Colonel William Dandridge

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Dandridge_William_1689-1744

William Dandridge was a British naval officer, a member of the governor's Council, and a surveyor on the expedition to define the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina (called the Dividing Line). Commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Navy in 1709, he immigrated to Virginia sometime before 1715. He lived in King William County before his appointment to the Council in 1727. In 1728 he accompanied William Byrd II to survey the Dividing Line; in Byrd's account of the expedition Dandridge appears as the judicious and good-natured "Meanwell." In 1734 Dandridge resumed his naval career, moving up the ranks and being promoted to captain in 1741. He died in Greenwich, England, in 1744.

Dandridge was the son of John Dandridge, a London member of the company of painters and stainers, and his second wife, Ann Dandridge (whose maiden name is not known). He was born on December 29, 1689. Several of his siblings were born in their father's native Oxfordshire, but Dandridge's birthplace is uncertain. Commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on October 20, 1709, he left active duty within a few years and sometime before 1715 sailed to Virginia, probably in company with his brother, John Dandridge, later the father of Martha Dandridge Custis Washington. Dandridge lived at Hampton, where he owned a wharf and a ship and was a merchant. In 1715 Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood commissioned him to carry soldiers in his sloop William from Hanover County to Charleston, South Carolina. Dandridge may have accompanied Spotswood on his expedition to the Shenandoah Valley the following year. The members of that party later received commemorative golden horseshoes.

By late in July 1715 Dandridge had married a young widow, Euphan Wallace Roscow. They had one son before her death on April 22, 1717. Two years later Dandridge moved to Elsing Green, a large King William County estate that he acquired when he married Unity West on March 17 or 18, 1719. One of their four daughters and one of their two sons married children of Alexander Spotswood.

On June 1, 1727, George I appointed Dandridge to the governor's Council. Dandridge took his seat on September 11, at which time the news of the king's death and the accession of George II were officially proclaimed in Williamsburg. On the following December 14 the lieutenant governor appointed Dandridge one of the commissioners to survey the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina. With William Byrd and Richard Fitzwilliam, he accompanied both surveying parties that were in the field from February 27 to April 9 and from September 17 to November 22, 1728. In Byrd's private manuscript account of the surveying expeditions, usually designated the Secret History of the Dividing Line and not published until the twentieth century, he assigned type names to all of the main characters of his fanciful narrative. He called Fitzwilliam "Firebrand" and Dandridge "Meanwell." Byrd's Secret History offers the best information available about Dandridge's personality. Much of the dramatic tension in the story comes from the conflict between the irascible Fitzwilliam and the prudent, even-tempered Dandridge. From the pages of Byrd's narrative, Dandridge emerges as a good-natured gentleman, a keen conversationalist, and a spirited companion. In a letter of introduction to the bishop of London, James Blair, another member of the Council, confirmed Byrd's evaluation of Dandridge and called him "a very honest Gentleman."

In August 1734 Dandridge obtained a one-year leave of absence from the Council in order to return to England, where he intended to resume his naval career. He was commissioned a lieutenant and extended his leave of absence from Virginia for two more years, but he eventually found a way to return home while remaining in the navy. Dandridge became commander of a ship assigned to patrol the coast of Virginia and the colonies to its south. Though he had been absent from Virginia for more than three years, he very much wanted to continue serving on the Council once he returned, and he successfully requested permission from the absentee royal governor, William Anne Keppel, second earl of Albemarle, to do so.

Promoted to commander on April 11, 1738, and given charge of the twelve-gun sloop Wolf, Dandridge also received from the second duke of Montagu that same month a handsome, inscribed sword that a descendant presented to the Virginia Historical Society in 1969. Although Dandridge had difficulty fitting out the ship and completing his crew, he sailed in the Wolf from Portsmouth, England, before the end of June. Traveling by way of Madeira, he encountered stormy weather that battered the ship and left less-seasoned crewmembers seasick. Serious illness struck others, who died or had to be put ashore. Dandridge reached Virginia on September 29, 1738. The following week the Virginia Gazette reported his arrival and announced his mission: "to protect the valuable Trade of this Country, against any Insults that may be attempted upon it." During the following two years he spent much time aboard the Wolf cruising the Virginia and Carolina coasts.

Dandridge was promoted to captain in November 1741 and took command of the forty-four-gun Southsea Castle, which he sailed from England to Virginia. He arrived early in 1742, in time to take part in the British attack on Saint Augustine and the siege of Cartegena during the War of the Austrian Succession. After being ordered back to England the next year, he attended the Council for the last recorded time on August 4, 1743. Dandridge was given command of the forty-gun Mary Galley the following July, but he died little more than a month later, at Greenwich, England, on August 28, 1744.

