We extend our congratulation and best wishes to our Governor Scarlett Stahl and Historian Lt. Col. James Shepherd, USMC (ret.),who were married at St. Francis of Assisi church in Simi Valley, Ca last Saturday, May 6.
Bride and groom before the ceremony; she’s wearing his “favorite dress.”
Cutting the cake
By Governor Scarlett Gathings Stahl
As Pocahontas was my tenth great grandmother, I was invited by Reverend Canon Chris Stone of St Georges Church in Gravesend, England to attend the March 21, 2017 commemoration of her death and interment in the church, 400 years from the date of her burial. I also attended as Governor of First California Company of the Jamestowne Society, as well as on behalf of the National Society of Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, as its California State Chair of Pocahontas Gardens, Projects and Scholarships. I believe that I was only Pocahontas descendant in attendance.
The commemoration was the highlight of the community’s two-year Pocahontas 400 Life Celebration.
Gravesend is an ancient town on the Thames with over a thousand years of English history. It was the port of departure for ships sailing to the New World and where Pocahontas died and is buried. She was better known to her tribe as Matoaka, daughter of Powhatan. She was called by her Christian name Rebecca in England, where, in 1616, the Virginia Company sponsored her tour and appearances to help promote Jamestown and its nascent tobacco industry.
The following is from the church service program:
A view of the service at St. George’s; I am in the left fifth row, aisle. Chief Adams of the Mattaponi Tribe is at the lectern.
“…Pocahontas, in her 22nd year, was due to return to Virginia with her husband and son in March 1616 [1617], sailing on the George, which was under the command of Captain Samuel Argall. Either ashore or onboard, Pocahontas succumbed to the illness she had endured and breathed her last. It’s said that her last words were, ‘all must die. ‘Tis enough that the child liveth’. The Reverend Nicholas Frankwell MA [Cantab], then rector of Gravesend, may well have conducted the burial service, laying Pocahontas to rest.
“Among the mourners would have been not only her husband, John [Rolfe], but also Captain Argall and Ralph Hamor, one of the original 1607 settlers, now also returning to Virginia. St. George’s at the time is said to have been damp and dark. The entry in the parish register reads, ‘1616 [1617] March 21, Rebecca Wolfe, Wyffe of Thomas [John) Wolfe Gent. A Virginia Borne, was buried in ye Chancell.’
“The church building in which, most agree, Pocahontas was buried, burned down in 1727, along with much of Gravesend. In due course, thanks in part to monies granted by the Gravesend Churches Act 1730, a new church was built and opened in 1733. Ever since then, the whereabouts of Pocahontas’ remains have been a matter of conjecture.
“Today’s service commemorates the occasion of Pocahontas’ burial 400 years ago and acknowledges the contribution of her example to peace and reconciliation both during her life and down through the centuries.”
At the Pocahontas Statue
A statue in the gardens of the rebuilt church was erected in 1958 and is a copy of the one in Historic Jamestown. This memorial to Pocahontas, who lost her original name and religion, and in 1616 [1617] her life, has been relisted by Historic England to mark this 400th anniversary. The life-size bronze of Pocahontas has had its heritage list entry updated to include a full description of her life and role in English and American history. I saw school children placing flowers at the statue of Pocahontas the day before the service.
Pocahontas 400 led up to the anniversary day of her burial. I arrived on Sunday, March 19, and, at the church crowded with guests, heard David Givens of Jamestowne Rediscovery give two interesting talks, a slide show on Pocahontas and the archeological excavations at Historic Jamestown, After David’s first talk, he gave Reverend Stone one of the books he had written.
Presenting the check to Reverend Canon Chris Stone
After his second talk, I gave Reverend Stone a $200 check from our First California Company and its members for the maintenance of the church’s Pocahontas Gardens. Hearing my own short speech, David Givens added that he was very grateful to the Jamestowne Society for giving him a grant for his Master’s Degree at the University of Leicester in England.
Tuesday, March 21 was an exceptionally sunny and beautiful day, where several hundred invited participants gathered for a parade in nearby St. Andrews Park, with costumed musicians playing for the crowd. As the crowd was gathering, there was a ceremony aboard a small red ship on the Thames where water from the James River was poured into the Thames to join the two rivers and two nations.
