Samuel Argall (bef. 1580 - 1626)

Born before 4 Dec 1580 in East Sutton, Kent, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died 24 Jan 1626 after age 45 in At Sea

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Biography

Samuel Argall is Notable.

Birth and Parents

Samuel Argall was the son of Richard Argall and Mary Scott.^[1][2] His father lived in East Sutton, Kent, which is likely to have been his birthplace. He was born in about 1580^[1][2] and baptised on 4 December 1580 at East Sutton, Kent.^[3]

Inheritances

In 1588 Samuel was left an annuity of £10 in his father's will.^[4]

In 1605 Samuel inherited £50 from his brother Thomas. Six years later, in 1611, he had a bequest of £200 from his brother Reginald.^[5]

Daughter

Samuel had a daughter, Anne, who married Samuel Percival in 1624 at St Andrew by the Wardrobe with St Ann Blackfriars, London on 4 November 1624.^[6] The 1633 Visitation of London records Ann, "da. of Sir Samuel Argall of Walthamstow in com. Essex", as married to Alexander Bolling of London, scrivener,^[7] so Samuel Percival must have died before then. The name of Anne's mother is not known.

Early Career

Samuel became a naval officer. He is recorded in 1601 as a lieutenant involved in the Dutch struggle against Spain. On 20 June 1601 Sir William Browne referred to him in a report to Robert Sydney: "Since my last, which was but yesterday, I have a letter from Lieut Argull dated Sunday last (14 June 1601), which I enclose. I hear that since the wryting thereof, the battery is planted, butt that itt hath playd, I cannot learne; also that on Tuesday last the enemy made an other sally."^[8] In December 1603 Samuel conveyed a letter from Sir William Browne to Sydney, which Browne started with: "The bearer Lieut Argull desires to be recommended to you for preferment. It will help much if you will speak to Sir Francis Vere for him."^[9]

Virginia

Samuel Argall was a Jamestown colonist.

In 1609 Samuel was appointed a captain in the service of the Virginia Company.^[4] He left Portsmouth in May, with orders to call in at the Bermudas en route to Jamestown in order to fish for sturgeon for the colonists, but in the event he took a shorter route, finding sturgeon on the Carolina Banks and selling biscuits and wine to the colonists.^[4]

In 1610 Samuel sailed from Jamestown, Virginia, and "missing Bermuda, he put over towards Sagadahoc and Cape Cod."^[10] It appears that a bad storm forced him to make for Cape Cod. During this voyage he surveyed part of the American coast.^[4] In December that year he obtained maize for the colonists from the indigenous population.^[4] In March 1611 he returned to England with the governor of Virginia, who was seriously ill, and then helped in the drawing up of a chart of North America.^[4]

In 1612 he returned to America where he had to hand over some of his crew as hostages in order to obtain supplies from the indigenous people for the colonists. In April the next year he abducted Pocahontas, before concluding alliances with some of the native peoples.^[4] In 1614 he helped to secure a halt to hostilities between English colonists and some of the indigenous groups.^[11]

In 1613 Samuel raided French settlements in Acadia, and brought some French colonists to Jamestown. These actions led to formal complaints from the French and an enquiry by the Privy Council, which cleared Samuel of wrongdoing.^[4] Samuel was also commissioned by the government of James I to demand satisfaction of the Dutch in relation to their venturing onto lands claimed by the English crown between Long Island and Delaware Bay. The Dutch are said to have agreed to cease their activities in the area, but subsequently were accused of breaking the agreement.^[12]

Back in England in 1614, Samuel attempted unsuccessfully to secure a command under the East India Company. That year he acquired Low Hall, Walthamstow, Essex, which he leased out.^[4]

In 1617 Samuel captained the ship which was to return Pocahontas to Virginia, but she died off Gravesend, Kent.^[11] He served as Deputy Governor of the Virginia Company from May 1617 to April 1619.^[4] During his tenure a plantation called Argall's Gift was established - it was renamed Chickahominy in 1640.^[13] As governor, Samuel aroused considerable enmity and there were accusations of extortion and other misdemeanours.^[11] He was charged with "1: Offences in matter of State; 2: The Depredacon and spoile of the publique wth other offences to the Company and Councell, and 3: his oppression there of the Collony in general and sundry p(ar)ticular men."^[14] He was acquitted of misconduct after his return to England.^[4]

