EDWARD MARIA

See also:

• EDWARD MARIA WINGFIELD (c. 156o-c. 1614)
• WINGFIELD, SIR RICHARD (c. 1469-1525)

WINGFIELD (c. 156o-c. 1614)  , English colonist in America, was born at Stoneley, Huntingdonshire, about 156o . He served as a soldier both in Ireland and the Low Countries, was one of the patentees of Virginia in 16o6, and in 1607 accompanied the first colonists to Jamestown . He was elected president of the Council (15th May 1607), but his arbitrary manners, the fact that he was a Roman Catholic, and the suspicion that he was friendly toward Spain led to his deposition in September . He returned to England in April 16o8, and died after 1613 . His amplified diary, entitled " A Discourse of Virginia," was published in Archaeologia Americana, vol. iv . (Worcester, 186o), with introduction and notes by Charles Deane .