Pictured before the statue are: Reverend Canon Chris Stone; the Mayor’s daughter, Victoria Bonce; the High Sheriff of Kent, Mrs. Kathrin Smallwood; Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams, Upper Mattaponi Tribe; Mayor of Gravesham Greta Goatley; Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De L’Isle; me; The Right Reverend James Longstaff, Bishop of Rochester; Chief Anne Richardson, Rappahanock Tribe; Chief Stephen Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe.
Among the dignitaries who attended the commemoration events and service were: Mayor Greta Goatley of Gravesham; her daughter Victoria Bonce; the High Sheriff of Kent, Mrs. Kathrin Smallwood; the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De L’Isle; the Right Reverend James Longstaff, Bishop of Rochester; and, three Indian Chiefs from Virginia: Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams, Upper Mattaponi Tribe; Chief Anne Richardson, Rappahannock Tribe; and, Chief Stephen Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe. The US Ambassador to Great Britain had attended another commemoration event earlier this year.
I then participated in the early afternoon parade through the village with a stop at The Market Place to see a sculptural Peace Tree and a display of colorful feathers by Kent-based Animate Arts, created to commemorate Pocahontas. Legend has it that Pocahontas planted a mulberry tree at a manor house in Heacham, Norfolk, where Rolfe was from.
Upon arrival at St. George’s Church, Bishop Longstaff presided over a special service, during which Reverend Stone thanked the Jamestowne Society, Colonial Dames of the XVII Century and me for our support of his church. The Church was packed to capacity with invited guests, while an overflow crowd was able to view the services on television in another building. Afterwards, we went to the Old Town Hall for refreshments with the Mayor, which was accompanied by the costumed musicians.
I am grateful to Reverend Stone for inviting me to attend as it was very moving.
The Pocahontas plaque at the church
The Pocahontas window in St. George’s
With Chiefs Stephen Adkins, Chickahominy Tribe and Anne Richardson, Rappahanock Tribe
With Chief Chief Emeritus Kenneth Adams, Upper Mattaponi Tribe (center) and a British sailor
Dave Givens of Jamestown Rediscovery
A pause in the parade
The costumed musicians
With the Mayor of Gravesham Greta Goatley (right) and the Mayor’s daughter, Victoria Bonce (left)
With permission, two photos were shown from Kentpix.
Scott Krutilek, flanked by Governor Scarlett Stahl and wife Sandy at 2016 SCGS Jamboree
We regret to report the passing of our valued and steadfast member, Scott Burgess Krutilek; April 24, 1938 ~ February 28, 2017. He was active in our company’s Council for many years, a friend to many and brought joy and a large measure of good will to our meetings. He is missed.
Past Governor Ginny Gotlieb’s remembrance:
“Scott served the First California Company as Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Councilor and always as a kind and dedicated member and wise advisor. He and his wife and fellow member Sandy have staffed our table for many years at the Southern California Genealogy Society’s annual Genealogy Jamboree. It was through Scott’s suggestion that we began to participate in the Jamboree. He was always willing to help in ways big and small and was modest about his efforts and contributions. He and Sandy brought their granddaughter Kathleen into the Society and FCC and she, too, has helped us at past events.”
Our company is making a memorial donation to the Society’s Wingo Fund for records preservation. Individuals who wish to augment this with a personal donation can do so as follows:
Governor Scarlett Stahl convened our 2017 Winter Meeting in post-deluge Los Angeles on February 18. Nineteen members and guests met to exchange greetings, enjoy fellowship and celebrate the life of Pocahontas.
We began with Dr. Jessica Stern’s engaging and informative presentation on Pocahontas; Her Life and Times in England and the 400th Anniversary of her Death in March 1617.
In her talk, Jessica sought to answer this question: how did Pocahontas feel when she went to London in 1616, around the age 20? We have ample evidence about how the Virginia Company saw her visit. Seizing on a new peace forged between the Chesapeake Algonquian and the English in Virginia (manifested with Pocahontas’s 1614 marriage to John Rolfe), the Virginia Company hoped to use her visit to promote colonization. 
As made clear in this portrait commissioned during her trip, they sought to emphasize that Pocahontas was Native AND English, and solicit investment in a missionary school. But what about her? Did she feel excitement? Or did she feel captured and homesick?
