Rebecca Rolfe

Rebecca Rolfe was buried in Gravesend, England on this day in 1617. Only 22-years-old when she died, Rebecca was the wife of Virginia explorer and planter John Rolfe, who was famous for having introduced and successfully cultivated “Orinoco” tobacco in Virginia—a product that would become immensely popular in Great Britain, and a crop that would make the colony thrive.

Rebecca and her husband arrived in England in June 1616, twenty six months after their marriage in Virginia, where she was born. They were welcomed as celebrities, and Rebecca became acquainted with the Queen, who reportedly greatly enjoyed her company.

Nine months after coming to England the couple had sailed for Virginia, with their young son Thomas, when Rebecca suddenly fell seriously ill. Their ship returned at once, making port at Gravesend, and there Rebecca passed away. The cause of her death remains unknown.

Likely few readers have heard of Rebecca Rolfe, but probably most know the name by which she is better known—Pocahontas.

A daughter of Powhatan, chief of the Powhatan tribe, it is possible that her given name was Matoaka and that Pocahontas was a nickname. Regardless, it is as “Pocahontas” that history best remembers her.

Captain John Smith, leader of the original Virginia colony, credited 12-year-old Pocahontas with having saved his life, by intervening on Smith’s behalf as her father was about to have him executed, a claim that continues to be the subject of historical debate.

Several years later, in 1613, Pocahontas was abducted by colonial militia and held for ransom as part of prisoner exchange negotiations. During her captivity, she converted to Christianity and took the name “Rebecca.” It was also during this time that she and John Rolfe met and fell in love. Their marriage in April 1614 helped secure peaceful and friendly relations between the settlers and the Natives for years. Their son Thomas Rolfe was born in January 1615.

Two years after Rebecca’s death in England, John Rolfe remarried. He and his second wife Jane Pierce had one child, a daughter Elizabeth, before Rolfe’s death at age 37. Elizabeth died before age 20, without children.

Thomas Rolfe, son of John and Rebecca/Pocahontas, grew up in England, and returned to Virginia as an adult. There he married and had children, and he is believed to have tens of thousands of descendants alive in America today. First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson is among the most famous of those believed to descend of Pocahontas and John Rolfe, through their son Thomas.

The painting is “Baptism of Pocahontas” by John Gadsby Chapman (1840).