Emigrating to Virginia when perhaps 20 years old,Jenings settled in York County near the colonial capital (which moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg during his service as discussed below). Appointed the colony's attorney general in 1680 (accounts differ as to whether Jenings arrived with a commission from England or a simple letter of introduction), [2] he continued to serve until at least 1691 and possibly until 1700,with interruptions,as discussed below. Appointed to the Virginia Governor's Council in 1681,Jenings may have continued to serve until shortly before his death,although some scholars believe he was deposed during trips to England,and he was clearly involved in controversies during his final years. [5] [6] [7]
Colonial officer to governor
As attorney general,one of Jening's responsibilities remained resolving the aftermath of Bacon's Rebellion,nearly a decade earlier. Jenings did so in part by not confiscating the estates of all former rebels after their deaths,but allowing them be left in the hands of their nearest relatives. [8]
In 1684-1685 Jenings accompanied Col. William Byrd,Virginia Governor Lord Howard of Effingham,New York Governor Col. Thomas Dongan,Ralph Wormeley Jr.,Stevens V. Courtland,John Spragg,and magistrates from Albany,New York to negotiate with the Seneca. This negotiation helped secure a treaty with the Senecas and other northern tribes. [9] [10] In 1696,when Wormeley was having difficulties fulfilling his duties as the colony's secretary of state,Jenings was named his deputy. On January 1,1702,the King's Council formally named Jenings as the Colony's Secretary. But it was not until Wormeley's death that Jenings presented his commission to the Virginia governor's council,on June 20,1702. The following year he was given leave to go to England a second time,and as in the two previous years,petitioned the House of Burgesses to receive the commissions owed him for issuing appointments as that job required. [11] William Cocke received the royal warrant as the colonial secretary in 1712,but when Cocke died in 1720,Jenings again was appointed the colony's secretary,this time by Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood. [12]
Jenings may have become a member of the Governor's Council as early as 1684,but the next April the Council ruled that if Jenings was a member of that body,he had to resign as attorney general,and no evidence exists that he did so,and in fact received some payments for his legal work. The English government revised its colonial structure and in 1696 created the Board of Trade to handle colonial relations. About the same time,the House of Burgesses decided to move the colony's capital from Jamestown (notoriously unhealthy in summers) to Williamsburg,and Jenings clearly supervised much of the transition in 1699-1700,though the capacity in which he did so is unclear. Moreover,one of his legal jobs was to compile the colony's laws for transmission to the Board of Trade,and the Speaker of the House of Burgesses found the result inadequate in 1699,and so did not appoint Jenings to that committee until one of the original committeemen (Edward Hill) died. [13] Thus,some accounts list Jenings as becoming a councilor in 1699 or 1701. Another controversy involved whether Jenings overstayed his leave during trips to England,particularly an extended trip in 1704-1705 in which he met with the Board of Trade in London,or another trip in 1711 in which he met with Lady Fairfax and was named as agent for the Northern Neck Proprietary (together with Thomas Lee replacing Robert Carter from 1713 to 1719)., [14] [2]
Meanwhile,as the member of the Governor's Council with longest service,Jenings eventually became President of the Council of Virginia. Thus when Col. Edward Nott died in office and his successor Col. Robert Hunter was captured at sea by the French,Jenings became the acting governor from August 1706 to June 1710,but declined a second term at the end of his life citing feeble health. [15] [2] [16] Jenings did not call the House of Burgesses into session during his time as acting Governor,and showed little initiative before the arrival of Gov. Alexander Spotswood. [2] In 1710,while lieutenant governor,Jenings became involved in a case involving two slaves who had organized a rebellion,and declared afterward that their execution "will strike such terror" in others not to rebel. [17]
Jenings' most recent biographer details the factional strife in Virginia in the early 19th century,in which Jenings was perceived as too strenuously defending Gov. Francis Nicholson and part of a faction including Ralph Wormeley Jr. and Richard Lee II,and opposed by several powerful councilors,particularly Robert Carter,Rev. James Blair and Benjamin Harrison II. [2] Furthermore,part of Jenings' second trip to England involved not only burying his wife,but setting the estate of an elder brother,which did not yield the money Jenings expected,and needed given his borrowing from the Northern Neck proprietary accounts. [2] In any event,when Lady Fairfax died in May 1719,her executor (re) appointed Robert Carter as the new agent,and Carter soon charged Jenings with failing to transmit the quitrents due to the proprietor in England. John Carter his son then persuaded Jenings to mortgage his lands to raise the money due to Lord Fairfax,as he informed the proprietor in 1722. [2] Two years later,Robert Carter wrote the Fairfax representative that all Jenings' land and slaves were mortgaged. [2] When Robert Carter died,his will (dated in 1728,after this man's death) mentioned a judgment against Jenings by the General Court in chancery. [18] In any event,several high-ranking Virginians accused Jenings of mental illness in his final year,so he may have resigned from the council in March 1725. [19] Lt. Gov. Drysdale shortly after he announced that he was returning to England,formally removed Jenings from the council,on June 25,1726. [20] Thus,when Drysdale died on July 22,1726,Robert Carter became the colony's acting governor for about a year.
