Class ^ Book__LV!Af. s. THE CRADLE OF THE REPUBLIC: Jamestown and James River. BY LYON GARDINER TYLER, PRESIDENT OF THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY, WTLLIAMSKURG, VIRGINIA. ^ RICHMOND, VA.: Whittet &' Shepperson, General Printers. 1900. s. Copyrighted BY LYON G TYLER, 1900. T PREFACE. Ix giving" this book to the public I wisli to express my acknow- ledgments to Philip Alexander Brnec and Alexander Brown for the assistance which they have rendered me through their monu- mental works. The Economu: Histori/ of Virginia in the Seven- teenth Ccnturij and Tlie First Eepuhlic in America. My sincere thanks are also due to II. B. Smith, of the city of Williams- burg, who aided me very materially in preparing the charts of Jamestown Island and James River, and to Robert Lee Traylor, of Eichmond, who placed his library at my service, and aided in correcting the proof-sheets. LYOjf G. Tyler. Williamsburg, Va., Mai/ 14, 1900. CONTENTS. Page. I. I MMAXs Alon'c; Ja:mes Kivek, 9 II. TiiK 1 SI, AVI) OK Jam KsTOWx. 15 The Counfri/ Si(rrniiin]lii(/ liitiiestuwn Island, . 20 III. Till-: I']n'(;ijsii at Jamkstowx, 21 1. Suiin)i((ri/ of Polilical E cents, 62 2. Bnnj esses of Jcuuestoivn, G-t IV. ClIAKACTER OK TIFE EMIGRANTS, (id \. Tji E Fort, 69 \j YI. TriE Church, 73 1. Fnrnliure and Service, 80 2. Tombstones on the Island, 82 o. List of Ministers and their Biographies, 87 VII. Block-Houses, 99 YIII. The Glass-House, 102 IX. The Goverxor's House, 106 X. TiiK State House, 110 XI. Political Divisions, 117 XII. Origin and History oe Places Along James lUVER, 120 " .' Authorities, : 165 V ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Jamestown in 1622 FronUi^piece. Chart of Jamestown Island. View of Jamestown from Sandy Bay, 19 The Indian Massacre in 1622, 34 View of Jamestown from the River, 61 The Tower of Jamestown 81 William and Mary College, as it appeared during the Presidency of Dr. James Blair, 95 A Block-House, 100 The Governor's House—Greenspring, 107 Chart of James River, Showing the Early Settlements. Grouping of Houses— Bacon's Castle—Carter's Grove—Lower Brandon—Upper Brandon, 125 Malvern Hill—Shirley—Appomattox, 141 Berkeley—Westover—Weyanoke—Sherwood, 157 The Cradle of the RepubHc. I. THK INDIANS ALONG JAMKS RIVER. A T the iiino of the arrival of the Eiiglit^h in Virginia, the i \^ Indians found inhahiting the tide-water section were united in a confederacy of tribes, of which I'owhatan was the head war-chief, or werowance. He had his werowocomoco, or town of the chieftain, on Purton Bay (i. e., Poetan, or Powhatan Bay), York River. These Indians belonged to the Algonquin race. Each tribe received its werowance by appointment of Powhatan,, and these petty werowances numbered in all about thirty-four. They had each their proper territory defined by natural bounds, beyond which none presumed to pass without permission. Their towns were fixed habitations on the river side, and near by were cleared fields in which their corn, tobacco, gourds, pumpkins, beans and cymlings were sowed. At and around the Chesa]ieake Bay, on the soutli side, the Chesapeake Indians had tlicir ^•i^ages. It would ajipear from Strachey that tliey were new-comers in that region, and succes- sors of others, who had fallen victims to the jealousy and cruelty of Powhatan. "Xot long since," says Strachey, "his priests had told Powhatan that from the Chesapeake Bay a nation should arise wliich should dissolve and give end to iiis empire, for which (perplexed with this devilish oracle and divers understandings thereof), according to the ancyent and gentile customs, he de- stroyed and put to sword all such who miglit lie under any doubtful construccion of the said projtliecie, as all the inhabi- tants, Averowance, and his subjects of that province."' Perhaps it was the memory of this event and this prophecy :!0 The Cradle of the EEriBLic. that made the Indians in the Chesapeake region so quick to resent the landing of the whites at Cape Henry in April, 1607. Above the Chesapeakes, on the same side, were the Xanse- monds, governed by four werowanees—Weyhohomo, Amapctough, Weyongopo aud Tirelitough. Tlieir vilhiges were for the most part on the Nanscmond IJiver. Next came the Warascoyacks, residing in the county of Isk^ of Wight. Tlieir chief town, Warascoyack. was near Smitbfield, on Pagan .River, and there was a small village, ]\[okcte, at Pagan Point, and another village, ^lathomank, on BurwelFs Bay. The werowance was Tackonekintaco. The neigh))ors of the ^Yarascoyacks were the Tappahannas, or Qnioughcohanuocks, whose territory extended through Surry and Prince George counties. The werowance was Pepiscumah, called for short