William Kendall (burgess 1657)

Colonel William Kendall (1621-1686) was an early American politician. He was the 21st Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses, a position he held in 1685. He was considered "one of the foremost men of his time."[1]

Col. William Kendall
21st Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses
In office 1685–1685
Preceded by	Edward Hill Jr.
Succeeded by	Arthur Allen
Personal details
Born	1621 Brinton, Norfolk, England
Died	1686
Military service
Branch/service	Virginia militia
Rank	Colonel

Politics

In 1657, 1662, 1663, and 1666, Kendall was a Burgess for Northampton County, Virginia.[2] In 1660, he was a Collector, followed by becoming a Commissioner in 1667.[1]

In 1679, he was sent with Col. Nathaniel Littleton to New York to discuss Indian affairs with Governor Edmund Andros.[3]

In 1685, he became the 21st Speaker of the Virginia House of Burgesses.[1]

Personal life

Kendall was born in Brinton, Norfolk, England, in 1621. He was the seventh child of John Kendall, a taylor, and Anne Pleasance Kendall. In the early 1640s, he moved from Brinton to Yarmouth, England, and married a woman named Ruth in 1644. She died around 1649. Author John Ruston Pagan speculates Kendall sailed aboard the Peter and John to America in the summer of 1650.[4]

His will was dated December 29, 1685, and was proved on July 28, 1686. In it, "he names his son-in-law Hancock Lee and Mary, his wife, and son William Kendall."[5] His son William was a member of the House of Burgesses for Northampton County as well, in 1688 and then 1692–1693. William II had two sons, named William III and John, and three daughters.[5]

Kendall's daughter Mary Kendall married Hancock Lee, another burgess.

Family of William Kendall (burgess 1657)
Henry Seawell Alice Anne Seawell Lemuel Mason William Kendall Thomas Mason Anne Mason William Kendall II William Kendall III

References

1. Wise, Jennings Cropper (1918). Col. John Wise of England and Virginia (1617-1695): His Ancestors and Descendants. Bell Books and Stationery Company. p. 7. Retrieved 24 July 2017. Col. William Kendall.
2. Lee, Edmund Jennings (2008). Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892: Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of the Descendants of Colonel Richard Lee. Heritage Books. p. 519. ISBN 9780788421037.
3. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 41. The Society. 1887. p. 336.
4. Pagan, John Ruston (2002). Anne Orthwood's Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia. Oxford University Press. p. 27. ISBN 9780198033066.
5. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner (1915). Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Under the Editorial Supervision of Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Volume 1. Lewis historical publishing Company. p. 271.