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[Page 122]
      Wood, Abraham, was for many years one of the leading men of the colony. He came to Virginia as a little boy of ten years in 1620 in the "Margaret and John," commanded by Capt. Chester. This was the vessel that fought the famous sea fight with two Spanish men-of-war. Little Abraham escaped unharmed, and in 1625 was living at Jamestown in the employment of Capt. Samuel Mathews. He represented Henrico county in the house of burgesses from 1644 to 1646. He was placed in charge of Fort Henry at the falls of Appomatox, where, dwelling on the frontier wood, he became well acquainted with the Indians and their country. On Aug. 24, 1650, Wood, Edward Bland and a number of others set forth from Fort Henry, now the site of Petersburg, and made an exploration to the southwest, where they discovered a new river running west. Bland published an account of this journey in 1652. About the time of this trip, Wood changed his residence to the south side of the Appomatox river, in Charles City, and, as Major Abraham Wood, was burgess of that county from 1652 to 1656. In 1655, he was a justice of Charles City and the following year was made colonel of the regiment of Henrico and Charles City, in place of Col. Hill, suspended. In the same year, he was appointed on a committee to review the laws of Virginia. On March 13, 1657-58, he was elected to the council and remained a member of that body for many years, being present at the session of Sept., 1671. He appears to have held the office of major general until after Bacon's Rebellion, when, perhaps on account of opposition to the policy of the government, he seems to have lost his position and been reduced to the rank of colonel. In 1676, Gov. Berkeley wrote that Maj. Gen. Wood of the council kept to his house through infirmity, but he seems to have recovered as, in march, 1678-79, he was carrying on negotiations with the Indians and arranging for the chief men of the hostile tribes to meet in Jamestown. He died sometime between 1681 and 1686.

[Page 122]
      Carter, John Sr., was the first of the well known Virginia family of that name to come from England. He settled in Upper Norfolk which he represented in the house of burgesses in March, 1642-43. He was a burgess for Nansemond in Oct., 1649 and for Lancaster from 1654 to 1660. He was justice in Lancaster in 1653 and, at the division of the county on Dec. 13, 1656, he was appointed presiding justice and colonel commandant of Lancaster. In Nov., 1654, the assembly directed that an attack be made upon the Rappahanock Indians and that Maj. John Carter be appointed commander-in-chief. He was elected to the council on March 13, 1567-58, but was not sworn until the assembly adjourned. On March 8, 1659, Gov. Mathews issued an order to the sheriff of Lancaster to arrest Col. John Carter "for contempt of the late commission of Government sent out by his Highness (Richard Cromwell) and the lords of the Council, to appear before the Governor and Council at Jamestown." He was one of the commissioners appointed in 1663, by the governor of Virginia to confer with the commissioners from Maryland as to a restriction of tobacco planting. He was a vestryman of Christ Church Parish in Lancaster and the original church there was built under his direction. The present edifice, one of the finest specimens of colonial architecture standing, was built by the councillor's son, Robert Carter. He died on the 10 of June, 1669, as stated on his tomb in Christ Church.

[Pages 122-123]
      Horsmanden, Warham, was the son of the Rev. Daniel Horsmanden D. D., who entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1596 and was rector of Ulcomb, Kent. Dr. Horsmanden, a learned and zealous churchman, was deprived of his living in 1643, and in other ways suffered much for the King's cause during the civil wars. He died in 1654, leaving a son, Warham St. Leger Horsmanden, who sailed for Virginia after being, it is said, an officer in the royal army. Col. Horsmanden settled in Charles City county, where he was a justice in 1655, and which he represented in the house of burgesses in March, 1657-58. On March 13, 1657-58, he was elected to the council, but it was ordered that he should not be sworn until the assembly adjourned. His service in the council was brief, for he was again a burgess for Charles City in March, 1658-59. He probably returned to England at the restoration, and in 1683, was living at Purleigh in Essex. His daughter Mary married Col. William Byrd, of Henrico county, Virginia, and has many descendants.

