no image
Privacy Level: Open (White)

Edward Digges (bef. 1621 - 1675)

Gov Edward Digges aka Diggs
Born before in Chilham, Kent, Englandmap [uncertain]
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
Brother of , , , , , , , , and
Husband of — married before 1650 in Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , and
Died after age 53 in York, Virginiamap [uncertain]
Problems/Questions Profile managers: Magna Carta Project WikiTree private message [send private message] and Jack Wise private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 8 Oct 2012
This page has been accessed 12,357 times.
Magna Carta Project logo
Magna Carta Gateway Ancestor
Descendant of Surety Barons Robert de Vere, Saher de Quincy, and possibly others (see text).
Join: Magna Carta Project
Discuss: magna_carta

Contents

Biography

flag of the Jamestowne Society
Edward Digges is a Qualifying Ancestor of the Jamestowne Society
U.S. Southern Colonies Project logo
Edward Digges was a Virginia colonist.

Birth, Parents and Earlier Life

Edward was the son of Dudley Digges[1] and Mary Kempe. [2][3] He was baptised at Chilham, Kent on 24 March 1621.[4][5] (Douglas Richardson wrongly gives the date as 29 March 1621;[2][3] so does the Jamestowne Society website.[6])

Edward and his brother Leonard were admitted to Gray's Inn, London on 19 May 1637.[7]

Marriage and Children

Edward married Elizabeth Page, daughter of Francis Page of Bedfont, Middlesex.[2][3][8] The date of their marriage is not known. They will almost certainly have married in England as her father is not known to have left the country: this points to a probable marriage year of before 1650, when Edward first acquired lands in Virginia.[2][3] The marriage relationship appears to be confirmed by the Will (dated 5 March 1686/7) of Elizabeth's brother John Page, which includes a bequest of a funeral ring, to be given in Virginia, to his "honored sister Eliz.: Diggs".[9] Edward's tombstone records that they had six sons and seven daughters.[1][2][3][8] Two sons and three daughters died before Edward made his Will in 1669.[10] The surviving children included:[11]

Virginia

Edward's father was awarded land in Virginia in 1622 but did not go there himself.[8]

Edward himself emigrated to Virginia in 1650: a patent of 18 October 1650 records his purchase from Captain John West of 1200 acres in York County.[2][3][8] The plantation became the Bellfield Plantation.[12] In 1653 he acquired another 3050 acres in Gloucester County.[2][3][8]

He sought to establish the silk industry in Virginia, bringing over two Armenians to help.[13] He also planted tobacco,[8] which came to be known as "ED tobacco" after his initials.[13]Encyclopedia Virginia, entry for 'Edward Digges (1621–1675)', accessed 17 March 2023</ref>

In 1654 Edward was appointed to the Council of Virginia[2][3][8] He was elected Governor of the Colony the next year, serving until until 13 March 1658, when he returned to England. There he represented the interests of Virginia.[8] Wikipedia states that he received a salary of 25,000 pounds of tobacco, with the duties levied on vessels, and marriage license fees.[14] Lyon G Tyler in an 1893 article says he served as Governor until 13 March 1658.[15]

In August 1662 Edward was asked to advise the Council for Foreign Plantations on Virginia affairs. The same month he and Sir William Berkeley, then Governor of Virginia, petitioned the Council with proposals to protect tobacco production in the colony.[16]

Edward returned to Virginia in 1669, signing his Will while at sea.[8] He served again as a member of the Virginia Council, and returned to the production of silk and tobacco.[13] He was its Auditor General from 1670 to 1675[2][3][8][17] In October 1671 Charles II appointed him Surveyor of Tobacco Exports for the colony: he held that position until 1674 when he was appointed Collector of Customs.[13]

Death and Will

Edward died on 15 March 1674/5. (Douglas Richardson mistakenly gives the year as 1675/6.[2][3]) He was buried at Bellfield Plantation, Virginia. His tombstone inscription reads:[1]

"To the memory of Edward Digges Esq.
"Sonne of Dudley Digges of Chilham in Kent Kn t & Bar t Master of the Rolls in the reign of K. Charles the First. He departed this life 15th of March 1674 in the LIII d year of his age, one of his Magesty Councill for this his colony of Virginia. A gentlemen of most commendable parts and ingenuity, the only introducer and promoter of the silk manufacture in this colony. And in everything else a pattern worthy of all Pious Imitation. He had issue 6 sons and 7 daughters by the body of Elizabeth his wife who of her conjugal affection hath dedicated to him this Memorial."

