John Rolfe was an English colonist who is best known for marrying Pocahontas, the daughter of the Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh. He is also credited with introducing tobacco cultivation to Virginia, which became a major source of income for the colony.
Rolfe was born in Heacham, Norfolk, England. He was the son of a prosperous farmer. He traveled to Virginia in 1609, and he became a tobacco planter.
Also Read: 20 Famous Colonists in Colonial America
He experimented with different varieties of tobacco, and he eventually found a strain that was well-suited to the Virginia climate.
In 1614, Rolfe married Pocahontas. The marriage was seen as a way to improve relations between the colonists and the Powhatan.
Pocahontas converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca. She and Rolfe had a son, Thomas, who was born in 1615.
Pocahontas died in England in 1617. Rolfe continued to live in Virginia, and he became a successful businessman. He died in 1622 during the Jamestown Massacre.
Jump to:
Family Overview
John Rolfe came from a wealthy family with a good reputation. His father died young and only had one child.
Rolfe grew up with his mother, who lived for many years. He eventually migrated to the New World on business. After his first wife died, he famously married Pocahontas.
He had three children, but only one son lived to adulthood.
His son became wealthy in Virginia and had his own family that carried with it descendants.
Family Tree Chart
Parents:
John Rolfe Sr. (1562 - 1594) - He died at a young age, but according to records at his death, he was known as a kind and generous man who tried to help his fellow citizens. He had one son.
Dorothea Mason Redmayne (1559 - 1645) - After the death of her husband, she did not remarry. She lived until she was 80 years of age.
Spouse:
Sarah Hacker (1590 - 1610) - She was the first wife of John and died at an early age. The couple was sailing to the New World and ended up getting stranded in Bermuda after a storm. She gave birth to a girl named Bermuda, but the baby did not survive. They made it to the Virginia Colony, but she died when they reached the colony.
Pocahontas (1595 - 1617) - She is a well-known figure in Colonial America. She and John had one child together, but she died two years after giving birth. That child would continue her line and give them descendants. She traveled to England with her husband and possibly met his mother, who would have still been living.
Jane Pierce (1595 - 1635) - John and Jane may have had a daughter, Elizabeth Pierce Rolfe, who lived to the age of 15, but no proof has emerged to back this up. Jane was widowed in 1622 after only being married to John Rolfe for two years. She later married Capt. John Smith.
Children:
Bermuda Rolfe (1610) - She died in Bermuda and was the only child between John Rolfe and his first wife.
Thomas Rolfe (1615 - 1680) - He was the child of John and Pocahontas and would help unify the Native Americans and the colonists. When his mother died in England, he stayed there and was raised in English society. He eventually came back to Virginia and met his uncle.
Elizabeth Rolfe (1620 - 1635) - Records of her are questionable. She possibly married and had a child before she died around the age of 15.
Siblings: None