Thomas WEST 3rd Baron de la Warr (1577 – 1618)  (Wikipedia)  was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called “Delaware“, were named. He was Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; one of 4,096 in this generation of the Miller line.

Baron de la Warr Coat of Arms

Thomas West was born 9 Jul 1577 in Wherwell Hampshire, England.  His parents were Thomas WEST , 2nd Baron De La Warr, of Wherwell Abbey in Hampshire, and, Anne KNOLLYS. daughter of Sir Francis Knollys and Catherine Carey. He married Cicely SHIRLEY 25 Nov 1602 in St. Dunstan’s.  Thomas died 7 Jun 1618 enroute to Virginia on the Neptune offshore Nova Scotia.  In 2006, research had concluded that his body was brought to Jamestown for burial. A grave site thought by researchers to contain the remains of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold may instead contain those of Baron De La Warr.

Thomas West Lord De La Warr

Cicely Shirely was born about 1580 in Wiston, Sussex, England.  Her parents were  Sir Thomas SHIRLEY and Anne KEMPE. Cicely died 31 Jul 1662

Only four Children of Thomas and Cicely are confirmed by Peerage.com:

• Hon. Cecilia West+¹ d. Feb 1638
• Hon. Lucy West+⁵
• Hon. Robert West⁴
• Henry West, 4th Baron Delaware+³ b. 3 Oct 1603, d. 1 Jun 1628

Thomas West Baron De la Warr

Thomas West received his education at Queen’s College, Oxford where he did not complete his course, but subsequently (1605) received the degree of M.A.   In 1597 he was elected member of parliament for Lymington, and subsequently fought in Holland and in Ireland under the Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex, being knighted for bravery in battle in 1599. He was imprisoned for complicity in Essex’s revolt (1600-1601), but was soon released and exonerated. In 1602 he succeeded to his father’s title and estates and became a privy councillor. Becoming interested in schemes for the colonization of America, he was chosen a member of the council of the Virginia Company in 1609, and in the same year was appointed governor and captain-general of Virginia for life.

Arrival of Thomas West, Lord de la Warr in Jamestown

After the Powhatans murdered the colony’s governor, Lord Ratcliffe, and attacked the colony in the first First Anglo-Powhatan War, Lord De La Warr led the reinforcement of Virginia.  Sailing in March 161o with three ships, 150 settlers and supplies, he himself bearing the greater part of the expense of the expedition,

Even with the arrival of the two small ships from Bermuda under Captain Christopher Newport, the colonists were faced with abandoning Jamestown and returning to England. On June 7, 1610, both groups of survivors (from Jamestown and Bermuda) boarded ships, and they all set sail down the James River toward the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  On June 9, 1610, Lord De La Warr and his party arrived on the James River shortly after the Deliverance and Patience had abandoned Jamestown. Intercepting them about 10 miles  downstream from Jamestown near Mulberry Island, the new governor forced the remaining 90 settlers to return, thwarting their plans to abandon the colony. Deliverance and Patience turned back, and all the settlers were landed again at Jamestown.

As a veteran of English campaigns against the Irish, De La Warr employed “Irish tactics” against the Indians: troops raided villages, burned houses, torched cornfields, and stole provisions; these tactics, identical to those practiced by the Powhatan themselves, proved effective. He had been given instructions by The London Virginia Company to kidnap Native American children. These instructions also sanctioned attacking Iniocasoockes, the cultural leaders of the local Powhatans. The campaign ended the Powhatan siege and resulted in the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe which introduced a short period of truce between the English and the Powhatan Confederacy. Although the truce was a short one, it allowed the English to fully secure the colony’s fortifications and housing, expand its farming, develop a network of alliances with other Indian nations, and establish a series of outlying smaller settlements.

Lord De La Warr’s rule was strict but just; he constructed two forts near the mouth of the James river, rebuilt Jamestown, and in general brought order out of chaos.  West became so ill that in March 1611 he sailed home to England.  He  published a book  at the request of the company’s council ,  about the conditions of affairs in Virgina:  The Relation of the Right Honourable the Lord De-La-Warre, of the Colonie, Planted in Virginia (reprinted 1859 and 1868). He remained in England, though still the nominal governor, until 1618, when the news of the tyrannical rule of the deputy, Samuel Argall, led him to start again for Virginia.  Our ancestor, Twyford West was born in 1616.  He embarked in April, but died en route on the 7th of June 1618,  and it was thought for many years that he had been buried in the Azores or at sea. In 2006, research concluded that his body was brought to Jamestown for burial. A grave site thought by researchers to contain the remains of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold may instead contain those of Baron De La Warr.