Edward's Will was dated at sea, on the way to Virginia, on 28 August 1669 and proved on 16 June 1675. It was witnessed by John Diggs and William Diggs. In it he:[10]

  • appointed his wife Elizabeth sole executor and left her £1200 plus all his residual estate
  • left £250 to each of his four (unnamed) sons and four (unnamed) daughters, together with the profits of two-thirds of his plantation
  • requested his friends Sir William Lovell, Col. William Willis, Mr John Jefferies and his "cozen" Dudley Diggs to assist his wife in the administration of his estate

Arms

Blazon of Arms for Edward Digges: Gules a cross silver on the cross five eagles sable [18] Translation: a silver cross on red field, with five black eagles on the cross. This would be on a shield, or a surcoat, or engraved/painted on the house, above the fireplace or at the entry, for example.

Digges DNA Project

Edward Digges Ancestor DNA Results

Research Notes

Marriage

Brad Verity in a post of 10 October 2013 in soc.genealogy.medieval wrote that the only evidence for Elizabeth being wife of Edward Digges was the will of her brother John, cited above.[19]

Previously-shown Children

The following have in the past been shown as children of Edward, and have been detached:

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Inscription on Edward's tombstone, Find A Grave: Memorial #32117881
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 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, p. 83, DIGGES 15, Google Books
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. III, p. 106, GRANDISON 14
  4. ↑ "England, Kent, Canterbury Parish Registers, 1538-1986," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6DW3-X1XC : 1 December 2021), Edward Digge, 24 Mar 1621; from " Kent, Canterbury Archdeaconry Parish Registers Browse, 1538-1913," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d); citing Baptism, Chilham, Kent, England, Citing Canterbury Cathedral Archives, England
  5. ↑ Canterbury Cathedral Archives, ref. U3/191/1/1, Kent baptisms, FindMyPast and linked parish register image
  6. ↑ Jamestowne Society website, Dvorak-Doggett, accessed 17 March 2023
  7. ↑ Joseph Foster. The Register of Admissions to Gray's Inn, 1521-1889, together with the Register of Marriages in Gray's Inn Chapel, 1695-1754, Hansard Publishing Union, 1889, p. 213, Internet Archive
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 Annie Lash Jester in collaboration with Martha Woodruff Hiden. Adventurers of Purse and Person, Princeton University Press, 1956, pp. 154-158, Familysearch
  9. ↑ Richard Channing Moore Page. Genealogy of the Page Family in Virginia, Press of the Publishers' Printing Co., New York, 1893, p. 20, Internet Archive
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/383/424, Discoveryt Centre catalogue entry
  11. ↑ Dorman, John Frederick, Adventurers of Purse and Person, 4th ed., 2004, v.1, pp.821-844
  12. ↑ Photo on Ancestry of an information board
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Encyclopedia Virginia, entry for 'Edward Digges (1621–1675)', accessed 17 March 2023
  14. ↑ Wikipedia: Edward Digges
  15. ↑ Pedigree of a Representative Virginia Planter, Edward Digges, Esq., in "The William and Mary Quarterly', Vol. I No. 3, pp. 140-141, JSTOR (free account required)
  16. ↑ 'America and West Indies: August 1662', in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 5, 1661-1668, ed. W Noel Sainsbury (London, 1880), pp. 102-107, British History Online, accessed 17 March 2023
  17. ↑ 'America and West Indies: December 1671, 16-31', in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 7, 1669-1674, ed. W Noel Sainsbury (London, 1889), pp. 296-311, British History Online, accessed 17 March 2023
  18. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 107, p. 188, American Ancestors website ($)
  19. ↑ Brad Verity, quoted in post of 16 April 2016 in the thread 'Elizabeth Digges, Daughter of Francis Page of Bedfont & Isabel Wyatt?', soc.genealogy.medieval
See also:
  • Edward D Neill. Virginia Carolorum, Joel Munsell's Sons, 1886, Chapter VII, passim, Internet Archive
  • Tyler, Lyon G. Pedigree of a Representative Virginia Planter, Edward Digges, Esq., in "The William and Mary Quarterly', Vol. I No. 4, 1893, pp. 208-213, JSTOR (free account required)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 17 March 2023.
Edward Digges is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) and is the Gateway in trails to Magna Carta Surety Barons Saher de Quincy and Robert de Vere that were badged by the Magna Carta Project in June 2015. Edward Digges is also the Gateway in trails that were badged by the project to surety barons Hugh le Bigod, Roger le Bigod, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, John FitzRobert, and John de Lacy. Additionally, Edward Digges is the Gateway in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Baron Geoffrey de Say (vol. II, pages 78-83 DIGGES) that was badged in March 2023. All these trails are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails section, below.