After showing a digital depiction of how 17th century London may have appeared to Pocahontas, Jessica suggested that, at the very least, the sights, sounds, smells, and crowds must have been jarring. She (much more so than Rolfe) was treated with great pomp and circumstance, which exhausted her – treated to plays, at court, and at the Tower. She and her family moved to an estate in the suburbs to give her some rest. It was there John Smith came to visit her, and it is his account of her views that is the most revealing. As he recalled, she revealed that she feels like a stranger in this land, is duty bound to be Smith’s “child and countryman,” and believes the English “lie often.”
To Jessica, this suggests that Pocahontas saw her trip to England as an extension of the role she assumed the day she participated in the adoption ritual of Smith in 1608 (which he interpreted as her having saved his life out of affection). Then, as in England, she was working to forge a peace between the English and Natives, a role that to which she seemed resigned. But this dutiful life was cut short. As her ship began its trip back to Virginia in March 1617, Pocahontas fell ill, probably of a lung ailment like tuberculosis and died. With her, she had carried 100 pounds that had been donated to start the mission school. She was buried at St. George’s church in Gravesend.
After luncheon was served, new member Gale Hewes was introduced and the meeting moved on to company business, including officers’ reports and announcements. They included:
We will next convene for our 2017 Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 24 in Carlsbad at the Green Dragon restaurant, which is modeled after the Boston tavern where the American Revolution was plotted.
Our Speaker, Dr. Jessica Stern, surrounded by past Governor Donna Derrick, Governor Scarlett Stahl and Councilor Jim McCall
New member Gale Hewes and her husband, Phil, at left
Guest Margaret Willcox, Jim Shepherd, Suzy Leif, past Governor Donna Derrick, Governor Scarlett Stahl, and Speaker Dr. Jessica Stern
Sandra Bill, past Governor Joanne Murphy, Dorothy Peterson and guest Sue Pitney
Guest Beth Ullman, Harry Holgate, Susan Holgate and past Governor Virginia Gotlieb
Jim McCall, Erica Hahn and past Governor Martha Gresham.
It’s been a tough weather week in Historic Jamestown.
We here show a You Tube video of Jamestown in Winter shot from a drone by the Jamestown Rediscovery staff. This makes us appreciate our California weather, no matter the current rains. Note how the reenactor also helps us appreciate what our earliest ancestors had to endure; it was then the Little Ice Age. John Smith described how he had to chop through river ice in visiting the Powhatans and exploring the Chesapeake. Not all summer-like and mosquitos.
Also, below are photos that were among those posted by Jamestown Rediscovery on its Facebook page. As some readers of this page do not access Facebook, we are posting these so all can share them. You can click on them for more detail.
All were taken on January 9 (when it was 10 degrees) by JR staff, two of which were notably taken by Merry Outlaw, its Curator of Collections.
The Island in Winter
Memorial Church and 17th century tower in the snow (Merry Outlaw)
James Fort in the snow.
Site of the 1608 church in winter (Merry Outlaw)
Governor Scarlett Stahl at Pocahontas Statue at Gravesend, England with Reverend Chris Stone
A Message from Governor Scarlett Stahl:
We will next meet on Saturday, February 18 in Los Angeles to celebrate the life of Pocahontas. She was my tenth great-grandmother and the ancestor I chose to join Jamestowne Society with. I have made several pilgrimages to her former sites…such as the 400th Wedding Reenactment at Jamestowne on April 5, 2014, the Pamunkey Indian Reservation in Virginia (the main tribe of Powhatan, Pocahontas’ father) and St. George’s Church in Gravesend, England, where my ancestor was buried March 21, 1617. I also enjoyed our March 2014 First California Company luncheon at the LA Airport Marriott Hotel; Commemoration of the 400th Wedding Anniversary of Pocahontas and John Rolfe.
Her marriage to John Rolfe secured peace between the settlers and the Indians. It was approved by both Chief Powhatan and the Virginia Company Governor for that very reason. Pocahontas died of an unknown illness 400 years ago in March 1617 and was buried at St George’s Church, Gravesend.
