Sarah Drummond

Sarah Drummond was a member of Bacon's Rebellion, one of the first landowning women in America, and the wife of William Drummond, the first colonial governor of Albemarle Sound settlement, Province of Carolina.

Early life

There is little known about Sarah Drummond's early life. There is no surviving record of her birth date, birth name, parents or place of birth. In 1662, Sarah received a patent for a lot that was "bequeathed" by an Edward Prescott. It is unknown if she was related or married to Prescott. In the early 1650s, Sarah Drummond married William Drummond, who was the first colonial governor of Albemarle Sound settlement in the Provence of Carolina. Together, they had at least five children, "two boys, two girls, and at least one other child". of Bacon's Rebellion, being an outspoken woman and being essentially a landowner, she held incredible influence in the colonies. Sarah Drummond participated in the rebellion by spreading the word to other households and publicly questioning the authority of William Berkeley. Many of the people who joined Bacon's Rebellion were indentured servants, slaves, and women, as Bacon promised them freedom for their service to his cause. Women, on the other hand, joined as they were threatened by the patriarchal control that Berkeley had over Virginia. Drummond's words spread throughout England and eventually reached King Charles II. The Committee for Trade and Plantations requested that the property should be handed back over to Drummond, and on October 22, 1677, The king gave the order, reinstating the plantation to Sarah Drummond.

Upon returning to America, Drummond filed a lawsuit against Frances Berkeley to regain her property. The hearing began in June 1678, and was a controversial event in Jamestown, as many of Berkeley's followers still believed that the property was rightfully owned by Berkeley. "Drummond's son in law, Samuel Swann, acted as her attorney, and they eventually obtained a verdict in her favor."

Death

Sarah Drummond gave power of attorney to one of her son's to regain her property on October 10, 1679, and her name last appears on a public record, leasing land in 1683. Sarah Drummond's date of death was not recorded, however, it is believed that she died and was buried on Samuel Swann's plantation, before the 28th of April, 1696.

Sarah Drummond's writings have gone down in history, providing context to Sir William Berkeley's actions "before and after the rebellion" to historians.