Where to Find Tidbits of Information concerning Jamestown Settlers
Genealogy Tips from Jeannette Holland Austin
The early vessels to Jamestown delivered mostly male settlers. It was not until later that women were brought over for the purpose of marriage. The wife of my own ancestor, Gabriel Holland, was killed in the massacre of 1622. This is probably the situation for other ancestors as well. He then married a widow whose husband had been slain and there a slight mention of his taking up the lot previously owned by her husband. However, two or three years later, he returned to London and married the third time. Gabriel was appointed one of the Burgesses for Jamestown, and made several trips to London on the business of the colony. One issue they were discussing is the taxing of tobacco, and Gabriel was sent to have an audience with King Charles I. This was a period when the king was not convening Parliament, so Gabriel's attempts to settle this tax, went unresolved. I found some mention of this in the English Court of Chancery. We have to remember that the colony was subjugated to the King, and that the King's business was tended by Burgesses. The accounts of the House of Burgesses published in the Virginia Magazine is another instance where tidbits of information can be gleaned and studied.
Index to Virginia Wills and Estates
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