Colonial American History Figure.
John Rolfe was an early adventurer of the British Colony of Virginia. He served as secretary and recorder general of Virginia (1614 to 1619) and as a member of the governor's Council (1614 to 1622). Rolfe is best known for having married Pocahontas in 1614 and for being the first to cultivate marketable tobacco in Virginia.
John's parentage has not been determined; it is known with certainty, however, that he had a brother named Henry Rolfe, who was an investor in the Virginia Company. It has also been proven that John Rolfe and Dorthea Mason were not his parents, as is often believed.
John married Sarah Hacker in 1608 and the couple made the adventurous decision to immigrate to the brand-new colony of Virginia. They sailed from Plymouth on June 2, 1609, aboard the Sea Venture, flagship of the Third Supply. They were in the company of many notable people: Admiral George Somers, Sir Thomas Gates, Capt. Christopher Newport, Capt. William Pierce, Samuel Jordan, Rev. Richard Bucke, and William Strachey, only to name a few.
Encountering a hurricane at sea on July 25, 1609, the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on what became known as the island of Bermuda. 150 humans and a dog made it safely ashore. The rest of the world thought they were all lost at sea. Working together, the survivors salvaged what they could from the Sea Venture and began building new vessels to allow them to continue their journey.
John and Sarah Rolfe welcomed their only child, a baby girl in February 1610. They named her Bermuda after the group of islands on which they were stranded. On February 11th, little Bermuda was christened, and Captain Christopher Newport and William Strachey served as witnesses. Tragically baby Bermuda did not live long, and Sarah Rolfe died soon thereafter. John Rolfe buried his wife and child in the sands of Somers Island.
The remaining Sea Venture survivors boarded the vessels they had built, the Deliverance and the Patience, and finally arrived in Jamestown on May 24, 1610. Almost a year after they left England.
They found Jamestown in dire straits. Without the supplies carried aboard the Sea Venture, Jamestown was starving. Only 60 colonists remained alive.
John Rolfe applied himself to growing tobacco. Early attempts at growing native tobacco were not palatable but Rolfe saw the potential for profit and did not give up. With seeds from Trinidad, Rolfe developed a sweeter strain he named "Orinoco." Exportation of this sweeter tobacco began in 1612 and is credited with turning the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. Tobacco became such a vital part of the colonial economy that settlers were required to grow it and could be indentured if they did not. Tobacco leaves were even used as currency. It was John Rolfe's determination and foresight that made this possible.
John Rolfe became a member of the Governor's Council, as well as secretary and recorder general of Virginia in 1614.
Native conflicts were ongoing. Capt Argall kidnapped Powhatan's favorite daughter Pocahontas in 1613 and held her at Jamestown, intending to use her as leverage for the return of English prisoners. During her yearlong imprisonment, Pocahontas converted to Christianity, took the English name Rebecca and met a devout young widower John Rolfe. After much negotiation with Powhatan and the permission of the Governor of Virginia, in April 1614, John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married.
Pocahontas and John saved the colony by bringing peace, and Rolfe saved the colony by creating the cash crop of tobacco.
John and Rebecca welcomed their only child, a son, Thomas, in January 1615.
On June 2, 1616, John, Rebecca and baby Thomas Rolfe arrived in England on a tour to promote the Colony of Virginia. They were accompanied by Governor Sir Thomas Dale and 11 additional Powhatan Indians. At the end of the tour, as they were in fact setting sail to return home, Pocahontas became gravely ill and died at Gravesend, never to return to her homeland. Court records confirm that John Rolfe left his son Thomas Rolfe in England as the ward of Sir Lewis Stucley, and records of the Virginia Company verify that John's brother Henry Rolfe, later took over custody of his little nephew.
John and Tomocomo returned to Virginia by May 1617, shortly thereafter an epidemic of 'bloody flux' struck the colony and the surrounding Indian communities, brought possibly from England upon their return. Many colonists died, and many more of the Native Americans.
John Rolfe threw himself into his plantation, and in 1618 approximately 40,000 pounds of his tobacco were shipped to England.
At the plantation next to Varina lived Captain William Pierce and his family. Rolfe and Pierce had been friends since the shipwreck and in 1619, Rolfe married Pierce's only daughter Jane (Joane). John and Joan Rolfe welcomed their only child, daughter Elizabeth Rolfe on January 25, 1620.
