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Early settlers at the James Fort colony in Virginia, on the East Coast of America, endured the \u2018Starving Time\u2019 in the winter of 1609\/1610. Food was so scarce after a severe drought that they only survived by eating roots, acorns and berries. Archaeologists have even found physical evidence of cannibalism in their remains.\u00a0<\/p>
This was the land that Margaret Rice\u2019s relation Henry Bagwell journeyed to in 1609. He was part of the \u2018Third Supply\u2019, a flotilla of ships taking supplies and colonists to James Fort (later Jamestown).\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cI discovered Henry when I was researching my Exeter ancestors,\u201d Margaret explains. \u201cHe was born in 1589, the son of wealthy merchant David Bagwell and his wife Johane Chappell. Her father was my 10x great grandfather Thomas Chappell, who served as mayor of Exeter in 1588.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>
During the 1600s, pioneers were drawn to Virginia by the promise of land. They could pay a dividend of \u00a312 10s to the Virginia Company of London in return for a grant of land. Henry acquired 50 acres.\u00a0<\/p>
He set sail on 2 June 1609. However, the fleet encountered a hurricane during the voyage and Henry\u2019s ship ran aground on Bermuda. \u201cApproximately 150 people survived, and nine months later were able to proceed to Virginia in two small boats that they had constructed from the wreckage. They arrived to find James Fort in decay.\u201d<\/p>
Despite the hardship, Henry settled on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where he acquired 400 acres of land on Old Plantation Creek in Northampton County.\u00a0<\/p>
His life was fraught with danger. Relations with the Native Americans had started well, but soon began to sour. Early settlers lived in fear of massacres.<\/p>
The fates and fortunes of Virginian pioneers have been well documented in archives, books and church records. This has enabled Margaret to build a picture of Henry\u2019s career.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cHe was helping to make history. In 1629, he was elected burgess to represent the Eastern Shore at the General Assembly of Jamestown. He was also clerk of Accomack-Northampton County Court, which was the country\u2019s first judicial court.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cHenry\u2019s signature was on the opening minutes of the court meetings. Clerk was a position of key responsibility, so he must have been highly respected. Henry and his fellow officials were establishing the foundations of modern American society.\u201d<\/p>
In around 1636 Henry married fellow pioneer Alice Chilcott, a widow with a son and two daughters. Henry and Alice had three children of their own \u2013 John, Rebecca and Thomas. \u201cI can\u2019t find a death record for Henry, but records prove that he was still alive in 1659.\u201d<\/p>
Margaret became fascinated with Henry and decided to write his biography. The Henry Bagwell Story: English Adventurer, Virginia Planter, 1589 to 1663<\/em> is packed with intriguing details. The wills of his children list the few household items that they had, such as pewter tankards, spinning wheels, feather beds and flutes. Reading these is like peering into a pioneer homestead.<\/p> There is a Bagwell Bridge in Virginia to this day, as well as a Bagwell Avenue, and Margaret is planning to visit Northampton County. \u201cI hope to stand on Henry\u2019s land and look out over Old Plantation Creek. It would also be good to visit the courthouse and see the records.\u201d<\/p> \u201cHenry was a castaway and adventurer who became a pillar of his community. Above all, he was a family man who left a great legacy of descendants in Virginia,\u201d Margaret says.<\/p>