Clymer Weir Cox Genealogy » Lt. John Claiborne West (1632-????)

Personal data Lt. John Claiborne West 

• He was born on June 6, 1632.
• A child of JOHN KNOLLYS (VA) WEST and ANN CLAIBORNE
• This information was last updated on April 30, 2024.

Household of Lt. John Claiborne West

He is married to Unity Ursula Crowshaw.

They got married

Child(ren):

1. Nathaniel Crowshaw West   

Notes about Lt. John Claiborne West

LTC John West II VVeteran
Birth: 6 Jun 1632 New Kent County, Virginia, USA
Death: 1691 (aged 58œ59) West Point, King William County, Virginia, USA
Burial: Jamestown Fort James Cemetery, Jamestown, James City County, Virginia, USA
Memorial #: 145906688
Bio: Lt. Col. John West was the son of Governor John West of Virginia, and grandson of Thomas West, second Baron De la Warr, and Governor George Percy of Virginia. His uncle Thomas West was the third Lord De la Warr.

William and Mary Quarterly, vol. XIV (1906), p.64:
"YORKTOWN.
"On October 8, 1630, the Council of Virginia determined to plant a settlement in the Indian district called Chiskiack, on the south side of York river. The leaders of the settlers were two councillors, Captain John Utie and Captain John West, brother of Lord Delaware, who were allowed 600 acres apiece on York river, on opposite sides of the mouth of King's creek.
"Captain Utie settled at 'TJtimaria," on the west side, and Captain West on the east side, at a plantation afterwards called "Bellfield." Other settlers ranged themselves on the river on either side of Utie and West, and soon there were two parishes, Chiskiack and York.
...In 1633 was born, at "Bellfield," John West, Jr., founder of West Point, the first child born on York River."

From 'The Armistead Family' by Virginia Armistead Garber (1910) page 58: "Colonel West was one of the first settlers to patent lands on King's Creek. His plantation was known as "Bellfield". In 1632 his son, John West Jr, was born, becoming the first child of English parents born on the York River. Governor West sold Bellfield plantation in 1650 to Edward Digges, Esquire (Governor of Virginia from 1655-1656) and moved to his plantation called West Point in the fork of the York River. It is now located in the city of West Point, Virginia."

John West II 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.

He served in the militia from 1652 to 1673. He was a supporter of Governor Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion, and appears in the list compiled by the King's Commissioners of those who suffered grievances during the uprising: "Col. John West, a person greatly impaired in his stock & goods by the Rebells, and a most constant Loyall Gentleman during the late Rebellion, and was for some time after Bacons death Imprisoned by the Rebell Partie." (ref., Persons who Suffered by Bacon's Rebellion. The Commissioners' Report", The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jul., 1897), pp. 64-70.)

He afterward served as a member of the courts-martials which tried the rebels.(ref., Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, p.27.)

In 1659 his father died, the last of the four sons of Thomas West, 2nd Baron De La Warr, who came to Virginia. In recognition of the family's contributions to the colonial enterprise, the Virginia Assembly passed the following Act:
"WHEREAS the many important favours and services rendered to the countrey of Virginia by the noble family of the West, predecessors to Mr. John West, their now only survivor, claim at least that a grateful remembrance of their former merrits be still continued to their survivor, It is ordered, That the levies of the said master West and his ffamily be remitted, and that he be exempted from payment thereof during life." (ref.,Hening, Statutes at Large, vol. 1, p. 547.)

In 1685 West represented New Kent in the House of Burgesses. "His will dated November 15, 1689, was probated about 1691. It was destroyed along with the other County records in a fire in 1787" (ref., Wikipedia).

He married Unity (Ursula) Crowshaw, daughter of Maj. Joseph Crowshaw and granddaughter of Rawleigh Crowshaw, and had a number of children including John West III (1676œ1734) who was a justice and sheriff of King and Queen County and a House of Burgesses representative for King William County.

He and Cockacoeske, Queen of the Pamunkey, had one son, John West born in 1677. She was the former consort of his first cousin, "Toby" (Totopotomoi) Thomas West, who was a son of Thomas West, third Lord Delaware, and Rachel Powhattan.

