First Families of Virginia migrated to the Colony of Virginia during the English Civil WarEnglish Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
and English Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
period (1642–1660) years after the first thanksgiving in Virginia (1619) held by Captain John Woodlief. Royalists left England on the accession to power of Oliver Cromwell and his Parliament. Because most of Virginia's leading families recognized Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
as King following the execution of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in 1649, Charles II reputedly called Virginia his "Old Dominion" - a nickname that endures today. The affinity of many early aristocratic Virginia settlers for the Crown led to the term "distressed Cavaliers", often applied to the Virginia oligarchy. Many Cavaliers who served under King Charles I fled to Virginia. Thus it came to be that FFVs often refer to Virginia as "Cavalier Country". These men were offered rewards of land, etc., by King Charles II but they had settled in Virginia and so remained in Virginia.
Most of such early settlers in Virginia were so-called "Second Sons". Primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
favored the first sons' inheriting lands and titles in England. Virginia evolved in a society of second or third sons of English aristocracy who inherited land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
s or land in Virginia. They formed part of what became the southern elite in America.
In some cases, longstanding ties between families of the English aristocracy simply transplanted themselves to the new colony. In one case, for instance, ancestral ties between the Spencer
Nicholas Spencer
Col. Nicholas Spencer was a London merchant who emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represented in the Virginia House of Burgesses...
family of Bedfordshire and the Washington
Washington (name)
-Origin and dissemination:The name (ˈwɒʃɪŋtən) refers to George Washington , the first President of the United States of America.The name itself is a name of origin and refers to place names in England, such as Washington, Tyne and Wear, from which the ancestors of George Washington came from....
family meant that it was a Spencer who secured the land grant on which the Washingtons would later build their Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
home. These sorts of ties were common in the early colony, as aristocratic families shuttled back and forth between England and Virginia, maintaining their connections with the mother country and with each other.
The reins of power were held by a thin network of increasingly interrelated families. "As early as 1660 every seat on the ruling Council of Virginia was held by members of five interrelated families," writes British historian John Keegan
John Keegan
Sir John Keegan OBE FRSL is a British military historian, lecturer, writer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime, and intelligence warfare, as well as the psychology of battle.-Life and career:John...
, "and as late as 1775 every council member was descended from one of the 1660 councillors."
The skein of ties among Virginia families was a legacy of England's ancestral feudalism: in a pre-industrial economy based largely on the possession of land, the ownership of that land was tightly controlled, and often passed between families of corresponding social rank. The Virginia economy, predicated on the institution of slavery and not on mercantile pursuits, meant that the gentry could keep tight rein on the levers of power, which passed in somewhat orderly fashion from family to family. (In the more modern mercantile economy of the north, social mobility became more prominent, and the power of the elite was muted by the forces of the market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
.)
Many of the great Virginia dynasties traced their roots to families like the Lees
Lee family
The Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. Through the past few hundred years it was believed that Colonel Richard Lee of Virginia descended...
and the Fitzhughs who traced lineage to England's county families and baronial legacies. But not all: even the most humble Virginia immigrants aspired to the English manorial trappings of their "betters". Virginia history is not the sole province of English aristocrats. Such families as the Shackelfords, who gave their name to a Virginia hamlet, rose from modest beginnings in Hampshire to a place in the Virginia firmament based on hard work and smart marriages. At the same time other once-great families were decimated not only by the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, but also by the enormous power of the London merchants to whom they were in debt and who could move markets with the stroke of a pen.
Pocahontas, wife of John Rolfe
Many of the First Families of Virginia can also trace their ancestry to a young Native American named PocahontasPocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
. She was the youngest daughter of Nonoma Winanuske Matatiske and Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan
Chief Powhatan , whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh , was the paramount chief of Tsenacommacah, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Virginia Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607...
, who had created the Powhatan Confederacy in the late 16th century and led during the first ten years of the settlement which began at Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
in 1607.
