Notable Individuals in the Settlement Period: 1607-1624

The following individuals were instrumental in the development of the Virginia colony during the settlement period. Links lead to their Wikitree page, where you can learn more about any given individual and his or her lineage. If there isn't a page for a person at Wikitree, you'll see a note that the link leads to another source (none so far yet for this page).

There is room for many more individuals, so if you have suggestions, please use the comment section. Thanks!

• Argall, Sir Samuel (bef. 4 Dec 1580 - 24 Jan 1626) – Acting Governor of Virginia (1617–1619), remembered for enforcing strict discipline and capturing Pocahontas. Said to have died at sea aboard the Swiftsure.
• Claiborne, William (bef. 10 Aug 1600 - bef. 25 Aug 1679) – Surveyor and influential colonial trader involved in the Kent Island dispute with Maryland.
• Dale, Sir Thomas (abt. 1570 - 19 Aug 1619) – Introduced strict martial law to maintain order in the colony. He died in India from illness.
• Flowerdew, Temperance (abt. 1590 - abt. Dec 1628) – Survivor of the Starving Time and later wife of two governors: George Yeardley and Francis West.
• Gates, Sir Thomas (abt. 1655 - 1622) – Besides serving as governor who helped rescue the colony during the Starving Time, he was aboard the Sea Venture, the flagship of the Third Supply, which wrecked in Bermuda and inspired The Tempest by Shakespeare. He died in the Netherlands from disease.
• Gosnold, Bartholomew (abt. 1571 - 22 Aug 1607) – In addition to helping organize the Virginia Company, he captained the Godspeed and helped navigate to Jamestown. He died at Jamestown the same year he arrived.
• Hopkins, Stephen (Bef. 30 Apr 1581-Abt. 16 Jun 1644) – Crew member of the Sea Venture, who also became a leader in the Plymouth Colony after surviving Bermuda and Jamestown. He died in Plymouth in 1644.
• Hunt, Reverend Robert (1569 - May 1608) – First chaplain of the Jamestown colony. His remains are believed to be those found in the north end of the chancel in Jamestown's first church.
• Johnson, Mary (abt. 1600 - aft. 1672) – One of the first African women recorded in Virginia, arriving in 1619. Later gained freedom with her husband, Anthony (Antonio) Johnson (abt. 1600 - 1670), marking an important story of early Black settlers.
• Jordan, Samuel (abt. 1578 - bef. 19 Nov 1623) – Notable settler and captain who established "Jordan's Journey," an important fortified settlement.
• Laydon, Ann Burras (abt. 1594 - aft. Feb 1625) – The first unmarried English woman to arrive in Jamestown (1608) and among the first English women to marry and give birth in the colony. Her daughter, Virginia, was the first child born in Virginia of English parents.
• Newport II, Christopher (bef. 29 Dec 1561 - aft. 15 Aug 1617) – Captain of the Susan Constant, one of the three ships that brought settlers to Jamestown in 1607, and key in several supply missions.
• Percy, George (4 Sep 1580 - Mar 1632) – Temporary leader during the Starving Time and author of early colony accounts.
• Pocahontas (Matoaka) (abt. 1596 - 21 Mar 1617) – Daughter of Powhatan, known for her role in fostering relations between the settlers and Native Americans.
• Powhatan, Chief (Wahunsenacawh) (abt. 1545 - abt. 1618) – Paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.
• Rolfe, Jane Pierce (abt. 1600 - aft. 1625) – Second wife of John Rolfe and mother to Elizabeth Rolfe (25 Jan 1620 - bef. 1641). She was John Rolfe's third wife.
• Rolfe, John (bef. 6 May 1585 - abt. 10 Mar 1622) – Introduced tobacco cultivation and married Pocahontas. She was his second wife.
• Smith (Smyth), Captain John ((abt. 2 Jan 1579 - 21 Jun 1631)) – Explorer and leader in Jamestown's early days.
• Tucker, William (bef. 6 Apr 1589 - bef. 16 Feb 1644) – At various times, he was a Councilor, a Burgess, and Commandant of Kecoughton (Elizabeth City). Always, he was a shrewd and hard businessman who expected to profit from his investment in the Virginia Company of London.
• Whitaker, Reverend Alexander (1585 - bef. 4 Aug 1617) – Known as the "Apostle of Virginia," he baptized Pocahontas and helped spread Anglican Christianity in the colony.
• Mease, Reverend William (abt. 1585 - 1636) – Early clergyman in the colony who contributed to maintaining the spiritual needs of settlers during the early 1620s.
• Wyatt, Sir Francis (abt. 1588 - bef. 24 Aug 1644) – First governor under Virginia’s royal charter, serving from 1621 and again in 1639.
• Yeardly, Sir George (28 Jul 1588 - bef. 13 Nov 1627) – Governor of Virginia who established the House of Burgesses in 1619, the first representative assembly in the New World.