11/3/2023
1:00pm - 1:45pm
Women’s Impact in Jamestown’s Survival
Location: Tercentennial Monument
Women were key to the survival of Jamestown and the transformation of a temporary colony into a permanent settlement which developed into a nation. Indian women brought food and even lived in the colony the first year (with Powhatan’s blessing). These women varied from Pocahontas, to Ann Burris, who arrived as a 15 year old maid in 1608, to Joan Pierce and Temperance Yardley — two women who survived the 1609-1610 starving times without their husbands. The Jamestown maids left England and came to the colony in search of husbands and a better life in 1622. Other women vital to the survival of Jamestown included the women who came as indentured servants and the Africans who were bought as slaves. What they found was a very difficult life, but their worth lay in their courage and in the steadfast way they made this brave New World their own.
Free with paid admission to Historic Jamestowne.