In 1614, Pocahontas married English-born colonist John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
, who arrived in Virginia in 1611 after a trip of great hardship. It included being shipwrecked on Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and the deaths of his first wife and their young son. Rolfe had become prominent and wealthy as the first to successfully develop an export cash crop
Cash crop
In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit.The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family...
for the Colony with new varieties of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. The combination of notable Native American and English heritage began when their only son, Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe was the only child of Pocahontas by her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Wahunsunacock, the chief of Powhatan tribe in Virginia.-Early Life:Thomas Rolfe was born in Virginia...
, was born in 1615, and his offspring. Many married other persons of FFV heritage, as there was a propensity to marry within their narrow social scope for many generations.
Organizing the FFV
In 1887 Virginia Governor Wyndham RobertsonWyndham Robertson
Wyndham Robertson was the Acting Governor of the U.S. state of Virginia from 1836 to 1837. He also served twice in the Virginia House of Delegates, the second time during the American Civil War....
authored the first history of Pocahontas and her descendants, delineating the ancestry of the Native American woman as it spread among FFV families such as the Bollings, Whittles, Blands, Skipwiths, Flemings, Catletts, Gays, Jordans, Randolphs, Tazewells and many others. The intermarriages between these families meant that many shared the same names, sometimes just in different order—as in the case of Lt. Col. Powhatan Bolling Whittle of the 38th Virginia Infantry
38th Virginia Infantry
The 38th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia....
, Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, the uncle of Matoaka Whittle Sims.
In the early 20th century there was a surge of interest in Virginia traditions and heritage, especially among the FFV. In 1907, the Jamestown Exposition
Jamestown Exposition
The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century...
was held near Norfolk to celebrate the tricentennial of the arrival of the first English colonists and the founding of Jamestown. Preservation Virginia, formerly known as the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, founded in Williamsburg in 1889, emphasized patriotism in the name of Virginia's 18th-century Founding Fathers. Many FFV members attended the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
including several members of the influential Page family, who helped establish the original College site and grounds.
Listing (partial) of family names
Some family names include:- Acril
- Alexander
- Allen
- AllertonIsaac AllertonIsaac Allerton was one of the original Pilgrim fathers who came on the Mayflower to settle the Plymouth Colony in 1620. Allerton is an ancestor to Presidents of the United States Zachary Taylor and Franklin D. Roosevelt....
- Ambler
- Archer
- Armistead
- Atkinson
- Aylett
- Bacon
- Baker
- Ball
- Ballard
- Banister
- Bankhead
- BaskervilleBaskervilleBaskerville is a transitional serif typeface designed in 1757 by John Baskerville in Birmingham, England. Baskerville is classified as a transitional typeface, positioned between the old style typefaces of William Caslon, and the modern styles of Giambattista Bodoni and Firmin Didot.The...
- Bassett
- Baylor
- Baynham
- Beale
- BerkeleyBerkeley familyThe Berkeley family has an unbroken male line of descent from a Saxon ancestor before the Norman conquest of England in 1066 to the present day.-History:...
- BeverleyRobert Beverley, Jr.Robert Beverley, Jr. was an important historian of early colonial Virginia. He was born in Jamestown and died in King and Queen County, Virginia...
- Beverly
- Birchett
- Blair
- BlandRichard BlandRichard Bland , sometimes referred to as Richard Bland II or Richard Bland of Jordan's Point, was an American planter and statesman from Virginia...
- Blow
- BollingRobert BollingColonel Robert Bolling was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.- Ancestry and Early Life :...
- Booker
- Booth
- Bouldin
- Bowdoin
- Bowyer
- Bradley
- BranchChristopher BranchChristopher Branch was an early English settler in North America. He was born in Kent County, England. He married at the age of 17, shortly before leaving England....
- Braxton
- Bray
- Brent
- BridgerBridger family of VirginiaThe Bridger Family of Virginia was one of the First Families of Virginia. The family originated in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. The family first appeared in the United States of America in 1654 when General Joseph Bridger, Sr., the son of Samuel and Mary Bridger, came to Isle of Wight,...
