occupation: Surgeon for the Militia
John Woodson (1586-1633) married Sarah Winston. They arrived in Jamestown in 1619 on the ship George. John was a surgeon for the company of English soldiers protecting the new colony. The new governor, Sir George Yeardley and about one hundred young Englishmen who would become settlers arrived on the same ship. John and Sarah lived on land owned by the governor, Flowerdew Hundred (named for his wife Temperance Flowerdew). It was located thirty miles above Jamestown on the south side of the Jamestown on the south side of the James River. As I Have Been Told (as revised April, 1998) Archives, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
Good history source at http://www.mowerfamily.org/life/wood.html (given below:)
John and Sarah (Winston) Woodson by Jerry Mower, 8th Great Grandson
Dr. John WOODSON immigrated to America in 1619 as ship's doctor on the George, an English ship, whose destination was Jamestown, Virginia. I quote from Historical Genealogy of the Woodsons and their Connections Vol. 1 by Henry Morton Woodson, published in 1915:
"When Governor Dale returned to England in 1618, Sir George Yeardley was appointed to succeed him. The colony at this time numbered nearly two thousand men of high character; many of them being younger sons of the nobility who had come to the new country to make their own fortunes and were not afraid nor ashamed to do the work necessary to accomplish that end. These young gentlemen, owing to the law of primogeniture, lived at home under very great disadvantage, and could accomplish something for themselves, only by going to some part of the world where that law was not operative in its strictest construction. On the 29th day of January, 1619, the ship George sailed from England and in the following April landed at Jamestown, Virginia. This vessel brought the new Governor, Sir George Yeardley and about one hundred passengers; among whom were Dr. John Woodson, of Dorsetshire, and his wife Sara, whom he had married in Devonshire.
"Dr. John Woodson came in the capacity of surgeon to a company of soldiers who were sent over for the better protection of the colonists; for the Indians about this time were scowling and seemed disposed to resent further encroachments of the white man.
"It was during the administration of Governor Yeardley that the settlements were divided into eleven burroughs, each of which was allowed two representatives. These representatives were called burgesses and when assembled, constituted the house of burgesses, which, with the governor and council, formed the general assembly or colonial government. This general assembly convened at Jamestown, June 19, 1619, and was the first legislative assembly to perform its functions in Virginia.
"Dr. John Woodson who came over in the ship George, with Governor Yeardley, was a man of high character and of great value to the young colony. He was born 1586 in Devonshire, England, matriculated at St. John's College, March 1, 1604, at the age of eighteen...
"Like other young gentlemen of his time, he, no doubt had a desire to see the new country in which the Virginia Company of London had planted their colony a dozen years previously: so at the age of thirty-three he, with his young wife, Sara, embarked on the ship George and landed at Jamestown, April 1619.
"Sometime in 1620, a black looking vessel landed at Jamestown, having on board about twenty negro captives whom the Dutch skipper had kidnapped somewhere on the coast of Africa. These were sold to the colonists as slaves and found to be quite profitable in the cultivation of tobacco which was the staple crop at that time.
"Dr. John Woodson, at this time or shortly afterwards, bought six of these Africans who were registered in 1623 as part of his household, and simply as Negars, without giving them any names.
"It was also during this year, 1620, that the London Company sent over about one hundred maids, respectable young women possessed of no wealth but of irreproachable character, who desired to seek their fortunes in the new world. These young women were not permitted to remain a great while in single blessedness. Their hands were eagerly sought in marriage by the young men of the colony. When a young man had wooed and won the maid of his choice, in order that she might become his wife, he was required to pay in tobacco, the price of her passage across the ocean.
"The relations between the Indians and the white colonists appeared to be friendly enough, but underneath the placid surface lay a black plot which burst forth in all its horror on the 22nd day of March, 1622.
