16 October 2020
The Jamestowne Society has been in newspaper articles twice this week:
Replica of James Fort Barracks: JAMESTOWN — It has been more than 400 years since the original James Fort Barracks stood in Historic Jamestowne, and 13 years since construction finished on the first replica to stand in its place. Now, with the help of a contribution from the Jamestowne Society, a new reconstruction of the barracks is underway. Read more....
Underneath it All: Your image of archaeology might include an Indiana Jones lookalike in a leather coat or lots of painstaking digging for artefacts. And, for much of the history of Historic Jamestowne, you’d be close. Read more... Copies are available for purchase from the Society for $24.00 (members only).
Church & State: The Archaeology of the Foundations of Democracy
Introducing a chronicle of the archaeological dig of the Memorial Church at James Fort.
Many exciting and new discoveries are taking place at James Fort and the Jamestowne Society plays a critical role in these events. With generous support from our members and companies, we continue to ensure that our ancestor's stories are told and discoveries continue to happen at James Fort.
Read more....
413 Years Ago On 16 April 1607
Having just arrived at James Citti two days earlier, Capt. John Smith and a group of men spend the next six days exploring the James River by ship up to the rapids. They encounter many groups of Indians along their way. The falls or rapids is the point at which the James River, no longer a tidewater stream, becomes rocky and is no longer navigable. This location later becomes Richmond, Virginia, the state’s third and current state capitol.
To the right is a view of Richmond from the fall line where the relatively flat sandy Eastern seaboard plain meets the Piedmont, a rugged and rocky metamorphosed terrain.
Brought to you by the Lewis & Clark Company of the Jamestowne Society, celebrating the birthplace of America
277 Years Ago On April 13, 1743
The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, is born at Shadwell in Albemarle County, Virginia. In addition to all his public service, Jefferson was a planter and architect but perhaps best known as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. One of our greatest statesmen, Jefferson was a graduate of William & Mary College and served our nation by holding the following public offices:
• Commander of the Albemarle County Militia
• Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress following George Washington
• The second Governor of Virginia following Patrick Henry
• Virginia delegate to the Congress of the Confederation following James Madison
• Minister to France following Benjamin Franklin
• United States Secretary of State preceded by John Jay
• Second Vice President of the United States following John Adams
• Third President of the United States again following John Adams
Jefferson and John Adams became bitter political rivals when both were running for the same presidential seat in 1800 but later in life became good friends writing often to one another. To study Jefferson’s life is tantamount to taking a mini-course in our Nation’s quest for independence.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on the same day… July 4th, 1826. (Another founding father-president died on July 4th. Can you name him?)
Brought to you by the Lewis & Clark Company of the Jamestowne Society celebrating our colonial history!
Shopping Ain't What It Used To Be 400 Years Ago!
Today, my wife and I made up a list of items we need. Aside from sundry foodstuffs, our list included a new wireless computer printer/scanner. My old HP simply won’t cut the mustard. The digital brain has gone awry. Seems it happens to the best of us. So my wife went online and gave Sam’s Club our list and credit card info. They will call us when it is ready for pick-up later today. We will simply drive by and they will shove it in the back of our SUV. When we get home, we will wipe it down on our outdoor patio table with our home-brew of disinfectant (water + bleach) before bringing it into the house. All things considered, it’s not much of an inconvenience. Shopping 400 years ago was likely much more problematic. Note we didn’t mention having to hitch up a buggy or wagon.
This short article, published by the Smithsonian, focuses on a 387-year-old shopping list found under the floorboards of an old home being rehabilitated in Kent, England. Give it a read. It reminds me of how easy we have it today even in the midst of a pandemic. If I am not mistaken, London was experiencing a plague of sorts at that time.
Take care, stay well and hang onto your pewter spoons which reminds me of a quote…
“The more he spoke of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.”
~John Adams, founding father and second US President
John Graves
Lewis & Clark Company
Jamestowne Society
How Counties Got Started In Virginia
I came upon this short article much by accident and found it very interesting. Perhaps you will too should you choose to read it.
I hope all of you are well and following suggested measures designed to keep you from catching the Wuhan Virus and giving it to others.
John Graves
Lewis & Clark Company
Jamestowne Society
245 Years Ago On 20 March 1775…
To avoid interference from Lt. Governor Dunmore and his Royal Marines, the Second Virginia Convention met on 20 March 1775 inland at Richmond (in what is now called St. John's Church) instead of the Capitol in Williamsburg.
A few days later, delegate Patrick Henry presented resolutions to raise a militia, and to put Virginia in a posture of defense. However, Henry's opponents urged caution and patience until the crown replied to Congress' latest petition for reconciliation. Only a month later, tensions between the colony and Great Britain increased rapidly causing Dunmore to remove the gunpowder from the public magazine at Williamsburg. (Pacifists never seem to learn the lessons of history as inaction only invites further tyranny.)
This aggressive action caused Dunmore’s authority to quickly unravel. In June, Dunmore fled to Hampton Roads located at the northern mouth of the James River where it meets the Chesapeake Bay. In early November of 1775, Dunmore declared martial law and offered to free any slave who supported the crown. In December, Dunmore’s troops lost the Battle of Great Bridge. In 1776, his troops shelled Norfolk. Later that year, he returned to Great Britain. In 1787, Dunmore became the governor of the Bahamas. Eventually, he fell from favor and returned home where he died in 1809.
John Murray, the fourth Earl of Dunmore, was Virginia’s last royal governor. Dunmore was a member of the House of Lords and assumed his first colonial office in 1771. Lord Dunmore
Latest News: Jamestowne Rediscovery
March 2017
The Revolutionary War Era People to Jamestowne Society Qualifying Ancestor project has officially launched. We have posted the first 200+ couples to our website. The information is taken from approved Jamestowne Society applications. We will be releasing more as we extract information from our records, so check back every week or two if you do not see your Revolutionary War era ancestors yet.
If your Revolutionary War era ancestor is listed, you have an already proven Jamestowne Society ancestor. These available application copies may be used to apply for membership or to prove your supplemental Jamestowne Society ancestor.
http://www.jamestowne.org/revolutionary-war-era-people.html
Exciting New Discoveries at Historic Jamestown
July 2015
With a video, Jamestown Rediscovery and the Smithsonian Institute announced the discovery and examination of the graves of four of the colony’s earliest founders in the excavation of chancel the 1608 church at Historic Jamestown (the site of the Pocahontas/Rolfe nuptials). Two were members of the original landing party in May 1607 and two were related to Thomas West, Lord de la Ware, who saved the colony from extinction with his fleet’s arrival during the Starving Times in 1610.
According to Elizabeth Kostelny, CEO of Preservation Virginia, owner of the Historic Jamestown site and parent of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation, “Not only are the discoveries exciting, but so is the science and technology behind the research.”
It is also interesting to read differing the several perspectives on the discovery. The post on the Encyclopedia Virginia blog is especially compelling. The Washington Post also published its account of the announcement with a nice link to its 2007 article about the original discovery of James Fort. The Richmond Times-Dispatch, NPR, Nature, the BBC and many other media outlets visited Historic Jamestown last week for advanced filming. Many other papers and TV media channels picked up and reprinted these from the wire services.