[Pages 123-124]
      Reade, George, son of Robert Reade of Linkenholt, Southampton, England, came to Virginia n 1637, when a young man or youth. His brother Robert Read, who was a private secretary to Sir William Windebanke, secretary of state in England, seems to have secured for him the patronage of Gov. Harvey and Secretary Richard Kemp, in Virginia, and to have placed him under their care. On March 27, 2637, Jerome Hawley wrote Robert Reade that "at Christmas last," George Reade "had command of some forces sent upon a new plantation, but the design took no effect through the severity of the weather." Upon Nov. 17 of the same year, Gov. Harvey wrote to Robert Reade that his brother was well and was with him, but that he needed supplies that were to be sent to him in charge of Mr. Hawley. The governor added that he hoped to find a very good opportunity to employ young Reade upon a great business he had on hand against a neighboring Indian tribe, strong in people, in which he himself would appear in person. In a letter dated Feb. 26, 1638, from George Reade himself to his brother Robert, he acknowledges many favors from Gov. Harvey and Secretary Kemp, but complains of the conduct of Mr. Hawley towards him. Upon May 17, Jerome Hawley sent Robert Reade an account of "the whole business touching his brother," in which he said that since George Reade's arrival in the colony, he had lived in the governor's house and wanted for nothing.In a letter written on April 4, 1639, Secretary Kemp told Robert Reade that George wished some servants to be sent over to him, but the writer advised that they should await the result of the change of government in Virginia before young Reade should further engage himself in the affairs of the colony. In March of the next year, Kemp, wishing to go to England, requested Secretary Windebanke to get him permission to do so, and promised to make Windebanke's nephew, George Reade, his deputy while he was away, and accordingly, on Aug. 27, 1640, the King in council appointed Reade secretary of state for Virginia during the absence of Kemp. Grateful for the many favors he had received from them, Reade was an earnest adherent of Gov. Harvey and Secretary Kemp during the struggle with the people of Virginia which ended in the expulsion of Harvey, and was doubtless restored to grace when Harvey returned. In 1649, Reade represented James City county in the house of burgesses, and soon after removed to York county where he appears as a justice of the county court in 1652. He was a burgess for York, in Dec., 1658. Upon April 1, 1658, as "Colonel George Reade," the house of burgesses elected him a member of the council, and the same honor was conferred him in March, 1659-60. After the restoration, he was included in the royal commission of councillors and held office until his death. The last mention of his name as present at the council board was on Sept. 10, 1671. Col. George Reade married Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. Nicholas Martian of York county, and died between Sep. 10 and Nov. 20, 1671. Upon the last named day, his will was proved in the general court, by the oaths of Thomas Reade and Henry Richardson. He was an ancestor of Gen. George Washington and other eminent Virginians. Mary Martian, a sister of Col. George Reade's wife, married Capt. William Fuller, sometime governor of Maryland.

[Page 124]
      Warner, Augustine, came to Virginia about 1628, and was a justice of York county. He was burgess for York in 1652, and for Gloucester in 1655. After removing from York county he settled on the Pianketank in the territory of the Chiskiack Indians but afterwards removed to another part of Gloucester county, on the Severn river, where his estate became known as "Warner Hall." He served as member of the council from 1659 to 1667. He was born in 1611, married Mary ———, and died Dec. 24, 1674, leaving issue (1) Sarah, who married Lawrence Townley; (2) Augustine, speaker of the house of burgesses (q. v.).

[Page 124]
      Elliott, Anthony, first appears in the records in March, 1645-46,when the assembly contracted with him and Mr. Cornelius Lloyd to furnish beef and pork for certain troops which were to be raised for an Indian campaign. Elliott's earliest home was in Elizabeth City county, where on July 24, 1645, he received a grant of 300 acres near Point Comfort creek, which he had bought, Sept. 2, 1643, from Richard Kemp. He represented Elizabeth City in the house of burgesses in Nov., 1647, and was a justice of that county in Feb., 1649. He probably soon after removed to Gloucester, and was burgess from there in March, 1657-58. During that season, on March 13, he was elected a councillor, but it was ordered that he should not be sworn until after the adjournment of the house. Later he removed to that part of Lancaster county now called Middlesex, and was justice of the peace there in 1666. On March 20, 1650, "Mr. Anthony Ellyott" was granted 1,150 acres on North river in "Mojack Bay," Gloucester, and on Jan. 29, 1652, "Lieut. Col. Anthony Ellyott" was granted 200 more acres adjoining the first tract. It is believed that Councillor Anthony Elliott married Frances, sister of Col. John Armistead of Gloucester, and widow of the Rev. Justinian Aylmer. His will was proved in Jan., 1666, in Lancaster county and names sons William, Thomas and Robert.

