"We're Coming to America!"

Jamestowne Church Tower
DeWine Family Trip 1972

Captain John Smith Statue, 1972

Pocahantas Statue, 1972

When I was in the 7th grade, I first heard the story of my ancestor that came to America. Our great-aunt, Lora  Antoinette "Tee"Weaver Ragsdale, had researched our family history and began talking up this new story to all of her family. It was about a man named Richard Pace.  She planted a seed of interest in us to know more about our roots. As a 13 year old, I thought it was somewhat interesting, and my family had fun going to Jamestown to learn more about this new tale. We scavenged through old home sites on the James River looking for our ancestral beginnings. That was fun.  But that was about it for me for awhile.

As I got older, the story became more fascinating. There were tales of traveling across the Atlantic in a small ship... Indian uprisings... canoeing across the James River…Pocahontas...survival in the Jamestown fort...and the story of the Indian boy named Chanco. Now my interest was peaked…and the interest of many of our family members. We all tried to learn as much as we could about our family history. My cousin, Lucretia, found the church in England where Richard Pace was married, Saint Dunston's. My parents also later visited this church. More research was done, and the tales became true facts that we could all grab hold to and claim as our own story.

Interestingly, while the Weaver family was learning all that we could about our ancestor, more information was being uncovered by the scholars of Jamestowne and Williamsburg. As the 400th Anniversary of the settlement of Jamestowne neared,  Richard Pace was becoming more real to all of us. His name appeared in publications, and his interesting story was becoming more clear.

Cover "Colonial Williamsburg" magazine
Spring 2007

If I tried to recount his story here in Family Trails, we would be here for days. There are many resources to dig into to learn more about the earliest settlers in Virginia. One of my favorite publications is "Colonial Williamsburg" magazine. The above picture and below are 2 issues that feature the story of Richard Pace and the Indian boy, Chanco.

Plaque inside the church at Jamestowne

This plaque reads,

In Memory of Chanco

An Indian youth converted to Christianity who resided in the household of Richard Pace across the river from Jamestown and who on the eve of the Indian massacre of March 22, 1622 warned Pace of the murderous plot thus enabling Pace to cross the river in a canoe to alert and save the Jamestown Settlement from impending disaster.

Erected by the Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg Magazine
Autumn 2005

The issue  of "Colonial Williamsburg" (above, with the picture of men and women gathered in historic costume) explores the thought that a fort was approved to be built on Richard Pace's property after the Indian Massacre in 1622.   Richard Pace had named his land "Pace's Paines." Excavations have been held on Pace's Paines to prove this theory.

Roadside Marker No. 224 K
VA Route 10
"The Colonial Trail"
About 3 miles west of Surry
On the south shore of the James River
Erected in 1928

from "Colonial Williamsburg" magazine
Spring 2007
Vol. XXIX No. 2
page 77

So, readers of Family Trails, this post is just a sampling of facts and resources used to help us all learn more about our "first settler." There are so many topics to dig into in future blog posts…
St. Dunston's, England; Richard Pace and his bride, Isabelle; Chanco; Jamestowne; the Indian Uprising; Pace's Paines; Richard Pace's descendants…and all of us!

Family Trails blogpost note:  Daughter, Rebecca, pointed out to me that if a reader of this blog is reading from an email alert, the reader may miss the sidebars of the blog. To see recommended reading and other notes, readers may want to log on to the blog's website at FamilyTrailsAlabama.blogspot.com

See ya'll next week for the Weaver Wednesday edition of Family Trails.