- Broadnaxe
- Brooke
- Browne/Browne of "Four Mile TreeFour Mile TreeFour Mile Tree is the name of a plantation near Jamestown, Virginia. Encompassing two thousand acres , it was situated on the south side of the James River opposite Jamestown, four miles further north. On a hill near the water's edge a handsome old house overlooks the river...
" - Buckner
- Burley
- Burwell
- Butler
- ByrdWilliam Byrd IWilliam Byrd I was a native of Shadwell, London, England. His father, John Byrd was a London goldsmith with ancestral roots in Cheshire, England....
- Cabell
- Calloway
- Carr
- Carrington
- CarterLandon CarterLandon Carter was a planter from Virginia, best known for his account of life before the American War of Independence, The Diary of Colonel Landon Carter.-Biography:...
- Cary
- Catlett
- Chamberlayne
- ChilesWalter ChilesLieutenant Colonel Walter Chiles was a Virginia politician and merchant. He moved to Virginia around 1638, and served as a burgess off and on from 1642 to 1653, representing Charles City County and later James City County. He also served on the Governor's council in 1651, but was removed the...
- Christian
- Churchill
- Claiborne
- Clarke
- Clayton
- Cocke
- Cole
- Coleman
- Coles
- Colston
- Conway
- Cooper
- Corbin
- Crawford
- Custis
- Dabney
- Dandridge
- Daniel
- Davenport
- Davis
- Dawson
- Digges
- Dulany
- Edmunds
- Edwards
- Eggleston
- Eldridge
- Ellis
- Embry
- Epes/Eppes
- Everard
- Eyre
- FairfaxWilliam FairfaxWilliam Fairfax was a political appointee of the English Crown and a politician: he was Collector of Customs in Barbados, and Chief Justice and governor of the Bahamas; he served as Customs agent in Marblehead, Massachusetts before being reassigned to the Virginia colony. There he was elected to...
- Farley
- Farrar
- Faulcon
- Field
- Fitzgerald
- Fitzhugh
- Fleming
- Fry
- Gooch
- GravesCaptain Thomas GravesThomas Graves was one of the original Adventurers of the Virginia Company of London, and one of the very early Planters who founded Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was also the first known person named Graves in North America...
- Grymes
- Hackley
- Hairston
- Hansford
- Hardaway
- Harmer/Harmar
- Harrison
- Harvie
- Hawkins
- Haynes
- Heath
- Henderson
- Herbert
- Heth
- Hicks
- Hodges
- Holliday
- Holmes
- Hooe
- HopkinsStephen Hopkins (settler)Stephen Hopkins , was a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony. Hopkins was recruited by the Merchant Adventurers to provide governance for the colony as well as assist with the colony's ventures...
- Howard
- Hubard
- Jefferson
- Jenings
- Jennings
- Johnson
- Jones
- Joynes
- Kemp
- Kennon
- King
- Lanier
- LeeLee familyThe Lee family of the United States is a historically significant Virginia and Maryland political family, whose many prominent members are known for their accomplishments in politics and the military. Through the past few hundred years it was believed that Colonel Richard Lee of Virginia descended...
- Leftwich
- Lewis
- Lightfoot
- Littlepage
- Littleton
- Lomax
- Ludwell
- Lyons
- Mallory
- Marshall
- Martin
- Marye
- Mason
- Massie
- Mathews
- Mathhews
- Mayo
- McCarty
- Meade
- Mercer
- Meredith
- Meriwether
- Michie
- Minge
- Moore
- Morris
- Morton
- Mosby
- Moseley
- Munford
- Nash
- Nelson
- Newton
- Nichols
- Nivison
- Noland
- Norvell
- PageJohn Page (Middle Plantation)Colonel John Page , a merchant in Middle Plantation on the Virginia Peninsula, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the Council of the Virginia Colony. A wealthy landowner, Page donated land and funds for the first brick Bruton Parish Church. Col...