[Page 124]
      Walker, John, was a member of the house of burgesses from Warwick county at various times between 1644 and 1656. On March 13, 1657-58, as Lieut. Col. John Walker, he was elected to the council, and again in March, 1659-60. He appears to have moved from Warwick to Gloucester about 1657, and from Gloucester to Rappahannock about 1662. He owned a considerable trat of land through various grants made to him. He died sometime between 1655 and 1658, leaving several daughters who have descendants in Virginia.

[Pages 124-125]
      Willis, Francis, was born in the city of Oxford, England, and was a near relative of several persons of his name, members and fellows of the colleges in the university there. He emigrated to Virginia when a young man and was soon appointed clerk of Charles River county. He appears to have been a friend of Sir John Harvey, and when that governor was succeeded by Sir Francis Wyatt, Willis severely denounced the new governor, the council and the house of burgesses for their hostility to Harvey. For this he was condemned in 1640 to lose his offices, to be disbarred from practicing as an attorney, to be fined and imprisoned during the governor's pleasure. His period of misfortune was brief, however, for in two years Wyatt was succeeded by Berkeley, and it is probable that Willis's disabilities were removed. Certain it is that in 1648 he was a justice of York county and in 1652 was one of the first representatives of Gloucester county. He was appointed to a committee for the review of the laws of Virginia in March, 1658-59, and a year later, he also became a councillor and held that office for many years, and even after he had returned to England in 1676. He never returned to Virginia, but died in Kent sometime between 1689 and 1691. He left all his large estates in Virginia to his nephew Francis Willis, son of Henry Willis, and from him descend our Virginia Willises.

[Page 125]
      Carter, Edward. Lieut. Col. Edward Carter was a burgess for Upper Norfolk in March 1657-58, and again in the following year. He was a councillor in 1659 and seems to have held his seat in the council until 1667, when his name appears as present at a session. He returned, however, to his home "Edmondton," Middlesex county, England, where he died in 1682.

[Page 125]
      Swann, Thomas, of Swann's Point, Surrey, county, son of William Swann of the same place, was a member of the house of burgesses from James City county, Nov., 1645, and Oct., 1649, and, as a Lieut. Col. Thomas Swann, for Surrey, March, 1657-58. He was appointed to the council in 1659 and held that office until his death. He held many civil and military posts in Surry county and seems to have been a very prominent man there. During Bacon's rebellion and the preceding troubles, Col. Swann acted with great moderation. He was opposed to Berkeley's measures and signed the proclamation of April 11, 1676, calling for the election of burgesses to meet in September, but he did not follow Bacon in open opposition to the government, and when Gov. Berkeley refused to entertain the three commissioners sent from England to suppress the rebellion, Swann received them at his house at "Swann's Point," opposite James town and all their meetings were held there. In Dec., 1677, the committee of trade and plantations of the English privy council, directed that Col. Swann be recommended to Gov. Jeffreys for some reward for his kindness and expense in receiving the commissioners at his house after Berkeley had refused. His tomb, with crest and epitaph is at Swann's Point and thereon is recorded the day of his death as the sixteenth of September, "in ye year of our Lord God 1680." The good councillor seems to have had an unusual number of wives even for that marrying day and generation, having been wed no less than five times. He had many descendants; some of them very distinguished.

[Pages 125-126]
      Whitaker, William, of James City county, was a member of the house of burgesses at the session of Oct., 1649, April, 1652, Nov., 1652, July, 1653, Nov., 1654, Dec., 1656, and March, 1658-59. Soon after the last named session he was appointed to the council, and as "Major William Whittaker," his name appears in a list of members present, Nov. 29, 1659. He died sometime between March 18, 1662, the date of the last grant of land to him, and Oct. 28, 1666, when "Mr. Richards Whittaker" was granted 135 acres in James City county, 100 acres of which had been given him by "Major William Whittaker, his deceased father." He was probably a near relative of Rev. Alexander Whitaker. He left numerous descendants.