There are a series of events commemorating her Life Celebration at Gravesend. I am excited and privileged to share that I have personally been invited by the Rector, the Reverend Canon Chris Stone, to attend on March 21, the Pocahontas 400 Life Commemorative Church Service in St George’s Church, Gravesend, England, where the Pocahontas Gardens are and which I have previously visited. Following the services, I have been invited to be in the parade and then enjoy refreshments with the Mayor in the Old Town Hall in High Street. I hope to have a report and photos of the festivities for you. Please contact me if you wish to learn more.
However, it also is fitting to commemorate her death with a Life Celebration at our own First California Company meeting on February 18 at the Tam O’Shanter, one of Los Angeles’ long-established culinary institutions.
Tam O’Shanter
Our meeting is being held at one of my own favorite restaurants, which is modeled after a Scottish pub, housed in a Tudor-style building with plaid-clad waiters serving us. It opened in 1922 and has been operated by the same family in the same location. It was Walt Disney’s favorite restaurant.
Our speaker, Jessica Stern Ph.D., is associate professor of History at California State University Fullerton, who will tell us about Pocahontas: Her Life and Times in England and the 400th Anniversary of her Death in March 1617.
Here are some possible highlights: Thursday, January 5 marked 400 years since Pocahontas was presented to James I at Whitehall Palace in London, where she attended a masque at Whitehall Palace as visiting American royalty. She had traveled with her husband John Rolfe, of Heacham, Norfolk, but he was excluded from the masque as a commoner. The couple’s links to the village are believed to still be apparent today, as it is said that Pocahontas, John Rolfe and their son may have visited Heacham in 1616 to meet his family. Legend says she planted a mulberry tree in the village, which some believe to be the larger tree which is still growing there.
Please join us in our Life Celebration. We will assemble at 11:30 AM for socializing, then hold a short business meeting for members and enjoy our luncheon, followed by of our program.
We will meet in the Guards’ Room at Tam O’Shanter, which is located at 2980 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Phone: 323-664-0228. NOTE: The I-5 corridor is often congested with Saturday traffic, so please allow extra time to travel.
The cost of the event is $40 and you can choose from prime rib of beef, roasted chicken and a seasonal vegetarian entree. Reservations must be received by February 10. You can make one by contacting our Treasurer, Suzy Leif.
As always, guests, prospective applicants to the Society and members of other companies are very welcome.
I hope we will see you there to join once again in Jamestowne Society fellowship and sharing to help further our mission:
Scarlett Gathings Stahl, Governor
First California Company, Jamestowne Society
There have been six churches at Jamestown. The most meaningful were the second, built in 1608 – the site of the 1614 Rolfe/Pocahontas wedding and where graves of four founders were found; the third, built from 1617 to 1619 – the site of the first elected representative legislature in the New World in 1619; the fifth, built sometime in the seventeenth century – its tower is the sole remaining edifice from the colony; and, the sixth, built in as the 1907 Memorial Church, built over and around the sites of the second and third churches.
The second and Memorial churches are located as numbers 18 and 27 on Jamestown Rediscovery’s Map of Discoveries.
With the $50,000 donation announced by Governor Jerry Zillion in the Society’s Fall 2016 Magazine, Jamestown Rediscovery has now expanded its archaeological dig to the interior of the Memorial Church. This is in preparation of the 2019 commemoration of 400th anniversary of the First Assembly, but also to investigate which of our ancestors may be buried there. Two recent news articles report on their progress, one local and the other picked up and published nationally by the Associated Press. There are links within these articles that offer more details of the dig.
The Society requests members and companies interested in supporting this work to make donations to the Society, which will then forward the designated contribution. Donors have three options: (1) by going to the Roll of Honor page on its website, where online, digital contribution instructions are at the bottom of the page, (2) using the form for mailing donations on the same page, or (3) using the Donate Now button on the Society’s Home page and specifying Archaeological Dig Fund in the provided field.
This is summarized on our Jamestown Archeology page, where we have and will include links to published progress reports from time to time. We will post news of any remains that are found in the church excavation.
Governor Scarlett Stahl
Governor Scarlett Stahl convened First California Company’s fall 2016 meeting on November 12 at Knotts Berry Farm Hotel in Buena Park with 27 members, friends and guests attending. All officers and councilors were present, with the exception of Treasurer Suzanne Leif, Chaplain Sandra Orozco and Councilors Jim McCall and Anita Guenin.
