New Albion (colony) facts for kids
New Albion was a short-lived English and Irish colony in the 1600s. It was located in the area that is now New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in the United States.
Sir Edmund Plowden tried to start this colony. He got a special permission, called a charter, from King Charles I of England in 1634. This charter came through the Kingdom of Ireland, which was closely linked to England. Because of this, New Albion is sometimes called an Irish colony.
Plowden first tried to settle New Albion in 1642. But this attempt ended in a mutiny, which is when people rebel against their leader. After that, Plowden managed the colony from the Colony of Virginia. He sold rights to people who wanted to invest or explore. He returned to England in 1649. Even though he tried to go back to his colony, Plowden eventually died without much money.
Later, a large part of the land Plowden claimed was given to others. This land eventually became the Province of New Jersey.
Governor John Winthrop wrote that Sir Edmund Plowden went back to England to get supplies. Plowden planned to return and settle the Delaware area if he could get enough people to remove the Swedes who were already there. After Plowden reached England, a description of the "Province of New Albion" was published.
In 1659, Dutch officials visited Philip Calvert in Maryland. They argued that Lord Baltimore had no more right to the Delaware River than "Sir Edmund Ploythen" claimed. Calvert replied that Plowden had no real permission and was in jail for debts. He said Plowden tried to get a patent for New Albion from the King, but it was refused. Plowden then got a patent from the Viceroy of Ireland, but Calvert said it was "of no value."
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New Albion on Old Maps
A map called "A mapp of Virginia discouered to ye hills" was published in 1651 by John Farrar. This map showed New Albion. A note on the map near the Delaware River said: "This river Lord Plowden hath a patton of, and calls it New Albion, but the Swedes are planted on it and have a great trade in furrs." This shows that even then, other groups were already settled in the area Plowden claimed.
People Who Planned to Settle New Albion
Sir Edmund Plowden's will, recorded in England in 1655, named agents who had agreed to bring settlers to New Albion. Plowden described himself as "Lord Earle Palantine, Governor and Captaine Generall of the Province of New Albion in America."
His will mentioned that after he died, Sir William Mason would help manage the plantation. Mason would make sure that all the people who had promised to bring settlers would do so. These people were supposed to bring a certain number of men to help settle and protect the province.
Some of the people named in his will who agreed to bring settlers were:
- Lord Mason, 50 men
- Lord Sherard, 100 men
- Sir Thomas Danby, 100 men
- Captain Batts' heir, 100 men
- Mr. Eltonhead (a master in Chancery), 50 men
- His eldest brother Eltonhead, 50 men
- Mr. Bowles, 40 men
- Captaine Cleybourne in Virginia William Claiborne, 50 men
- Viscount Muskery, 50 men
Plowden also mentioned "many others in England Virginia & New England" who had agreed to help. His will was officially approved in 1659.
Key Agents: Batte, Danby, and Claiborne
On June 11, 1650, a special pass was given in England for Captain John Batte and Sir Thomas Danby. This pass allowed them to travel to New Albion with 140 men, women, and children.
Edmund Plowden gave Sir Thomas Danby a lease for 10,000 acres of land. One hundred acres were on the northeast end of Long Island. The rest were near what is now Salem, New Jersey. Danby was given special rights to set up a "Town and Manor of Danby Fort." However, he had to bring 100 settlers to the province. These settlers also had to believe in the three main Christian creeds.
John Batte and Thomas Danby had agreed to work together on this venture in 1649 or 1650. Later, in 1653, an affidavit stated that John Batte had died. His son, William Batte, was released from any debts related to Sir Thomas Danby.
There is no record of John Batte getting land in Maryland, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey. However, his two sons, Thomas and Henry Batts, received a large land grant in Virginia in 1666. This grant was for 5,878 acres in Charles City County. It was given because they had brought 118 people to the colony.
Family papers of the Danby family show that in September 1650, John Batte bought land called "Buckrow." He bought it in the names of Christopher and John Danby, who were Sir Thomas Danby's sons. These sons were sent to Virginia with Captain Batte. Sir Thomas Danby had planned to come and settle there himself, but there is no proof he ever traveled to America. The Buckrow land was in Elizabeth City County, Virginia. It was next to a 700-acre land grant belonging to William Claiborne.
William Claiborne had set up a trading post at Kent Island, Maryland in 1631. John Batte, Thomas Danby, and William Claiborne were all mentioned in Edmund Plowden's will. They had all agreed to bring men to settle New Albion.
Old records about the Buckrow purchase in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, are lost. However, later legal cases refer to these records. A letter from May 1695, written by Frances Culpepper, mentions the "Buckrow" plantation. She believed Sir Thomas Danby never sold it but had given power to Mr. William Batt.
Lord Sherard's Role
The British Archives show a grant from Sir Edmund Plowden to Sir William Sherrard in 1638. This grant stated that Sherrard agreed to bring 100 men to be settlers in the province. In return, he would receive 10,000 acres near Delaware Bay and Mount Plowden. Sir William Sherrard died around 1640. His wife, Abigail, died in 1657. Her will mentioned she was the wife of Lord William Sherrard, Baron of Leitrim, in Ireland.
The Eltonhead Brothers
Around 1640, William Eltonhead (1616–1655) left England for Maryland. He became a special representative for Lord Baltimore, who owned the Maryland colony. William looked after Lord Baltimore's interests there.
Back in England, William's brother, Richard Eltonhead, fought for King Charles I in the English Civil War. Because the King's side lost, Richard lost most of his money. He could no longer afford to pay for his five young daughters to get married.
William Eltonhead was later executed by a firing squad after a conflict with the Puritans in Providence. However, his brother Edward Eltonhead had better luck in the New World. He was granted 10,000 acres in Maryland. This was for providing fifty men for the province of New Albion. In 1653, William Eltonhead witnessed an agreement between Argoll Yeardley and Thomas Butteris.
Later Claims in the 1700s
In the 1770s, a British farmer and trader named Charles Varley tried to claim rights to New Albion. He somehow bought an interest in the old charter from King Charles I, which was over 100 years old.
Varley traveled to North America in 1784. He had a rather unrealistic goal to enforce his claims and run a colony of New Albion. But by this time, the area was already the Province of New Jersey. Even more importantly, it had just become the State of New Jersey after the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783.
Varley soon realized his ideas of being a colonial lord wouldn't work. He then toured farms in the mid-Atlantic states. He even had dinner with George Washington at Mount Vernon. After that, he returned to the British Isles. During his life, he published several books about farming.
