- Francis Wyatt
Sir Francis Wyatt, (
1588 –1644 ), the first English colonial governor ofVirginia . He became governor in1621 , shortly after his arrival in October, taking with him the first written constitution for an English colony. In1622 he rallied the defense of Jamestown which was attacked by Native Americans, during which the lives of some 400 settlers had been lost.Virginia became a
royal colony in1624 , but Sir Francis, at the request of the crown, remained on as governor until 1626, when Sir George Yeardley, whom he had succeeded, resumed the office. He was appointed governor again from1639 until1642 , and was then succeeded by Sir William Berkeley.Sir Francis's wife was named Margaret; she was the niece of
George Sandys , the Treasurer of Jamestown until Sir Francis. His Great-grandfatherThomas Wyatt (poet) was the brother-in-law of SirHenry Lee of Ditchley .Although Sir Francis left no direct descendants in what would later become the
United States of America , his brother, the Reverend Haute Wyatt, is considered the common ancestor to those who claim kinship to the pre-1700 Wyatt family in the Americas.Sir Francis Wyatt organized the General Assembly which had been called in
1619 . This was the first legislative body in America. Sir Francis caused its privileges to be embodied in a written constitution, the first of its kind in the new world.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.