John Pollington

John Pollington
Member Virginia House of Burgesses
In office
1619–1624

John Pollington (sometimes shown as John Polentine or Pollentin)[note 1] was an early Virginia colonist who was a member of the first assembly of the Virginia House of Burgesses at Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 for the "Citie" of Henricus, Virginia. In 1624, he was a burgess for Warrosquyoake Shire sometimes shown as Warresqueak and other variations, now Isle of Wight County, Virginia.[1][2] He also was a landowner and merchant.

By the date of the Muster Roll of 1624/5 (census), Pollington had moved to Warresqueak with his wife Rachel and with Margaret Polentine, who Martha McCartney surmises was their daughter.[1]

Pollington signed the letter of the governor, councillors and burgesses replying to Alderman Johnson (Alderman [Robert] Johnson), who claimed that the colony thrived in its early years in contrast to the current dire state of the colony.[1][3]

The list of land patents sent to England in May 1625 showed Pollington with 600 acres of land in Warresqueak.[1]

The Colonial Records for Virginia show:

"July 6, 7, 1626. Examinations of John Preen of London, Merchant aged 36, Thomas Willoughby of Rochester aged 27 and John Pollington of London, Merchant, aged 33. That the only intent of their voyage to Virginia is to carry passengers, goods and munition for the plantation there."[4]

In June 1628, Rachel Pollington was listed as an exporter of tobacco.[1] On February 10, 1629 the General Court decided in a dispute between her and John Moon(e) that she was entitled to the house she occupied, a tobacco house, half the crops and half the land and should lease the other half of the land and other houses on the property to Moone.[1] McCartney states that the date of John Pollington's death is uncertain[1] but the information about Rachel's dealings and property suggest that John Pollington had died by a date in 1628 or 1629.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ a b c d e f g McCartney, Martha W. Virginia immigrants and adventurers, 1607-1635: a biographical dictionary. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2007. ISBN 978-0-8063-1774-8. p. 564.
  2. ^ Stanard, William G. and Mary Newton Stanard. The Virginia Colonial Register. Albany, NY: Joel Munsell's Sons Publishers, 1902. OCLC 253261475, Retrieved July 15, 2011, pp. 52-52.
  3. ^ Haile, Edward Wright, ed. Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617. Champlain, VA: RoundHouse, 1998. ISBN 978-0-9664712-0-5. p. 916.
  4. ^ Sainsbury, W. N., [1] Virginia in 1626-27 (Continued) The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Published by: Virginia Historical Society, July, 1908, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 31. Retrieved August 10, 2020.