John West (colonel)

Lieutenant-Colonel John West, Jr. of West Point, Virginia (1632–1691) was commander of the New Kent Militia in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, and a representative of the same county in the House of Burgesses.

Biography

John West was born in 1632, the first child of English parents born on the York River. The government granted his father a large tract of land in honor of his birth. He was the son of Governor John West of Virginia and the nephew of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (Delaware).

West was taken prisoner in Bacon's Rebellion. As to what Bacon's men did to him, it is not recorded. West sat on the court-martial that tried the rebels, and he evened the score with them. He was active on the side of Governor William Berkeley. He later sat on Berkely's Court Martial at Green Spring Plantation. As Charles II of England said, the Court Martial condemned "more men in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father".

In 1685 West represented New Kent in the House of Burgesses. His will dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed in a later destruction of the County records.

Marriages and issue

In 1654, West married Unity Croshaw, daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw of York, member of the House of Burgesses. The children of Colonel John and Unity Croshaw were:

• Captain Nathaniel West (b. 1655-1724), he was mentioned in records as a Captain in 1662, a Major in 1667, Lt. Colonel in 1673. He commanded the militia of the county. Nathaniel married his second cousin Martha Woodard (the widow of Gideon Macon). Their son-in-law, William Dandridge, was Martha Washington's uncle.
• Unity (Susannah) West (b. 1657), married George Martin.
• Anne West (b.1660-1708), married Henry Fox.
• John West III (b. 1666), married Judith Armistead.
• Captain Thomas West (b. 1670-1714), he was a Captain in the King William County Militia and served as a member of the House of Burgesses representing the same county in 1703-05, 1705-06 married Agnes and had four children.

West was recorded as having lived with Cockacoeske, the Weroansqua of the Pamunkey tribe. It was written that she "kept company" with John West. They had several sons, one of whom was named was John West after his father.^[1]

The Tax Rolls for 3 March 1660 included the following order by the Virginia Assembly: "Whereas the many important favors and services rendered to the country of Virginia by the Noble family of West, predecessors to Mr. John West, it is ordered that the levies taxes of the said Master West and his family be remitted and that he be exempted from payment there of during life."

Ancestry

References

1. ^ Although West was clearly living apart from his first wife, Unity, there appears to be no record of a divorce.

Sources

• "The Powhatan Indians of Virginia: Their Traditional Culture. Rountree, Helen C., University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.
• "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." W. Martha W. McCartney.
• "Powhatan's Mantle: Indians in the Colonial Southeast by Peter H. Wood.

Persondata
Name	West, John
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1632
Place of birth
Date of death	1691
Place of death