Later Years

In 1620 Samuel was captain of a ship in a fleet which attacked Algiers, then a seat of Barbary pirates.^[4]

Samuel was knighted at Rochester, Kent on 26 June 1622.^[15]

In 1622 and 1623 Samuel was the subject of further legal proceedings, in the Court of Virginia, over losses suffered by the Virginia Company and other matters.^[16]

Samuel was considered by the Privy Council in 1623 for the post of Admiral of New England, but he seems not to have desired the position.^[4] He became a member of the Council for New England.^[11] He was also a member in 1624 of the commission which dealt with the re-organisation of the Colony of Virginia after the termination of the Virginia Company, but was unsuccessful in a request to be made governor of Jamestown.^[11]

In 1625 Samuel complained to the Court of Chivalry (which dealt mainly with charges of defamation) that he had been "digracefully affronted" and given "the lye, which uncivill behaviour was in breach and contempt of his Majesties' proclamacon and ordinances."^[17]

In 1625, when there were hostilities with Spain, Samuel was appointed Admiral in charge of 28 ships. In September he was sent to attack ships based at Dunkirk, and he subsequently joined in an attack on Cadiz.^[5]

Death and Burial

Samuel died at sea on the Swiftsure on 24 January 1626: on 28 January the Duke of Buckingham wrote in a despatch: "The Master of the Swiftsure, being very backward and cross, as the report was, to his captain, Sir Samuel Argall, broke his heart, and four days since he died."^[4] He was buried at St Gluvias, Cornwall, on 28 January 1625/6 (1626 in modern reckoning).^[18]

Will

Samuel's will was dated 23 May 1625, in anticipation of his final naval command, and proved on 21 March 1626.^[4][19] In it he^[20]

• left £20 each to his sisters Lady Filmer, Batherst and Lady Fleetwood
• left £100 and his Virginia possessions to Anne wife of Samuel Percivall of London chandler (his daughter)
• left £10 each to his nephews Samuel Batherst and Sir Robert Filmer's son and his niece Katherine Barham's son
• left £100 to his friend Richard Fowler and £100 and his sword to his friend Nicholas Hawes
• left an annuity of £40 to Judeth Buckhurst, widow of Thomas, and lands to her daughters Dorothy and Anne
• left the manor of Low Hall to his nephew and godson Samuel Argall, son of his brother John, Samuel being under 21
• left £20 to his brother-in-law Edmond Randolf
• referred to his brother-in-law Sir Edward Filmer
• appointed as executors his brother John Argall and his friend Nicholas Hawes

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. II, pp. 165-166, FILMER 15.i, Google Books
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol II, pp 583-584 FILMER #20.i
3. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NN5X-QBV : 22 March 2020), Samuell Argall, 1580
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Argall, Sir Samuel', print and online 2004, revised online 2008
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} James D Alsop. Sir Samuel Argall's Family 1560-1620, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1982), pp. 472-484, JSTOR
6. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVJC-FNB : 13 March 2020), Samuell Persevall, 1624.
7. ↑ J Jackson Howard and J L Chester (eds). Visitation of London 1633-35, pt. 1, Harleian Society 15, 1880, p. 83, Internet Archive
8. ↑ Report on the manuscripts of Lord de l'Isle & Dudley preserved at Penshurst Place, Vol. Two, HMSO, 1934, p. 521, Hathi Trust
9. ↑ Report on the manuscripts of Lord de l'Isle & Dudley preserved at Penshurst Place, Vol. Three, HMSO, 1936, pp. 79-80, Hathi Trust
10. ↑ Samuel Austin Allibone. A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors, Vol. I, J B Lippincott and Co, 1872, p. 68, Google Books
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4} American National Biography Online, entry for 'Argall, Sir Samuel', print 1999, online 2000, web
12. ↑ 'Preface', in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, Volume 5, 1661-1668, ed. W Noel Sainsbury (London, 1880), pp. vii-lxxxiii, British History, accessed 1 October 2020
13. ↑ Freddie Spradlin. 'Parishes of Virginia', web
14. ↑ William Otis Sawtelle. Sir Samuel Argall: the First Englishman at Mount Desert, 1923, p. 17, University of Maine Digital Commons
15. ↑ W A Shaw. The Knights of England, Vol. II, Sherratt and Hughes, 1906, p. 179, Internet Archive
16. ↑ The Records of the Virginia Company of London, Vol. II, Library of Congress, 1906, passim
17. ↑ Richard Cust and Andrew Hopper (eds.). 'Introduction: the court in the 17th century', in The Court of Chivalry 1634-1640, British History Online, accessed 1 October 2020
18. ↑ Cornwall Online Parish Clerks database, web
19. ↑ The National Archives, PROB 11/149/5, National Archives catalogue entry
20. ↑ Seymour V Connor. Sir Samuel Argall: A Biographical Sketch, in 'The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography' Vol. 59, No. 2 (April 1951), pp. 162-175, JSTOR

