Unity Croshaw
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Unity Croshaw (ca. 1636 - April 20, 1669, New Kent County, Virginia) was the daughter of Major Joseph Croshaw, one of the main figures of early Jamestown Settlement. She was the grandchild of Raleigh Croshaw, one of the founders of Jamestown. She was the daughter-in-law of Colonial Virginia Governor John West (governor) of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia (now part of the United States). But she is perhaps most notable as the reportedly shrewish wife of Colonel John West, son of Governor John West, who divorced him for adultery when he left her to live with Cockacoeske who was the queen of the Pamunkey Indians and a cousin of Pocahontas.
[edit] Biography
Unity Croshaw was born at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, James City, Virginia. She was christened in 1636 at West Point, King William County, Virginia, and she married Colonel John West there in 1654. The couple had the following children:
- Captain Nathaniel West (b. 1655-1724), he was mentioned in records as a Captain in 1662, a Major in 1667, Lt. Colonel in 1673. He commanded the militia of the county. Nathaniel married his second cousin Martha Woodard. Their son-in-law, William Danridge, was Martha Washington's uncle.
- Unity (Susannah) West (b. 1657), married George Martin.
- Anne West (b.1660-1708), married Henry Fox.
- John West III (b. 1666), married Judith Armistead.
- Captain Thomas West (b. 1670-1714), married Agnes (?).
Unity died on April 20, 1669 in New Kent County Virginia.
[edit] Sources
- "Records of York County, Croshaw, vol. 1664-1672, p. 257"
- "Long Melford Through The Ages, by Barry L. Wall, East Anglian Magazine Ltd., Ipswich, Suffolk"
- "Claiborne of Virginia, Descendants of Colonel William Claiborne, The First Eight Generations, by John Frederick Dorman and Claiborne T. Smith, Jr., MD,Gate Way Press Inc., Baltimore, Maryland"
- "The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Apr., 1894)"
- "Middle Peninsula Historic Marker "Cockacoeske"
- "Cockacoeske, Queen of Pamunkey: Diplomat and Suzeraine." W. Martha W. McCartney."
- "Tax Rolls, March 1660. 3 March 1659."