"While the colonists were engaged in their usual vocations, the Indians suddenly fell upon the settlements and killed three hundred and forty-seven men, women and children in an incredibly short space of time. Of course the Indians were made to suffer ample punishment for this outrage. Every man who could handle a gun, took the field and the savages were hunted down and killed without mercy and driven back into the depths of the wilderness. Then ensued a period of respite from the Indian depredations. In the meantime the colonists extended their settlements further into the interior and up both sides of the James River.
"Dr. John Woodson located at Fleur de Hundred, or, as it was sometimes called Piersey's Hundred, some thirty miles above Jamestown on the south side of James River in what is now Prince George county. He and his wife, Sara, and their six negro slaves were registered at Fleur de Hundred in February, 1623. It was, no doubt, at this place that their two sons, John and Robert, were born. [Mary CANNON's mother, Judith Woodson was the daughter of Robert] Robert was born in 1634 and John probably in 1632.
"The governor, Sir George Yeardley, died November 1627 and the council elected Francis West to act as governor in his place until another should be appointed. The King appointed Sir John Harvey to succeed Yeardley. He was no stranger in the colony, had been a member of the council and was very unpopular. He continued in office until 1642 when he was succeeded by Sir William Berkley...
"The colonists lived in constant dread of another outbreak on the part of the Indians, for there had never been any real peace nor confidence between the two races since the great massacre of 1622.
"Twenty-two years had passed and the fire of revenge was still smouldering in the heart of the bloodthirsty chief, Opechankano, who had matured another scheme for slaughtering the whites.
"On the 18th day of April 1644, the Indians made a sudden attack upon the settlements and killed about three hundred of the colonists before they were repulsed.
"At this time Dr. John Woodson's two sons, John and Robert, were respectively twelve and ten years of age.
"There is a cherished family tradition that, on the day of this second massacre, Dr. John Woodson, while returning from visiting a patient, was killed by the Indians in sight of his home. The Indians then attacked the house which was barred against them and defended by his wife, Sara, and a man named Ligon (a shoemaker) who happened to be there at the moment. The only weapon they had was an old time gun which Ligon handled with deadly effect. At the first fire he killed three Indians, and two at the second shot.
"In the meantime two Indians essayed to come down through the chimney; but the brave Sara threw her bedding on the fire and the resulting smoke caused the Indians to fall down the chimney into the cabin. She then scalded one of them to death with a pot of boiling water which stood on the fire; then seizing the iron roasting spit with both hands, she brained the other Indian, killing him instantly.
"The howling mob on the outside took fright and fled, but Ligon fired the third time and killed two more, making nine in all.
"At the first alarm, Mrs. Woodson had hidden her two boys, one under a large washtub and the other in a hole where they were accustomed to keep potatoes during the winter, hoping this way to save them in the event the Indians succeeded in entering the rude log cabin in which they lived.
"From this circumstance, for several generations, the descendants of one of these boys were called "Tub Woodsons" and those of the other were designated as "Potato Hole Woodsons" (I come through Potato Hole Woodson--- my wife said, "Just be glad it is not Potatoe Head)
"The old gun which rendered such valuable service on that dreadful 18th day of April , 1644, is still in the possession of the descendants of the late Charles Woodson, of Prince Edward county. Mr. C. W. Venable, late of that county, writing of it says: 'The gun is by exact measurement, seven feet six inches in length, and the bore is so large that I can easily put my whole thumb into it. When first made it was eight feet long, but on account of some injury, it was sent to England to be repaired and the gunsmith cut off six inches of the barrel.'
"As if to commemorate his bravery on this historic occasion, the name of Ligon was rudely carved upon the stock. The gun is now (1915) in the possession of Mr. Wm. V. Wilson, a prominent lawyer of Lynchburg, Virginia. (I have since learned it is in a museum in Richmond presently --- 1994)
"After this second massacre, the war with the Indians continued about two years, when their power was completely broken, and in 1646 a treaty was made by which they relinquished the land of their fathers and retired further into the wilderness. At this time the colony was in a very flourishing condition, commerce was largely increased, more than thirty ships were engaged in the carrying trade, and the population in 1648 had increased to twenty thousand.