Because of his health, West did not spend much time in Virginia, but he was the single largest investor and his extended family was quite prominent in the colonization of North America. His uncles were the privateers who had sailed in the Roanoke voyages, Captain Francis and Henry Knollys. His Aunt Leticce Knollys was the mother of the Earl of Essex, and wife of the Earl of Leicester.

His brothers John West and Francis West both became Virginia Governors. Francis West settled Westover, which was on the upper James River in Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was sandwiched between Westover and Shirley’s plantation, all established between 1613 and 1619. His sister was married to the Pelhams whose children were instrumental in the colonization of New England.

Children

1. Hon. Robert West

Robert’s wife Elizabeth Coch was born

2. Sir Henry West (4th Baron of De la Warr)

Henry’s wife Isabella Edmunds was born Nov 1607 in Brussels, Belgium. Her parents were Sir. Thomas Edmunds and [__?__]. Isabella died 24 Dec 1677 in Southampton, England.

Sir Henry  died on 1 June 1628 at age 24.  He succeeded to the title of 4th Baron Delaware [E., 1570] on 7 June 1618.² He gained the rank of Captain in 1624 in the service of the Earl of Oxford’s Regiment of Foot.

3. Anne West

Anne’s husband Christopher Swale was born 1605 in Swineshead, Lincolnshire, England. Christopher died 5 Sep 1645 in Southampton, England.

4. Elizabeth West

Elizabeth’s husband Herbert Pelham was born 1602 in Swineshead, Lincolnshire, England. Herbert died 1660 in Southampton, England

5. Hon. Cecily West

Cecily’s first husband Sir Francis Bindloss (Bindlose) was born 9 Apr 1603 in Borwick, Lancashire, England.  His parents were  Sir Robert Bindlosse. and [__?__].   Sir Francis died 26 Jul 1629 in Borwick, Lancashire, England.

Cecily’s second husband Sir John Byron was born 1600 in Dutton, Cheshire, England. His parents were  Sir John Byron and Anne Molyneux.  After Cecily died, he married 1644 in Dutton, Cheshire, England to Hon. Eleanor Needham, daughter of Robert Needham, 2nd Viscount Kilmorey and Eleanor Dutton. (b. 1629 in Dutton, Cheshire, England – d. 26 Jan 1664 in Chester, Cheshire, England). Sir John died 23 Aug 1652 in Paris, France without issue.

John Byronwas created 1st Baron Byron of Rochdale, co. Lancaster [England] on 24 October 1643, with a special remainder to each of his brothers .

He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, in 1615 and graduated in 1618 with a Master of Arts (M.A.).   He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Nottingham from 1624 to 1625.   He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Nottingham in 1626.  He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Bath (K.B.) in February 1625/26.  He was Member of Parliament (M.P.) for Nottinghamshire from 1628 to 1629.  He held the office of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire from 1634 to 1635. He held the office of Gentleman of the Bedchamber.  He held the office of Lieutenant of the Tower of London in 1641.   He fought in the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, where he commanded the Royalist reserve.  He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Laws (D.C.L.) by Oxford Terrace, Paddington, London, England, on 1 Nov 1642.   He gained the rank of Field Marshal in the service of the Royalist forces of Cheshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and North Wales.   He was Governor to James, Duke of York between 1646 and 1652, later King James II.   He held the office of Governor of Chester before February 1645/46, until its capture by Parliamentarian forces.   In June 1646 he capitulated to the Parliamentarians as the Royalist commander of Carnarvon Castle..

6. Hon Lucy West

Lucy’s husband Col. Robert Byron was born 1611 in Newstead, England. His parents were  Sir John Byron and Anne Molyneux.  Robert died 1664 in Southhampton, England

He held the office of Governor of Liverpool.   He gained the rank of Colonel in the service of the Royalist infantry forces.  He fought in the English Civil War.

7. John West

John’s wife Mary Taft was born in 1615 in England.  Mary died 2 Apr 1675 in Beverly, Essex, Mass.

8. Twyford WEST  (See his page)

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_West,_3rd_Baron_De_La_Warr

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=bruesch639&id=I25952

http://www.thepeerage.com/p14230.htm#i142296

http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Bios/ThomasWest(3BDeLaWarr).htm

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=23241110

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bruesch639&id=I56647