On March 10, 1622, being sick and fearing his death was imminent, John Rolfe wrote his last will and testament. He died sometime before the March 22nd Indian massacre. It is perhaps his death, that saved his wife and child, for they most likely went to her parents' home in Jamestown, which was much more fortified than Varina. The Massacre of 1622 left everything in turmoil, John Rolfe's exact day of death is not known, and he could have been buried either at Varina or in Jamestown. Many records of this time period burned when the courthouse burned.
John Rolfe is indisputably the father of the tobacco industry in North America, an industry that paid for the building of the Colony of Virginia and financed a goodly portion of the building of America. Tobacco companies still hold a great deal of power in today's economy and a great deal of influence on our culture and way of life.
John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas bought the colonists time to establish a foothold in Virginia at a time when they were on the brink of abandoning the whole colony project.
John Rolfe survived a shipwreck, overcame the death of two wives, and persevered. Without John Rolfe the infant colony of Virginia would not have succeeded.
John Rolfe was an early adventurer of the British Colony of Virginia. He served as secretary and recorder general of Virginia (1614 to 1619) and as a member of the governor's Council (1614 to 1622). Rolfe is best known for having married Pocahontas in 1614 and for being the first to cultivate marketable tobacco in Virginia.
John's parentage has not been determined; it is known with certainty, however, that he had a brother named Henry Rolfe, who was an investor in the Virginia Company. It has also been proven that John Rolfe and Dorthea Mason were not his parents, as is often believed.
John married Sarah Hacker in 1608 and the couple made the adventurous decision to immigrate to the brand-new colony of Virginia. They sailed from Plymouth on June 2, 1609, aboard the Sea Venture, flagship of the Third Supply. They were in the company of many notable people: Admiral George Somers, Sir Thomas Gates, Capt. Christopher Newport, Capt. William Pierce, Samuel Jordan, Rev. Richard Bucke, and William Strachey, only to name a few.
Encountering a hurricane at sea on July 25, 1609, the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on what became known as the island of Bermuda. 150 humans and a dog made it safely ashore. The rest of the world thought they were all lost at sea. Working together, the survivors salvaged what they could from the Sea Venture and began building new vessels to allow them to continue their journey.
John and Sarah Rolfe welcomed their only child, a baby girl in February 1610. They named her Bermuda after the group of islands on which they were stranded. On February 11th, little Bermuda was christened, and Captain Christopher Newport and William Strachey served as witnesses. Tragically baby Bermuda did not live long, and Sarah Rolfe died soon thereafter. John Rolfe buried his wife and child in the sands of Somers Island.
The remaining Sea Venture survivors boarded the vessels they had built, the Deliverance and the Patience, and finally arrived in Jamestown on May 24, 1610. Almost a year after they left England.
They found Jamestown in dire straits. Without the supplies carried aboard the Sea Venture, Jamestown was starving. Only 60 colonists remained alive.
John Rolfe applied himself to growing tobacco. Early attempts at growing native tobacco were not palatable but Rolfe saw the potential for profit and did not give up. With seeds from Trinidad, Rolfe developed a sweeter strain he named "Orinoco." Exportation of this sweeter tobacco began in 1612 and is credited with turning the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. Tobacco became such a vital part of the colonial economy that settlers were required to grow it and could be indentured if they did not. Tobacco leaves were even used as currency. It was John Rolfe's determination and foresight that made this possible.
John Rolfe became a member of the Governor's Council, as well as secretary and recorder general of Virginia in 1614.
Native conflicts were ongoing. Capt Argall kidnapped Powhatan's favorite daughter Pocahontas in 1613 and held her at Jamestown, intending to use her as leverage for the return of English prisoners. During her yearlong imprisonment, Pocahontas converted to Christianity, took the English name Rebecca and met a devout young widower John Rolfe. After much negotiation with Powhatan and the permission of the Governor of Virginia, in April 1614, John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married.
Pocahontas and John saved the colony by bringing peace, and Rolfe saved the colony by creating the cash crop of tobacco.
John and Rebecca welcomed their only child, a son, Thomas, in January 1615.