Time Line

December 29, 1689 - William Dandridge is born in England to John Dandridge and Ann Dandridge.

October 20, 1709 - William Dandridge is commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

1715 - Sometime before this year, William Dandridge sails to Virginia, probably with his brother, John Dandridge.

1715 - Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood commissions William Dandridge to carry soldiers in his sloop William from Hanover County to Charleston, South Carolina.

Late July 1715 - By this time, William Dandridge has married a young widow, Euphan Wallace Roscow. They will have one son.

1716 - Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood promotes expansion into the Blue Ridge Mountains when his "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe" expedition crosses into the Shenandoah Valley. He and a party of about fifty gentlemen, possibly including William Dandridge, embark on the expedition; German and Scots-Irish families from Pennsylvania soon follow.

April 22, 1717 - Euphan Wallace Roscow Dandridge, wife of William Dandridge, dies.

March 17 or 18, 1719 - William Dandridge marries Unity West, thus acquiring Elsing Green, a large King William County estate. Dandridge and West will have four daughters and two sons.

June 1, 1727 - George I appoints William Dandridge to the governor's Council.

September 11, 1727 - William Dandridge takes his seat on the governor's Council.

December 14, 1727 - Lieutenant Governor Sir William Gooch appoints William Dandridge one of the commissioners to survey the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.

February 27–April 9, 1728 - A party that includes William Byrd II, William Dandridge, and Richard Fitzwilliam surveys the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.

September 17–November 22, 1728 - A party that includes William Byrd II, William Dandridge, and Richard Fitzwilliam surveys the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina.

August 1734 - William Dandridge obtains a one-year leave of absence from the governor's Council in order to return to England, where he intends to resume his naval career. He is commissioned a lieutenant and extends his leave of absence from Virginia for two more years.

April 11, 1738 - William Dandridge is promoted to commander in the Royal Navy and given charge of the twelve-gun sloop Wolf, which is assigned to patrol the coast of Virginia and its colonies to the south.

September 29, 1738 - The Wolf, commanded by William Dandridge, reaches Virginia after a stormy sea voyage from Portsmouth, England.

November 1741 - William Dandridge is promoted to captain and takes command of the forty-four-gun Southsea Castle, which he sails from England to Virginia.

Early 1742 - William Dandridge takes part in the British attack on Saint Augustine and the siege of Cartegena during the War of the Austrian Succession.

August 4, 1743 - Having been ordered back to England, William Dandridge attends the governor's Council for the last recorded time.

July 1744 - William Dandridge is given command of the forty-gun ship Mary Galley.

August 28, 1744 - William Dandridge dies in Greenwich, England.

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Wm Dandridge in color About 1700s , Portrait is in basement storage at Virginia Historical Society

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Col. William DANDRIDGE of Elsing Green 29 Dec 1689 - 27 Aug 1744

TITLE: Col.

OCCUPATION: British Navy-Commander "The Wolf, South Sea & Ludlow Castle"

RESIDENCE: ENG and Elizabeth City and "Elsing Green" King Wm Co. VA

BIRTH: 29 Dec 1689, Great Malvern, Wrcstr, England DEATH: 27 Aug 1744, died at sea, near Greenwich, England RESOURCES: See: [S765] [S1708] [S2292] Father: JOHN DANDRIDGE Mother: Ann

Family 1 : Euphan WALLACE MARRIAGE: ABT 1714

Family 2 : Unity WEST MARRIAGE: 18 Mar 1718, West Point, King William Co. VA [S2292] +Martha DANDRIDGE +Elizabeth DANDRIDGE +Mary DANDRIDGE +Nathaniel West DANDRIDGE Sr. +William DANDRIDGE II Prior to 1717 settled in Virginia. In 1741 he commanded "the Wolf, R. N., 12 guns in the Virginia Station, November, 1741; transferred to the "south Sea", 40 guns, and served in Governor Oglethorpe's attack on St. Augustine, and Admiral Vernon's seige of Carthagena; subsecquently commanded the man-of-war "Ludlow Castle".