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 (June 2015) trails to Quincy and de Vere:
Gateway Ancestor Edward Digges (badged/100% 5-star)
1. Edward is the son of Dudley Digges (badged/100% 5-star)
2. Dudley is the son of Anne St Leger (badged/re-reviewed 4 Jan 2022)
3. Anne is the daughter of Warham St Leger (badged/100% 5-star)
4. Warham is the son of Anthony St Leger (badged/100% 5-star)
5. Anthony is the son of Elizabeth Haute (badged/re-reviewed Apr 2020)
6. Elizabeth is the daughter of Elizabeth Tyrrell (badged/100% 5-)
7. Elizabeth is the daughter of Anne Marney (badged/100% 5-star)
8. Anne is the daughter of Elizabeth Sergeaux (badged/100% 5-star)
9. Elizabeth is the daughter of Philippe FitzAlan (badged/100% 5-star)
10. Philippe is the daughter of Edmund FitzAlan (badged/100% 5-star)
11. Edmund is the son of Richard FitzAlan (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Richard is the son of Alice de Warenne (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Alice is the daughter of Joan de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Joan is the daughter of Robert de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
15. Robert is the son of Hawise de Quincy (badged/100% 5-star)
16. Hawise is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety Saher de Quincy
15. Robert de Vere is the son of Hugh de Vere (badged/100% 5-star)
16. Hugh is the son of Magna Carta Surety Robert de Vere
Badged (after June 2015) trails to the Bigods (x2), the Clares, Lacy, Quincy (alt. trail) and FitzRobert:
11. Edmund is the son of Isabel le Despenser (badged/re-reviewed 2020)
12. Isabel is the daughter of Hugh le Despenser (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Hugh is the son of Isabel de Beauchamp (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Isabel is the daughter of Maud FitzJohn (badged/100% 5-star)
15. Maud is the daughter of Isabel Bigod (badged/100% 5-star)
16. Isabel is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety Hugh le Bigod
17. Hugh is the son of Magna Carta Surety Roger le Bigod
3. Anne is the daughter of Ursula Neville (badged/100% 5-star; re-reviewed 30 Jan 2023)
4. Ursula is the daughter of George Neville (badged/100% 5-star; re-reviewed 31 Jan 2023)
5. George is the son of George Neville (badged/100% 5-star)
6. George is the son of Edward Neville (badged/100% 5-star)
7. Edward is the son of Ralph Neville (badged/100% 5-star)
8. Ralph is the son of Maud Percy (badged/100% 5-star)
9. Maud is the daughter of Idoine de Percy (badged/100% 5-star)
10. Idoine is the daughter of Robert de Clifford (badged/100% 5-star)
11. Robert is the son of Isabel Vipont (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Isabel is the daughter of Isabel FitzJohn (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Isabel is the daughter of Isabel le Bigod (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Isabel is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety Hugh le Bigod
15. Hugh is the son of Magna Carta Surety Roger le Bigod
10. Idoine de Percy is the daughter of Maud de Clare (badged/100% 5-star)
11. Maud is the daughter of Thomas de Clare (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Thomas is the son of Richard de Clare (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Richard is the son of Magna Carta Surety Gilbert de Clare
14. Gilbert is the son of Magna Carta Surety Richard de Clare
12. Thomas de Clare is the son of Maud de Lacy (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Maud is the daughter of Magna Carta Surety John de Lacy
13. Maud de Lacy is the daughter of Margaret de Quincy (badged/100% 5-star)
14. Margaret is the daughter of Robert de Quincy (badged/100% 5-star)
15. Robert is the son of Magna Carta Surety Saher de Quincy
8. Ralph Neville is the son of John de Neville (badged/100% 5-star)
9. John is the son of Ralph de Neville (badged/100% 5-star)
10. Ralph is the son of Euphame Clavering (badged/100% 5-star)
11. Euphame is the daughter of Robert FitzRoger (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Robert is the son of Roger FitzJohn (badged/100% 5-star)
13. Roger is the son of Magna Carta Surety John FitzRobert
Badged 27 March 2023 Richardson-documented trail to Say (MCA II:78-83 DIGGES):
2. Dudley Digges is the son of Thomas Digges (badged/R&A 12 Dec 2021)
3. Thomas is the son of Leonard Digges (badged/R&A 21 Mar 2023)
4. Leonard is the son of James Digges (badged/R&A 23 Mar 2023)
5. James is the son of John Digges (badged/R&A 25 Mar 2023)
6. John is the son of John Dygges (badged/R&A 27 Mar 2023)
7. John is the son if John Dygge (badged/R&A 9 July 2021)
8. John is the son of Juliane de Northwode (badged/R&A 11 Jul 2021)
9. Juliane is the daughter of John de Northwode (badged/R&A 13 Jul 2021)
10. John is the son of Juliane de Say (badged/R&A 16 Jul 2021)
11. Julliane is the daughter of Geoffrey de Say (badged/100% 5-star)
12. Geoffrey isthe son of William de Say (badged/100% 5-star)
13. William is the son of William de Say (badged/100% 5-star)
14. William is the son of Magna Carta Surety Geoffrey de Say




Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA
No known carriers of Edward's DNA have taken a DNA test.

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.

Images: 1
Digges Arms
Digges Arms


Comments: 31

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Fann-206 Porter Fann
From Catherine (Digges) Herndon's profile, she would have been about 21 at Edward Digges death, had already married William Herndon, but might not have yet produced heirs before her putative father's will/death.

I was also illustrating that very few of Edward's children are documented by name in the Richardson reference AND - as it turns out - even fewer in his will. Thus, it is no cause for alarm that Catherine was not named in the will.

Also, I was enumerating sourcing (the will) and potentially other sourcing (Richardson's reference list). Most of Richardson's citations are worthy of locating and making certain it is reflected in the profile, as needed if additive: and vetting possible daughter Catherine means vetting Richardson, to start.

posted by Porter Fann
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
Also, I suspect you may have misread Richardson, who does not say that there were six sons and seven daughters alive at Edward’s death. He merely says (as stated in the bio of this profile) Edward had 6 sons and 7 daughters, including five named ones, not that they were all still alive when Edward died. The will, which says there were 8 children alive in 1669, makes no provision for any possible future children, and was not subsequently revised, suggests that 5 of the 13 had already died when Edward wrote it.
posted by Michael Cayley
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
I am sorry, Fann Fann, I do not think you understood what I wrote. What the will makes clear is that, when Edward Digges wrote his will in 1669, there were 8 unnamed children alive, 4 boys and 4 girls. As I said, the will - by definition - says nothing about how many children were still alive when he died 6 years later. It gives no indication of how many children survived him.
posted by Michael Cayley
Fann-206 Porter Fann
Richardson[1] relied upon, i.e., cites, these sources:
  • Burke Gen. & Heraldic Hist. of the Extinct & Dormant Baronetcies. [Diggs] 1841, p. 160.
  • Foster. Reg of Admissions to Gray's Inn 1521-1889. 1889, p. 213.
  • Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Vol 30. 1922, pp. 362-4.
  • Mulvey. Chilham Parish Reg. Transcripts. 1965
  • Raimo. Biog. Dict. of American Col. & Revolutionary Govs. [biog. of Edward Digges] 1980, p. 475.
  • Dorman. Adventures of Purse & Person. Vol 1. 2004, p. 821-44.