Governor Stahl presided and reported as follows:
Our speaker was Professor Stewart Davenport, who received his Ph.D., in History from Yale University and is an Associate Professor of History at Pepperdine University.
Governor Scarlett Stahl with Professor Stewart Davenport, our speaker, and Lt. Governor Julie Plemmons. Both Scarlett and Julie are holding the tobacco leaves, which were grown and provided as decoration by Historian Jim Shepherd.
His presentation was on Tobacco in Colonial Virginia: From Boom to Bacon’s Rebellion. Table decorations included real dried tobacco leaves, which had been grown by our Historian, Jim Shepherd and little tobacco bags filled with candy, which were provided by former Governor Donna Derrick and Lieutenant Governor Julie Plemmons. [Ed. Note: Dr. Davenport’s remarks complemented Jim Shepherd’s recent account of his experience as our Company’s only tobacco planter.]
The first order of business was to ratify the Council’s appointment of Erica Hahn to serve as Secretary for the remainder of the 2016- 2018 term as successor to Michelle Chatelle, who had found it necessary to resign. Additionally, we ratified Suzanne Leif’s Council appointment to serve as Treasurer for the remainder of the term 2016-2018 as successor to David Grinnell, who also found it necessary to resign. Both motions were voted upon and adopted. We expressed our appreciation to both for their willingness to serve.
The minutes from the May 21 meeting had been emailed to all members and the Secretary received no corrections or additions. There were no objections, and the minutes were filed as approved.
Erica Hahn, Secretary, read the Treasurer’s Report as well as the proposed 2017 Budget in the absence of Treasurer Suzanne Leif. These were voted upon and adopted.
Chaplain for the Day, Claire Murphy, reported that our Chaplain, Sandra Orozco was home from the hospital after her fall.
Marty Sommercamp, Membership Chair, introduced two new members, Sally Shepherd Stovall and her seven-year-old nephew, Lucas Lapp.
Susan Shepherd Lapp, Sally Shepherd Stovall, Jim Shepherd (Historian) Scarlett Stahl (Governor) and Lucas Lapp at the new American Flag that was donated by the Shepherd Family.
The Shepherd family presented a new U.S. flag and pole and a matching pole for the Jamestowne Society Flag, as a gift to our First California Company, which was met with applause.
Parliamentarian Martha Gresham, as a member of the Bylaws Committee, presented amendments to our Bylaws, which were voted upon and adopted.
In Jim McCall’s absence, Jim Shepherd gave a status report on efforts to Save the James.
Jamestowne Society news: Jerry Zillion was re-elected Governor at the Society’s November 4 Fall Meeting. The Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Auditor, Chaplain, Treasurer all were re-elected. About 4 others are new officers. Several new councilors were elected [Ed. Note: see the Society’s website.]
Anne Stokes Moore is no longer Companies’ Chair and is now Historian. She has been replaced by Jane Congdon, who is now Regional Chairmen Coordinator, a new office to oversee the nine regions into which companies have been organized. Jane was also elected Registrar for the Society at the Fall meeting. Jane (“Xan”) Alexander is our Western Regional Chair; more information will be sent to all governors by their Regional Chairs, who now will liaison between the Society and companies in their areas.
The Jamestowne Society would like to honor our members who have served in the U.S. military and has created a new pin to recognize U.S. military veterans. Governors are to compile lists of veterans in their respective companies. In late February or March, the nine Regional Chairmen are to receive those reports from the governors. Jane Congdon will then compile them to create the Society’s complete veteran list. This is ongoing project and names will continually be added just before each national meeting for updated lists at the meetings.
Veterans standing, wives standing for their husbands and daughters standing for their fathers in recognition of Veterans Day.
First California Company veterans were asked to stand when their name was called, stating their name and branch of service. Also, ladies were asked to stand and give the names and branch of service for their spouses or fathers. The names read were as follows:
George R. Horne, # 7544, Captain, U. S. Marine Corps Reserve. 1958-68 (Not called back on active duty for Vietnam)
John E. Cahoon #6569, Chief Petty Officer, U. S. Navy Reserve, Retired Served aboard the USS Essex CV 9 (Carrier Vessel), during WWII and during the Korean War as well. He stayed in the reserves and retired after 24 years.