On June 2, 1616, John, Rebecca and baby Thomas Rolfe arrived in England on a tour to promote the Colony of Virginia. They were accompanied by Governor Sir Thomas Dale and 11 additional Powhatan Indians. At the end of the tour, as they were in fact setting sail to return home, Pocahontas became gravely ill and died at Gravesend, never to return to her homeland. Court records confirm that John Rolfe left his son Thomas Rolfe in England as the ward of Sir Lewis Stucley, and records of the Virginia Company verify that John's brother Henry Rolfe, later took over custody of his little nephew.
John and Tomocomo returned to Virginia by May 1617, shortly thereafter an epidemic of 'bloody flux' struck the colony and the surrounding Indian communities, brought possibly from England upon their return. Many colonists died, and many more of the Native Americans.
John Rolfe threw himself into his plantation, and in 1618 approximately 40,000 pounds of his tobacco were shipped to England.
At the plantation next to Varina lived Captain William Pierce and his family. Rolfe and Pierce had been friends since the shipwreck and in 1619, Rolfe married Pierce's only daughter Jane (Joane). John and Joan Rolfe welcomed their only child, daughter Elizabeth Rolfe on January 25, 1620.
On March 10, 1622, being sick and fearing his death was imminent, John Rolfe wrote his last will and testament. He died sometime before the March 22nd Indian massacre. It is perhaps his death, that saved his wife and child, for they most likely went to her parents' home in Jamestown, which was much more fortified than Varina. The Massacre of 1622 left everything in turmoil, John Rolfe's exact day of death is not known, and he could have been buried either at Varina or in Jamestown. Many records of this time period burned when the courthouse burned.
John Rolfe is indisputably the father of the tobacco industry in North America, an industry that paid for the building of the Colony of Virginia and financed a goodly portion of the building of America. Tobacco companies still hold a great deal of power in today's economy and a great deal of influence on our culture and way of life.
John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas bought the colonists time to establish a foothold in Virginia at a time when they were on the brink of abandoning the whole colony project.
John Rolfe survived a shipwreck, overcame the death of two wives, and persevered. Without John Rolfe the infant colony of Virginia would not have succeeded.
Colonial American History Figure.
John Rolfe was an early adventurer of the British Colony of Virginia. He served as secretary and recorder general of Virginia (1614 to 1619) and as a member of the governor's Council (1614 to 1622). Rolfe is best known for having married Pocahontas in 1614 and for being the first to cultivate marketable tobacco in Virginia.
John's parentage has not been determined; it is known with certainty, however, that he had a brother named Henry Rolfe, who was an investor in the Virginia Company. It has also been proven that John Rolfe and Dorthea Mason were not his parents, as is often believed.
John married Sarah Hacker in 1608 and the couple made the adventurous decision to immigrate to the brand-new colony of Virginia. They sailed from Plymouth on June 2, 1609, aboard the Sea Venture, flagship of the Third Supply. They were in the company of many notable people: Admiral George Somers, Sir Thomas Gates, Capt. Christopher Newport, Capt. William Pierce, Samuel Jordan, Rev. Richard Bucke, and William Strachey, only to name a few.
Encountering a hurricane at sea on July 25, 1609, the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on what became known as the island of Bermuda. 150 humans and a dog made it safely ashore. The rest of the world thought they were all lost at sea. Working together, the survivors salvaged what they could from the Sea Venture and began building new vessels to allow them to continue their journey.
John and Sarah Rolfe welcomed their only child, a baby girl in February 1610. They named her Bermuda after the group of islands on which they were stranded. On February 11th, little Bermuda was christened, and Captain Christopher Newport and William Strachey served as witnesses. Tragically baby Bermuda did not live long, and Sarah Rolfe died soon thereafter. John Rolfe buried his wife and child in the sands of Somers Island.
The remaining Sea Venture survivors boarded the vessels they had built, the Deliverance and the Patience, and finally arrived in Jamestown on May 24, 1610. Almost a year after they left England.
They found Jamestown in dire straits. Without the supplies carried aboard the Sea Venture, Jamestown was starving. Only 60 colonists remained alive.
John Rolfe applied himself to growing tobacco. Early attempts at growing native tobacco were not palatable but Rolfe saw the potential for profit and did not give up. With seeds from Trinidad, Rolfe developed a sweeter strain he named "Orinoco." Exportation of this sweeter tobacco began in 1612 and is credited with turning the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. Tobacco became such a vital part of the colonial economy that settlers were required to grow it and could be indentured if they did not. Tobacco leaves were even used as currency. It was John Rolfe's determination and foresight that made this possible.
