John+Rolfe

[[image:Rolfe&Pocahontas.jpg width="268" height="327" align="right" caption="John Rolfe & Pocahontas (www.wikipedia.com)"]]John Rolfe (c. 1585-1622)
Born in Heacham, Norfolk, England about 1585, John Rolfe was a settler sent by the Virginia Company of London to find ways of making the New World more profitable. In 1609, John Rolfe and his wife, Sarah Hacker Rolfe, left on the ship "Sea Venure" for Jamestown, Virginia. During the voyage, their ship was wrecked during a storm in the Bahamas. The settlers were stranded for several months. In February of 1610 while stranded, Sarah Rolfe delievered a daughter whom they named Bermuda. The infant died soon after. Eventually, the settlers built two small ships (the Patience and the Deliverance) and arrived in Virginia in May of 1610. Sarah Rolfe died a short time after their arrival. In about 1612, John Rolfe changed the New World forever. He imported and began cultivating Caribbean tobacco. The Caribbean tobacco was sweeter and more fragrant than the native Virginia tobacco, and was just as well suited to the growing conditions of the new colony. John Rolfe fell in love with and married Pocahontas on April 5, 1614. The union brought great peace between the settlers and the Natives for some time. The estate of Varina Farms became the couples new home. A son, Thomas Rolfe, was born to them there. It is through Thomas that many of the Virginia's prominent families are descended. In 1617, John, Pocahontas, and little Thomas traveled to England to promote the Jamestown colony. It was as they were preparing to return to the New World that tragedy struck. Pocahontas became ill and died. She was buried in Gravesend. John left his son in England to be educated and returned to Virginia. He then married Jane Pierce and they had a daughter, Elizabeth, who died at the age of 15. Rolfe died March 22, 1622. It is possible he was killed during the Indian Massacre of 1622, or from disease, but the cause is unknown.