Ralph Hamor

Ralph Hamor, Jr. ( - ) was one of the original English colonists to settle in Virginia, and author of A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia, which he wrote upon returning to London in 1615.

Spellings of his first and last name vary; alternate spellings include "Raph", "Raphe", "Hamer", and "Haman". Later records refer to him as "Ralph", but the man himself used the spelling Raphe Hamor during his life.

Early life Hamor, Jr. was one of eight children born to Raphe Hamor and Mabell Loveland Hamor and was baptized in the parish of St Nicholas Acons, London on February 16, 1589. It is likely that he was born in this parish. As his father was a wealthy merchant tailor, Hamor had an excellent education and was able to attend Brasenose College, Oxford and a student with his name is listed as admitted to Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Career In 1609, Hamor and his father, both members of the London Company, joined the Second Charter of Virginia to sail to the New World as part of the large investment in settling a new colony in Virginia. Funded by the earls of Salisbury, Suffolk, Southampton, Pembroke, and others, a third fleet of nine ships set sail in May, 1609, with 500 people aboard for what would be known as Jamestown. The fleet, led by the admiral ship Sea-Venture and commanded by the three commissions of Captain Christopher Newport, Sir Thomas Gates, and Sir George Somers, set sail for Jamestown. But, as the fleet passed Bermuda on July 25, the tail end of a hurricane caught the flagship, which carried 150 passengers, stranding it on the island and sinking one of the other smaller vessels. Hamor's ship, along with the other six ships commanded by Captains Ratcliffe, Martin, Wood, Webbe, Moon, King and Davies arrived in Virginia safely.

On June 22, 1610, Hamor was named Secretary of the Colony by Lord Delaware, and served from 1611 to 1614.

In 1615, he returned to London to publish Virginia-based stories in the A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia. In his tales, he talks about Pocahontas as the most beloved child of her father, his "delight and darling,". He returned to Virginia on November 28, 1616, and was named Vice-Admiral to Admiral Samuel Argall. On January 18, 1617, Hamor was awarded eight shares of the London Company and was put in charge of 16 men.

In February, 1622, Hamor returned from England to Virginia in command of Seaflower with 120 new settlers, which included two servants of Hamor's--Thomas Powell and Elkinton Ratliffe—both to work on Hog Island.

Indian attack of 1622 Indian massacre of 1622, depicted as a woodcut by Matthaeus Merian, 1628. On Friday, March 22, 1622, Hamor, his older brother Thomas, and six of their male servants were attacked by the Indians as the colonists were building Hamor's new house in Warrosquyoake Shire. The colonists drove off their attackers by using bricks, spades, and anything else they could get their hands on. After the attack, Hamor was ordered to escort the surviving Warrosquyoake Shire settlers to the safety of Jamestown Island, then to stand as command of the Martin's Hundred settlers who were also brought up to Jamestown. Once things settled down, Hamor found himself in a land dispute with one of the biggest plantation owners in Virginia, Edward Bennett. In October of that same year, Hamor gave a formal update to the Virginia Company of the condition of the Colony. He resided there with his wife, Elizabeth, and two of her children, Jeremiah II and Elizabeth Clements. According to the 1624 Census of Hog Island, Hamor had a total of seven servants. Six of those servants, Jeoffrey Hull, Mordecay Knight, Thomas Doleman, Elkinton Ratcliffe, Thomas Powell, and John Davies, lived with them.

By 1625, Hamor had acquired 250 acres on Hog Island, and another 500 acres at Blue Point, while remaining involved in legal matters of the Jamestown colony, including land disputes, public blasphemy hearings, illegal alcohol sales, even the authorization of the arrest of the town's gunsmith John Jefferson, who eloped with his maidservant.

Hamor died around October 11, 1626. Soon after his death, in early February of 1627, Elizabeth remarried Captain Tobias Felgate. Two years later, Elizebeth died while in England.