John Pate

John Pate (1632-1672) was a planter and politician who invested in land in and around Gloucester County and in his last years served on the Virginia Governor's Council.

Early and family life

He was born in Leicester, England to Timothy Pate and his wife. His uncle or great-uncles included Sir John Pate (first and last) Baronet of Sisonby (1593-1659) and Richard Pate who moved across the Atlantic Ocean to Gloucester County, Virginia and became a planter as well as served a term in the House of Burgesses before dying in 1657. Men named "John Pate" emigrated to the Virginia Colony in 1651 and 1653, but they may have been indentured servants rather than this gentleman. This man had two wives the second of whom appears to have survived him and lived in England until 1689.

Career

By November 1657, this man had arrived in the Virginia colony and qualified as administrator of his uncle's estate of more than 1000 acres in Gloucester County.

Death and legacy

In 1672 Pate died while his wife was out of the county, and his brother's son Thomas Pate qualified as administrator of this man's estate. Ultimately, Thomas Pate would name one of his sons for this man, who in 1704 owned about 1,000 acres each in Gloucester and King and Queen Counties.