2.ColonelJohn2Rolfe (John1)1 was born Abt. 15852, and died 16223. He married PrincessPocahontasRebecca4 05 April 16145, daughter of Powhatan.
Notes for Colonel John Rolfe:
John Rolfe was a very religious man who agonized for many weeks over the decision to marry Pocahontas, a "strange wife", a heathen Indian. He finally decided to marry Pocahontas after she had been converted to Christianity, "for the good of the plantation, the honor of our country, for the glory of God, for mine own salvation..."Pocahontas was baptized, christened Rebecca, and later married John Rolfe on April 5, 1614. A general peace and a spirit of goodwill between the English and the Indians resulted from this marriage.
Notes for Princess Pocahontas Rebecca:
The Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities: "Pocahontas" - Internet - http://www.apva.org/history/pocahont.html:
Pocahontas was an Indian princess, the daughter of Powhatan, the powerful chief of the Algonquian Indians in the Tidewater region of Virginia. She was born around 1595 to one of Powhatan's many wives. They named her Matoaka, though she is better known as Pocahontas, which means "Little Wanton", playful, frolicsome little girl. Pocahontas probably saw white men for the first time in May 1607 when Englishmen landed at Jamestown. The one she found most likable was Captain John Smith. The first meeting of Pocahontas and John Smith is a legendary story, romanticized (if not entirely invented) by Smith. According to Smith, he was first welcomed by the great chief Powhatan at Werowocomoco (12 miles from Jamestown) and offered a feast. Then he was grabbed and forced to stretch out on two large, flat stones. Indians stood over him with clubs as though ready to beat him to death if ordered. Suddenly a little girl rushed in and took Smith's "head in her arms and laid him owne upon his to save him from death". The girl, Pocahontas, then pulled him to his feet. Powhatan said that they were now friends, and he adopted Smith as his son, or a subordinate Chief. In October 1609, John Smith was badly inured by a gunpowder explosion and was forced to return to England. When Pocahontas next came to visit the fort, she was told that her friend Smith was dead. Pocahontas apparently married an Indian "pryvate Captayne" named Kocoum in 1610. She lived in Potomac county among Indians, but her relationship with the Englishmen was not over. When an energetic and resourceful member of the Jamestown settlement, Captain Samuel Argall, learned where she was, he devised a plan to kidnap her and hold her for ransom. He lured Pocahontas onto his ship, and sent word to Powhatan that he would return his beloved daughter only when the chief had returned to him the English prisoners he held. Argall returned to Jamestown in April 1613 with Pocahontas. She eventually moved to a new settlement, Henrico, which was under the leadership of Sir Thomas Dale. It was here that she began her education in the Christian Faith, and that she met a successful tobacco planter named John Rolfe in July 1613. John Rolfe was a very religious man who agonized for may weeks over the decision to marry a "strange wife", a heathen Indian. He finally decided to marry Pocahontas after she had been converted to Christianity, "for the good of the plantation, the honor of our country, for the glory of God, for mine own salvation..." Pocahontas was baptized, christened Rebecca, and later married John Rolfe on April 5, 1614. A beneral peace and a spirit of goodwill between the English and the Indians resulted from this marriage. Sir Thomas Dale made an important voyage back to London in the spring of 1616. His purpose was to seek further financial support for the Virginia Company and, to insure spectacular publicity, he brought with him about a dozen Algonquian Indians, including Pocahontas. Her husband and their young son, Thomas accompanied her. The arrival of Pocahontas in London was well publicized. She was presented to King Jame I, the royal family, and the rest of the best of London society. Also in London at this time was Captain Smith at their meeting, she was first too overcome with emotion to speak.
After seven months Rolfe decided to return his family to Virginia, in March 1617 they set sail. It was soon apparent, however, that Pocahontas would not survive the voyage home. She was deathly ill from pneumonia or possibly tuberculosis. She was taken ashore, and, as she lay dying, she comforted her husband, saying, "all must die. 'Tis enough that the child liveth". She was buried in a churchyard in Gravesend, England. She was 22 years old.
