1591, Île de Ré, France -1657, Colony of Virginia
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| Medallion representing Nicolas Martiau |
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| Henry Hastings 5th Earl of Huntingdon |
Martiau first resided at Elizabeth City; and from this community he was elected a member of the House of Burgesses, sitting in the Assembly of 1623-4 (Journals of the House of Burgesses 1619-1658/9). In 1624 or 1625 he married the young Jane Berkeley, widow of Lieutenant Edward Berkeley; the exact date of the marriage is not known, but on December 12, 1625 Martiau wrote to the Earl of Huntingdon: “I am now both a husband and a father”. At Elizabeth City, in 1625, was born Elizabeth Martiau, the oldest child of Nicolas and Jane Martiau; and the family continued to reside at Elizabeth City for several years after this event.
Martiau became the possessor of a considerable amount of land in Virginia during the course of his lifetime. About the time of his marriage he acquired a large tract which included the present city of Yorktown. It is noteworthy that Martiau was the earliest Virginia ancestor of George Washington, among others; and when Washington in 1781 proceeded against Cornwallis at Yorktown he camped his troops on land previously owned by his ancestor – and the surrender of Cornwallis took place also on the old Martiau tract. In 1630 the Martiau family took up its residence permanently on this tract at Yorktown, then called “Kiskyake” or “Cheskiacke”. Nicolas Martiau was again elected to the House of Burgesses as the representative of Kiskyake and the Isle of Kent, sitting in the Assemblies of 1631-2, 1632 (beginning September 4th), and 1632-3 (assembled February 1, 1633). He was appointed by Governor Harvey as a Justice of York County, which office he held for more than twenty years; his first appearance as a member of York County Court was on July 12, 1633, and his last appearance on September 24, 1655.
As indicated above, Martiau played an important part in the political life of Virginia in his day. One of his minor appointments in 1639 was as one of the Tobacco Viewers for Charles River County – “Men of Experience and in dignity for the Careful Viewing of each Man’s crop of Tobacco” – the Viewers being selected by the Assembly. Nor did he fail to increase his land holdings. In March of 1639 Captain Nicolas Martiau was granted 1300 acres in the County of Charles River; of this tract 700 acres was granted for the transportation into the colony of fourteen persons, while 600 acres was granted for the migration of himself, his wife and ten persons to Chiskiack in its first year. Chiskiack, or Yorktown, was at first a frontier settlement, exposed to attack by Indians, and grants of land were given to those who would settle there; but in 1644 this danger was removed by the migration of the Chiskack Indians from the York River to the Pianketank, where the tribe died out. Martiau also secured two grants of land in Westmoreland County – one in 1654, and one in the following year – each grant being for two thousand acres.
Undoubtedly the most important part in Virginia history played by Captain Nicolas Martiau was in connection with the ejection of Governor Harvey. Opposition to Harvey’s methods and high-handedness became general in the colony during the winter of 1634-5, and meetings were held at various places to voice this opposition. Meetings were at the Martiau home, among others; and this led to the arrest by the governor of Martiau, Captain Francis Pott, and Sheriff William English of York. These three were placed in irons by order of Harvey, who announced his intention of hanging them; but the opposition to him was so strong, even in the Council and House of Burgesses, that he was forced to release them; and Harvey was himself place under a heavy guard. Being reduced to ineffectiveness as the governor, Harvey was forced to return to England to appeal for the support of the Crown in his struggle with the colonists. He returned for a time to Virginia, bringing with him the young George Reade of whom we shall hear more later; but his views were so arbitrary and unsympathetic that he was soon forced to leave Virginia for a second and final time. George Reade had become acting Secretary of State of the colony in the absence of Richard Kemp, then in England, and upon Harvey’s final departure Reade became acting governor. Martiau was one of the outstanding leaders in the movement of the colonists which caused Harvey’s deposition.
ELIZABETH MARTIAU:
born 1620's- died 1680's
and her husband GEORGE READE: 1608-1671
The Reade Family
George Reade was born in England, probably in 1608,
to the Reade family of Facombe. His
father was Robert Reade, but it was through his mother, Lady Mildred Windebank,
that his most impressive connections are recorded. She was the daughter of Sir
Thomas Windebank, Duke of Norfolk. Her
brother, Sir Francis Windebank, was Secretary of State to King Charles I, and
George Reade's older brother, Robert, was the private secretary of Sir Francis.
With these connections it is not
surprising that George Reade appeared initially on the scene in Virginia at a
fairly high level.
George Read was one of about one hundred colonists, who emigrated to the colonies from England and Wales before the end of the 17th century, known to have legitimate descent from a Plantagenet King of England.
His presence in Virginia was first indicated in a
letter home in 1637 in which he indicated that he was "still at the
Governor's House." As Governor
Harvey had been returned to the colony at the King's order in 1636, it is
likely that Reade had accompanied him. Then
when Secretary Kemp left for England in 1640 Reade served as the acting
Secretary of the colony.
When shortly thereafter Governor Harvey experienced
his second sudden departure for England, he left the affairs of the colony in
the hands of Reade, the acting Secretary, thus making him in turn the acting
Governor. The Council then elected
George Reade to be Secretary of the Colony on 27 August 1640.
In 1641 George Reade married Elizabeth Martiau, daughter of Nicolas Martiau, one of Virginia's early settlers and a skilled
engineer of French origin, who had first come to Virginia in 1620 as the
representative of Henry, the fifth Earl of Huntington. Their daughter, Mildred Reade, married
Augustine Warner of Warner Hall, and the daughter of this marriage, Mildred
Warner, married Lawrence Washington, the grandfather of George Washington.
