• from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Popes_Creek_(Virginia)

The Pope family

Nathaniel Pope is first mentioned as one of the twenty-four freeman of the "Grand Inquest" in Maryland in 1637 and in the Assembly afterward. He affixed a mark to his writings. In 1643 he and his nine menial servants were exempted from military service. He was sent as an agent by Governor Leonard Calvert[4] to Kent Island in 1647, and attempted, as charged, to persuade the rebels against the Proprietary there to come and live at Mattox Neck until they should become strong enough to seize the land again.[5]

After removing from Maryland, Nathaniel Pope, in 1651, patented 1,050 acres (4.2 km2) in Old Northumberland between two large creeks; one would bear his name. At Mattox Creek he built dwellings, warehouses, and docks for the merchant trade with England including the port of Bristol. He shipped beaver, tobacco with caske, and raw materials; and he imported English manufactured goods. He settled the argument between John Washington and shipping partner Edward Prescott by paying off the senior officer in Beaver skins at eight shillings per pound.[6] In 1655 he was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia. His wife was named Luce and they had: 1, Anne, who married John Washington; 2, Margaret, who married William Hardwich; 3, Thomas; 4, Nathaniel.[7] The elder Nathaniel was among the county's wealthiest residents at his death in 1660 when he left The Clifts tract to his son Thomas.[8] The Pope and Washington families were bound by more than blood, county documents are filled with their business and legal ties. The will of John Washington bequeaths 1000 pounds sterling to his brother-in-law Thomas Pope.[9]