Pepisco, who kept on good terms with the whites. However, in IGIO, he had been deposed Ijy Powhatan, and one of Powhatan's wives, Oholasc, was qneen in the ininority of her son Tahahcoope, who lived at Chawopo with Chopoke, one of Pepis- co's brothers. Quioughcohannock was on Upper Chippoke's Creek, near the present Claremont. The marsh at Brandon still retains the name of the Indians who once inhal^ited that neisfh- borhood—l;eing known as Tappahanna ^Marsh. IS^ext in order were the Weyanokes, whose chief town, "Wea- nock," appears to have been at Flower de Hundred. Their chief was called Ivaquothocim. Then came tlie people of the Appomattox River. The wero- wance of "Appumatuck" was Coquonasom. and his sister, Opusso- quionuske, was queen of a* small village on the site of Bermuda Hnndred. In KilO, having treacherously caused lu'r men to attack the English, whom she had received under the guise of hospitality in her village. Queen Opussoquionuske was driven by Captain George Percy and his men from her town, and the place made, shortly after, the seat of an English settlement— Bernmda Hundred. Above tlie falls of the river resided the hereditary enemies of the Powhatans—the ]\Ianakins, on the site of whose chief town in Mchol son's administration the French Huguenots were established. Tin: JxDiANs Alunc .Iami:s Uiveu. 11 rrocec'dijig down the river on the north side, tlie tribe first met Avith was tlie Powhataiis. Thi'v were seated Just below the falls. Powhatan was born at this |)laee. hut his residence was at Wero- woconioeo, on ^'ork I'ivor. till. hccDiiiinji- uneasy because of the neighborhoo<l of the whilt's. he i-ciiioxcd to a place called Ora- paks, at the head of the Chickahoniiny K'iver. At the coining of the English, the werowance at the falls was Parahunt, one of Powiiatan's sons, called Tan.xnou liaiaii. which means ""Little I'owhatan." 'I'he village of Powhatan was situated on a hill, anil tlie site was pni-chased by Captain -lohn Smith, and called. "Xon-sucli."" Tlic pni'cliase ])v'\rr was in part a white boy named Henry Spelman (sou of Sir Ileni-y Spelman. the histo- rian), who spent iiiaiiy years among the Indians, learned their language, and was afterwards interi)reter for the colony. Cap- tain Francis West also purchased a tract of Parahunt situated in a valley near the falls, which was su])ject to overflow. A quarrel rose between West and Smith as to the advantages of the two sites, and. the Indians attacking tlic scttlei-s. tlie ])lace was abandone(l. "Powhatan" is still the name of a j)lace below liichmond. which was long the home of the Mayo family. lielow llic I'owliatans wrvc the Indians of Ai'i'oliateck. Their chief town was just above the Dutch (lap Canal, opposite Proc- tor's Creek, in Chestertlehl county. A farm in that quarter, owned l)y tlie Cox family for many yeai's. still retains the Indian name. The werowance in Kil'^ was Asluunpiid. .Vdjoining them was the territory of the ^^'eyanokes. wdiose chief town was. however, on the south side of the I'ivcr at Flower cle Hundred. Xext came tlie tcrritoiv o( the Paspaliegh Indians, extending from about Sturgeon I'oint. in ('liarles ('ity county, to Skiffes Creek, in James City county. .\s .lamestowu was located in this district, these Indians wrc brought into nuuv impoi'tant rela- tions with the whites than any of the tribes. Their chief was Vi'ochinchopunck, and fi'iuu the lirst he fiercely resented the in- trusion of the whites in his domain. In a savage hand-to-hand tiglit with Captain Smith on the coniu'cting neck, he was taken prisoner and carried to Jamestown, but e<c;i|te(l. He and his warriors would lie in wait neai- the glass-house ojjposite and cut off the unwarv whites, who venturc(| too far. At leiiti'th, on 13 TiTE Cradi.k of :iiie Ekpublic. .Fi'hnunrv !», Kill, Cajitain (icoi-yc PtTcv. tlic coniinandaiit at Ja]nest()\V]i, scut I-'iisiiiiis Powell and Waller to surprise him. Ensign Powell, coming iij) with him near the old hhiek-house, "tlirust him twice throngli the hody with an arming swoi'd;"* and Jjieuteiiaiit Puttock. of the hloek-house. overtaking another eliief, closed with him. and "with his daggx'r. sent him to accompany liis master in the other woi'ld."" 'i'he child' town of the Pas])aheghs was at Sandy Point, nearly op])osite to (^nionghcohaniiock. Finally, near the mouth of the rivei' was the district of the Keconghtans. Some years hcfore the English had arrived. Pow- liatan had pnrsued the same course as to the ])eople there as he iiad to the peo])lc in ('hesa])eake. The Kecoughtan trihc was then a very ])owei'ful one. Their country was the seat of sometimes as many as a thousand Indians and three hundred houses.