Josuah Chard (abt. 1589 - bef. 1628)

Born about 1589 in England

Died before 9 Feb 1628 before about age 39 in Charles City County, Virginia Colony

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Biography

Josuah Chard was a Jamestown colonist.

Josuah Chard was born c. 1589,^[1] probably in England. We do not know the identity of his parents. In the records, his given name is spelled Josuah, Joseph, and Joshua. In fact, we do not know how his given name was spelled at birth. We do know that the spelling of the name has caused problems for those attempting to record his history.

He left England in 1609 aboard the Sea Venture,^[2] heading for Jamestown. Most know the story of the ill-fated Sea Venture, the ship that was caught up in a hurricane and wrecked upon the Bermudas. All aboard survived and lived as castaways on the island until they succeeding in building two boats, the Deliverance and the Patience, from the wreckage of the Sea Venture and local materials. In these small vessels they finally reached the mainland and Virginia, nine months later, on 23 May 1610.^[3]

Chard probably assisted Sir Thomas Dale in clearing the Neck of Land (also called Bermuda Hundred or Nether Hundred) for settlement. Before the Indian Massacre of 1622, he owned land and houses there. Shortly before that infamous attack, Chard sold two houses and six acres of land to Francis Michell for 150 lbs. of tobacco. Michell had not paid for the property nor taken possession of it when the Indian attack occurred and the houses were burned.^[4] Chard was forced to leave the area after the attacks began, but by the spring of 1623, he and most of the other inhabitants of the Neck of Land had returned to their settlements. The governor granted five acres each to all who settled at the Neck of Land. By April 1623, the colony had been stabilized, according to the List of Living and Dead, which said that of 346 casualties, only fourteen were from Neck of Land.^[5][6][7]

The official census (Muster of 1624/25), taken on 24 Jan 1625 in Neck of Land, Corporation of Charles City, reveals that Chard had married. His wife, named Ann _____, who came on the Bonny Bess in 1623, is also listed as a member of the household.^[1][8]

THE MUSTER OF JOSUAH CHARD aged 36 yeares in the Seaventure May 1607^[9]

ANN his wife aged 33 yeares in the Bony besse August 1623

PROVISIONS: Corne, 2-1/2 barrells; Wett fish, 100; ARMES AND MUNITION: Peeces fixt, 3 and one pistoll; Powder, 1 lb; Lead, 20 lb; Armour, 1; Coat of Male, 1. SWINE AND POULTRIE: Swine, 1 and three piggs; Poultrie, 21. HOUSES: House, 1

Chard was an ancient planter, and is recorded on the land owner list sent to England in May 1625.^[10][11][12]

On 9 Feb 1628, the Court settled a controversy between two upper Neck of Land planters, William Vincent and John Dodds, concerning land and a house that had belonged to Chard, but was now in their possession.^[13] Vincent and Dodds both being neighbors of Chard's,^[1] there is a suggestion that Chard has died. Until there is other information, we will record on this profile that he died "before 9 Feb 1628."

Research Notes

It should be noted that there are three Chards named on the list of Sea Venture passengers compiled by Anne Stevens of packrat-pro.com:^[2]

• Edward Chard, a mariner, stayed behind on Bermuda (did not go to Virginia).
• Joseph Chard
• Josuah Chard, whose name, taken from the censuses, was added by E.G. Swem to the list.^[14]

This researcher believes that Joseph Chard and Josuah Chard were the same man.(bsn) Either that is the case, or Joseph died before Feb 1624, when the List of the Living and Dead was recorded.

See Footnote #20, page 370, for historian David R. Ransome's opinion of how the names "Joshua" and "Joseph" became misinterpreted.^[15]

Post 1610 sources refer to Josuah or Joshua, except for the following, which refer to Joseph:

• McIlwaine, pages 79, 80.
• Kingsbury, Vol. 4, page 553.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Jester, Annie Lash., Hiden, Martha Woodruff. 1883. Musters of the Inhabitants in Virginia 1624/1625, Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1625: FamilySearch International, Title No. 2058494., p. 7.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} List of Passengers on the Sea Venture Research and compilation by Anne Stevens, packrat-pro.com.
3. ↑ Glover, Lorri. "Sea Venture" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (13 Jan. 2021). Web. 28 Aug. 2021
4. ↑ McIlwaine, H.R., ed. Minutes of the Council and General court of Colonial Virginia, Richmond: The Library Board, 1924; repr. Richmond: Virginia State Library, 1979., pp. 79, 80.
5. ↑ Ransome, David R. "Village Tensions in Early Virginia: Sex, Land, and Status at the Neck of Land in the 1620s". The Historical Journal 43, no. 2 (2000): p. 370. Accessed August 27, 2021.
6. ↑ List of the Living and Dead in Virginia
7. ↑ Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, p. 36.
8. ↑ Coldham, page 53.
9. ↑ The ship date given on the muster, 1607, must have been an error, as there was no Sea Venture voyage in 1607; the Sea Venture left England in 1609 , and the Deliverance and Patience arrived in 1610.
10. ↑ Kingsbury, Susan Myra. The records of the Virginia Company of London Government Printing Office, 1906-1935, Vol. 4, p. 553.
11. ↑ Coldham, page 74
12. ↑ Ransome, page 374.
13. ↑ McIlwaine, page 166.
14. ↑ Hirschman, E.C. and Yates, D.N. Jews and Muslims in British Colonial America, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, NC 28640. P. 208.
15. ↑ Ransome, page 370.