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Nathaniel Powell

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Nathaniel Powell
Member of the Virginia Governor's Council
In office
April 19, 1619 – March 22, 1622
GovernorGeorge Yeardley
Francis Wyatt
Acting Governor of Virginia
In office
April 9, 1619 – April 19, 1619
Preceded bySamuel Argall
Succeeded byGeorge Yeardley
Personal details
Born1587
St Olave, Surrey, England
DiedMarch 22, 1622(1622-03-22) (aged 34–35)
Jamestown, Virginia Colony
SpouseJoyce Tracy
RelationsWilliam Powell (cousin)
Ralph Hamor (cousin)
OccupationCartographer, military leader, politician
Military service
Branch/serviceBritish Army (before 1607)
Virginian militia (1617–1623)
RankCaptain (in England)
Sergeant major general (in Virginia)

Nathaniel Powell (b. 1587 – d. November 13, 1627) was a early colonist, cartographer, military leader, and politician who served briefly as the acting governor of the colony of Virginia for a ten-day period in 1619. Powell's additional service in colonial Virginia included as president of the Virginia Governor's Council and as a delegate to the first session of the Virginia General Assembly. He contributed to John Smith's sixth chapter of the History of Virginia and helped make the first map of Virginia.

Early life

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Powell was born in Surrey, England and spent much of his early life as a planter. He served as an officer in the British Army, where he attained the rank of captain.[1] He departed England in December 1606 and arrived to Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.[2]

Virginia colonist

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After arriving in Virginia in April 1607 as one of the original settlers, Powell joined Captain Smith and Christopher Newport in their explorations of the York River and Chesapeake Bay, including meeting with Powhatan in February 1608.[2][3] During this period, Powell mapped the bay and surrounding rivers.[2][4]

Powell was highly active in the political and military affairs of the colony. In 1608, he was an investor in the Virginia Company.[5] He contributed to John Smith's History of Virginia and helped make the first map of Virginia.[2][6][7] In June 1610, Powell was present at the reading of the First Virginia Charter in Jamestown.[8]

In 1617, Governor Samuel Argall commissioned Powell as Sergeant-Major General to Francis West. Shortly thereafter, Powell served as deputy governor of Virginia. From April 9 to April 19, 1619,[7] Powell succeeded departing governor Argall to serve as acting governor of Virginia Colony before the arrival of George Yeardley.[9][10] Powell resided in Charles City during this period.[5] From 1619 until 1622, Powell served as a member of the Virginia Governor's Council, including as president due to his tenure.[2]

In July 1619, Powell served as a delegate to the first session of the Virginia General Assembly. In January 1620, Powell was among the signatories of a letter to Virginia Company officials about the importance of tobacco in the economy of the Virginia Colony.[5][11]

Powell was a prominent landowner, owning a 600-acre estate known as the Powellbrooke Plantation.[9]

Death

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During the Jamestown massacre, on March 22, 1622,[12] Powell and his pregnant wife were killed by the Powhatan Confederacy chief Opechancanough.[2][13][6]

Legacy

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After his murder, John Smith wrote of Powell that he was "one of the first planters, a valiant soldier, and not any in the country better known amongst them."[14]

Powell is the namesake of Powell's Creek in Prince George County, Virginia.[15] The site of Powell's plantation is now part of the James River National Wildlife Refuge.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Lucas, Silas Emmett (1969). The Powell Families of Virginia and the South: Being an Encyclopedia of the Eight (8) Major Powell Families of Virginia and the South in General. Lucas.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Biographies of Virginia Governors 1607 to 1910". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  3. ^ "Eagle's Nest". freepages.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  4. ^ "Zuniga Map". Captain John Smith Chesapeake Cross Markers. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  5. ^ a b c McCartney, Martha W. (2000). Documentary History of Jamestown Island: Biographies of owners and residents. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
  6. ^ a b Jr, Frank E. Grizzard; Smith, Daniel Boyd (2007-03-21). Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-85109-642-8.
  7. ^ a b Barbour, Philip L. (2018-01-01). The Complete Works of Captain John Smith, 1580-1631, Volume II: Volume II. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-0006-2.
  8. ^ Brown, Alexander (1901). English Politics in Early Virginia History. Houghton, Mifflin.
  9. ^ a b McCartney, Martha W. (2007). Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary. Genealogical Publishing Com. ISBN 978-0-8063-1774-8.
  10. ^ James P. C. Southall. “Captain John Martin of Brandon on the James.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 54, no. 1, 1946, pp. 21–67. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4245382. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
  11. ^ Price, David A. (2007-12-18). Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-42670-3.
  12. ^ "The First Residents of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  13. ^ Bellet, Louise Pecquet du (1907). Some Prominent Virginia Families. J.P. Bell Company (Incorporated). ISBN 978-0-7222-4616-0. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  14. ^ "The massacre upon the two and twentieth of March"; an excerpt from The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (1624)". Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
  15. ^ "Powell's Creek Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved 2025-06-14.
  16. ^ "James River National Wildlife Refuge | About Us | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service". www.fws.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-15.
Government offices
Preceded by Acting Colonial Governor of Virginia
1619 		Succeeded by
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