[1] Richardson, Douglas. Everingham, Kimball G, ed. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. 2nd ed, Vol I. 2011, p.83. Salt Lake City, Utah: Author.

posted by Porter Fann
Fann-206 Porter Fann
Thanks for that report, Michael. What is does make clear is that more children than are attached to this profile were alive at Edward's death. Richardson[1] draws the same conclusion:
  • six sons, including
    • William
    • Dudley
    • Edward
  • seven daughters, including
    • Anne (Digges) Cole, wife of William Cole
    • Mary (Digges) Page, wife of Francis Page

[1] Richardson, Douglas. Everingham, Kimball G, ed. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families. 2nd ed, Vol I. 2011, p.83. Salt Lake City, Utah: Author.

posted by Porter Fann
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
... what this means is that the will gives no evidence as regards the suggestion that a Catherine Digges may have been Edward's daughter.
posted by Michael Cayley
Cayley-55 Michael Cayley
That National Archives link, https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D745244, gives what looks like his will, dated 28 August 1669, proved 16 June 1675 and copied into the Prerogative Court of Canterbury records 15 May 1685. It refers to "my children being foure boyes and foure girles". No names are given. It goes on to provide what should happen if any of the children died unmarried or under age (their share to be divided among the rest). The wording suggests strongly that none were of age in 1669. The will does not of course give any indication of how many of the 8 children alive in 1669 were still alive at Edward Digges' death in 1675: but it was proved by Edward's son William that year. There is nothing else in the will which gives any useful information.
posted by Michael Cayley
Noland-165 Liz (Noland) Shifflett
If anyone finds the will, that would be great!

Royal Ancestry is not online. A daughter Catherine is not included in Richardson's Royal Ancestry or Magna Carta Ancestry, so clear primary proof of the parent/child relationship is needed by Magna Carta Project policy before attaching her as a daughter. Click here for project policy.

posted by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
Fann-206 Porter Fann
This should be his will:
 : Citing: Documents Online, National Archives, Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/383/424: Will of Edward Diggs, now bound upon a Voyage for Virginia 30 Jun 1686. The National Archives, Kew.
posted by Porter Fann
Fann-206 Porter Fann
Wikipedia indicates that he had a will. Someone should have access to it, though it sounds that the children were perhaps only enumerated in summary, but one cannot be sure until reviewing the source document:

Digges' will (dated 28 August 1669, proved 16 June 1675) left legacies "to all my children being four boys and four girls", thus establishing that by 1669, when the will was written, only eight of the thirteen children mentioned in the grave inscription were still living.

(Link to follow.)

It might be preferred to use the document as backup for "died before," instead of indirect traditional dates, or are they actually substantiated by sources presently numbered 4 (SAR? really?) and 8 (Royal Ancestry doesn't have a URL version?)?

posted by Porter Fann

Featured Female Poet connections: Edward is 11 degrees from Anne Bradstreet, 21 degrees from Ruth Niland, 26 degrees from Karin Boye, 25 degrees from 照 松平, 11 degrees from Anne Barnard, 27 degrees from Lola Rodríguez de Tió, 21 degrees from Christina Rossetti, 15 degrees from Emily Dickinson, 23 degrees from Nikki Giovanni, 19 degrees from Isabella Crawford, 18 degrees from Mary Gilmore and 15 degrees from Elizabeth MacDonald on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

D  >  Digges  >  Edward Digges

Categories: Say-76 Descendants | Governor's Council, Virginia Colony | Bigod-2 Descendants | Bigod-1 Descendants | Clare-651 Descendants | Clare-673 Descendants | Clavering-13 Descendants | Lacy-284 Descendants | Quincy-226 Descendants | De Vere-309 Descendants | Digges Family at Bellfield Plantation Cemetery, Yorktown, Virginia | Colonial Governors of Virginia | Magna Carta | Gateway Ancestors | Jamestowne Society Qualifying Ancestors | Virginia Colonists