Samuel Collier (abt. 1595 - abt. 1622)

Born about 1595 in England

Died about 1622 at about age 27 in Jamestown Colony

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Biography

Samuel Collier was a Jamestown colonist.

Early Life / Jamestown

Samuel Collier was only a boy when he came with the first adventurers that founded Jamestown. He was taken aboard one of the ships of the Jamestown fleet,^[1] and his life of service began immediately, for he was assigned as a servant to Captain John Smith.

On the Jamestown fleet were four boys:^[2]

• Samuel Collier
• James Brumfield
• Richard Mutton
• Nathaniel Peacock

Each boy was either an orphan or child of a poor family who could not support their children.^[3] They were all very young but old enough to do hard work, around eleven years old.

Adventures with Captain John Smith

It is likely that Samuel had some education, and at least knew how to read and write; Capt. Smith referred to him as his page.^[4]

Samuel's life at Jamestown was one of adventure, as he traveled with Capt. Smith on some of his voyages of discovery. In 1608, Capt. Smith traveled overland to the village of Powhatan for a private meeting. He took with him only four others: Captain Waldo, Master Andrew Buckler, Edward Brinton, and Samuel Collier; they crossed the Pamunkey River in canoes, to reach Werawocomoco, the village of Powhatan, who was not there! Pocahontas and other Indian women entertained them until Powhatan returned.^[5]

On 29 Dec 1608, Capt. Smith lead a large group of men in the Discovery barge and a pinnace to visit Powhatan again. On the first night of their voyage, they stopped at Weraskoyack, on the south side of the James River, to provision and visit with the Weraskoyack chief, who was friendly and warned Capt. Smith to be wary of Powhatan at the upcoming meeting. Capt. Smith, by way of building trust with the Weraskoyacks, arranged to use their guides for a search party to find signs of the lost colony of Sir Walter Raleigh. He also left his page, Samuel Collier, with the Weraskoyack chief to learn the language.^[6][7]

Later Life in Virginia

Very little is known about Samuel's life during the ensuing years in Virginia. He survived the "starving times," perhaps faring better with the Weraskoyacks than with the English. He continued his life of familiarity with the natives of Virginia, becoming very well acquainted with their language, habitation, humors, and conditions. He lived to become, in the words of Capt. Smith, "one of the most ancientest Planters."^[8]

Death

Samuel Collier was killed by "friendly fire." In the summer of 1622, after the Massacre of 1622 was over but vigilance was still high, he went into Kecoughtan, where he was staying, in late evening after the watch was set. A sentinel mistook him for an interloper, fired his gun, and killed him.^[8]

Legacy

Samuel Collier's life inspired numerous fictional accounts of his life, particularly enjoyed by pre-teens. Here are some of the legend-filled stories, all entertaining:

• Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier^[9]
• Sam Collier and the Founding of Jamestown^[10]
• Blood on the River: James Town, 1607^[11]

In the "rediscovery of Jamestown," archealogists have uncovered the bones of a 15-year-old boy and an arrowhead, aged in the founding years of Jamestown. The remains are thought to be those of young James Brumfield.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ List of Passengers on the Jamestown fleet Research and compilation by Anne Stevens, packrat-pro.com.
2. ↑ Smith, Captain John. The Complete Works of Captain John Smith, ed. Philip L. Barbour
3. ↑ Children at Jamestown (accessed 25 Aug 2021)
4. ↑ Samuel Collier on Historic Jamestowne (accessed 25 Aug 2021)
5. ↑ Smith, Captain John. The Generall Historie of Virginia Electronic Version. Apex Data Services, Inc. University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, p. 44.
6. ↑ Smith's Historie, page 74.
7. ↑ Haile, Edward Wright. Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony The First Decade: 1607-1617; RoundHouse, Champlain, Virginia, 1998, p. 296.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Tyler, Lyon gardiner, 1853-1935 ed. Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-1625 1907, New York, C. Scribner's Sons, p. 385.
9. ↑ Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Young Sam Collier by Karwoski, Gail Langer.
10. ↑ Sam Collier and the Founding of Jamestown by Ransom, Candice F., 1952
11. ↑ Carbone, Elisa Blood on the River: James Town, 1607 (accessed 25 Aug 2021)
12. ↑ Archealogists' findings (accessed 25 Aug 2021)