Sgt. John Harris

John Harris (born 1588/9 in Cricksea, Essex, England - died before 14 OCT 1638 in Charles City Co., VA) was the son of Sir William Harris, of Creeksea, Kt. and Alice Smythe.

His wife was Dorothy Calcott. Their only known children were Dorothy (married 1) John Baker 2) John Bond) and John.

John Harris and his father help found the Virginia Company. It was their money and contributions that allowed Jamestown to happen. John and his wife Dorothy migrated to Jamestown and their homesite was just north of Jamestown in Shirley Hundred.

Biography

John Harris was born about 1588-9 in Creeksea England, subscriber of the Third Charter of the Virginia Company of London along with his father. He was residing in Charles City County, Virginia at West and Shirley Hundred on the 16th of February, 1623, with his wife Dorothy and two infants.

In the census taken the 24th of February 1624-1625, John Harris does not show in the census because he was then in England.

We know that John Harris was then in England because the Parish Registers of St. Dunston in the East of Virginia shows, "gent. and Dorothy his wife, borne in the House of Edward Lymbry of Lyne House, Mariner, the same day baptized." He may have returned to England to claim a legacy of L400 given him by his brother William who died in 1622. The designation of "gentleman" in the Parish Register in 1624 would indicate that he was entitled to a coat of arms. All these circumstances show that he was the fourth son of Sir William Harris of Creeksea, England.

That John Harris was a member of the Virginia Company is proven by the fact that while he was in London, Sir Peter Courteen wrote him from Holland about some of the Virginia Company's business.

"July 4, 1624, Sir Peter Courteen to John Harris. About the sale of Virginia Tobacco. Thanks him for his pains taken in the Va. Business. Tobacco of Va. will now yield no price, the markets are overlaid." "Memo July 10, 1624. I wrote to Sir Peter to remit to me here in safety." "June 17, 1625. Sir Peter Courteen to John Harris. Desires him to procure patent upon some of the Company's name, John Powell to have leave to sail and bring victuals unto the Plantation of Va. which would be to the company's profit." "Memo answered June 26, that the Virginia Company was moved but could not prevail in regard they are afraid he should go to the West Indies."

John returned to Virginia and was residing in the corporation of Charles City in 1626, where he had 200 acres planted. This was the same John Harris because the records show that he had a wife and daughter, both named Dorothy. He was a Burgess member for Shirley Hundred Main, 1627-30.

John Harris died in Charles City County before October 14, 1638, for on that date Francis Derrick makes a bill of sale to Richard Johnson as follows: "Whereas John Baker and Dorothy his wife, daughter of the late deceased Serjeant John Harris, have by order of Court at Henrico the 27th day of August last, surrendered unto me, Captain Francis Derrick all right and title which they claim under the dividend of land belonging to the late deceased George Calcott, which was given to the said Dorothy by the last will and testament of the said Calcott as by the surrender in the said court and by the patent and will recorded at James Cittie ect."

