Adam Thoroughgood: Difference between revisions

| name = Adam Thoroughgood

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|death_place resting_place = Church Point, [[Lower Norfolk County, Virginia]]

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|weight spouse = Sarah Offley (Yeardly)

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'''Adam Thoroughgood [Thorowgood]''' (1604–1640) was a [[colonist]] and community leader in the [[Virginia Colony]] who helped settle the areaVirginia counties of [[SouthElizabeth HamptonCity, Roads]]Lower knownNorfolk inand contemporaryPrincess Anne, the latter, known timestoday as the [[independent city]] of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]].

Young Thoroughgood was from a prominent family in [[King's Lynn]], [[Norfolk]], [[England]], the ninth son of the Rector of [[Grimston, Norfolk|Grimston]], Rev. William Thorowgood,. and baptisedHe was baptized at St. Botolph's Church in Grimston on July 14, 1604 (as shown in the baptism register). SomeEarly in his life he became interested in immigrating to the Americas when he heard about exploits in Virginia from some of the members of [[Henry Spelman of Jamestown|Henry Spelman]]'s family who lived in Congham, a mile to the north of Grimston and Adam heard about Spelman's exploits in Virginia. At the age of 17, he became an [[indentured servant]] in order to pay for passage to the Virginia Colony, a project of the [[Virginia Company of London]] at the time. Around 1622, he settled in an area south of the [[Chesapeake Bay]] and a few miles inland from the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. This area had been passed by when the earlier settlements of the London Colony such as [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]] were established beginning in 1607 in favourfavor of locations further inland which would be less susceptible to attacks by other European forces, such as the Spanish.<ref>Bellamy, Joe Davis [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=XggfG3i-8pIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''The Bellamys of Early Virginia''] (iUniverse, 2005). p. 31.</ref>

Having served his period of indenture, heAdam returned to England, only to return to Virginia with a wife and 105 men. GrantedHe was granted a large landholding, heand became a leading citizen of the area. He was elected to the [[House of Burgesses]] in 1629, 1629&ndash;1630 and 1632,<ref>Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=WaA-AAAAYAAJ ''The Virginia Colonial Register'']. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1902. {{OCLC|253261475}}, Retrieved July 15, 2011. pp. 54&ndash;56. Thoroughgood was not a member in two other sessions in the early 1630s. No list of the members for the assemblies of 1633, 1634 and 1635 was found by the Stanards.</ref> and to the Governor's Council, and as a Justice of the Court. He also became a Captaincaptain in the local militia and started one of the first ferry serviceservices in [[Hampton Roads]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Shipwreck (44PM52) |url=https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/pdf_files/Archeo_Reports/PM-042_44PM052_Portsmouth_Shipwreck_2006_TAR_report.pdf |publisher=Virginia Department of Historical Resources |access-date=October 29, 2023 |date=2006}}</ref> And he exported tobacco, which was fast becoming the cash crop which early colonists needed.

The London Company lost its franchisecharter in 1624 and Virginia became a royal colony in 1624. In 1634, the Colonycolony was divided into [[shire]]s, soon renamed [[county (US)|counties]], a term still in use in Virginia 350 years later, and was soon renamed [[County (United States)|counties]]. He Adam is credited with using thehis nameplace of his homebirth in England when helping name [[New Norfolk County]] when it was formed from [[Elizabeth City County, Virginia|Elizabeth City County]] in 1637. From New Norfolk County, there were several additional smaller entities formed including, most notablenotably [[Norfolk County, Virginia|Norfolk County]], which existed from 1691 to 1963 and is now the [[Chesapeake, Virginia|City of Chesapeake]], and most famously, theLower townNorfolk County which became the modern [[Norfolk, Virginia|City of Norfolk]].

Despite his widespread and long-lasting influence in South Hampton Roads, his choice of residence was along the [[Lynnhaven River]], also named for his home in England. In 1635, he earned a land patent for over 5,000 acres (20&nbsp;km²²) in this area for having earlier persuaded 105 new residents to settle in Virginia, including Augustine Warner, an ancestor of both President [[George Washington]] and General [[Robert E. Lee]].

Thoroughgood appears to have had the foresight to realize earlier than many other leaders that [[Lower Norfolk County]] (which encompassed the modern cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach) was too large for a single site for convenient worship and court affairs. He led the effort to establish a second parish church (now known as [[Old Donation Episcopal Church]]), a court, and a [[glebe]] house at what was then known as Churches Point on the Lynnhaven River in the eastern portion of the county, whichthat was later subdivided to form [[Princess Anne County, Virginia|Princess Anne County]] in 1691. The present [[City of Virginia Beach]] was incorporated in 1963.

ThoroughgoodIn suddenly became ill and died1640, at the young age of only 36, inThoroughgood 1640.suddenly Thisbecame was no doubt a great loss to his communityill and the colonydied. However, the story of his life is prominently known in today’s Virginia Beach, where theThe [[Adam Thoroughgood House]] is now an historic museum.

==NotesReferences==

==References=Sources===

* Bellamy, Joe Davis [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=XggfG3i-8pIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''The Bellamys of Early Virginia''] (iUniverse, 2005).

* Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=WaA-AAAAYAAJ ''The Virginia Colonial Register'']. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1902. {{OCLC|253261475}}, Retrieved July 15, 2011.

[[Category:VirginiaPeople from colonial peopleVirginia]]

[[Category:PeoplePoliticians from Virginia Beach, Virginia]]