John West (colonel)
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant-Colonel John West, Jr. of West Point, Virginia
(1632–1691) was commander of the New Kent
Militia in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia
, and a representative of the same county in the House of Burgesses
.
. The government granted his father a large tract of land in honor of his birth. He was the son of Governor John West
of Virginia
and the nephew of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
(Delaware
).
West was taken prisoner in Bacon's Rebellion
. As to what Bacon's men did to him, it is not recorded. West sat on the court-martial that tried the rebels, and he evened the score with them. He was active on the side of Governor William Berkeley. He later sat on Berkely's Court Martial at Green Spring Plantation
. As Charles II of England
said, the Court Martial condemned "more men in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father".
In 1685 West represented New Kent in the House of Burgesses. His will dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed in a later destruction of the County records.
, daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw of York, member of the House of Burgesses
. The children of Colonel John and Unity Croshaw were:
West was recorded as having lived with Cockacoeske
, the Weroansqua of the Pamunkey
tribe. It was written that she "kept company" with John West. They had several sons, one of whom was named was John West after his father.
The Tax Rolls for 3 March 1660 included the following order by the Virginia Assembly: "Whereas the many important favors and services rendered to the country of Virginia by the Noble family of West, predecessors to Mr. John West, it is ordered that the levies taxes of the said Master West and his family be remitted and that he be exempted from payment there of during life."
West Point, Virginia
West Point is an incorporated town in King William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,867 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Point is located at...
(1632–1691) was commander of the New Kent
New Kent County, Virginia
At the 2000 census, there were 13,462 people, 4,925 households and 3,895 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 per square mile . There were 5,203 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
Militia in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia
Colony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution...
, and a representative of the same county in the House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
.
Biography
John West was born in 1632, the first child of English parents born on the York RiverYork River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
. The government granted his father a large tract of land in honor of his birth. He was the son of Governor John West
John West (governor)
John West was the colonial Governor of Virginia from 1635 to 1637, the third West brother to serve in that position.-Biography:...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and the nephew of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr
Thomas West, 3rd and 12th Baron De La Warr was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called "Delaware", were named....
(Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
).
West was taken prisoner in Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an uprising in 1676 in the Virginia Colony in North America, led by a 29-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon.About a thousand Virginians rose because they resented Virginia Governor William Berkeley's friendly policies towards the Native Americans...
. As to what Bacon's men did to him, it is not recorded. West sat on the court-martial that tried the rebels, and he evened the score with them. He was active on the side of Governor William Berkeley. He later sat on Berkely's Court Martial at Green Spring Plantation
Green Spring Plantation
Green Spring Plantation in James City County about five miles west of Williamsburg, was the 17th century plantation of one of the more popular governors of Colonial Virginia in North America, Sir William Berkeley, and his second wife....
. As Charles II of England
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...
said, the Court Martial condemned "more men in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father".
In 1685 West represented New Kent in the House of Burgesses. His will dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed in a later destruction of the County records.
Marriages and issue
In 1654, West married Unity CroshawUnity Croshaw
Unity Croshaw was the daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw, one of the main figures of early Jamestown, Virginia. She was the grandchild of Raleigh Croshaw, one of the founders of Jamestown. She was the daughter-in-law of Colonial Virginia Governor John West of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia...
, daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw of York, member of the House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
. The children of Colonel John and Unity Croshaw were:
- Captain Nathaniel WestNathaniel West (captain)Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel Nathaniel West of Poplar Neck was a resident and the member for King William County in the House of Burgesses of the US Colony and Dominion of Virginia...
(b. 1655-1724), he was mentioned in records as a Captain in 1662, a Major in 1667, Lt. Colonel in 1673. He commanded the militia of the county. Nathaniel married his second cousin Martha Woodard (the widow of Gideon MaconGideon MaconGideon Macon was an early American settler.Gideon Macon's parents were from Loire, France, but Gideon had to have either been born in England or have become an English citizen to have been permitted to come to Virginia since only English citizens could live in the colony at the time...
). Their son-in-law, William Dandridge, was Martha Washington'sMartha WashingtonMartha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...
uncle. - Unity (Susannah) West (b. 1657), married George Martin.
- Anne West (b.1660-1708), married Henry Fox.
- John West IIIJohn West IIIJohn West III was a justice and sheriff of King and Queen County and a House of Burgesses representative for King William County, all in the US Colony and Dominion of Virginia. He was the second son of Colonel John West of West Point, Virginia and Unity Croshaw...
(b. 1666), married Judith Armistead. - Captain Thomas West (b. 1670-1714), he was a Captain in the King William County Militia and served as a member of the House of BurgessesHouse of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
representing the same county in 1703-05, 1705-06 married Agnes and had four children.
West was recorded as having lived with Cockacoeske
Cockacoeske
Cockacoeskie was a 17th century leader of the Pamunkey Tribe of Native Americans in what is now Virginia in the United States....
, the Weroansqua of the Pamunkey
Pamunkey
The Pamunkey nation are one of eleven Virginia Indian tribes recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The historical tribe was part of the Powhatan paramountcy, made up of Algonquian-speaking tribes. The Powhatan paramount chiefdom was made up over 30 tribes, estimated to total about...
tribe. It was written that she "kept company" with John West. They had several sons, one of whom was named was John West after his father.
The Tax Rolls for 3 March 1660 included the following order by the Virginia Assembly: "Whereas the many important favors and services rendered to the country of Virginia by the Noble family of West, predecessors to Mr. John West, it is ordered that the levies taxes of the said Master West and his family be remitted and that he be exempted from payment there of during life."
Ancestry
Sources
- "The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. Rountree, Helen C., University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.
- "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." W. Martha W. McCartney.
- "Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast by Peter H. Wood.