George Reade (October 25, 1608 – November 21, 1671) was a prominent landowner, military officer and politician who served as a member of the

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

and as

Acting Governor An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or a ...

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

. He is the great-great-grandfather of the first

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Early life and family

Reade was born on October 25, 1608, in Linkenholt,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

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, the son of Sir Robert Reade and Mildred Windebank Reade. He descended from Magna Charta Sureties. His paternal grandparents were Andrew Reade and Alice Cooke, and his maternal grandparents were Frances Dymoke and Sir Thomas Windebank. His uncle was Sir

Francis Windebank Sir Francis Windebank (1582 – 1 September 1646) was an English politician who was Secretary of State under Charles I. Biography Francis was the only son of Sir Thomas Windebank of Hougham, Lincolnshire, who owed his advancement to the Ce ...

, Secretary of State to King Charles I.

Career

After his mother died, Reade traveled to Virginia in January 1637, the 28 year old accompanied the colony's restored (but unpopular) governor John Harvey. Reade assisted and advised Harvey, worked closely with the colony's Secretary,

Richard Kemp Richard Justin Kemp (born 14 April 1959) is a retired British Army officer who served from 1977 to 2006. Kemp was an infantry battalion commanding officer. Among his assignments were the command of Operation Fingal in Afghanistan from July to ...

, and for a time resided at the governor's mansion. From 1638 to 1639, during Harvey's absence, Reade served as Acting Governor of Virginia, until Sir Francis Wyatt (royally appointed as Harvey's successor) arrived in the colony. Reade was later appointed as the colony's Secretary, when Kemp traveled to England (1640-1642). Reade also served as clerk of the

Virginia Governor's Council The Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State, was the upper house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia (the House of Burgesses being the other house). It also served as an advisory body to the List of colon ...

. The colony's initial capital, Jamestown, was notoriously unhealthy during summers, so Reade settled not far away, first in

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

(which later became the colony's capital, and was built across the border line which divided James City and York Counties). He later resided at plantations in York and Gloucester County (which developed across the York River during this tobacco boom era). Reade acquired considerable land holdings throughout Virginia colony. He also invested in land that became the

Northern Neck of Virginia The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula) ...

, often receiving headrights for paying the travel expenses of indentured servants, and then patenting land with the promise to develop it. Reade patented 600 acres of land in Lancaster County in 1651, 500 acres in Northumberland County in 1653, 2,000 acres in Westmoreland County in 1657, and in 1667 the General Assembly granted him 2,000 acres of land along the

Piankatank River The Piankatank River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Virginia. Located on the Middle Peninsula, between the Rappahannock an ...

in Gloucester County. As was required of all white men, Reade served in the

Virginia Militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulso ...

. By the late 1630s he was rising in the officer ranks, receiving promotions from Captain to Major and finally as Colonel.

Virginia political career

By 1649, James City County voters elected Reade as one of their representatives in the

, which governed the colony, and in 1656 he was one of the many burgesses representing York County. Reade served as a member of the

from around 1658 until his death. The Governor's Council could also act as the colony's highest court in that era. On August 25, 1656, Reade was a justice of the General Court of Virginia, sitting for York County.

Marriage and children

In 1641, Reade married Elizabeth Martiau, one of three daughters of burgess

Nicolas Martiau Nicolas Martiau (; 1591–1657) was a Frenchman who immigrated to the English colony of Virginia in the 17th century. He was born on the western island of Île de Ré. The garden behind the Ernest Cognacq Museum in Saint Martin de Ré hol ...

and first wife Jane Berkeley. They probably wed in

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a List of cities and counties in Virginia#List of counties, county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater (region), Tidewater. As o ...

. They had seven children, including: * Mildred Reade (1643–1694), married Augustine Warner Jr. * Robert Reade (1644–1722/23), married Mary Lilly * George Reade Jr. (born ) died without issue before his mother * Francis Reade (1650–1694), married Jane Chisman * Elizabeth Reade (1654–1717), married Capt. Thomas Cheesman * Benjamin Reade (born ), married Mary Gwynn * Thomas Reade (1669-1734), married Lucy Gwynn

Death and legacy

Reade died in 1671 at the age of 63. He bequeathed 850 acres of land in York County to his firstborn sons George and Robert, subject to a life estate in his widow. She survived him by more than a decade, with her will written in the winter of 1685/6 being admitted to probate the following winter. It divided the land of her childless and by then deceased son George among his younger brothers Francis and Benjamin. Reade is buried at the Grace Episcopal Churchyard in Yorktown. His granddaughter Margaret (Robert Reade's daughter) married William Nelson who likewise served briefly as a burgess, but many years on the Governor's Council and briefly as acting governor.

Notable descendants

(1732–1799) – General of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, first American President; 2nd great-grandson *

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(1738–1789) – Brigadier General, Signer of the

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, Governor of Virginia; 2nd great-grandson *

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

(1774–1809) – American explorer, Governor of

Louisiana Territory The Territory of Louisiana or Louisiana Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1805, until June 4, 1812, when it was renamed the Missouri Territory. The territory was formed out of t ...

; 3rd great-grandson *

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Alli ...

(1885–1945) – General of the United States Army during World War II; 7th and 8th great-grandson *

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

(1926–2022) – Queen of the United Kingdom; 9th great-granddaughterAlbert H. Spencer, ''Genealogy of the Spencer family'' (1956)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, George Colonial governors of Virginia 1608 births 1671 deaths Emigrants from the Kingdom of England