First California Company, Jamestowne Society

Do you want to know all the good seventeenth century gossip? Who’s related to whom and their occupation? Our fall program will provide tidbits and guidance on clues to learning about these early settlers. Martha McCartney, author of Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary, will draw on her years of experience as a professional researcher when she speaks to us at our October meeting.  She is the author of four books and many articles on the people of early Virginia. McCartney has served as a research historian at the Virginia Research Center for Archaeology and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. McCartney is a graduate of The College of William and Mary and a resident of Williamsburg. 

Martha McCartney is the preeminent historian of the people of Jamestown. When she meets with us in October, her newest book on Jamestown will have just been published. This book will include biographical data on residents and all who came to Jamestown on public business, such as service as a Burgess, through 1699 when the capital was moved to Williamsburg.  She is the author of four books and many published articles and reports. The National Park Service chose her book, Jamestown Island: An American Legacy as “best in field.” McCartney has served as a research historian at the Virginia Research Center for Archaeology and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. McCartney is a graduate of The College of William and Mary and a resident of Williamsburg. Her meticulous research puts flesh on genealogical data.

Martha McCartney

McCartney is coming to California to speak exclusively to the First California Company and our guests – her first speaking engagement here in many years.  For this reason, we are opening our meeting to guests from other organizations.  If you are involved in other lineage groups, you may announce this opportunity and invite their members to attend.  Interested parties should contact Ginny Gotlieb, First California Company’s Governor at FCCJamestowneGov@gmail.com. It is truly a treat to host Martha McCartney for this address.

Our fall program will be at the elegant Regency Club in Westwood. This private setting offers stunning views of the Westside of Los Angeles, exceptional food, and excellent service. We will have the top floor exclusively for our event. The Regency Club is located just off the 405 freeway at the Wilshire Boulevard East exit. There is parking in the building. This prix fixe event will be a little more than some of our luncheons but is well worth it. We are pleased to offer our members the opportunity to attend an event in this unique setting.

October 23, 2010, 11:00am to 2:00pm

The Regency Club, Westwood, CA

10900 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Guest speaker: Martha W. McCartney, research historian and author of Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary

If you have not received a meeting invitation by mail, please contact Ginny Gotlieb at 818-635-5764 or FCCJamestowneGov@gmail.com

By Ginny Gotlieb

As your new Governor, I want to welcome our new board and thank all who have agreed to serve. I am pleased that some of our newer members are moving into leadership roles and that former Governors and others who have worked hard for the First California Company for years are still supporting us so heartily. 

Governor:  Ginny Gotlieb

Lt. Governor: Scott Krutilek

Secretary: Linda Ramos

Chaplain: Patricia Fleming

Membership: Cathie Matranga

Historian: Tese Gorszwick

Newsletter/Blog: Billy Pittard

Councilors: Joanne Murphy

Martha Gresham

Sandy Krutilek

Barbara Skimina

We are seeking a Treasurer and an Invitations Manager who can serve until June 2012.  Please consider whether you would like to be part of our management team and contact me for more details if you might be interested.

Our thanks go to Charlotte Gresham for maintaining our informative website over the past few years. This site provides information on membership in the Jamestowne Society, a list of currently approved ancestors, information on our events, a reading list and other useful information about Jamestowne. It’s a great resource for both members and prospective members. Our website can be found here: http://www.jamestownecalifornia.org

Do you want to know all the good 17^th century gossip? Who is related to whom and their occupation?  Our fall program will provide tidbits and guidance on clues to learning about these early settlers.  Martha McCartney, author of Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary, will draw on her years of experience as a professional researcher when she speaks to us on Saturday, October 23, 2010.  She is the author of four books and many articles on the people of early Virginia.  McCartney has served as a research historian at the Virginia Research Center for Archaeology and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. McCartney is a graduate of The College of William and Mary and a resident of Williamsburg. You will receive your invitation in the next few weeks.

We have a stimulating year coming up and it is made more interesting as more members are active participants. We can now stay easily connected to each other with the First California Company’s new blog. This blog will be a source of information and a means to stay in touch between meetings. We may be far from Jamestown but we need not be far from each other! 

Over the past two months the Jamestowne Rediscovery Archeological Project has found what may be the site and remains of the original church at Jamestowne.

