Dec 4, 2010

Samuel Argall



(Encyclopedia Virginia) Samuel Argall was a longtime resident of Jamestown and the deputy governor of Virginia (1617–1619). He pioneered a faster means of traveling to Virginia by following the 30th parallel, north of the traditional Caribbean route, and he first arrived in June 1610, just after the "Starving Time" when the surviving colonists were ready to quit for Newfoundland. Although he joined in the war against the Virginia Indians, Argall also engaged in diplomacy, negotiating provisions from Iopassus (Japazaws) of the Patawomeck tribe. Argall explored the Potomac River region in the winter of 1612 and spring of 1613, and there, with Iopassus's complicity, kidnapped Pocahontas, a move that helped establish an alliance between the Patawomecks and the Virginians. In 1613 and 1614, Argall explored as far north as present-day Maine and Nova Scotia, and made hostile contact with the Dutch colony at Manhattan. He also helped negotiate peace with the Pamunkey and Chickahominy tribes. As deputy governor, Argall improved military preparedness but did not enforce martial law in the same way as Sir Thomas Dale had, making his administration a bridge between the old politics and a new more democratic era. Knighted by James I in 1622, Argall led an English fleet against the Spanish in 1625 and died at sea in 1626. Continued

Pictured: The Abduction of Pocahontas, copper engraving by Johann Theodore de Bry, 1618

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the effort in sharing these history pieces. I visit almost daily. Question -- The church photo at the top of Falmanac right now, where is that?

falmanac said...

Thanks for your kind words. The photo is of West Liberty Baptist Church, an AFrican American Church that dates from 1860. It is just abover Upper Crossroads in Fallston, MD (Harford County). I have been putting pictures from old posts on the header of the blog, but there's no way to caption them, so feel free to ask. Here's my original post on the church:
Just off Route 152 in Upper Cross Roads, Maryland is a tiny building called West Liberty Methodist Episcopal Church. It was founded in 1861 by African Americans. I don't know if they were slaves, freedmen, or a mix. The church was active for 60 years from 1861 - 1921. C. Milton Wright lists 15 "colored schools" in Harford County in 1874, one of them at "Upper X Roads," and I'm guessing it was housed at West Liberty. A local Scout Troop has placed a flag pole and plaque at the site, it reads as follows:

African American Heritage Memorial

To the glory of God.

This memorial is dedicated to the

West Liberty Methodist Church

and the African Americans who worshipped

during the Civil War and years afterwards.

Their faithfulness, personal sacrifice, courage,

and service to God and Harford County

will never be forgotten.

Eagle Scout Project - BSA Troop 801

Fallston, Maryland

Dedicated November 2000

More pictures here: http://www.falmanac.com/2006/06/west-liberty-methodist-church.html

I started this as a photo/history blog, but my mom's Alzheimer's has become so severe, that I rarley get out of the house anymore, so no fresh photos.

falmanac said...

Correction: West Liberty Methodist Church, not Baptist.