"Many inquiries have been made as to whatever became of Mrs. Sara Woodson, one of the heroines of April 18, 1644, but nothing is known of her since that time. It is but reasonable to suppose that she lived long enough to bring up her two boys in the paths of rectitude and to instill into them the principles of righteousness and the spirit of loyalty and patriotism for which their descendants have been distinguished."
Following from J. Allen Lovell GEDCOM
John Woodson (1586-1633) and his wife Sarah Winston were the immigrants of this family, arriving in Jamestown 4-16-1619 on the ship George. Aboard was the new governor, Sir George Yeardley, about one hundred young Englishmen who would become settlers, and Woodson, a “surgeon” for the company of English soldiers protecting the new colony. He located on land owned by the governor, Flowerdew Hundred (named for his wife Temperance Flowerdew), thirty miles above Jamestown on the south side of the James River.
According to Woodson family tradition, the two Woodson sons, John and Robert, were twelve and ten years old in 1644 when the Indian chief, Opechacanogh, led an uprising against the settlement. John Woodson, returning home after visiting a patient, was killed in sight of his house. The Indians then began attacking the cabin which was barred against them. It was defended by Sarah and Ligon, a friend who was visiting at the time. Using an old musket, Ligon managed to kill nine of the Indians. Two others attempted to enter the house by the chimney, but Sarah scalded one to death with boiling water then seized the iron roasting spit with both hands and brained the other. The boys had been hidden away: one under a wash tub and the other in a pit used for storing potatoes. For several generations descendants of these boys were called either Tub Woodsons or Potato Hole Woodsons.
In the 1650s, Robert Woodson married Elizabeth Ferris, the daughter of immigrant Richard Ferris of Curles plantation. Robert acquired a large estate and lived the life of a wealthy planter. His name appeared on many of the court records of the time as witness to documents, but his only public service was as Surveyor of Highways in Henrico County in 1685. In some papers he is given the title of Colonel.
From: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~aihbt/profiles/woodson.html
At age 18, John was a student at the University of Oxford, where Woodsons had studied since 1565. He became a physician and a surgeon.
The first shipload of slaves arrived from Africa in 1620 and John bought 6 of them. They were listed in his household at Fleur de Hundred as "Negars", without names in the muster of 1623.
FROM: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-in/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mr_bill&id=I14986
See also: http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/roh/woodson.htm
Following from Scott Schafer GEDCOM
John graduated from St. John's College, Oxford, in 1604. His name was entered in St. John's College, Oxford, England as "John Wooodsonne, Bristol, Gentleman." In April 1606 King James 1st issued Letters Patent to a few English noblemen giving them land on the Atlantic Coast, resulting in the formation of the two companies the Plymouth and London. The same year the London Company sent three vessels with one hundred and five immigrants to America, and in May 1609 they secured a new charter for land two hundred miles north and south of Point Comfort and from coast to coast. That year their ships brought over five hundred immigrants. John fell in love with a little Quakeress Sarah Winston, and rather than make her give up her religion or distress her people, he forfeited his own inheritance as a Baron and married Sarah. When Governor Yeardley offered him a flattering gift of land holdings in the new world, he accepted the task of ship's surgeon and physician, and came on with the new Governor. History records the various difficulties in forming the new world, but in 1618 Governor Dale returned to England and was succeeded by Sir George Yeardley. On January 29, 1619 the ship "George Yeardley" sailed from England and reached Jamestown, Virginia, April 10, 1619 after a three months voyage. (This was one year before the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Mayflower.) With the new Governor came a hundred passengers, among them Doctor John Woodson of Devonshire, and his wife Sarah (nee Winston) from Dorcestershire, England. He came in the capacity of surgeon to a company of soldiers who were sent over for the better protection of the colonists; for the Indians