[Page 126]
      Hammond, Mainwaring, who had been an officer in the royal army during the civil war, came to Virginia early in the year 1650. Col. Henry Norwood, also a cavalry officer, says in his "Voyage to Virginia," that when he landed in York county, Feb. 13, 1650, he found that Capt. Wormeley, of his majesty's council, had "guests at his house feasting and carousing that were lately come from England," and that most of them were of the writer's "intimate acquaintance." These guests were Sir Thomas Lunsford, Sir Henry Chicheley, Col. Philip Honeywood, afterward Sir Philip, and Col. Hammmond. So far as the records show, Col. Hammond held on public office until Gov. Berkeley was restored to power in 1660. Soon after his arrival in Virginia, however, he acquired by patent a large tract of land. ON March 15, 1649 (probably 1650) "Manwaring Hammond Esq.," was granted "3,760 acres on York River, on the south side called Fort Royall, 600 acres of which he purchased from Captain Marshall, and the remainder of which was due for the transportation of sixty persons to Virginia." On Nov. 11, 1659, as "Col. Mainwaring Hammond," he was granted 600 acres adjoining the above. As soon as Sir William Berkeley was reëlected governor, Hammond, who seems to have been one of his favorites, was brought into the public service. At the session of March, 1659-60, the assembly ordered that "Collonell Mannering Hammond, according to the desire of Sir William Berkeley, Kn't., Governor and Capt. Generall of Virginia, be constituted, authorized and made Major General of Virginia." In Oct., 1660, the governor and assembly employed Maj. Gen. Hammond and Col. Guy Molesworth, another distinguished cavalier officer, to go to England and procure from the King pardon for the Virginians for submitting to the parliamentary authority. In their lack of knowledge as to what might be the policy of the restored royal government, this was no act of mere sycophancy on the part of the colonists, but may have been necessary to secure them from fines or other legal penalties. It was ordered that the two agents should be paid 11,000 pounds of tobacco apiece out of the levies of that year and 11,000 more the next year. it was in 1660 also that Gen. Hammond was appointed to the council, but few references to his services as a member of that body have come down to us. On Feb. 3, 1661, he and Col. Edward Hill sat with the court of Charles City county as itinerant judges, and, on Nov. 6, of the same year, he was present as a councillor, It is likely that he soon after sailed for England and never returned to Virginia. He had a brother in Virginia named Francis Hammond.

[Page 126]
      Ludwell, Thomas, was son of Thomas Ludwell, of Bruton, in Somersetshire, England, and Jane Cottington, his wife, daughter of Jame sCottington and niece of Philip, Lord Cottington. His father was church warden of Bruton and steward of the Sexey Hospital in that town. He was born January 25, 1628-1629, and probably came as a boy to Virginia with Sir William Berkeley, his kinsman, in 1642. He probably returned to England and served in the civil wars on the side of Charles I., as still later in a land grant he is styled "lieutenant."
      After the deaths of Richard Kemp and Sir Thomas Lunsford, who married Kemp's widow, he acquired his (Kemp's) residence, near Williamsburg, called "Rich Neck," and on the restoration of Charles I., in 1660, was commissioned secretary of state and became a member of the colonial council. In this capacity he made frequent reports as to the condition of affairs in Virginia to the secretary of state in England, which speak much for his ability. In 1662 he served as escheator under the treasurer Major Henry Norwood, and in 1663 was one of the commissioners to arrange a cessation of tobacco planting with Maryland, which was, however, balked by Lord Baltimore. In 1673 he was appointed as the successor of Henry Randolph sole notary public for the colony and was authorized by the general assembly to appoint deputies in the different counties. In 1675 he was appointed one of three commissioners (Colonel Francis Moryson and Major-General Robert Smith being the other two) to proceed to London and seek an abrogation of the patents granted by Charles II. to Henry Bennett Lord Arlington, Thomas Lord Culpeper and other court favorites of proprietary rights in Virginia. On their arrival they opened negotiations for a charter incorporating the people of Virginia with a view to a purchase of the patents, the prevention of any new grants of the kind, and the assurance of the Virginians of all their liberties, among which was especially emphasized the sole right of taxing themselves. Ludwell probably drafted th papers which presented the views of the commissioners, and in which colonial rights were very fully and ably discussed. The commissioners were at first very successful; a complete charter was granted and passed most of the formalities, but was stopped in the Hamper office by the news of Bacon's rebellion. A new charter was prepared which, though not as full as the first, confirmed the political existence of Virginia as a colony and guaranteed the lands to the people residing in Virginia and to all actual immigrants. The more extensive of the two objectionable grants was surrendered by Lord Arlington to the King for an annual pension of £600. Ludwell was absent in England on this mission, when Bacon's rebellion broke out in Virginia, but returned soon after its close. He did not live long after his return, but died October 1, 1678, and was buried on his estate, "Rich Neck," near the graves of Richard Kemp and Sir Thomas Lunsford. As he never married, his property consisting of this estate and several houses at Jamestown went to his brother Philip, who survived him for many years. In 1674 the parishes of Middletown and Marston were united and named Bruton after the birthplace of Ludwell, the most prominent of the parishioners of Middletown. This parish included Williamsburg.