John Rolfe became a member of the Governor's Council, as well as secretary and recorder general of Virginia in 1614.
Native conflicts were ongoing. Capt Argall kidnapped Powhatan's favorite daughter Pocahontas in 1613 and held her at Jamestown, intending to use her as leverage for the return of English prisoners. During her yearlong imprisonment, Pocahontas converted to Christianity, took the English name Rebecca and met a devout young widower John Rolfe. After much negotiation with Powhatan and the permission of the Governor of Virginia, in April 1614, John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married.
Pocahontas and John saved the colony by bringing peace, and Rolfe saved the colony by creating the cash crop of tobacco.
John and Rebecca welcomed their only child, a son, Thomas, in January 1615.
On June 2, 1616, John, Rebecca and baby Thomas Rolfe arrived in England on a tour to promote the Colony of Virginia. They were accompanied by Governor Sir Thomas Dale and 11 additional Powhatan Indians. At the end of the tour, as they were in fact setting sail to return home, Pocahontas became gravely ill and died at Gravesend, never to return to her homeland. Court records confirm that John Rolfe left his son Thomas Rolfe in England as the ward of Sir Lewis Stucley, and records of the Virginia Company verify that John's brother Henry Rolfe, later took over custody of his little nephew.
John and Tomocomo returned to Virginia by May 1617, shortly thereafter an epidemic of 'bloody flux' struck the colony and the surrounding Indian communities, brought possibly from England upon their return. Many colonists died, and many more of the Native Americans.
John Rolfe threw himself into his plantation, and in 1618 approximately 40,000 pounds of his tobacco were shipped to England.
At the plantation next to Varina lived Captain William Pierce and his family. Rolfe and Pierce had been friends since the shipwreck and in 1619, Rolfe married Pierce's only daughter Jane (Joane). John and Joan Rolfe welcomed their only child, daughter Elizabeth Rolfe on January 25, 1620.
On March 10, 1622, being sick and fearing his death was imminent, John Rolfe wrote his last will and testament. He died sometime before the March 22nd Indian massacre. It is perhaps his death, that saved his wife and child, for they most likely went to her parents' home in Jamestown, which was much more fortified than Varina. The Massacre of 1622 left everything in turmoil, John Rolfe's exact day of death is not known, and he could have been buried either at Varina or in Jamestown. Many records of this time period burned when the courthouse burned.
John Rolfe is indisputably the father of the tobacco industry in North America, an industry that paid for the building of the Colony of Virginia and financed a goodly portion of the building of America. Tobacco companies still hold a great deal of power in today's economy and a great deal of influence on our culture and way of life.
John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas bought the colonists time to establish a foothold in Virginia at a time when they were on the brink of abandoning the whole colony project.
John Rolfe survived a shipwreck, overcame the death of two wives, and persevered. Without John Rolfe the infant colony of Virginia would not have succeeded.
John Rolfe was an early adventurer of the British Colony of Virginia. He served as secretary and recorder general of Virginia (1614 to 1619) and as a member of the governor's Council (1614 to 1622). Rolfe is best known for having married Pocahontas in 1614 and for being the first to cultivate marketable tobacco in Virginia.
John's parentage has not been determined; it is known with certainty, however, that he had a brother named Henry Rolfe, who was an investor in the Virginia Company. It has also been proven that John Rolfe and Dorthea Mason were not his parents, as is often believed.
John married Sarah Hacker in 1608 and the couple made the adventurous decision to immigrate to the brand-new colony of Virginia. They sailed from Plymouth on June 2, 1609, aboard the Sea Venture, flagship of the Third Supply. They were in the company of many notable people: Admiral George Somers, Sir Thomas Gates, Capt. Christopher Newport, Capt. William Pierce, Samuel Jordan, Rev. Richard Bucke, and William Strachey, only to name a few.
Encountering a hurricane at sea on July 25, 1609, the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on what became known as the island of Bermuda. 150 humans and a dog made it safely ashore. The rest of the world thought they were all lost at sea. Working together, the survivors salvaged what they could from the Sea Venture and began building new vessels to allow them to continue their journey.
