Colonel William Digges (24 July 1697) was a prominent planter, soldier and politician in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, 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 Colo ...

and

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

. The eldest son of

Edward Digges Edward Digges (14 February 1620 – 15 March 1674/75) was an English barrister and colonist who became a premium tobacco planter and official in the Virginia colony. The son of the English politician Dudley Digges represented the colony before ...

(1620-1674/5), who sat on the Virginia Governor's Council for two decades but died shortly before

Bacon's Rebellion Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American India ...

, 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 Sir Dudley Digges ( – ) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia Company of London; his s ...

. It is now within Naval Station Yorktown. His former Maryland estate,

Warburton Manor Warburton Manor was the colonial home, patented in 1661, of the Digges Family, descendants of Edward Digges, who was Governor of Virginia from 1652 to 1668. Digges was an intimate friend of George and Martha Washington, who visited the house ...

, is now within

Fort Washington Park Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington, D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort ...

. 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) Cole Digges (1691-1744) was a Virginia merchant, planter and politician who helped establish Yorktown, Virginia, and served more than two decades on the Virginia Governor's Council after representing Warwick County in the House of Burgesses. Com ...

: William Digges (burgess) and his nephew and son-in-law William Digges Jr. both represented now-defunct

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the northern bank of the James River between Hampton Roads ...

(now incorporated into

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

Early life

William Digges was born in Virginia in around 1651, the eldest son of

(1620-1674/5), an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and colonist who served for two decades on 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 ...

, as well as had been the Colonial

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

from March 1655 to December 1656. Edward Digges produced premium tobacco branded as "E.D.", as well as invested heavily in planting mulberry trees and promoting the silk industry in the colony. Edward Digges died in 1675, shortly before

. As eldest son, William inherited the "E.D. Plantation", later known as Bellfield.

Career

William Digges received his inheritance when he was 24 years old, but had begun his public service as justice of the peace in York County when he was 21 (the justices jointly administering the county in that era. He was captain of horse in 1674. Digges family history
Retrieved January 2012 During

, Digges strongly supported Governor Berkeley. In one scuffle with Thomas Hansford, one of Bacon's foremost supporters, Digges severed Hansford's finger, and fearing retribution fled to Maryland. Digges returned to Virginia and was appointed Sheriff of York County in 1679.Dorman, John Frederick, ''Adventurers of Purse and Person'', 4th ed., v.1, pp.821-844. In Maryland Digges became a merchant and planter in St. Mary's County. He married Elizabeth Sewall, widow of Dr. Jesse Wharton and a stepdaughter of Charles Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the Proprietor of Maryland. Immediately following his marriage he was appointed to the Governor's Council. He was also appointed Deputy Governor of Maryland. Digges received extensive land and property grants in Maryland, and became the "Lord of

" in

Prince George County Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. In 1684 he, along with Major Nicholas Sewall, served as Collector of

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

. During the Protestant Revolution in Maryland in 1689, Digges commanded the Catholic forces at

St. Mary's, Maryland St. Mary's City (also known as Historic St. Mary's City) is a former colonial town that was founded in March 1634, as Maryland's first European settlement and capital. It is now a state-run historic area, which includes a reconstruction of the ...

. After 1689, having lost his positions, he returned to live in Virginia. On April 20, 1693 a warrant for his arrest was issued, and on April 22, 1693, "Colonel William Digges was examined as to his knowledge of a plot to restore King James to the throne, and was bound over, with his wife, in £1,000 to appear before the next General Court."

Family life

William Digges married Elizabeth (Sewall) Wharton, with whom he had ten children: *William Digges, married Eleanor (Brooke) Darnall, widow of Philip Darnall * Charles Digges (1685-1744), married Susannah Maria Lowe, a daughter of Susanna Maria Bennett and Lt. Col. Henry Lowe, and a granddaughter of Richard Bennett. Charles and Susanna had two children, William and Ann Digges (1721-1814). Ann married the planter and politician Dr George Hume Steuart in 1744.
Browning, Charles Henry, ''Americans of Royal Descent, Genealogies Showing the Lineal Descent from Kings of Some American Families'' Clearfield; 7 edition (June 1, 2009) Retrieved 17 July 2018 *Dudley Digges *John Digges, married Mary *Nicholas Digges *Jane Digges, married Notley Rozer *Elizabeth Digges, married Anthony Neale *Ann Digges, married Henry Darnall II, eldest son of

Henry Darnall Colonel Henry Darnall (1645 – 17 June 1711) was an Irish-born planter, militia officer and politician who served as the chancellor of Maryland from 1683 to 1689. He was also appointed as the proprietary agent for Charles Calvert, 3rd Bar ...

(1645-1711), Deputy Governor of the

. Henry Darnall II was a wealthy planter. *Mary Digges * Catherine Digges (b. 1655), married William Herndon

Death and legacy

William Digges wrote his last will and testament in 1694, bequeathing his Belfield plantation to his firstborn son, with proceeds of his agricultural and milling operations to support his daughters until grown or married, as well as dividing slaves and livestock among his six sons. He died on 24 July 1697, leaving a will which mentioned several large Maryland plantations "and directed that his plantation on the York River be used most advantageously for his daughters." However, the York River plantation was inherited by William's eldest son Edward, who on 21 Sept 1699 sold it to his uncle

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

, William's younger brother, so he could continue to reside in Maryland.

Notes

Browning, Charles Henry, ''Americans of Royal Descent, Genealogies Showing the Lineal Descent from Kings of Some American Families'' Clearfield; 7 edition (June 1, 2009)
Retrieved 17 July 2018 * Nelker, Gladys P., The Clan Steuart, Genealogical Publishing (1970).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digges, William 1650s births 1697 deaths People from colonial Virginia 17th-century Maryland politicians People from colonial Maryland Virginia sheriffs Slave owners from the Thirteen Colonies