Person:William Tucker (33)

[XXXi. CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS: ANCIENT PLANTERS: INTRODUCTION]
The following list includes those who are known to have come to Virginia before the close of the year 1616, survived the massacre, appear in the Muster of 1624/5 as then living in Virginia, and to most of whom the term "Ancient Planter" may with justification be applied.

William Tucker, Aged 36. In the Mary and James, 1610. Member of the London Company in 1620. Burgess, 1623/4. Appointed to the Council, 1626. Convention, 1625. Patent to "Capt. Wm. Tucker Esq. of Council of State," June 1, 1633, p. 16; July 14, 1626, p. 27. Many references in JCGC. Will, London, Feb. 17, 1644.
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CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS PATENT BOOK No. 1 Part I; Pg 4
JOHN POWELL, of Newports Newes, Yeoman & Ancient Planter, 150 acs. within the Corp. of Eliz. City, 20 Sept. 1624, p. 27. Ewd. upon a greene Sw. parting it from land of Capt. William Tucker, Wwd. upon land of John Taylor &c. 100 acs. in his owne per. right & 50 for his servant Thomas Practer (or Proctor) whome he bought of Capt. Richard Shepperd "hee came over in the Mary Providence 1623."
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CAVALIERS AND PIONEERS PATENT BOOK No. 1 Part I; Pg 4
CAPT. WILLIAM TUCKER, now Commander of Kiccoughtan, 150 acs. within the Corp. of Eliz. City, 20 Sept. 1624, p. 29. Ewd. upon land of Richard Boulton, Wwd. upon a great Sw. parting it from land of John Powell &c. For his first devdt., & trans. out of England at his owne charges of Georg Tompson, Paule Tompson & William Tompson "his wives bretheren."
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[Note: this identifies the maiden name of William Tucker's wife as "Tompson".]

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Powhatan Uprising of 1622
In May 1623 the colonists arranged a spurious peace parley with Opechancanough through friendly Indian intermediaries. On May 22, Captain William Tucker and a force of musketeers met with Opechancanough and other prominent Powhatans on neutral ground along the Potomac River, allegedly to negotiate the release of the other captives. But Tucker’s objective was the slaughter of Powhatan leaders. After the captain and the Indians had exchanged “manye fayned speeches,” approximately 200 of the Powhatans who had accompanied their leaders unwittingly drank poisoned wine that Jamestown’s resident physician and later governor, Dr. John Pott, had prepared for the occasion. Many of the Indians fell sick or immediately dropped dead, and Tucker’s men shot and killed about 50 more. Some important tribal members were slain, but Opechancanough escaped, and with him went any hopes of a quick return for the captured women

In the summer of 1623 Captain William Tucker, of Kecaughton (Hampton), commanded an expedition against the Worrosquoyackes. He killed many, cut down their corn, and burnt their houses. And this state of fierce warfare continued to rage, with uninterrupted fury, until a peace was concluded in 1632, under the administration of Governor Harvey.

Despite this early change, the place name "Kecoughtan" has been employed variously and has survived down to the present day. During the period between 1620 and the founding of the town of Hampton in the 1690s, the name "Kecoughtan" seems to have referred to the scatter of waterfront plantations and trading establishments along the Hampton River. Site 44HT44, occupied during the mid- to late 17th century, was one of these plantations. Historical research has hinted that the site once belonged to William Claiborne, who served as treasurer and secretary of state of the colony, and later to ship captain Thomas Jarvis.

In 1625, there were 349 inhabitants at Elizabeth City, and Captain William Tucker was commandant of the plantation. The first minister was Rev. William Mease (1610-1620), the next was Francis Bolton, in 1621; the next, George Keith, 1623-25, and the next was Jonas Stockton. "Mr. Fenton minister," died at Elizabeth City September 5, 1624.

Tucker, William, was born in 1589 and came to Virginia in the "Mary and James" in 1610. He became a member of the Virginia Company in 1620 and was elected to the house of burgesses in 1623-24. He became a councillor on March 4, 1625-26 and was again included in the commission to the council under Yeardley, March 22, 1627-28. He was appointed by the king one of the commissioners to supervise the government of Virginia in 1623. He was for long the principal man in Elizabeth City county and had taken an active part in the defense of the colony against the Indians. In August, 1633, Tucker, then in England, presented a memorial to the privy council, in which he endeavored to show that Dutch trade with Virginia, if allowed, would result in great loss to the king and prejudice to the plantation. It is not surprising that Tucker, as an English trade, should take this view since the Dutch offered a much larger price to the planters for their tobacco than what he had been in the habit of paying, and thus would cut the profits of its sale in Europe. Tucker must have died some time before Feb. 17, 1644, when his will was proved in London. He left three children: William, Thomas and Mary.