| Notes |
This marker is on King William Road (Route 30), 2 miles east of junction of King William Rd. (Rt. 30) and State Route 629. This marker is on the north (left) side when traveling east on King William Rd. (Rt. 30).
Signature of Cockacoeske on the 1677 Treaty of Middle River Plantation (Williamsburg).
This silver plate headband, or coronet, a six-by-four-inch engraved medal called a Frontlet,
inscribed "Queen of Pamunkey" was commissioned by King Charles II of England about 1677 and presented to Cockacoeske in appreciation for her signing of the Treaty of Middle Plantation, helping to end Bacon's Rebellion.
Silver plate headband, or coronet, inscribed "Queen of Pamunkey" was presented to Cockacoeske by King Charles II of England in appreciation for her helping the English Colonists to suppress Bacon's Rebellion.
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Found at findagrave.com on 7/11/2023
Cockacoeske “Queen Anne” West
Birth: 1634
Death: 1686 (aged 51-52)
Burial: Pamunkey Indian Reservation, King William, King William County, Virginia, USA
Memorial #: 136257380
Bio:
Queen of the Pamunkey tribe. Called Queen Anne by the English.
Daughter of Nectowance, Werowance (Chief) of the Powhatan.
Granddaughter of Opechancanough Mangopeesomon Powhatan and Cleopatra Powhatan, the sister of Pocahontas, and great-granddaughter of the Great Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, and therefore grandniece of Pocahontas. Some family trees show Nectowance as a son of Opechancanough while others say nephew.
Opechancanough and Powhatan are reportedly buried here also.
Wikipedia gives her birth as circa 1640.
Worldcat.org gives her birth as circa 1630. Wikipedia also incorrectly shows her as Opechancanou's daughter rather than granddaughter.
Cockacoeske died before July 1, 1686, when her interpreter George Smith reported to the governor's Council that she was "lately dead."
Queen Cockacoeske was the first signer of the Treaty of Middle River Plantation that ended Bacon's Rebellion in 1677.
First married to her cousin Chief Totopotomoi ("Toby West")(c.1625-1656), son of Thomas West 3rd Baron de la Warr and "Rachel" Powhatan. Rachel Powhatan afterwards had married Joseph Crowshaw and reportedly borne his daughter Unity Crowshaw who married her half-brother Toby West's first cousin, Col. John West II, son of Gov. John West.
Totopotomoi (Toby West) ruled from 1649 to 1656. After his death, his widow Cockacoeske ruled from 1656 to 1686. Depicted as an intelligent and powerful seductress, Cockacoeske took her sister-in-law Unity Crowshaw's husband from her, Col. John West II, and bore him a son, Maj. John West (1657-1716).
Later renderings of her likeness often show her adorned with the black pearls that were the signature jewelry of the Pamunkey tribe.
Cockacoeske is possibly buried in the burial mound on the Pamunkey Reservation.
The Pamunkey Reservation was confirmed to the Pamunkey tribe as early as 1658 by the Governor, the Council, and the General Assembly of Virginia. Cockacoeske became Queen of Pamunkey in 1656 and signed the Treaty of 1677 between the King of England, acting through the Governor of Virginia, and several Native American tribes including the Pamunkey. It is called the most important existing document describing Virginia's relationship towards Indian land.
The reservation is located about 12 miles north of the Mattaponi reservation which is near West Point, the site of the West family home.
According to historian William Deyo, it is doubtful that Cockacoeske is buried in the so-called Burial Mound at Pamunkey Reservation where Powhatan, Opechancanough, and other important leaders are said to have been buried, but likely closer to Richmond. The remains were supposed to have been brought here from the sacred Uttamussak temple.
Powhatan's Mantle p.255: "Cockacoeske's romantic liaison with the English colonel, John West, an important Virginia official, supporter of Governor Berkeley, and grandson (sic) of former Virginia governor Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, may have furthered her insight into the machinations of colonial politics, and the presence of their son as a future go-between may have given her an added measure of influence." (The correct relationship was this: Her first husband Totopotomoy/Toby West was the son of Gov. Thomas West; her second husband being Toby's first cousin Col. John West, son of Gov. John West, the brother of Gov. Thomas and sons of Thomas West 2nd or 11th Baron de la Warr.) "The account of Cockacoeske's appearance before the governor and council reveals that she was a person of imposing dignity and that she understood the English language. Cockacoeske's appreciation of European goods is evidenced by her possession of 'pieces of Lynnen, Broad cloth, and divers sorts of English goods wch the Queene had much value for' when Nathaniel Bacon's men raided her encampment. But there are equally strong indications that Cockacoeske remained true to her native cultural traditions."