[Pages 127-128]
      Beale, Thomas, was, when we first hear of him, a justice of York county and was styled by the records, "Major Thomas Beale." This was in 1652, and in the same year he deeded land in Gloucester to Robert Todd. He was justice of York again in 1661. On Aug. 25, 1662, Beale had become a member of the council and was present at its sessions in Sept., 1667 and April, 1670, on the latter occasion with the title of "colonel." By letter of Sept. 30, 1668, his majesty recommended to the governor of Virginia, for the post of "Governor of the fort at Point Comfort," Thomas Beale, of whose, "ability and prudence the King had long experience." During Bacon's rebellion, Col. Beale was one of the signers of the proclamation, dated Aug. 11, 1676, calling the election of burgesses for an assembly to meet Sept. 4. York county records show a deed from "Lieut. Col. Thomas Beale" and "Alice his wife." He left a son Capt. Thomas Beale, from whom Gen. R. L. T. Beale, of the confederate army, was descended. This Capt. Beale married Anne Gooch, daughter of Councillor Major William Gooch.

[Page 128]
      Corbin, Henry, was a member of an ancient family in the counties of Stafford and Warwick in England, and the son of Thomas Corbin of Hall End, Warwickshire, and his wife Winifred, daughter of Gawin Grosvenor of Sutton Colfield in the same county. Henry Corbin was born, according to a deposition, about 1629, and came to Virginia in 1654. There is an old family tradition which his residence in England makes probable, that he assisted Charles II. in his escape after Worcester. Upon his arrival in Virginia, Corbin seems to have at once settled in that part of Lancaster county that is now Middlesex, and to have made his home there through life. Upon June 5, 1657, the governor and council directed that Henry Corbin should be of the quorum in the court of Lancaster. He remained a justice of Lancaster until the formation of Middlesex, and then became a member of the court of the new county. He was a burgess from Lancaster in 1659 and 1660, and at the same time was collector of customs for his district. He was a councillor in 1663, in which year he was appointed one of the commissioners on the part of Virginia to treat with Maryland with regard to the cessation of tobacco culture. He was frequently present at the meetings of the council until his death, Jan. 8, 1676. Col. Henry Corbin acquired a great landed estate, his chief residence being "Buckingham House" in Middlesex county. He married Alice, daughter of Richard Eltonhead, of Eltonhead, Lancashire, and widow of Rowland Burnham of Middlesex, Virginia. The date of this marriage has been given as July 5, 1645, but 1655 is evidently intended. He has many descendants in Virginia and the south.

[Pages 128-129]
      Smith, Robert. If one may judge by the high military rank attained by Robert Smith in the colony, it sees probable that he had been an officer in the English army before coming to America. The first appearance of his name in the extant records, is as a member of the council in 1663, but it is quite possible that he may have been appointed to that body at the restoration. He soon became a man of prominence and was appointed one of the three major generals in the militia. As "Major General Robert Smith," he was present in council in March, 1666, and on July 10, of the same year, when an attack from a Dutch fleet was expected. The governor and council ordered Maj. Gen. Robert Smith to demand and seize all ammunition in the hands of any one in the colony. On July 12, he was appointed one of the commissioners on the part of Virginia to treat with Maryland concerning the culture of tobacco. He is recorded as being present at meetings of the council as late as 1671, and not long after this, must have been sent to England as the colony's agent, as on July 2, 1673, he is referred to as the agent of Virginia and authorized by the assembly to purchase as many shares as possible in the patent for the Northern Neck, which the King had granted. In 1674, he, together with Francis Moryson and Thomas Ludwell, was appointed an agent for Virginia to secure from the King a repeal of his grant of Virginia to Lords Arlington and Culpeper, and a new charter. The charter which they attempted to gain, and which embodied the ideas of the colonists as to their rights, was a splendid document and included among other provisions the prophetic stipulation that the Virginians, in common with all Englishmen, should not be taxed without their own consent. Unfortunately for the efforts of the agents, the news of Bacon's rebellion reached England just as the King seemed ready to sign the charter and served him as an excuse for withholding it. He withdrew his grant of the colony to the two noblemen, however, so that the colony were much beholden to their agents' efforts. After his return to the colony, he played a prominent part in the suppression of the "plant cutting" insurrection and continued to be present at the meetings of the council until 1683, after which he seems to have visited England. His only daughter Elizabeth married Harry Beverley.