John and Sarah Rolfe welcomed their only child, a baby girl in February 1610. They named her Bermuda after the group of islands on which they were stranded. On February 11th, little Bermuda was christened, and Captain Christopher Newport and William Strachey served as witnesses. Tragically baby Bermuda did not live long, and Sarah Rolfe died soon thereafter. John Rolfe buried his wife and child in the sands of Somers Island.
The remaining Sea Venture survivors boarded the vessels they had built, the Deliverance and the Patience, and finally arrived in Jamestown on May 24, 1610. Almost a year after they left England.
They found Jamestown in dire straits. Without the supplies carried aboard the Sea Venture, Jamestown was starving. Only 60 colonists remained alive.
John Rolfe applied himself to growing tobacco. Early attempts at growing native tobacco were not palatable but Rolfe saw the potential for profit and did not give up. With seeds from Trinidad, Rolfe developed a sweeter strain he named "Orinoco." Exportation of this sweeter tobacco began in 1612 and is credited with turning the Virginia Colony into a profitable venture. Tobacco became such a vital part of the colonial economy that settlers were required to grow it and could be indentured if they did not. Tobacco leaves were even used as currency. It was John Rolfe's determination and foresight that made this possible.
John Rolfe became a member of the Governor's Council, as well as secretary and recorder general of Virginia in 1614.
Native conflicts were ongoing. Capt Argall kidnapped Powhatan's favorite daughter Pocahontas in 1613 and held her at Jamestown, intending to use her as leverage for the return of English prisoners. During her yearlong imprisonment, Pocahontas converted to Christianity, took the English name Rebecca and met a devout young widower John Rolfe. After much negotiation with Powhatan and the permission of the Governor of Virginia, in April 1614, John Rolfe and Pocahontas were married.
Pocahontas and John saved the colony by bringing peace, and Rolfe saved the colony by creating the cash crop of tobacco.
John and Rebecca welcomed their only child, a son, Thomas, in January 1615.
On June 2, 1616, John, Rebecca and baby Thomas Rolfe arrived in England on a tour to promote the Colony of Virginia. They were accompanied by Governor Sir Thomas Dale and 11 additional Powhatan Indians. At the end of the tour, as they were in fact setting sail to return home, Pocahontas became gravely ill and died at Gravesend, never to return to her homeland. Court records confirm that John Rolfe left his son Thomas Rolfe in England as the ward of Sir Lewis Stucley, and records of the Virginia Company verify that John's brother Henry Rolfe, later took over custody of his little nephew.
John and Tomocomo returned to Virginia by May 1617, shortly thereafter an epidemic of 'bloody flux' struck the colony and the surrounding Indian communities, brought possibly from England upon their return. Many colonists died, and many more of the Native Americans.
John Rolfe threw himself into his plantation, and in 1618 approximately 40,000 pounds of his tobacco were shipped to England.
At the plantation next to Varina lived Captain William Pierce and his family. Rolfe and Pierce had been friends since the shipwreck and in 1619, Rolfe married Pierce's only daughter Jane (Joane). John and Joan Rolfe welcomed their only child, daughter Elizabeth Rolfe on January 25, 1620.
On March 10, 1622, being sick and fearing his death was imminent, John Rolfe wrote his last will and testament. He died sometime before the March 22nd Indian massacre. It is perhaps his death, that saved his wife and child, for they most likely went to her parents' home in Jamestown, which was much more fortified than Varina. The Massacre of 1622 left everything in turmoil, John Rolfe's exact day of death is not known, and he could have been buried either at Varina or in Jamestown. Many records of this time period burned when the courthouse burned.
John Rolfe is indisputably the father of the tobacco industry in North America, an industry that paid for the building of the Colony of Virginia and financed a goodly portion of the building of America. Tobacco companies still hold a great deal of power in today's economy and a great deal of influence on our culture and way of life.
John Rolfe's marriage to Pocahontas bought the colonists time to establish a foothold in Virginia at a time when they were on the brink of abandoning the whole colony project.
John Rolfe survived a shipwreck, overcame the death of two wives, and persevered. Without John Rolfe the infant colony of Virginia would not have succeeded.
Bio by: Kathy Thomas Sexton
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Rolfe memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
