John Waller
Personal details
Born(1673-01-23)January 23, 1673
Buckinghamshire, England
DiedAugust 2, 1754(1754-08-02) (aged 81)
Spotsylvania County, Virginia
SpouseDorothy King Waller
ChildrenThomas Waller and Edmund Waller
ProfessionMilitary, Politician, Sheriff

John Waller (January 23, 1673 – August 2, 1754) was an American politician who served in the House of Burgesses in 1714, 1722, and 1742. His militia service under Captain John West saw him earn the title "Colonel", and a sheriff in both King and Queen (1699–1701) and King William (1701–1702) counties of Virginia.

Biography

Coat of Arms of John Waller

Waller was born in England, the fifth child of Dr. John Waller of Newport Pagnell[1] and Mary Pomfrett, who had been married on January 13, 1669. Baptized at Newport Pagnell on January 23, 1673, he migrated to Virginia as a young man in the closing years of the 17th century. This was before May 1, 1696, as on that date Waller bought 1039 acres of land in the Pamunkey Neck of King and Queen County, on the south side of the Mattaponi River. He established a plantation here which he named "Endfield", which still exists today as Enfield Sod, Inc. He was a slave owner. [2] A cousin of the English Civil War parliamentarians William and Hardress Waller, Waller had a brother called William who became a Church of England clergyman and another brother, Edmund, who was a fellow of St John's College, Cambridge.[1]

Between 1723 and 1726, Waller established another plantation in Spotsylvania County, which he named "Newport" for his birthplace in England.

As Waller is recorded as having died on August 2, 1754, it seems clear that he was not the John Waller who bought an African named Kunta Kinte after Kinte was kidnapped and transported to America about 1767.[3][4] The story of Kunta Kinte is included in the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley.[3] Haley's book served, in part, as the premise for the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries Roots, as well as the History Channel remake in 2016.[5]

Career

Col. John Waller was a justice of the peace and the first sheriff of King William County in 1701. A small building that still exists today at Endfield is said to have acted as the county's first jail. He was the first Clerk of the Spotsylvania County in 1722. His son Edmund succeeded him in 1742. In 1747 he was made a Trustee of the city of Fredericksburg.

Waller sat in the House of Burgesses as a member for King William County in the session of 1720, which was extended into 1722.[6]

Family

John Waller married Dorothy King circa 1697. They had six children: Mary, John, Thomas, William, Benjamin, and Edmund. Mary Waller (1699–1781) married Zachary Lewis (1702–1765), and their daughter Ann Lewis married George Wythe, who signed the Declaration of Independence and taught Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Waller (d. 1786) married Martha Hall, and their daughter Dorothy Elizabeth Waller married Henry Tazewell in 1774. Their son Littleton Waller Tazewell (1774–1860) was a senator and Governor of Virginia.

References

  1. 1 2 Lothrop Withington, Virginia Gleanings in England: Abstracts of 17th and 18th-century English Wills and Administrations Relating to Virginia and Virginians (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980) p. 529
  2. ↑ "Enfield Inc". Archived from the original on 2015-08-12.
  3. 1 2 Berger, Roger A. "Kunta Kinte in The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature »". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  4. ↑ "Kunta Kinte — Alex Haley Foundation Roots Kunta Kinte Bio". 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  5. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (November 5, 2013). "History To Remake Iconic 'Roots' Miniseries". Deadline. PMC. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Members of the House of Burgesses". Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 8.3 (1901): 245-260: 246.
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