Virginia Newces

    Two Newces, William and Thomas, arrived in Virginia about 1620. Given the names, both are undoubtedly descendants of the Hertfordshire Newces, but there is no direct evidence of their antecedents. William was a captain of English troops that fought in the low countries in the 1590’s, after which he moved to Ireland, where he was involved in the English colonization of Ireland which took place in late Elizabethan times. Newcetown, in County Cork, is one surviving remnant of his activities there. In 2021 the Virginia Company made William the Knight Marshall of Virginia, with a large salary and grant of much land; in return for which William was to bring one thousand settlers to Virginia at his own expense. In the end, he only delivered a few ragged, half-starved people, and then quickly died, to the general disgust of the Virginia Company. It has often been speculated- based on very little- that William Newce gave his name to the city of Newport News.

    Thomas Newce appeared about the same time, and was made Captain of part of the Colony. His arrival was treated as an important step for the Colony, and it was thought he might eventually become Governor. He came with his wife; both survived the 1622 massacre and were praised for the aid which they provided to the other survivors, but Thomas died soon afterwards, leaving his wife and at least one child.

    It is sometimes assumed- without evidence- that Thomas and William were brothers. They were almost certainly at least distant cousins, but their true relationship is unknown, as is the immediate family background of William. However, something is known about Thomas’ background, and more can be guessed. It is clear from the Virginia Company correspondence that both Thomas and his wife were from good families. John Smyth, the historian of the Berkeley family, relates that the Thomas Newce, who went to Virginia in about 1620 and died there, married Anne Seymour, the granddaughter of Sir John Seymour, and great granddaughter of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. Sir John was declared illegitimate after it was discovered that Edward’s father was having an affair with Edward’s wife, making Sir John’s parentage suspect. His seat was Frampton Cotterall, Gloucestershire, which is where his granddaughter Ann was born. Frampton Cotterall is only a few miles away from Clifton, the Manor held by the William Newces. Given the proximity, and given the dates, it is most likely that Thomas Newce of Virginia is the son of William Newce, who inherited Clifton from his father, William Newce of Bristol, and is thus the first cousin of Mary Hyde Bridger.