Gosnold, Bartholomew, a seasoned mariner who had been associated with Raleigh in his attempts to colonize Virginia, and not less was he the leaven of peace among the discordant elements in the first Jamestown council, of which he was a member. Respected by all the diverse factions as no one else was, he was able to effect something like a concert of purpose and action among his fellows, and stave off, in a measure, the dissensions which broke out so violently after his death. Upon the failure of Raleigh's expeditions, Gosnold had returned to England still hopeful, and in 1602 he took command of a vessel fitted out by the Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of Shakespeare. Gosnold's intended destination was Virginia, but, the ship being driven from her course by adverse winds, they touched upon the New England coast, where they were the first Englishmen to land and where they named Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Those who had proposed remaining as colonists lost heart, however, and returned to England, but Gosnold, undisheartened, continued his efforts and finally beheld his hopes' fruition in Jamestown. His voice, indeed was raised against the site chosen, on the ground of its obvious unhealthfulness, but, being overruled, he turned to with heart and soul to give success to the enterprise. He was spared the pain of beholding the pains and horrors the colony was doomed to undergo, his death occurring before the close of the first summer, Aug. 22, 1607, when fate seemed still auspicious. All record unite in praising his singleness of purpose and hardihood, and Pres. Wingfield made him sole confidant in matters of importance such as that of the diminishing supplies. It is possible, therefore, that, while it may have been a personal good fortune to have escaped the misfortunes of his fellows he might, had he lived, have done much to alleviate their sorrows by uniting them in a more harmonious effort.
