Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 1.djvu/117

 COLONIAL COLWCILLORS OF STATE

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wine and silk \ve highly commend, and assure you it is the Companie's care to reward your merit. * * * In the meantime they desire you to proceed in these noble courses assuring you of all love and respect." In spite of this, how- ever, it would seem that his attention was chiefly given to the colony's relations with the savages, especially in regard to the conver- sion of the latter. His manner of winning their friendship was certainly worthy of his professions and even went to the length of building a handsome house in the English style for Opochankano and putting to death a number of English mastiffs of which the Indians had expressed fear. It was certainly one of the blackest stains on the Indian char- acter, to be found in all the white man's deal- ings with him that, when, on ]\Iarch 22, 162 1- 22, the colonists w^ere surprised in the great massacre, George Thorpe was not spared, but was murdered with every circumstance of re- morseless cruelty. Thorpe was twice married, tirst to Alargaret, a daughter of Sir Thomas Porter and after her death to Margaret, a daughter of David Harris, who survived him. L'pon the next two names in the list of coun- cillors, the records have but little to say, they are those of

Middleton, David, councillor, 1620, and

Blewitt, Mr., councillor, 1620, whose Chris- tian name is not given.

Tracy, William, was one of those who formed with Thorpe, Berkeley and others a company to conduct a private plantation in \"rginia. He is believed by Alexander Brown, author of "The Genesis of the United States," to have been the son of Sir John Tracy. It is probable that he came to X'irginia at the same time that Thorpe did, the latter arrived in

March, 1620, as on June 28, of the same year lie was, along with Thorpe, appointed a mem- ber of the colonial council. The following September he sailed in the ship "Supply," with emigrants for Berkeley Hundred, now Berke- ley, Charles City county. There is no direct record of his death, but it is evident that he did not even live to witness ihe terrible mas- sacre by the Indians which brought death, in 1622, to his friend and partner, Thorpe, and to so many of the colonists, as the records of the company state, under date of July, 1621, that the news of his death had been received in England. But although Tracy himself escaped the horror, one of his daughters, who had married Capt. Nathaniel Powell, was not S3 fortunate, but was killed with her husband in that dreadful affair.

Harwood, William, came to Virginia about 1620, and on June 28, of that year, the, \'ir- ginia Company appointed him, as "Mr. Har- wood the chief of ]\Iartin's Hundred," a mem- ber of the council, along with George Thorpe, William Tracy and others. In a letter dated Aug. 21, 1621, the company again speaks of him as "governor of Martin's Hundred," and in another letter of Jan. 10, 1622, the authori- ties of Virginia are informed by the company that the adventurers of Martin's Hundred de- sired that Air. Harwood might be spared from the office of councillor, their business recjuir- ing his presence continually. He was prob- ably a relative of Sir Edward Harwood, a distinguished soldier, who w^as a member of the Mrginia Company and in 1619 presented a petition to that body in behalf of the pro- prietors of Martin's Hundred. An exami- nation of Sir Edward's will, however, show's no reference to him. '

Pountis, John, was appointed councillor