The English place of origin of the particular Harris family to be related herein is located some 40 to 50 miles east-north-east of London and on the north bank of the River Crouch. The very old village of Cricksea (or Creeksea) exists today on this peninsula in Essex County. Creeksea is located about 2 miles west of Burnham-on-the-Crouch and about 18 miles inland from the North Sea. Anciently called "Danes Island", this area was inhabited largely by Norman families after the conquest in 1066. (from "THE HISTORY OF AN ENGLISH VILLAGE - CRICKSEA" - by Donald A. Rooke, who also quoted English historians, Morant and John Norden) Here was the home of our immigrant ancestor, John Harris, and his parents, Lady Alice and Sir William Harris[1] William Harris, the son of Dorothy Waldegrave and Arthur Harris, was born about 1550 and died on November 14, 1616. Alice, the daughter of Alice Judd and Thomas "Customer" Smythe, also died in 1616. They are buried at All Saints Church in Creeksea.a Sir William Harris was knighted on July 23, 1603 at Otelands by King James I of England a This same king gave us the King James Version of the Bible. The children of Lady Alice and Sir William Harris were: a. Sir Arthur Harris; b. 1584; d. January 9, 1632. b. William Harris; b. 1585; d. 1622. c. Thomas Harris; b. 1586; d. 1617. d. John Harris; b. 1588; d. by October 14, 1638 in Charles City County, Virginia. e. Alice Harris. f. Prances Harris. g. Elizabeth Harris. h. Mary Harris. Creeksea Place, the home of Sir William Harris, is located in the Village of Creeksea. The name of this village and estate has been spelled in various ways through the centuries, including Crixseth, a Saxon expression meaning Creek of the Sea. We call it, simply, Creeksea. This estate, presently consisting of about 250 acres, came into the possession of the Harris family about 1516. A large and spacious brick home was completed on this estate in 1569. The project was started by William Harris who died in 1556. It was completed by his son, Arthur Harris, who died on June 18, 1597.[2] This Arthur was the grandfather of our immigrant ancestor, John Harris, who was born here. This Harris ancestral Home is still in existence in 1993. An in depth discussion of the history of this estate and pictures of the same, taken as late as May, 1993, is included in Part II of this history, beginning on page 893. As John Harris was growing up at Creeksea, English business interests were planning ways to develop trade and commerce in North America. The English government, for many good reasons, gave strong support to this effort. King James I authorized the establishment of two colonies in North America, one in the area now known as Virginia and another further to the north in the area later called Massachusetts.[1] A group of Englishmen, including some merchants and traders in London, organized a stock company to establish a settlement in Virginia. This was the Virginia Company of London. Sir Thomas Smythe, the brother of Lady Alice Harris, was the operating officer and Treasurer of the Virginia Company of London. Sir William Harris and his family strongly supported the establishment of this colony. Sir William Harris, his brother in law, Sir Thomas Smythe and his son, Sir Arthur Harris, each, subscribed 75 pounds of money to the Virginia Company.[2] Our immigrant ancestor, John Harris, Esquire, son of Sir William Harris, subscribed 37 pounds, 10 shillings to the Virginia Company. c King James I of England granted the first charter to establish a colony in Virginia on April 10, 1606. This charter, granted to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hachluit, Edward Maria Wingfield, Thomas Hanham, Raleigh Gilberde, William Parker and George Popham, authorized them "to make habitacion plantation and deduce a colonie of sondrie of our people into that part of America." b This company furnished the ships, equipment and supplies to settle people in Virginia. Three ships, the Susan Constant, the Godspeed and the Discovery, landed at a place they named "Jamestown" on May 13, 1607. [3] Those financing the expedition were hopeful of good returns from their investments. The stern realities of the situation soon cooled those expectations of rewards. Settling in the new world, establishing a safe and healthy environment and producing crops for a profit had to take second place to the goal of merely staying alive. Sickness, starvation, massacre by Indians, and other hardships became the realities of the situation. The second charter for the Virginia Company of London was granted on May 22, 1609 by King James to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers and others. This charter granted rights to reorganize the company. The Virginia Company of London was still in dire financial troubles due to the hardships and difficulties of the missions of the Virginia settlements. (b) The third charter of the Virginia Company of London was approved by King James on March 12, 1612.[4] This charter was much broader in scope. Those listed as subscribers, adventurers or members had some say in the management of the affairs of the company. Sir Thomas Smythe was reelected Treasurer of the company and served until May 8, 1619 when he was replaced by Sir Edward Sandy.[5] For the purpose of encouraging people to settle in the colony, the company offered 50 acres of land to every individual who would travel to Virginia at his own expense and another 50 acres for each additional person he brought over. (c) This last provision, the basis of the "headright" system, was the foundation of the colony's land policy through the rest of the century. Early in 1622, the Indians of eastern Virginia made an onslaught on the settlements and killed 347 people, one third of Virginia's total population.[6] An accumulation of problems in 1624 brought the Virginia Company to an end. The charter was revoked, the land and the people passed under the control of the King.[7] The Virginians, over the next half century, developed the form of local government which they would maintain until the American Revolution. That basic governmental unit was the county --borrowed from rural England. King Charles II of England, in 1663, granted powers to eight English Lords to grant land to people in the Carolinas. Lord Earl Granville was active in granting land rights in North Carolina after 1744. Virginia was so named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, the English "Virgin Queen", who reigned prior to King James I. The James River and Jamestown were named for King James I. The James River settlements were made for several purposes: to colonize, to Christianize, to open new trade areas, and to establish a barrier against further Spainish gains in the new world. The early settlers in the James River area were not refugees. Many of the settlers were friends of the King. Some were from well-to-do English families. Some were former military personnel and others who were seeking adventure and challenge

Disambiguation

The Capt. Thomas Harris b. 1587 and who came to America in 1611 is NOT a son of Sir William Harris, as that Thomas died in 1617 with a will on file in Creeksea.

Sgt John Harris had documented his children to the Heralds at the College of Arms in London who bestow these titles and coats of arms and he did not name a son Thomas Harris, only one son: John Harris.

Supporting Data

• Metcalfe, Walter Charles, The Visitations of Essex by Hawley, 1552; Hervey, 1558; Cooke, 1570; Raven, 1612; and Owen and Lilly, 1634 (London: Mitchell and Hughes, 1878.), p. 213, Los Angeles Public Library, Gen 942.005 H284 v. 13. Archive.Org “John, 4th sonne”
• John was recorded in the will of his bother, Thomas Harris, the will made on 10 Mar 1616/1617 and proved 08 Jul 1617. link to transcription “Item I give to my Brethren Mr William Herris and Mr John Herris to either of them the sevrall some of tenn pounds. ...”
• ”Sir William Harris, his brother in law, Sir Thomas Smythe and his son, Sir Arthur Harris, each, subscribed 75 pounds of money to the Virginia Company. John Harris, Esquire, son of Sir William Harris, subscribed 37 pounds, 10 shillings to the Virginia Company. c”
• COLONIAL RECORDS OF VIRGINIA. "Lists of the Livinge & the Dead in Virginia, February 16, 1623." In Colonial Records of Virginia, Richmond, VA: R.F. Walker, Superintendent of Public Printing, 1874, pp. 37-66. Page: 38 Source Citation: Place: Virginia; Year: 1623; Page Number: 38. Source Information: Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010
• Immigration: Bef. 2/16/1622-23, Member of 3rd Va. Charter; subscriber for 37 L, 10 s (Source: Brown, Alexander, 1843-1906., The Genesis of the United States, (London, W. Heinemann, 1890.).)
• Census: 2/16/1622-23, Charles City County, West & Shirley Hundred; "Since this census was taken in the dead of winter,... we presume that this family arrived in the colony from England at least as early as the preceeding year, 1622." link to 1623 census
• Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary By Martha W. McCartney. Page 366-367. “John Harris l.” GoogleBooks
• Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial ..., Volume 1 edited by Lyon Gardiner Tyler. Page 252. GoogleBooks “John Harris, several years in Virginia: burgess for Shirley Hundred Island, in Charles City Corporation in 1629 and 1630.”
• Jamestowne Ancestors, 1607-1699: Commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of ... By Virginia Lee Hutcheson Davis. Page 60. GoogleBooks “John Harris, Burgess, Shirley Hundred, 1628, 1629, 1630.”
• John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, etc., (New York, Empire State Book Co. [n.d.]), V. 12, p. 268.)

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