about this time were scowling and seemed disposed to resent further encroachments of the white man. The ship had on board about 20 Negro captives whom the Dutch skipper had kidnapped somewhere on the coast of Africa. These were sold to the colonists as slaves and found to be quite profitable in the cultivation of tobacco, which was the staple crop at that time. Dr. John Woodson, at this time or shortly afterwards, bought six of these Africans who were registered in 1623 as part of his household, and simply as Negars, without giving them any names." After reaching Virginia under the guidance of Governor Yeardley eleven Boroughs were formed, allowing two representatives each, and assembled they formed the House of Burgesses, and with the Governor and Council the General Assembly was convened at Jamestown July 1619, the first legislative body to function in Virginia. Of this body Doctor John Woodson, a member, is listed in the Colonial Dame Register of Virginia as one of the Historical Founders of the Colony of Virginia. John located at Flowerdew Hundred (also called Fleur de Hundred, Flour De Hundred, or Piersey's Hundred), which is on the south side of the James River some thirty miles above Jamestown, in what is now Prince George Co. Two Woodson sons were born at Flowerdew Hundred; John born in 1632 and Robert born about 1630. In March of 1622 the first attack by Indians was made on the Jamestown colony, killing hundreds of settlers. The colonists retaliated and drove the Indians deeper into the wilderness. "Twenty two years had passed and the fire of revenge was still smoldering in the heart of the bloodthirsty chief, Opechankano, who had matured another scheme for slaughtering the whites. In 1632, Dr. Woodson was listed as the Surgeon of the Flour De Hundred Colony in Virginia. He was killed, near his house on April 19, 1644, by Indians who had called him out, apparently to see the sick. After killing him, they attacked his home, which was successfully defended by his wife and a shoemaker named Ligon. Ligon killed seven of the Indians with and old muzzle-loading gun eight feet long, now one of the prized possessions of the Virginia Historical Society. Sarah Woodson killed two Indians who came down the chimney, one with boiling water and one with a roasting spit. The boys, John and Robert, were concealed during the attack under a tub and in a potato pit, respectively. The old gun, which rendered such valuable service on that dreadful 18th day of April 1644, is still in the possession of the descendants of the late Charles Woodson, of Prince Edward County. Mr. C. W. Venable, late of that county, writing of it says: "The gun is, by exact measurement, seven feet six inches in length, and the bore is so large that I can easily put my whole thumb into it. When first made it was 8 feet long, but on account of some injury it was sent to England to be repaired and the gunsmith cut off 6 inches of the barrel." "As if to commemorate his bravery on this historic occasion, the name of Ligon was rudely carved upon the stock. The gun is now (1915) in the possession of Mr. Wm. V. Wilson, a prominent lawyer of Lynchburg, Virginia." The gun has been proven to date from the 1700's. The Indians were led by Chief Opechancano, the son of Powhaten and had killed 300 settlers on the previous day, April 18th. Opechancano had also led the Massacres of 1622 at Martin's Hundred. Several weeks later Opechancano was captured by the colonists and executed. The Indians were permanently driven out of that part of Virginia as a result of the uprisings of 1644. Dr. John Woodson is the progenitor of the Woodson Family in America. Among his descendants are, Dolley Todd Madison, wife of President James Madison and the famous outlaw Jesse Woodson James. John attended Cambridge University. Sarah was a Quaker, and rather than make her give up her religion, he immigrated with her to the colonies. A family account written about 1785 by Charles Woodson (1711-~1795), son of Tarleton Woodson survives and supplies details which link the first generations of Woodsons and Robert Woodson, John Woodson, Sr., and John Woodson, Jr. who were among the tithables at Curles, 1679. After John's death Sarah Woodson soon remarried (2) ___ Dunwell, who died leaving her with a daughter Elizabeth, and (3) ___ Johnson. As a widow again she left a combination inventory and nuncupative will which was recorded Jan 17, 1660/01. This made bequests to John Woodson, Robert Woodson, Deborah Woodson (apparently under age) and Elizabeth Dunwell (under age). John Woodson was the implied executor.