[Page 129]
      Stegg, Thomas, Jr., was a son of the first Thomas Stegg, councillor, a sketch of whose life appears above. The earliest fact mentioned of the younger Stegg is that he was a justice of the peace of Charles City in 1661. On Nov. 24, 1664, a commission from the King confirming Thomas Stegg's appointment as auditor general was read in court. He was a member of the council in 1666 and died in 1670. His sister, Grace Stegg, was mother of the first William Byrd of Westover.

[Pages 129-130]
      Bland, Theodorick, the ninth son of John Bland, an eminent merchant of London and member of the Virginia Company, was born on Jan. 16, 1629. He was a merchant at St. Lucar, Spain, in 1646, at the Canary Islands in 1647-48, and came to Virginia in 1654 as the representative of his father, who had large interests in the colony. He settled at Berkeley Hundred, Charles City county, and in 1659-60 he represented Henrico in the house of burgesses, of which he was the speaker. By instructions from England, dated Sept. 2, 1662, the act passed by the assembly, imposing to shillings per hogshead on all tobacco from Virginia, was confirmed and "Theodorick Bland, Esq." was appointed collector of the same. A few years later Bland was appointed a member of the council, and was present June 21, 1665, July 10, 1666, and March and April, 1670. On April 17, 1665, Theodorick Bland bought "Westover," Charles City county, an estate of 1,200 acres, for £170 sterling. His grandson, Richard Bland of "Jordan's," who says that his grandfather was "both fortune and understanding, inferior to no person of his time in the country," also says that he built and gave to the county and parish the church at Westover, "with ten acres of land, a courthouse and prison." This may have been so, but it is more likely that he only gave the land. The worthy councillor died on April 23, 1671, and was buried in the chancel of Westover church. The church has long since disappeared but the tomb remains with his arms and the following epitaph:

[Page 130]
      Cary, Miles, son of John Cary, a merchant of Bristol, England, was born about 1620, and came to Virginia, it is believed, abut 1645. He settled in Warwick county and lived at a place called "Magpie Swamp." His landed estate embraced about 2,000 acres, well stocked and having upon it numerous slaves, a store, mill etc. Cary was a collector of customs in March, 1658-59 and in 1663, and as "Col. Miles Cary," he was a member of the house of burgesses from Warwick county in March 1659. He was afterwards added to the council and was present at the meetings of that body June 21, 1665, and March 28 and July 10, 1666. He was doubtless still a councillor at the time of his death, June 11, 1667, when he is said to have been killed while defending the fort at Old Point against the Dutch. Lieut.-Col. Miles Cary married Anne, daughter of Thomas Taylor, a burgess from Warwick county. Many persons in Virginia and the south are descended from him.

[Page 130]
      Bridger, Joseph, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1628, and in March, 1657-58, he represented Isle of Wight in the house of burgesses, as also in 1663. The following year, he was one of the commissioners to decide upon the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland, and on July 12, 1666, he was one of the commissioners to treat with Maryland upon the subject of tobacco culture, and in the same year he is mentioned as a member of the general assembly with the title of adjutant general Bridger. In 1670, he was sworn a member of the council and was present at meetings in 1674. There seems to have been some question of his eligibility for membership, however, for in a list of the councillors made for the lord of trades and plantations, the name of Joseph Bridger is marked "query," and their lordships stated that they would inquire further into the ability and deserts of Col. Joseph Bridger to be of the council. The King, however, on March 14, 1678-79, directed that Joseph Bridger be continued in the council, and he is mentioned as a councillor as late as 1683. In 1675, Col. Bridger took part in the Indian wars, and in the year following, was described by Nat. Bacon, as one of Berkeley's "wicked and pernicious councillors." During Bacon's rebellion, Gov. Berkeley gave to Col Bridger the command of "all the country south of James River." In 1680, he was commander-in-chief of the militia forces raised "so as to be ready for the Indians" in Isle of Wight, Surry, Nansemond and Lower Norfolk. In 1683, Lord Culpeper appointed him his deputy in the office of vice-admiral. Gen. Joseph Bridger died on April 15, 1686. He had acquired a very large landed estate in Isle of Wight county besides grants in Surry and James City counties and Maryland. He has numerous descendants.