William Dandridge: Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume I III--Colonial Councillors of State: of "Elsing Green," King William county, and his brother, Col. John Dandridge, of New Kent, were the progenitors of the Dandridge family in Virginia. The first notice on record of Col. William Dandridge is under date of July 21, 1712. when he chartered his vessel to the governor of North Carolina to carry twenty soldiers to Charleston. At this time he seems to have been a merchant and ship owner at Hampton, Elizabeth City county, as on Jan. 23, 1713, he was allowed to build a wharf opposite to his lots in that town, and in 1717, he is said to have built a house and wharf there. On May 31, 1727, the King appointed William Dandridge a member of the council, in the place of Philip Ludwell, deceased, and on Dec. 4 of the same year, the governor appointed him one of the commissioners to settle the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina. In 1738, Dandridge was given command of his majesty's sloop "Wolf," and in 1741, was transferred to the "South Sea," forty guns, in which he served in Oglethorpe's attack on St. Augustine, and Admiral Vernon's on Carthagena. In the last mentioned service he especially distinguished himself. Later he commanded the "Ludlow Castle," man-of-war. Dandridge died in 1743 in Hanover county. His brother, Col. John Dandridge, was the father of Mrs. Martha Washington.

Coloniel Families in the United States, Volume I: Quote: "The progenitors of the Virginia Dandridges were two brothers, Colonel William Dandridge of "Elsing Green," King William County, and Colonel John Dandridge of New Kent Co. They first settled at Elizabeth City, each on opposite sides of the Pamunkey River. Colonel John Dandridge was the father of Mrs. George Washington" (Martha).

"Colonel (Capt) William Dandridge, of the British Navy, was born in England; settled in Virginia prior to 1717; married (firstly) Euphan Wallace, b. 1696;d. 22 April 1717; widow of Wilson Roscon, Hampton, Va.; he m. (secondly) March, 1718-9, Unity West, heiress of Colonel Nathaniel West, and gr. dau. of Thos. West, Lord de la Warr; in 1741 he commanded "The Wolf," R.N., 12 guns, in the Virginia Station, November,1741 transferred to the "South Sea," 40 guns, and served in Governor Oglethorpe's attack on St. Augustine, and Admiral Vernon's seige of Carthagena; subsequently commanded the man-of-war "Ludlow Castle"; he d. 1743."

Col Dandridge was living in Hampton, VA and was an established merchant in 1712. In 1713, he was permitted to build a wharf opposite his lots in Hampton. It was in Hampton that he married Euphan Wallace of Elizabeth City Co, VA. By 1719 she had died and he married Unity West, of King William, Co, VA. It was soon after this marriage that he was conveyed the large tract of land now know as Elsing Green, along the Pamunkey River in King William Co., which had been owned by the Wests. Capt. Nathaniel West, his brother Thomas West and his nephew, John West, joined in making the conveyance in 1719. Col Dandridge had prospered and in 1722, Governor Spottswood suggested him as a person fit in every way to be a Councillor, to which office he was appointed by the King on May 21, 1727. He had already been named in the Commission of Peace for King William Co. In Dec 1727, Governor Spottswood appointed him to the Commission to settle the bondary line between Virginia and North Carolina. He lived the life of a county squire on his vast estate on the Pamunkey River and served the Church as a vestryman in the Parish of St. John's with reasonable zeal and attention.

King William Co. VA old Homes and Buildings Elsing Green Originally owned by Colonel William Dandridge, who married Unity West. Elsing Green was for a long time the home of William Burnett Browne. Carter Braxton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, lived here for some time. http://www.rootsweb.com/~vakingwi/homes.htm

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mysouthernfamily/myff/d008... 41

John's older brother, William Dandridge (1689–1743), lived on the opposite bank of the river with his wife Unity West Dandridge at their estate, Elsing Green, in King William County. Chestnut Grove burned down in 1926, but its former site was only four miles from the location of the current county court house for New Kent.

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From "The Bower Dandridges" by Elizabeth Dandridge Wolf, 1988

WILLIAM DANDRIDGE born in London, December 29, 1689, came to America and he and his brother, John, began the American branch of Dandridges.

By all accounts, William was a respected citizen active in a wide variety of undertakings. He was a Colonel in the British Army and a Captain in the British Navy. In 1740 William commanded the WOLF and took part with General Oglethrope in the fruitless attack on the town of St. Augustine. He was sent to join Admiral Vernon in the West Indies in the attack against Carthegena, where he was promoted to be captain of the SOUTH SEA CASTLE (1740-1741).

 At various times William was a justice of the peace, an officer of the court of the Admiralty, a vestryman of St. John's Parish, King William County, VA, and a member of the Virginia Council.  For this latter post he was recommended by his Grace the Duke of Montagu and considered to be "an English Gentleman of a plentiful fortune and many good qualities."