The AAANativeAmericanArts.com website gives her birth and death dates much later, circa 1650-circa 1725, the most important reference being to her appearance in 1715: "The widow of Totopotomoi, the Pamunkey chief, Queen Anne became the chief of the tribe following the death of her husband during the battle in which he supported the English against other Indian warriors.
"Due to her authoritative position, she was always called "Queen Anne" by the colonists. In 1675 she was called upon to furnish warriors to fight with the Whites during Bacon's Rebellion; this was her first appearance in colonial history. Her appearance at the colonial Council, in which she scornfully rejected the request to furnish warriors for the Whites on the grounds that her people had been neglected for the past 20 years, in spite of their friendship to the Whites, was a dramatic confrontation between Indian and White." Strategically, appearing before the Council with her, in capacity as interpreter, was her son John West, the son of councilman Col. John West and in whom the other councilmen took great interest (See: Maj. John West). Her official interpreter, Cornelius Dabney, was also present.
"It was only after strong promises of better treatment by the colonists that Queen Anne agreed to provide the needed assistance. Following the end of the Rebellion, a silver headband, or coronet, inscribed Queen of Pamunkey was presented to her by King Charles II.
"Little more is heard about her following this period, beyond an appearance in 1715, when she visited the colonial authorities to request fair treatment for her people."
The Englishman eyewitness who recorded her appearance before the Virginia Council in 1675 described her as "Majestic."
Virginia Women in History (2004)
The Pamunkey Legacy by Nancy Wright Beasley
The Treaty of Middle Plantation: Epilogue to Bacon's Rebellion by Martha W McCartney
Badge of Cooperation
Pamunkey Nation,
Route 1, P.O. Box 226
King William, VA 23086
804-843-3526
Tribal historian William Deyo said, Nov. 7, 2014, "Cockacoeske being the daughter of Necotowance is probably a theory, but I came up with the same theory a few years ago based on some good evidence. I do not believe that I published anything on it, however, and it is comforting to know that someone else has independently come up with the same theory. We know for a fact that Cockacoeske was the granddaughter of Opechancanough, who was the head of the federation because of the matrilineal royal succession through his mother. If Opechancanough's wife was Cleopatra, sister of Pocahontas (also of the royal line of succession), his son could succeed him as leader of the federation. Necotowance was the next in line who became the head of the federation. Totopotomoi was the next to succeed and was the husband of Cockacoeske, who succeeded in her own right after Totopotomoi (who was killed in 1656). I believe that Necotowance married a woman of the same line as Pocahontas and Cleopatra, which gave his daughter, Cockacoeske, the right of succession after her husband."
Cockacoeske's daughter Susannah West married Cornelius Dabney, the interpreter and produced several of his children, including Patrick Henry's grandmother Mary Winston, who was also Dolley Madison's great-grandmother. Among Cornelius Dabney's other descendants, besides Patrick Henry, the orator and Governor of Virginia, and Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison, were Dabney Carr (1743-1773), Virginia burgess and brother-in-law of President Thomas Jefferson; Lady Nancy Astor, first woman to sit in the British House of Commons; President Zachary Taylor and his daughter Sarah Knox Taylor, the first wife of President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy; Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart; Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines; Col. George Strother Gaines; Pauline Fairfax Potter de Rothschild, Baroness de Rothschild (1908-1976), composer Johnny Mercer, U.S. Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III, and numerous other notable Southern families.
Family Members
Parents
Weroance Nectowance Powhatan 1615-1649
Spouses
Thomas Toby West 1616-1656
John West 1632-1691
Children
Jane Totopotomoi West Harrison 1650-Unknown
Joseph West 1650-Unknown
John West 1657-1716
Created by: Ray Isbell (47188697)
Added: 22 Sep 2014
URL: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136257380/cockacoeske-west
Citation: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136257380/cockacoeske-west: accessed 11 July 2023), memorial page for Cockacoeske “Queen Anne” West (1634-1686), Find a Grave Memorial ID 136257380, citing Pamunkey Indian Reservation, King William, King William County, Virginia, USA; Maintained by Ray Isbell (contributor 47188697).
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S Butler and S Hibbs Family History Our Family's Journey Through Time
1634 - 1686 (52 years)
d. Between 1689 and 1691, West Point, King William Co, VA