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry for 'Argall, Sir Samuel', print and online 2004, revised online 2008, available online on subscription and via some libraries
• American National Biography Online, entry for 'Argall, Sir Samuel', print 1999, online 2000, web, available online by subscription and via some libraries
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography, online edition, entry for 'ARGALL (Argoll), SIR SAMUEL'
• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 2, pp. 78-80, entry for 'Argall, Samuel', Wikisource
• Connor, Seymour V. Sir Samuel Argall: A Biographical Sketch, in 'The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography', Vol. 59, No. 2 (Apr., 1951), pp. 162-175, viewable on JSTOR (free registration required)
• Sawtelle, William Otis. Sir Samuel Argall: the First Englishman at Mount Desert", 1923, University of Maine Digital Commons
• Wikipedia: Samuel Argall
• McCartney, Martha W. Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers: a Biographical Dictionary, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2007, pp. 88-90, Google Books
• Sawtelle, William Otis. Sir Samuel Argall, the First Englishman at Mount Desert: a paper read before the Maine Historical Society, October 25, 1923, printed in 'Sprague's Journal of Maine History', Vol. 12, No. 4, University of Maine website
• Campbell, Charles. History of the Colony and Ancient Dominion of Virginia, J B Lippincott and Co, 1860, Chapter IX, pp. 124ff, Internet Archive
• Parkman, Francis. Pioneers of France in the New World, Vol. II, Little, Brown and Company, 1897, Chapters VII and VIII, Internet Archive
• Alsop, James D. Sir Samuel Argall's Family 1560-1620, The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 90, No. 4 (Oct., 1982), pp. 472-484, JSTOR

Acknowledgments

Click the Changes tab to see edits to this profile. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed 2 Oct 2020 by Michael Cayley and was reviewed/approved by Thiessen-117.

Samuel Argall is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Baron William de Huntingfield (vol. II, pages 165-166 FILMER). This trail is set out below.

This profile was initially developed by the Magna Carta project as part of the project's Challenge for February 2018 (Challenge met by David Douglass; profile reviewed 12 February 2018 by Liz Shifflett). It was revised by Michael Cayley in October 2020.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".

Magna Carta Trails

Badged Richardson-documented trail to William de Huntingfield (MCA II:165-166 FILMER):

Gateway Ancestor Samuel Argall (badged/100% 5-star)

1. Samuel is the son of Mary Scott (badged/100% 5-star)

2. Mary is the daughter of Reynold Scott (badged/100% 5-star)

3. Reynold is the son of John Scott (badged/100% 5-star)

4. John is the son of Sibyl Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

5. Sibyl is the daughter of Thomas Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

6. Thomas is the son of Roger Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

7. Roger is the son of Thomas Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

8. Thomas is the son of Roger Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

9. Roger is the son of Thomas de Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

10. Thomas is the son of Roger de Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

11. Roger is the son of Thomas de Lewknor (badged/100% 5-star)

12. Thomas is the son of Joan de Keynes (badged/100% 5-star)

13. Joan is the daughter of Richard de Keynes (badged/100% 5-star)

14. Richard is the son of Sarah de Huntingfield (badged/100% 5-star)

15. Sarah is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety William de Huntingfield

See also: Filmer and Barham trails.