His portrait and a sword presented to him in 1738 by the Duke of Montagu are now with the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, VA. This portrait has been attributed to William's brother, Bartholomew, a portrait painter of some repute in London. Today several of Bartholomew's works are in the National Portrait Gallery in London; and it was an official of this gallery who suggested that William's portrait could be the work of his brother.
By his marriage to Unity West, William gave us what is called our "gateway ancestor", John West, her great grandfather and governor of Virginia 1635-37. A 'gateway ancestor" is one who can lead one back to British royalty. John West's father was Sir Thomas West, 2nd Lord de la Warr, member of the Privy Council of Queen Elizabeth and a direct descendant of Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror. John's mother was Anne Knollys, daughter of Sir Frances Knollys, Knight of the Garter and Treasurer of the Household of Queen Elizabeth. Anne Knollys' mother was Katherine Cary, daughter of William Cary and Mary Boleyn, sister of Queen Anne. Anne Knollys was a direct descendant of Edward III.
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2: About. 1713 Arrived in Virginia, possibly on active sea service. 1 Fact 3: 1727 Appointed to Gov. Gooch's Colonial Council (recommended by Duke of Montagu). 1 Fact 4: 14 Dec 1727 Appointed Commissioner with Col William Byrd to survey Va/NC border. 1 Fact 5: 1737 Returned to active duty with Royal Navy. 1 Fact 6: 11 Apr 1738 Promoted to Cmder, RN., Appt'd Cmdr of sloop, "Wolf" (12 guns). 1 Fact 7: 19 Feb 1740/41 Promoted to Captain, RN. 1 Fact 8: 24 May 1741 to Dec 7, 1743: Cmdr of HMS "South Sea Castle" (40 Guns). 1 Fact 9: 25 Aug 1743 Date of Will (made in Virginia?). 1 Fact 10: 16 Jul 1744 to 27 Aug 1744: Cdr of HMS "Mary" (Galley). 1 Fact 11: Probably died at RN Hospital, Greenwich. 1

Fact 13: 17 Oct 1747 Death date accordng to Charnock. 1

Individual: [Br%C3%B8derbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089, Date of Import: Sep 30, 1999]

A LIST OF GENTLEMEN FITT TO SUPPLY VACANCIES IN COUNCELL (ca 1722) Wm. Dandridge, Esqr. Recommended by his Grace the Duke of Montagu, is an English Gent. of plentiful fortune, and of many good qualities, & having the interest of so great a nobleman to back his pretensions, I place him first in this list. [others listed: John Custis, Esqr. [father of Daniel Parke Custis, later husband of Martha Dandridge?]; Jam's Jones, Esqr.; & Henry Armstead, Esqr.] These are all I can think of att present fitt to bee recomended, they are persons of intire loyalty and affection to his Majestie, and I pray your Lds' pps to think this number sufficient to supply any vacancies that may speedily hapen in the Councell. /s/ Hugh Drysdale

From "Captains and Ships" ledgers in Ministry of Defence Admiralty Library: Capt. William Dandridge commanded 11 Apr. 1740 to 18 Feb. 1741: sloop "Wolf", 14 May 1741 to 7 Dec. 1743: "South Sea Castle" (Paid Off) 16 July 1744 to 27 Aug 1744: "Mary", galley

Individual: [Br%C3%B8derbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #0089, Date of Import: Sep 30, 1999]

A LIST OF GENTLEMEN FITT TO SUPPLY VACANCIES IN COUNCELL (ca 1722) Wm. Dandridge, Esqr. Recommended by his Grace the Duke of Montagu, is an English Gent. of plentiful fortune, and of many good qualities, & having the interest of so great a nobleman to back his pretensions, I place him first in this list. [others listed: John Custis, Esqr. [father of Daniel Parke Custis, later husband of Martha Dandridge?]; Jam's Jones, Esqr.; & Henry Armstead, Esqr.] These are all I can think of att present fitt to bee recomended, they are persons of intire loyalty and affection to his Majestie, and I pray your Lds' pps to think this number sufficient to supply any vacancies that may speedily hapen in the Councell. /s/ Hugh Drysdale

From "Captains and Ships" ledgers in Ministry of Defence Admiralty Library: Capt. William Dandridge commanded 11 Apr. 1740 to 18 Feb. 1741: sloop "Wolf", 14 May 1741 to 7 Dec. 1743: "South Sea Castle" (Paid Off) 16 July 1744 to 27 Aug 1744: "Mary", galley

http://www.gencircles.com/users/smithey/1/data/11640

TITLE: Col.

OCCUPATION: British Navy-Commander "The Wolf, South Sea & Ludlow Castle"

RESIDENCE: ENG and Elizabeth City and "Elsing Green" King Wm Co. VA

BIRTH: 29 Dec 1689, Great Malvern, Wrcstr, England DEATH: 27 Aug 1744, died at sea, near Greenwich, England

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 29 2023, 18:30:32 UTC

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Captain William Dandridge married Unity West on 18 MAR 1719 in Virginia.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 29 2023, 17:18:49 UTC

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• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 30 2023, 18:17:39 UTC