- Parke
- Parker
- Peachy
- Pegram
- Pendleton
- Penn
- Perry
- Peter
- Peyton
- Phullips
- Pierce
- Pleasant
- Pollard
- Pope
- Posey
- Powell
- Poythress
- Prentice
- Price
- Prosser
- Randolph
- Reade
- Riddick
- Roane
- RobinsonJohn Robinson (Virginia)John Robinson, Jr. was a politician and landowner in the British colony of Virginia. Robinson served as Speaker of the House of Burgesses from 1738 until his death, the longest tenure in the history of that office.-Career:...
- RolfeJohn RolfeJohn Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
- Rose
- Royall
- Ruffin
- Russell
- Saunders
- Savage
- Scarborough
- Scarburgh
- Selden
- Shepherd
- Short
- Skelton
- Skepwith/Skipwith
- Slaughter
- Smith of Gloucester Co.Gloucester County, VirginiaGloucester County is within the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area in the USA. Formed in 1651 in the Virginia Colony, the county was named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I of Great Britain. Located in the Middle Peninsula region, it...
- SpencerNicholas SpencerCol. Nicholas Spencer was a London merchant who emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represented in the Virginia House of Burgesses...
- Spotswood
- Spottswood
- Stanard
- Steptoe
- Stevenson
- StithJohn StithJohn Stith was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the progenitor of the Stith family, one of the first families of Virginia.Stith ancestors were likely from the area of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. Stith settled in Charles City County, Virginia sometime after coming to the colony...
- Stokes
- Strother
- Swann
- Syme
- Tabb
- Talbot
- TaliaferroTaliaferroTaliaferro, Talifero, Tolliver, or Toliver , is a prominent family in the United States Commonwealth of Virginia. The Taliaferros are one of the early families who settled in Virginia in the 17th century...
- Tayloe
- Taylor
- Tazewell
- Terry
- Thornton
- Thorowgood
- Todd
- Travis
- Trent
- Tucker
- Tyler
- Upshaw
- Upshur
- Vaughn
- Venable
- Walker
- WallerBenjamin WallerBenjamin Waller was descended from a Virginia family established in the state since the 17th century. He was born in King William County, Virginia, the son of Col. John and Dorothy Waller, and was trained as a lawyer utilizing the legal library of Sir John Randolph...
- Walton
- Wane
- Warde
- WarnerAugustine WarnerAugustine Warner , was born in Norwich, Norfolk, to Thomas Warner and Elizabeth Sotherton. He was the progenitor of the Augustine Warner Family, who arrived in Virginia in 1628 at the age of seventeen, one of a group of thirty-four brought in by Adam Thoroughgood...
- Waryng
- Washington
- Watkins
- Watson
- Webb
- WestFrancis WestFrancis West was a Deputy Governor of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia.West was the second son of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr of Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire and his wife, Anne Knollys....
- Westwood
- Whiting
- Wilcox
- Wilkins
- Williams
- Willis
- Willoughby
- Winston
- Wise
- Withers
- Wood
- Woodson
- Wormeley
- Wormley
- Wyatt
- Wythe
- Yardley
- Yates
- Yelverton
Further reading
- Fischer, David HackettDavid Hackett FischerDavid Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have tackled everything from large macroeconomic and cultural trends to narrative histories of significant events to explorations of...
, Albion's SeedAlbion's SeedAlbion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America is a 1989 book by David Hackett Fischer which describes four regional British cultures or ‘folkways’ which, the author argues, were transplanted to North America during the large-scale migrations of the 17th and 18th Centuries...
, Oxford University Press, 1989 - Chambers's Journal; 1857; pp. 406–10: The twin quadroons
External links
- "The F.F.V.'s of Virginia", William and Mary College Historical Quarterly Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 4. (Apr. 1915), p. 277
- "Becoming Virginians, The Story of America: A Virginian Experience", Virginia Historical Society, vahistoricalsociety.org