Captain Powell Beheaded

I know not all of you like history. This is American history, Jamestown Virginia History, my 11^th Great Grandfather’s history.

To be exact Captain William Powell born in 1585 and dead by 1623. The headlines in the local Jamestown paper probably read something like this, CAPTAIN WILLIAM POWELL KILLED IN A MILITARY ACTION BY INDIANS. Shall we dive into the gory details?

                     Pocahontas Statue in Jamestown

Chief Powhatan was the father of Pocahontas. The relationship between the Indians and the settlers was fragile. Skirmishes broke out often and were mostly stimulated by encroachment issues. The Indians were losing their lands to the settlers who kept building and spreading beyond the original Jamestown settlement along the York and James Rivers. In 1618 Chief Powhatan died and his younger brother the charismatic Opechancanough, a great and feared warrior became the tribal Chief. He was very opposed and less tolerant than his older brother toward the settlers and their tobacco plantations.

 On March 22 of 1622 after years and months of seeing the English man’s art of diplomacy fail as a means to settle conflicts and his people taken advantage of he decided to revert to his tribal culture. He believed that small attacks on outlying plantations and at settlements would distress the settlers and they would leave and relocate. This is the way it had always been when they came into conflict with other tribes encroaching on their land. He believed the white settlers would behave in the same manner once shown how fierce his people could be. Approximately 1/3 of the population of Virginia were killed during these coordinated attacks.

                        Jamestown Settlement 

Grandfather William had a younger cousin Nathaniel, living in Jamestown in March of 1622. After the battle, when William went searching for his cousin he found him. His head lay not far from his body which had been hacked into pieces, the ground covered in blood. The body of Nathaniel’s pregnant wife lay not far from him.

                          Jamestown Fort, VA 

The few remaining men in Virginia then went on the offense and attacked the tribes. William in a brutal and wild frenzy killed three of the Indians beheading and desecrating the remains. Then in January of 1623 William and a small contingent of men were ambushed and William was beheaded. Or, was he?

In December of 1622 the Abigail made port in Jamestown, and on board lay ill and dying passengers. Their disease spread quickly through the settlements and already being weak from hunger and malnutrition 350 people perished.  In a letter to the London Company the name William Powell appears as having died from disease January 1623.

Being descended from Captain William Powell qualifies us to become members of the Order of the First Families of Virginia. Membership is by invitation only and applications to join are NOT accepted. We qualify through two of William’s Great Grandsons. Thomas Parker and William Parker.

Going farther back I have discovered Captain William Powell’s father, John was a brewer in Surrey. We are descended from Ale crafters?  I will discover some information and maybe ferret out the reason why my brother is so interested in brewing his own beer. Is it in his DNA? Should my nephews be brewing rather than running away to join the Navy? Could this be the reason the first shipload of Pilgrims landed at Plymouth? They ran out of beer and just assumed they come ashore and resupply at the nearest pub?

                      Eduard von Grützner  

Stay tuned!