Anne Burras

Anne Burras, later known as Anne Laydon, was an early English settler in Virginia and an ancient planter. She was the first English woman to marry in the New World, and her daughter Virginia Laydon was the first child of English colonists to be born in the Jamestown, Virginia, colony. Anne Burras arrived in Jamestown on October 1, 1608, on the Mary and Margaret, the ship bringing the Second Supply. She came as a 14-year-old maid (lady-in-waiting) to Mistress Forrest.

In December 1608, Anne married carpenter John Laydon (or Layton, Leyden), aged 28 years . John Laydon had arrived with the original colonists to Virginia in 1607.

In 1610, Anne worked as a seamstress for the colony.

The Laydons had four daughters, Virginia, Alice, Katherine, and Margaret. All six members of the Laydon family were listed in the muster of February 1624–1625. According to the muster, Anne was 30 years of age when the muster was taken. All four children are listed as born in Virginia; their ages are not given.

John Laydon was shown as having 200 acres in Henrico in May, 1625.

No proof has been found of the marriage of any of the four daughters, though it has been suggested, on the basis of land records, that one daughter may have married John Hewitt or Howitt.