Lady Sara Kirke (died 1680s) was the wife of Sir

David Kirke Sir David Kirke ( – ) was an English privateer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1638 to 1651. He is best known for capturing Québec from the French in 1629 during the Anglo-French War. A favourite o ...

(–1654), the

governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the monarch, who Monarchy in Newfoundland and Labrador, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Cana ...

between 1638 and 1651. She is considered to be North America's "first and foremost entrepreneur".

Biography

Lady Sara Kirke arrived at the

Province of Avalon The Province of Avalon was the area around the English settlement of Ferryland in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and ...

, in what is now the area surrounding

Ferryland Ferryland is a town in Newfoundland and Labrador on the Avalon Peninsula. According to the 2021 Statistics Canada census, its population is 371. Seventeenth century settlement Ferryland was originally established as a station for migratory fi ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

in 1638, with her husband, Sir David Kirke, following his appointment as

Proprietary Governor Proprietary colonies were a type of colony in English America which existed during the early modern period. In English overseas possessions established from the 17th century onwards, all land in the colonies belonged to the Crown, which held ul ...

.See

. When David Kirke was recalled to England in 1651, under a cloud of allegations of financial impropriety, Lady Kirke continued to reside in Avalon, conducting the family businesses.Cybernalia, "But who is Sara Kirke?". Interview with John Reid, CATA President, ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', January 23, 2003: E6. Upon the death of Sir David in 1654, allegedly while imprisoned in England, Lady Sara inherited a third of her husband's estate, based on dower rights. This protection from creditors and personal wealth allowed her to become one of North America's earliest and most successful entrepreneurs. Lady Sara ran the largest plantation that existed at that time, the Pool Plantation of

. According to the 1660 census, she was the largest planter in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and owned more stages, boats, and train (cod liver oil) vats than any other planter. Lady Kirke and her children were still in Ferryland in 1673, when a Dutch fleet sacked and burned the settlement during the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

. Dame Sara Kirke managed the Pool Plantation at Ferryland throughout this period. Between 1651 and her retirement in 1679, Sara and her sons developed a number of plantations at Ferryland and

Renews Renews–Cappahayden is a small fishing town on the southern shore of Newfoundland, south of St. John's. The town was incorporated in the mid-1960s by amalgamating the formerly independent villages of Renews and Cappahayden. Renews–Cappah ...

. During raids by Dutch ships from

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

in 1665 and 1672 in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, their lands were targeted by the Dutch.

Death and aftermath

It is believed Sara Kirke died in the 1680s. In 1683, Sir John Kirke (David's brother) whose daughter had married

Pierre-Esprit Radisson Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636/1640–1710) was a French coureur des bois and explorer in New France. He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to ...

and who was himself a member of Prince Rupert's

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, asked the king for compensation for the losses incurred in the conquest of Canada in 1629. He claimed that the French had never paid the Kirkes for the return of the lands. The last known reference to his nephew George Kirke dates from 1680, when he was proposed as a collector of the toll levied on all boats fishing in Newfoundland waters. As late as 1696, three of David and Sara Kirke's sons, George, David the Younger, and Phillip, remained substantial planters on the Southern Shore of Newfoundland.

Recognition

The

Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

(CATAAlliance) presents a ''Sara Kirke Award for Woman Entrepreneurship'' in memory of Lady Kirke, awarded annually to Canada's leading female

high tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the state of the art, cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the ...

entrepreneur.

References

External links

CATAAlliance
A letter from Lady Kirke begging the King for dower rights.

Sir David Kirke and the Colony of Avalon. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirke, Sara Year of birth missing Year of death uncertain 1680s deaths Newfoundland Colony people Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople