Charles River Shire

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Map of the shires of Virginia, 1634 1634 Virginia Counties- Henrico Focus.jpg
Map of the shires of Virginia, 1634

Charles River Shire was one of eight shires of Virginia created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. [1]

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. By 1634, the English colony of Virginia consisted of eight shires or counties with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants.

Charles River Shire took its name from King Charles I of England. It was located on the Virginia Peninsula on the Charles River (also named for the younger son of King James I. During the English Civil War, Charles River County and the Charles River were changed to York County and York River, respectively. The river, county, and town of Yorktown are believed to have been was named for York, a city in Northern England.

Charles River Shire became York County in 1643. [2] The first courthouse and jail were located near what is now Yorktown although the community, founded as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe, as variously called Port of York, Borough of York, York, Town of York, until Yorktown was established in 1691. Never incorporated as a town, Yorktown is the county seat of York County.

The Chiskiack Tribe of Native Americans lived on the south side of the York River on the grounds of the present-day Naval Weapons Station Yorktown near Yorktown until the 1630s, when conflicts with the English colonists caused them to move.

Charles River Shire (and York County) were the antecedents of dozens of counties and cities in Virginia and West Virginia due to the way the original boundaries were defined.

It is one of the five original shires of Virginia considered extant in the original form almost 400 years later, making it one of the oldest counties in the United States.

See also

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Samuel Sharpe, sometimes referred to as Samuel Sharp was an early Virginia colonist who settled in the area that became Charles City County, Virginia. He came to Virginia in 1610 with most of the passengers and crew of the Sea Venture as they made their way to the colony after 10 months in Bermuda. They had wrecked in a storm there and built two small boats to complete their journey to Jamestown. Along with Samuel Jordan, he represented Charles City as a burgess in the first general assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. He was a representative for Westover, an incorporation of Charles City, in the 1623/24 assembly and signed a letter along with several burgesses at the time of that assembly.

William Sharpe was an early Virginia colonist, soldier, ancient planter, and Virginia Company shareholder who settled in the Bermuda Hundred area that became part of Charles City County, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Burgesses in Jamestown, Virginia in 1629.

John Pollington was an early Virginia colonist who was a member of the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses at Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 for the "Citie" of Henricus, Virginia. In 1624, he was a burgess for Warrosquyoake Shire sometimes shown as Warresqueak and other variations, now Isle of Wight County, Virginia. He also was a landowner and merchant.

References

  1. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, page 224, in 1634 Charles River Shire created as one of the original 8 shires, digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org  : 2 April 2019).
  2. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, page 249, "Act XIII," 2 March 1642/3, "Charles River county shall be distinguished by this name (the County of York)", digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org  : 2 April 2019).