Jamestowne Society is an organization founded in 1936 by George Craghead Gregory for descendants of stockholders in the Virginia Company of London and the descendants of those who owned land or who had domiciles in Jamestown or on Jamestown Island prior to the year 1700.
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Jamestown
In May 1607, Jamestown was established as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts. It was founded by the London branch of the Virginia Company, which was competing with the Plymouth branch to settle the Colony of Virginia.
Jamestown was the capital of the Colony for 83 years, from 1616 until 1698. At that time, the capital was relocated to Middle Plantation, about 8 miles (13 km) distant. (That small community, which had also become home to the new College of William and Mary in 1693, was renamed Williamsburg in 1699).
George Craghead Gregory
George Craghead Gregory (1878-1956) was an attorney and businessman based in Richmond had a strong interest in Virginia's history and was also an author and historian. In 1932, he was working at property owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA) on Jamestown Island and discovered the foundation of the first brick statehouse (capitol) building circa 1646. [1]
The society
The society was formed to bring together as many of the descendants of stockholders in the Virginia Company of London and the descendants of those who owned land or who had domiciles in Jamestown or on Jamestown Island prior to the year 1700 as possible.
Since its founding, the Society has helped with genealogical records and expanded into dozens of branches, called "Companies." (In the Jamestowne Society, "Companies" are similar to chapters in most lineage societies). Membership in Companies is elective, while membership in the national Society is acquired at the time a member joins. [2]
In 1958, the Society was formally organized as a non-profit corporation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (1954, as amended). It frequently holds meetings and events.
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