Robert West

Robert appears very early in the Court Records of Northampton County, VA as the servant of the Lady Elizabeth Dale. About 1620, between 7-8 years of age, Robert West was one of 100 children sent by the Virginia Company of London to America to become apprentices to the colonial farmers. In return, at the end of their service, they would receive land, cattle and corn. Robert was a servant to the Lady Elizabeth Dale, who was the wife of Sir Thomas Dale, the Governor of Virginia. Dale left VA and died, leaving his widow to run her cattle business and plantation near Charles City from her home in England. She never set foot in VA. When in 1622 an Indian massacre wiped out a significant part of the population in the upper James River area, there were some survivors from Lady Dale's plantation, including 8 boys. I believe that Robert West was one of them. He worked on one of her cattle plantations, but later became a butcher. The records indicate that Robert West married Elizabeth and had a son named George West, born c1639. When Elizabeth died Robert remarried to a widow by the name of Mary Rayne. Mary's infidelity was well documented in a flamboyant court case. Robert died before his wife leaving George with his step-mother. Details on Robert West include my theory on his arrival to Virginia.