84
VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
other matter had not pressed for attention, he
might even have been hanged. A good deal
of this was doubtless gossip. Rolfe occupied
himself during his stay in England in writing
a "relation" of afifairs in Virginia which he
dedicated to the King. It was arranged that
the couple should return to the colony with
Capt. Argall in 1617, but the little Indian
princess was never again to see her native
woods. She died and was buried at Gravesend
and her husband proceeded on his way, leaving
their son, Thomas Rolfe, in charge of Sir
William Stukeley at Plymouth. Rolfe mar-
ried a third wife in 1620, Jane, a daughter of
William Pierce, of Virginia, by whom he had
a daughter Elizabeth. He retained his seat in
the council until his death in 1622.
Yeardley, Sir George, governor of \'ir- ginia, 1619 ((|. v. ).
Powell, Nathaniel, councillor and deputy governor (q. v.).
Pory, John, was already a man of wide travel and experience and an author and geog- rapher of note, when he first became associ- ated with the Virginia colony. Born about 1570, he possessed a naturally quick intelli- gence and entered Cambridge University at the age of seventeen. He later became a disciple ot Hakluyt, the distinguished geographer and ardent advocate of American colonization, and it is possible that he gained his first knowledge of and interest in the subject from his master, with whom he studied "cosmographie and foreign histories." Pory won considerable dis- tinction in 1600 by the publication of "A Geo- graphical History of Africa written in Arabicke and Italian by John Leo, a More, born in Granada and brought up in Barbaric ; Trans- lated and Collected by John Pory, London."
The work was later incorporated by old Pur-
chas in his "Pilgrims." Its method seems to
have been a "link between the narratives of
the Arabian geographers and the discoveries
of modern travellers and navigators." Be-
sides the translation he added a considerable
amount of original matter to the work. In
recognition of the service he had rendered
science, he was given the degree of Master of
Arts of Cambridge. He represented Bridge-
water in parliament from 1605 to 161 1. Pory's
knowledge of geography was not to remain
merely hearsay. In 161 1 he obtained a license
to travel and went to Paris, where he remained
a considerable period. On his way thither he
was the bearer of important state documents
tc Cardinal Perron. He was also able to pro-
vide the French historian, De Thou, with ma-
terial for his life of Mary, Queen of Scotts.
After his sojourn in Paris, he travelled exten-
sively and made a long stay in Constantinople.
Pory enjoyed a wide acquaintance and knew
many of the most distinguished men of his
time. The first appearance of his name in
connection with the Virginia colony was in
1609, in the second royal charter, but it was
not until January 19, 1619, that he actually set
foot in the New World. He was the first
secretary of state that "ever was chosen and
appointed by commission from the counsell and
company in England, under ttieir hand and
common seal." Upon his arrival he was
promptly made a member of the council, and
on July 30, 1 6 19, he had the honor of being
the first speaker of the first free assembly in
America. He was a valuable addition to the
colony during the three years he remained in
Virginia, embarking upon many trips of dis-
covery and research and writing descriptive
letters which are now very valuable to the his-
torian and antiquary. On one of these trips.
