Miles Cary

Miles Cary I
Member of the Virginia Governor's Council
In office
1663–1667
Member of the Virginia House of Burgesses representing Warwick County
In office
1660–1662
Serving with Edward Griffith
Preceded byJohn Harlowe
Succeeded byEdward Griffith
Personal details
BornJanuary 1623
Bristol, England
Died10 June 1667(1667-06-10) (aged 43–44)
Windmill Point plantation, Warwick County, Colony of Virginia
SpouseAnne Taylor
ChildrenMiles Cary Jr., Thomas Cary, Henry Cary
Parent(s)John Cary; Alice Hobson
RelativesHenry Cary Jr. (grandson), Archibald Cary (great-grandson)
OccupationMerchant, Planter, Soldier, Politician
Military service
Branch/serviceVirginia militia
Rankcolonel
Battles/warsSecond Anglo-Dutch War
Coat of Arms of Miles Cary

Miles Cary I (January 1623 – 10 June 1667) (later occasionally nicknamed "The Immigrant") was the first member of the Cary family to live in America, and to serve in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. The son of prominent Bristol families which sustained substantial losses during the English Civil Wars, he emigrated to the Virginia colony by 1645 and opened a store, then married well and developed plantations in Warwick County. Cary held various local offices and twice represented Warwick County as a burgess before being named to the Virginia Governor's Council. Cary amassed significant landholdings, and supported governor William Berkeley. He died at his home of wounds received defending the Virginia colony against a Dutch incursion on the James River six days earlier (5 June 1667). His namesake son and two other descendants of the same name also served in the Virginia General Assembly.[1][2][3] His grave is located at Windmill Point in modern day Newport News, formerly Warwick County.[4]

  1. ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The Virginia General Assembly 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. xx, 36, 40
  2. ^ Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography (1915) vol. 1 p. 130
  3. ^ Harbury, Katherine (2006). "Miles Cary (1623–1667)". Dictionary of Virginia Biography. Vol. 3. pp. 111–112.
  4. ^ "Windmill Point". The Historical Marker Database. 1973. Retrieved 2 October 2024.