William Digges | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Maryland Proprietary Council | |
| In office 1677–1689 | |
| Member of the House of Burgesses for York County, Colony of Virginia | |
| In office 1676 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Baldry |
| Succeeded by | John Page |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1651 Virginia |
| Died | 24 July 1697 Virginia |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Sewell |
| Relations | Dudley Digges (burgess) (brother), Cole Digges (burgess) (nephew),William Digges (burgess) (great-grandnephew) |
| Children | 10 |
| Parent(s) | Edward Digges (father), Elizabeth Page |
| Residence(s) | "E.D. Plantation", later known as Bellfield |
| Occupation | planter, politician, soldier |
Colonel William Digges (c. 1651—24 July 1697) was a prominent planter, soldier and politician in the Colony of Virginia and Province of Maryland. The eldest son of Edward Digges (1620-1674/5), who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council for two decades but died shortly before Bacon's Rebellion, Digges fled to Maryland where he married Lord Calvert's stepdaughter and served on the Maryland Proprietary Council until losing his office in 1689 during the Protestant Revolution, when a Puritan revolt upset the Calvert Proprietorship. His eldest son Edward sold his primary Virginia plantation to his uncle (this man's younger brother) Dudley Digges. It is now within Naval Station Yorktown.[1] His former Maryland estate, Warburton Manor, is now within Fort Washington Park. Two additional related men with the same name served in the Virginia General Assembly, both descended from this man's uncle and his grandson Cole Digges (burgess): William Digges (burgess) and his nephew and son-in-law William Digges Jr. both represented now-defunct Warwick County, Virginia (now incorporated into Newport News, Virginia).