In 1610, William Strachey, secretary of the Virginia colony, described Jamestown’s church as “…a pretty chapel…in length three-score foot, in breadth twenty-four…”

The Jamestown Rediscovery team has found six postholes, unusually deep, unusually large in diameter, and most interestingly, they appear to fit perfectly into Strachey’s description of what was Jamestown’s first substantial church, built in 1608 and being the probable location of the wedding of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. There is a sense of cautious optimism among the archaeologists that they have indeed found the spiritual hub of the colony.

CLICK HERE to see the full article on the Historic Jamestowne website, including a video showing how the dig is progressing.

CLICK HERE for a detailed story from the Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper.

Thanks go to First California Company member James McCall for providing information for this post. Find more interesting news and information about Jamestowne at James’ Jimson Harvest blog. 

New member of the  First California Company, Mary Weisiger Andeen is not only a descendant of Pocahontas, but her family has passed down through the generations, a beautiful cameo brooch believed to have belonged to Pocahontas and carved in her likeness.

Mary Weisiger Andeen explains, “The cameo came down through the family to my grandfather, Cary Nelson Weisiger, Jr. and then to my father, Cary Nelson Weisiger III. He gave it to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation. It is on display at the museum there as one of two items that are believed to have belonged to Pocahontas.”

It is believed that King James I and Queen Anne presented the cameo to Pocahontas in 1616 during her visit to London with her husband John Rolfe and their son Thomas. A London jeweler carved her likeness in high relief from a piece of blue onyx. Family legend has it that the cameo was originally set in gold and surrounded by pearls and rubies.

During the Civil War, the brooch was vandalized and the setting was stolen by Union soldiers when they rode through Southside Virginia. Not realizing the importance of the blue onyx cameo, the Union troops pried the cameo out of its original setting and discarded the cameo. Rolfe family descendants recovered the cameo and had placed in a simple silver setting.

As part of the 400^th anniversary celebration of Jamestowne, the Pamunkey Indians of Virginia presented Queen Elizabeth II with a replica of the Pocahontas brooch. A beautiful free 34-page booklet about the brooch and the replica given to the Queen is available by clicking here.

Mary shared this additional information about her ancestry: “You may know that the Pocahontas line goes through the Bolling family.  Anne Meade Bolling married Joseph Kendall Weisiger in 1824, my 3-great grandparents. I was always told as a child that we were descendants of Pocahontas.  My grandparents had a 100-acre farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia named ‘Pocahontas.’  When I got into genealogy about three years ago I realized that many, many people make the claim of being Pocahontas descendants.  I decided I needed to verify my claim, and in April I was accepted to membership in the Jamestowne Society as a descendant of Pocahontas.”

We are very happy to welcome Mary Weisiger Andeen to the First California Company, and thank her for sharing that wonderful story!

First California Company of the Jamestowne Society had another successful presence at the recent Southern California Genealogy Jamboree. The conference was held in June at the Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel in Burbank. The Jamboree is an opportunity for our Company to reach out to potential members and make them aware of our organization. “I love visiting with lots of visitors about Jamestowne,” said our Jamboree organizer and Membership Chairman, Cathie Matranga.

Thanks go to Cathie and Gene Matranga for manning our booth for the first two days of the event, and to Sandy & Scott Krutilek for manning our booth on the third day.

The jamboree is an annual event held by the Southern California Genealogical Society. The next Jamboree is scheduled for June 10-12, 2011. It is a wonderful opportunity to network with others who are interested in genealogy, to attend genealogy workshops, and to explore an exhibit hall full of interesting resources.

Learn more about next year’s Genealogical Jamboree at this link:

Welcome to our new blog! It is our hope that this blog will provide a better way to stay in touch with our members between meetings. We hope this blog can become our primary vehicle for communication about events, meetings, and any kind of news we believe may be of interest to our members.

We believe a blog is a good solution because it’s much simpler to create and deliver than a newsletter. We’ll also be able to include color photos, videos, and links to other online resources. If you’d like a paper version of the articles, you can print them.

We’ll email our members and friends whenever there is something critical to see on this blog. You can visit the blog any time or “follow” it in any of the usual ways. For the few members who do not use computers, our plan is to send critical information by regular mail.

My name is Billy Pittard and I will serve as your editor and blog master. I invite you to send me stories, news, photographs, etc. that you might like to share with your fellow members, and I will add it to the blog. Contact me at this address: FCCJamestowne@gmail.com