After their marriage the Reades established their
home in the vicinity of Middle Plantation, and in 1649 George Reade was a
Burgess from James City. In documents dated 1648 and 1650 he was granted 2000
acres of land adjacent to Chiskyak Creek near Yorktown where his father-in-law
lived, and in 1652 Reade was a justice of York County.
In 1656 George Reade was elected to represent York
County in the House of Burgesses. In 1657 he was named to the Council, a
position in which he was confirmed by Charles II upon the restoration in 1660
and which he retained for the rest of his life. In 1659 he was named Colonel of
York County. Finally, his last will and testament was recorded at Jamestown in
1671.
THOMAS READE:
born 1649- died 1720
and his wife LUCY GWYNN: 1680-1731
The Gwynn Family
In 1610(?) Hugh Gwynn, often referred to by some as Sir Hugh Gwynn, and by others as Colonel Hugh Gwynn (probably the latter) arrived in Jamestown possibly with members of his family. The name Gwynn is variously spelled as Gwin, Gwinn, Guinn, Wynn, Wynne or Winn. Of Welsh origin, the name Gwynn means “white” and can be traced back as direct descendants of Caractacus, son of King Cymbeline, one of the early kings in Wales. According to history, in 47 AD, Caractacus refused to submit to Claudius the Roman Emperor who conquered Britain. After inciting tribe after tribe to revolt, he finally surrendered to the Romans. Because of his nobility and the renown of his heroism, he gained the admiration and respect of Claudius and was allowed to remain in practical freedom in Rome.
In 1611(?), Hugh Gwynn was exploring the Chesapeake Bay and stopped at a small island at the mouth of the Piankatank River. Legend has it that he heard cries for help from an Indian girl who had fallen from her canoe. Seeing her about to sink, he dived in and pulled her to safety. When asked her name she replied “Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan", and in gratitude for saving her life she gave the island to Hugh Gwynn, hence the name Gwynn’s Island. besides, Hugh figured it was easier to spell Gwynn than Pocahontas. Chances are that Hugh Gwynn, like so many of his compatriots, claimed the Island in the name of the King, and settled in for the duration.
THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CONNECTION:
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| George Washington, President |
How is this family related to George Washington, the first President of the United States of America?
George Reade ----------------Elizabeth Martiau
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Mildred Reade --------- Augustine Warner, Jr.
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Mildred Warner-----------Lawrence Washington
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Augustine Washington-------------Mary Ball
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George Washington
The Warner and Washington Families
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| Warner Hall, Virginia |
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| Augustine Warner |
In the winter of 1642, Augustine Warner, I arrived in Jamestown with twelve new settlers for the Virginia Colonies. For bringing these colonists to the new frontier, Warner was given a “head Grant” of 600 acres in Gloucester, Virginia. He eventually expanded his acreage at his new plantation, WARNER HALL, to several thousand acres prior to his death in 1674.
During his life he was Justice of York, Justice of Gloucester, and a member of the King’s Council in Virginia. Augustine Warner was the great, great grandfather of George Washington, and an ancestor of Robert E. Lee. Queen Elizabeth II is a direct descendant of Augustine Warner I through the Bowes-Lyon family and the Earl of Strathmore. Warner Hall is referred to as the home of the Queen’s American ancestors.
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| Augustine Warner, Jr. |
Augustine Warner II (1642 – 1681) inherited Warner Hall upon the death of his father in 1674, and further developed the plantation house and property. Augustine Warner II, like his father, was a member of the King’s Council and also served as Speaker of The House of Burgesses in Williamsburg. He married Mildred Reade, the daughter of George Reade, one of the founders of Yorktown. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon came to Gloucester after burning Jamestown and made Warner Hall his headquarters. It was at Warner Hall that Bacon invited the “Oath of Fidelity” of his fellow countrymen.
All of Augustine Warner II ‘s sons died young and when Augustine himself died in 1681 at the age of 39, he left three daughters, Mary, Mildred and Elizabeth. Mary went on to marry John Smith, of Purton, on the York, and their son, Augustine Smith was said to have been one of the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe who accompanied Governor Spotswood on his famous expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1716.
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| Lawrence Washington |
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| Augustine Washington |
Mildred Warner married Lawrence Washington and their son, Augustine, married Mary Ball. Augustine and Mary became the proud parents of George Washington, who was named after his great-grandfather, George Reade, founder of Yorktown. Perhaps the most recognized patriot in American history, General George Washington led the Colonies to independence from the British in the Revolution of 1776. General George Washington continued his role as a great patriot in 1789 and become the first President of the United States of America. In a famous funeral phrase, Henry Lee declared that Washington was “first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”
Nicolas Martiau was the earliest emigrant ancestor of George Washington (and Robert E. Lee).
The garden behind the Ernest Cognacq Museum in Saint Martin de Ré holds a monument with a statue of George Washington, with the base of the monument featuring a medallion representing Martiau. The monument was inaugurated on October 11, 2007, by the ambassador of the United States to France. The filiation between the two men is described on the monument.
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| Statue of George Washington, with a medallion of his ancestor from Île de Ré, Nicolas Martiau. |
Stuart Benson Clark> Anne Garnett Emory> Theodosia Blakey Garnett> Sarah Ann Tompkins> (Judge) Christopher Tompkins> John Tompkins> Joyce Reade> Thomas Reade> Elizabeth Martiau> Nicolas Martiau