Ward C. White, #8651, S/Sgt. U.S. Air Force, Korean War Veteran, Service: 21 July 1949 to 12 December 1952
James A. Shepherd, # 8690, Lt. Col., U. S. Marine Corps, Retired. Vietnam War Veteran.Service: 16 April 1958 to 1 July, 1980.
James H. McCall #5883 Private, U. S. Marine Corps Reserve 1955-59 (Injured and eventually discharged.)
Lieutenant Governor Julie Plemmons advised that our next meeting will be on February 18, 2017, with a Los Angeles-area venue to be advised.
The meeting’s Romantic Twist: Scarlett Stahl and Jim Shepherd announced their engagement, and she slightly sheepishly showed off her engagement ring.
Our youngest member, Lucas Lapp (seven years old) holding tobacco, which was the theme of the speaker’s address.
Our 2016 Fall Meeting will be held on Saturday, November 12 at Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel, La Palma Room, First Floor, 7675 Crescent Avenue, Buena Park, CA 90620.
We will convene at 11:30 AM to give you an opportunity to renew old and develop new friendships among our members, prospective members and other guests and spouses. We will have short business meeting preceding lunch.
A message from Governor Scarlett Stahl:
“As your new Governor, I hope I can welcome you personally at our 2016 Fall Meeting on Saturday, November 12. Our speaker, Professor Stewart Davenport of Pepperdine University, will discuss Tobacco in Colonial Virginia: From Boom to Bacon’s Rebellion. Having heard Professor Davenport three times, I am sure you will find him both knowledgeable and entertaining. I look forward to seeing all of you there.
“I have been working closely with our Lt. Governor, Julie Plemmons, in planning for our proposed venues and speakers. We expect to have three meetings during this, our 17th, year …one in the San Diego area, one in the Los Angeles area and one in between. We hope to see more members become active in our Company and encourage prospective members to get acquainted.”
Scarlett Stahl
Dr. Davenport
Dr. Stewart Davenport received his Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 2001, and is Associate Professor of History at Pepperdine University, teaching courses in American Religious History, and American History, more generally from the colonial era through Reconstruction.
Cost: $40.00. Menu selections: Mrs. Knott’s Famous Fried Chicken OR Vegetarian Lasagna; Dessert of Boysenberry Pie
Please RSVP by November 2, 2016 and make check payable to First California Company, Jamestowne Society (Must be received by November 2, 2016).
Mail to: David Grinnell, Treasurer, 3501 Desert Creek Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92262-9754. Contact info: email: dvytca@gmail.com; phone: 760-322-1702
Please include the attendee name(s): email and phone: indicate FCC Member; FCC Friend; Prospective Member; or Guest. Please make your menu selection: Mrs. Knott’s Famous Fried Chicken Lunch $40; Vegetarian Lasagna Lunch $40. Also, indicate if you would like any Knott’s Berry Farm Adult Park Tickets @ $40 and Children’s Park Tickets (ages 3-11) @ $30.
For answers to questions and more information, please contact Governor Scarlett Stahl at scarletts3@sbcglobal.net
For a map with the location of our meeting venue, please click here.
By Jim Shepherd
When the first settlers came to Virginia in 1607, their main problem was food; the 1609-10 winter was known as the Starving Times. They had trouble trading with the local Indian tribes for food.
It is not mentioned in history books, but they must have had an area like Boston Common; a place where they could raise a garden and pasture for livestock.
The Spanish were already selling tobacco in Europe. The first plant was brought to England in 1565, and by the 1610’s there was a ready market in England, especially for Spanish tobacco from the West Indies.
The local Indians raised tobacco for ceremonial purposes, but the English did not care for its bitterness. In 1611, John Rolfe, who would marry Pocahontas, obtained some Spanish seeds from a ship’s captain. By 1612, he was growing a hybrid of the sweeter Spanish tobacco and the local variety, which would be then known in England forever as the Virginia blend. The exact location of his crop was is not known, but it was probably on Jamestowne Island.
In 1619, the first General Assembly enacted requirements for the inspection of tobacco and mandated the creation of port towns and warehouses.
