What about William Claiborne (1600-1689)? His ingenuity, advocacy and support of the Virginia dream began early and lasted over half a century. Sponsored by his uncle Roger Smith, the Colony's Engineer, Claiborne was selectedin 1622 to be Surveyor of the Colony. At the age of twenty-two, he left his home in County Kent, England on his voyage to Vriginia. During the next half century, William Claiborne . . . . . - captained a ship that took supplies to the Pilgrims of New England - surveyed many of the original James River plantations ~ planned and set the metes and bounds of “New Jamestowne." - erected the first windmill in Virginia at his seat on the Hampton River ~ founded a new Colony in the Chesapeake Bay and named it Kent Island for his home county in England ~ developed a thriving fur trading venture with Indians who paddled down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake to trade with him or his associates ~ appointed by King Charles I to serve as Virginia’s first Secretary of State ~ lost his Kent Island “plantation” when the Calverts obtained a conflicting grant from King Charles I ~ fought the earliest “naval” battle on the Chesapeake when his shallop, “The Longtail,” took on Leonard Calvert’s vessel in an indecisive battle over rights to Kent Island ~ served as Treasurer of the Colony of Virginia - led a militia unit that won ownership of land along the York River and its branches so that settlers were protected - appointed Deputy Governor of the Chesapeake colonies by Parliament in the 1650s, serving with Richard Bennett, Governor ~ founded a new Virginia County which he named New Kent and built his home there ~ fathered a vigorous family and thousands of descendants who continue to serve Virginia and other areas across the United States If continuity and constancy are values we cherish, few can match William Claiborne's service to Virginia throughout most of the 17th century. Joyce Browning Fairfax County, Virginia To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html