Person:Norborne Berkeley (1)

     
Gov. Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt
m. Bef 1717
  1. Gov. Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron BotetourtAbt 1717 - 1770
  2. Elizabeth Berkeley, Duchess of Beaufort1718/19 - 1799
Facts and Events
Name Gov. Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt
Gender Male
Birth[1][2] Abt 1717 Stoke Gifford, Gloucestershire, England
Death[1][2] 15 Oct 1770 Williamsburg, Virginia, United StatesGovernor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia) ; died unmarried ; no known issue
Reference Number? Q7050434?

Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt, was one of the Early Settlers of Colonial Virginia

Image:Early Virginia Settler Banner.jpg

References
  1. 1.0 1.1 Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

    the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

    Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (c. 1717 – 15 October 1770), was a British courtier, member of parliament, and royal governor of the colony of Virginia from 1768 until his death in 1770.

    This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Tyler, Lyon Gardiner. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography. (New York, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., c1915)
    1:69.

    Berkeley, Norborne, governor-in-chief of Virginia (1768-1770),was born in England, in 1718. He was the only son of john Symes Berkeley, esq., of Stoke Giford, county Gloucester, England, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Walter Norborne of Caline, county Wilts. Of this branch of the distinguished and ennobled family of Berkeley an extended pedigree appears in the Visitation of Gloucester of 1623. In 1764 Botetourt was raised to the peerage of England as Norborne, Baron de Botetourt. Previous to this he had been colonel of the North Gloucestershire militia and a member of parliament, and afterwards in 1767 became constable of the Tower of London. No governor-in-chief had resided in the colony of Virginia for three-quarters of a century, and, to appease the growing discontent ther eover the revenue law, the home authorities sent Botetourt over with the full title and dignity of "His Majesty's Lieutenant, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief." He was appointed in July, 1768, and arrived in the colony October 28, 1769. His reception was enthusiastic, and his affable deportment made him immediately very popular, which was increased by his concurring shortly after his arrival with his council in declaring writs of assistance illegal. The quarrel over teh revenue act had come to a crisis at this time. Parliament had sent an order over for the arrest of the patriot leaders in new England, who were to be transported to England for trial, and Virginia was the first colony to take action. When Botetourt convened the assembly, that body on May 26, 1769, passed stirring resolutions condemning parliament. Botetourt dissolved the assembly, and the members, with the speaker, Peyton Randolph, at their head, met immediately at the Raleigh tavern and adopted an extensive system of non-importation. They rallied all the other colonies to do the same, and parliament, yielding to the pressure, abolished all the taxes complained of except a small tax on tea. Botetourt had cherished the hope that all the taxes would be repealed, and relying upon the assurance of the English secretary of state had called an assembly in November following the May session in 1769 to convey to them the joyous information of this purpose of the British ministry. he was, therefore, greatly disappointed when only a partial repeal was made. It is said that he contemplated a resignation of his office and was only prevented from sending it on by his sickness and death, which occurred October 15, 1770. There are various contemporary notices of his social acts, his dinner companies at the palace, the distinction of his manner, and the urbanity of his address. Through his munificence two gold medals were established in the College of William and Mary, to be given annually one for excellence in classical learning, and the other for excellence in philosophy. Eight of these prizes were bestowed, and they are said to be the earliest of their kind in the United States. Lord Botetourt was honored by the people with a splendid funeral, and he was buried in a vault underneath the floor of the chapel of William and Mary, and subsequently a statue was erected to his memory. Close by his vault lie the remains of Peyton Randolph, who presided over the councils of the Virginia revolutionists, when Botetourt was living, and was afterwards first president of the Continental Congress. Botetourt was a bachelor, and so left no children.