In the meantime, the settlers found that tobacco would grow well in Virginia and sell profitably in England. This was wonderful news, considering that many of the Jamestown colonists had died or suffered miserably as their farming efforts had been relatively unsuccessful. The potential cash value of tobacco soon captured imaginations throughout Virginia and the greater Chesapeake. They began to plant it in every available clearing, from fields to the forts and streets of Jamestown and, eventually, much of Tidewater Virginia. “Dominating the Virginia economy after 1622, tobacco remained the staple of the Chesapeake colonies, and its phenomenal rise is one of the most remarkable aspects of our colonial history.”
If you have ever been involved in clearing land of trees, you know it is a difficult task. Removing a stump from your yard with modern tools is a lot of work. The early settlers had only hand tools. They would have cut the trees for building materials and firewood and left the stumps. They would “ring” the trees to kill them, let light in, and then cut them down later. In the meantime, they planted crops around them.
When I was 9 to 12 years old, I lived on a small farm in Western Montana. We had an area that the trees had been cut down and the stumps left. My mother wanted to expand the hay field.
I spent all winter of 1950-51 burning stumps. A few times I could talk the neighbor out of some dynamite. That was fun; break up those big pine stumps and they burn faster. Behind the hay barn at right is where the small trees were that I cleared. It seems to me that, in 2014, the old mule came to check me out and get a nose pat.
In early Virginia, the settlers built small mounds to place the seeds on and covered them with brush. It was not the pretty cultivated land you see today.
Eventually the stumps would rot out or the settlers would burn them during the winter.
Tobacco is labor intensive. Each slave or indentured servant working on a tobacco plantation in colonial days may have planted, weeded and harvested about two acres of cleared land with 9-10,000 plants, requiring bending over perhaps 50,000 times.
Tobacco wears out the land, exhausting minerals and nutrients from the soil. The first Virginia colonists to acquire ownership of land were in a position to gain great wealth, as they could abandon old fields and plant in fresh ones that would produce great quantities of the crop. The old land would take 10-20 years to recover.
Here is a typical description of a land patent: “Scarlett’s Choice. 400 acres lying south of the James River between the third and fourth creeks below the falls.” The falls of the James River prevented ships going any further upstream.
They needed land and labor. Importing indentured servants for head rights provided them with 50 acres for each one, which created both a labor force and more land to cultivate. The supply of interested immigrants from England declined after the end of English Civil War and when Charles II reclaimed the throne in 1660. Religious and economic refugees were recruited from France and Germany. They had to be Protestants, as Virginia required that they had to attend the Anglican Church. That often meant that they were French Huguenots; many Huguenots had fled to Germany, where they intermarried, and emigrated to Virginia. By 1700, it was clear that the Virginia leaders had committed to getting their labor from Africa. Virginia had a strange law. If your mother was a free woman, you were born free; it did not make a difference who your father was. Something was going on behind the barn. Inter-racial marriages were against the law and, in many states, until the 1970’s.
You have to continually pick off the tobacco worms.
I had a friend that grew up in Tennessee. Her father raised tobacco. Every morning, she and her little sister took a coffee can of soapy water to the field. They went down every row picking tobacco worms. When they were finished, they made a count to see who the winner was that day. They could then tell their father. She who won received the most praise that day.
In addition to that, once the plants want to bloom, you have to remove the flower stems (suckers), so they devote their energy to the leaves. They grow back about as fast as tobacco worms multiply.
Tobacco Shed
I have lived in Virginia, traveled through NC and SC. I have seen tobacco growing but never in bloom. Two years ago I raised some to see the flowers. I have a 17th century yard, bare dirt, flowers and aloe.
That story follows.
Moved outside to harden
Their New Home
Getting ready to bloom and a bug bite
What I went through all the work for
Going to seed; I have 1000’s
You can sun dry or air dry, I did both. I started to see little holes. Eggs hatching little worms!!!
These are hands; when they are limp, an expert can use a leaf to tie them together
My daughter-in-law’s father was born and raised West Virginia. His father had a tobacco patch. He was the oldest son and worked with his father as long as he can remember. As the oldest son he had to sleep in the tobacco barn during the winter to keep a fire going so it would continue to dry and cure.
When he graduated from high school, he joined the Navy to get away from all of that.
I may be the only tobacco planter in the Company or have seen it in bloom. It is labor intensive. I could fix everyone up with at least 50 seeds.
