Memories of Virginia
ican history as the founders of the Dominion, but the men of the 17th century, under Royal Government, had laid solid foundation on which the colonies could rest. We are now turning the pages of history backward with educational results that will benefit our people, and it is easy to send "messages" and create "memories" through research to awaken pride in the founders of our country.
Virginia, named by Sir Walter Raleigh in honor of Elizabeth, Virgin Queen of England—the patron of his ambitions and achievements, but King James, her successor, had little veneration for her memory, and "The Queen's Favorite" became the King's victim, and as a consequence when Captain Smith and his mariners reached Virginia, many changes followed to honor King James. Powhatan River, the gateway of the possession, was named James River. Raleigh was abandoned and Jamestown was made the center point of action. Wessex, the west; Essex, the east; Norfolk, the north; Suffolk, the south; Middlesex, the middle, to designate plantations. "In Memory of Home," and to the end of the foundation of British Colonies of America, English names succeeded the Indian.
References: English Records of Virginia. Records of Essex County, Virginia. Archives of the College of William and Mary. Seventeenth Century Colonies of America. Campbell's History of Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia. British Calendar of State Papers. Hening's Statutes. The Cradle of the Republic. Burke's Armory of England.
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