[Pages 130-131]
      Ballard, Thomas, was born in 1630 and came to Virginia in or before 1652, at which date he was clerk of York county. In 1666, he represented James city in the house of burgesses and on July 12, of the same year was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with Maryland regarding tobacco culture. He was sworn a member of the council in 1670 and was present at sessions in 1670, 1672 and 1675. He was included among Berkeley's "wicked and pernicious councillors" in the proclamation of Nat. Bacon in 1676, which seems rather hard upon Ballard, as he was denounced by the opposite party as "a fellow of turbulent and mutinous speech and Bacon's chief trumpet, parasite &c." and ultimately lost his seat in the council on account of his sympathy with and furtherance of the rebellion. In Aug., 1676, Col. Ballard issue warrants for pressing men and provisions for Bacon's service and on Aug. 11, he signed the petition calling for the election of burgesses for an assembly to meet Sept. 4, of that year. On June 11, 1677, Gov. Jeffreys wrote Secretary Williamson that he had suspended Ballard from the council and a collectorship, and on Feb. 10, 1678-79, the board of trade and plantations directed that Col. Ballard be put out of the council. Ballard continued to be a prominent figure in the colony, however, and in 1680, was speaker of the house of burgesses. His case as a creditor of "Bacon the Rebel" was represented to the King by the council in 1686. Ballard's wife, Anna ———, was one of the ladies of the council placed by Bacon upon the breastworks before Jamestown, to delay Berkeley's attack until he could complete his defences. He has many descendants.

[Page 131]
      Chicheley, Sir Henry. Governor of Virginia. (q. v.).

[Page 131]
      Jenings, Peter, represented Gloucester in the house of burgesses in March, 1659-60, prior to which date, nothing is known of him. He was again a burgess from Gloucester in 1663 and 1666, he was appointed one of the commissioners to treat with Maryland concerning the cessation of tobacco culture. He was sworn a member of the council on June 20, 1670, and on September 15 of the same year was commissioned attorney general of Virginia by the King and reappointed to the council. He died in or before 1671.

[Page 131]
      Spencer, Nicholas. President of the council and acting governor (q. v.).

[Page 131]
      Pate, John, of Gloucester county, was the nephew and administrator of Richard Pate who patented 1,154 acres of land on the north side of York river, and who represented Gloucester in the house of burgesses in 1653 and died in 1657. Col. John Pate was appointed a justice of Gloucester in the year of 1660 and took the oaths as a councillor, according to one account, in 1670, and according to another, on Sept. 27 of the year following. It is recorded that in 1672, "John Pate, Esq, dying possessed of a considerable estate in this country, and his wife being out of the country, Mr. Thomas Pate, his brother's son," had been appointed administrator. The Pate family is a well known one in Virginia.

[Pages 131-132]
      Bray, James, of James City county, was living in Virginia as early as 1666, and, on April 15, 1670, was sworn a member of the council. He retained his seat until 1676, when during Bacon's rebellion, he seems to have been an active supporter of Gov. Berkeley. He signed the proclamation of Aug. 11, 1676, calling an assembly to meet in the following September. The commissioners sent to suppress the rebellion reported, on Dec. 6, 1677, that Mr. James Bray was a great loser in his estate by that uprising, but they were evidently not favorably disposed towards him, for the English board of trade and Plantations, on Dec. 6, 1677, pronounced him to be a "rash and fiery fellow," and, on Feb. 10, 1678-79, the same body directed that he be put out of the council. He was too friendly to Berkeley to suit the tastes of the royal commissioners. His wife, Mistress Angelica Bray, will always be remembered as one of the "guardian angels of the rebel camp," as the ladies whom Bacon stood in front of his men at Jamestown to protect them while they were throwing up fortifications, were called. Her maiden name is not known. Col. Bray was a wealthy merchant and ship owner in Virginia. He died Oct. 24, 1691. He had three sons who left issue and a grandson, Col. David Bray, who was also councillor for a few months.