The only tobacco planter in the company
Jim Shepherd is First California Company’s Historian
Message from Governor Scarlett Stahl:
Back row: Sandra Orozco, Chaplain; David Grinnell, Treasurer and Secretary Pro Tem; Jim Shepherd, Historian; Jim McCall, Councilor; and, Martha Pace Gresham, Past Governor and Parliamentarian. Front Row: Marty Sommercamp, Membership Chair; Anita Guenin, Councilor; Scarlett Stahl, Governor; Julie Plemmons, Lieutenant Governor; Donna Chilton Derrick, Past Governor and Councilor.
First California Company’s 2016-18 Council met July 16, 2016 at immediate past Governor Donna Derrick’s home in San Diego. The new Council includes Governor Scarlett Stahl; Lt. Governor Julie Plemmons; Treasurer David Grinnell; Historian Jim Shepherd; Chaplain Sandra Orozco; Membership Chair Marty Sommercamp and Councilors Donna Derrick, Anita Guenin and Jim McCall.
Secretary-elect Michele Chantelle is unable to serve, and the Council subsequently voted to temporarily fill the vacancy with David Grinnell as Secretary (Pro Tem). Erica Hahn has recently volunteered to become our new Secretary. Erica will be introduced to our Council and voted on at our next meeting on November 12 (see below). We are grateful to David for stepping up temporarily but we prefer that no Council member be burdened with more than one position.
Donna Derrick presented the Governor’s Insignia to Scarlett Stahl, and Donna Derrick was presented the Past Governor’s Emblem.
Meeting dates and programs were discussed, and a tentative list is as follows:
We will establish committees to help increase members’ participation. Jim Shepherd, David Grinnell and Jim McCall will assist Membership Chair Marty Sommercamp in this effort.
By Jim Shepherd
He really is not that new, he has been a member of Jamestowne for about a year, a member of the Company since May of this year; you just have not met him.
He is by far the youngest at age seven and in the second grade.
He is an interesting little character. He has always loved books. When you could sit him on your lap to read to him after you read the page, named everything and try to turn the page he would slap your hand. “I want to study this more and I will turn the page when I am ready.”
When he could sit up by himself, all you had to was dump him on floor with a pile of books and he entertained himself.
His grandmother died when he was 21 months’ old. He would come in and go running to see her. I moved all furniture around so he would not expect her in her chair. About a month later he looked at me and said, “Nana is up with stars”. I said, “Yes”. He has never mentioned her again.
Then his mother got him a book on Dinosaurs. He learned their names. That was his passion for quite a while and brought the book with him. I can’t tell one from another let alone pronounce their names.
We went through bugs, birds, and I lost track. His father took him up to Temecula to pan for gold. His bucket had two flakes. Now he has his own pan for when they go camping in the mountains. They are always going to the beach and bought him a metal detector for Christmas.
His first find on the beach was a half full pint of whiskey. He was pretty proud of it. His mother, with no sense of humor, poured out the booze and insisted on washing it before it went home. Ladies, if you lost your $10,000.00 engagement ring on the beach, he is still looking
Then King Tut came to town. He got a book on him. Made up his mind he wants to go to Egypt to dig for gold and old bones. For his 6th birthday party, he wanted an ancient Egypt theme. His parents complied; he and his little cousins were wrapped in toilet paper.
He is also into Legos. The first time I watched him put a box together, I could not figure out what he was doing. The little rascal was reading the directions. Men don’t do that, that is the last resort.
He may sound like a book worm, but he is pretty well balanced. He likes to go for walks and hiking with his parents, plays baseball. Walks the dog.
Likes school, reading, writing and math.
His life Membership in Jamestowne is a lifelong gift, which I hope he will always enjoy.
He and this little girl are members of the Huguenot Society of the Colony of Virginia. He was 4 months old and she was about 3 years at the time.
When I showed him this picture, I told him I have partner for you. She speaks French and English and is halfway there. There is nothing wrong with older women.
Jim Shepherd is First California Company’s Historian
2020 Annual Meeting: Saturday, June 5
Where: Zoom Meeting; Norma Keating, Lt. Governor, First California Company at normakeating@earthlink.net or 714-319-5994
Time: 11:00 AM
Program: David Givens, Director of Archeology, Jamestowne Rediscovery
