Remembering Virginia Dare, The First English Born Child in America
Today we commemorate the birth of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in North America, who came into this world on August 18, 1587. Virginia, her parents, and her fellow settlers of the...
Remembering William Strachey, Chronicler of the Virginia Colony
The man many historians credit as being one of the most reliable first-person chroniclers of the early days of the Jamestowne Colony was William Strachey, who was buried at St. Giles’ Church in...
Remembering Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin was an important American statesman, diplomat, and financier who helped shape the early United States. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on January 29, 1761, and immigrated to...
The Calverts: A Family Who Built a Colony
In the early seventeenth century, when England strained under religious division and political uncertainty, one family quietly set in motion the creation of a new society across the Atlantic. The...
July 21, 1620: The Pilgrims Leave Leiden to Start Their Journey to North America
Most Americans know that the first Pilgrims came to North America in 1620 on the Mayflower. But how did the Pilgrims come to be on the Mayflower in the first place, and where did they come from? The...
Prelude to the Declaration of Independence: The 250th Anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights
A man largely forgotten in this season of 250th anniversaries of the Declaration of Independence is George Mason, a Virginia political leader, Founding Father, and most importantly, the author of the...
May 22, 1622: The Jamestowne Colony Is Decimated by an Indian Attack, and Hundreds of Settlers Are Killed or Wounded
March 22, 1622 was a day that was a turning point in the life of the Jamestowne Colony, and perhaps the most tragic day in Jamestowne’s history—the surprise attack on Jamestowne and its...
Remembering Benjamin Harrison
The Harrisons were one of the most prominent Virginia families of the 17th and 18th centuries, including two U.S. Presidents, William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) and Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901)....
Remembering William Byrd II
In the early years of the Jamestowne Colony, one of the families that became a dynasty of sorts over the course of the next century was the Byrd family. It began with the arrival of William Byrd I in...
Remembering King James I
One of the most important supporters of early American colonization was King James I of England, who died this day on March 27, 1625. We honor him today for all that he did to promote the earliest...