Various references give his dates of birth and death as "about 1632" and 1689-91. Kerry Phillips (#47317145), 9th Great-Grandson of Capt. John West of West Point, gives his birth date Jun. 6, 1632 and death as 1691.

Historic marker erected by Colonial Dames of the XVII Century:
"COL. JOHN WEST II
(1633-1689)
Inherited 6,000 acres of this land from his father, John West I. Land-grant ca. 1650. John West II was taken prisoner during Bacon's Rebellion. He later sat on court martial for those 'Rebels'. He was Colonel of Militia and Burgess for New Kent County 1685-1686. In the 1659-60 session of the House of Burgesses an act was passed to exempt him from taxes for life in consideration of 'the many important favors and services rendered to the country (sic) of Virginia by the noble family of the Wests, predecessors to Mr. John West, their now only survivor."

From Quinnhistory.com: "He was the first English child born on the York River. On June 6, 1632 the Council of Virginia took recognition of the first Christian child born on the York River and granted his father 2000 acres of land for this honor. It is likely that he was sent to England for his education, and returned to Virginia about 1651. At that time his father Governor John West made a claim for land for the entry of his wife and his only son into the colony. Mentioned in various records as Captain in 1662, Major in 1667 and Lieutenant Colonel in 1673. He figured prominently in Bacon's Rebelliion in 1676. Senior presiding justice of County Court of Kent County in 1680, and Colonel commanding the militia of the county. He was taken prisoner during Bacon' Rebellion. As to what Bacon's men did to him is not recorded but as he later sat on the court-martial that tried the rebels he more than evened with them. In the 1659-60 session of the House of Burgesses, an act was passed exempting him from taxes for life in consideration of the important favors and services rendered to the county of Virginia by the noble family of the Wests, predecessors of John West and their now only survior. Member of House of Burgesses, 1685 - 88. He inherited 3/4 of the "Popular Neck Plantation" from his father-in-law Major Joseph Crowshaw due to his brother-in-law's death prior to reaching majority. His will was dated November 15, 1689. The Wests were Tories."

Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography Volume I (1915) by Lyon G. Tyler, page 356: "Colonel John West, son of Captain John West, governor, etc., was born at "Bellfield", York River in 1632. being the first child of English parents born on York River; lived at West Point, sat on the courtsmartial that tried the rebels in Bacon's time; senior justice and colonel of the New Kent county militia; married Unity, daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw; burgess of New Kent county in 1685 and 1686.
He had three sons, John, Nathaniel and Thomas, and one daughter, Unity, who married Henry Fox of King William county."

Capt. Nathaniel West, reported as the son of Col. John West, married Martha Washington's grandmother, Martha Woodward Macon, and was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Patrick Henry, Dorothea Spottswood Dandridge.
Patrick Henry was himself a descendant of Toby West (Indian name Totopotomoy), first cousin of Capt. John West II, and Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey.

Ancestry: See
Anthony Hoskins, —Mary Boleyn‘s Carey children œ offspring of King Henry VIII?“, Genealogists‘ Magazine, vol. 25, no. 9 [March 1997], pp. 345-352?Son of John (I) and Anne (Percy) West

Husband of Ursula Unity (Croshaw) West

Their son, Nathaniel West (m. Martha Woodward)
Family Members
Parents
John West1590-1659
Anne Claiborne Percy West1600-1667
Spouses
Cockacoeske "Queen Anne" Powhatan West1634-1686
Unity "Ursula" Croshaw West1636-1669
Children
Susanna West Martin1653-1675
MAJ John West1657-1716
Unity West Martin1657-Unknown
Anne West Fox1660-1708
COL Nathaniel West1665-1723
John West III1666-1734
Created by: Ray Isbell (47188697)
Added: 2015-05-02T00:45:18.000Z
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145906688/john_west
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/145906688/john-west: accessed April 30, 2024), memorial page for LTC John West II (6 Jun 1632œ1691), Find a Grave Memorial ID 145906688, citing Jamestown Fort James Cemetery, Jamestown, James City County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Ray Isbell (contributor 47188697).

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