History
During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. Captain John Smith in 1608 crossed the James River and obtained fourteen bushels of corn from the Native American inhabitants, the Warrosquyoackes or Warraskoyaks. They were a tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy, who had three towns in the area of modern Smithfield. The Warraskoyaks were driven off from their villages in 1622 and 1627, as part of the reprisals for the Great Massacre of 1622.
The first English plantations along the south shore within present-day Isle of Wight were established by Puritan colonists, beginning with that of Christopher Lawne in May 1618. Several members of the Puritan Bennett family also came to settle the area, includingRichard Bennett who led the Puritans to neighboring Nansemond in 1635, and later became governor of the Virginia Colony.
By 1634, the Colony consisted of eight shires or counties with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. One of these was Warrosquyoake Shire, renamed Isle of Wight County in 1637, after the island off the south coast of England of the same name. The name was probably changed because the Isle of Wight had been the home of some of the principal colonists, although the Native American name also went through multiple Anglicisations, eventually becoming "Warwicke Squeake".
St. Luke's Church [1], built in 1632, is the nation's only original Gothic church and the oldest existing church of English foundation. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of its significance.
In 1732 a considerable portion of the northwestern part of the original shire was added to Brunswick County; and in 1748 the entire county of Southampton was carved out of it.
During the American Civil War, Company F of the 61st Virginia Infantry of the Confederate Army was called the "Isle of Wight Avengers."
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From The Library of Virginia
| Call Number | 36138 |
| Misc. Reel 609 | |
| Author |  Virginia (Colony) |
| Title | Proceedings of the General Court, 1691 Nov. 5 |
| Other Title | Colonial Papers. |
| Material | 1 leaf. |
| Gen. note | Colonial Papers - Box 142, Folder 8. |
| Original document located in Vault. | |
| References | Salmon, John S., comp. A GUIDE TO STATE RECORDS IN THE ARCHIVES BRANCH OF THE VIRGINIA STATE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1985. |
| Summary | Contains proceedings of the General Court from 19 October 1691 regarding John Gawen who is called to come forth & answer the suit of Samuel Deane for his nonappearance in court. The proceedings include an order to the sheriff of Isle of Wight County to attach so much of Gawen’s estate as shall be of value sufficient to satisfy the judgment of the General Court with costs. The proceedings were transcribed by Miles Cary, Clerk of the General Court. |
| These colonial papers are a collection of loose papers more closely connected by age than by any other single factor that consist largely of records kept by the clerk of the colonial council, House of Burgesses, the governor and other officials, relating to county as well as colony-wide government. The records of the colonial government have, for the most part, been destroyed by wars, fires, and early neglect. This collection of loose colonial papers is arranged in chronological order, in fifty-three folders. The collection consists of petitions to the governor or House of Burgesses, court records, orders, summonses, patents, accounts, proceedings, returns, grants, proclamations, addresses, certificates and correspondence. | |
| Cite As | Virginia (Colony), Colonial Papers, Proceedings of the General Court, 1691 Nov. 5. Accession 36138. State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219. |
| Other Format | Also available on microfilm (Misc. Reel 609). |
| Biog./Hist. Note | The history of Virginia’s colonial government is divided into two significant phases by the date of May 24, 1624, when the charter of the Virginia Company of London was revoked by the crown. Prior to that date the colony had been run as a private corporation with final authority resting in the hands of the stockholders; afterwards, it was a royal colony with all the trappings and institutions of government that such a status required. The Grand Assembly, begun in 1619, evolved into the House of Burgesses by 1642, governors and lieutenant governors were sent to the colony as the king’s viceroys, regular courts were established, and a complex system of government was developed to lead and protect the growing colony. |
| Finding Aid | Item listing available in repository. |
| Subject - Personal | Deane, Samuel |
| Gawen, John | |
| Subject - Corporate | Virginia. Council. |
| Virginia. General Assembly. House of Burgesses. | |
| Subject - Topical | Courts -- Virginia -- 17th century |
| Subject -Geographic | Isle of Wight County (Va.) -- History -- 17th century. |
| Virginia -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775 | |
| Genre/Form | Proceedings. |
| State government records -- Virginia. | |
| Added Entry | Cary, Miles |
| Added Entry | Virginia. Council. |
| Virginia. General Assembly. House of Burgesses. | |
| Virginia. General Court (Colonial) | |
| Series | State government records collection; 36138. |
| holdings (1) | All items |
| System Number | 001546990 |
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