Sir John Harvey ( - ) was a Crown Governor of Virginia. Before becoming involved in Virginia politics, he was a transporter of settlers from England, owning a ship called the Southampton. In 1624, Harvey reported to the royal commissioner that the colony had recovered faster than expected from the Indian massacre of 1622. Harvey traveled back and forth between North America and England. Harvey was appointed to the governor position on March 26, 1628 by Charles I of England.
In autumn 1629, Harvey departed England aboard the Friendship with 300 other settlers to Virginia. Harvey appointed several inexperienced politicians, including Samuel Matthews and William Claiborne to the Virginia Governor's Council.
The captain, officers, and sailors of the ship that transported the governor to Virginia sued in admiralty court for their pay."America and West Indies: December 1636." Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 1, 1574–1660. Ed. W Noel Sainsbury. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1860. 242–243. British History Online. Retrieved 9 June 2019. His government has been described as tyrannical and Harvey himself has been called "an obnoxious ruler" and was generally held to be unpopular.
In 1635 Harvey was suspended and impeached by the Council of Virginia (who named John West as a temporary replacement), and he returned to England under the escort of John Pott and Thomas Harwood.Kukla, Jon. "Order and Chaos in Early America: Political and Social Stability in Pre-Restoration Virginia". The American Historical Review, vol. 90, no. 2, 1985, pp. 275–98. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1852667. Accessed 11 June 2025. He claimed a conspiracy to change the charter of the colony by John Wolstenholme was the reason for the failures of his administration."Declaration of Sir John Harvey", The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 1, no. 4, Virginia Historical Society, 1894, pp. 425–30.
The English precursor to the Board of Trade restored Harvey to his post in 1636. Harvey returned to Virginia in January 1637. Harvey requested transport on a royal vessel as a "mark of honor", but ended up on the unseaworthy Black George, eventually switching to a commercial ship for his return. Harvey served until November 1639.
In 1639, Harvey was replaced as governor by Sir Francis Wyatt.
Harvey married Elizabeth Stephens (widow to Harvey's rival, Richard Stephens) in 1638, and owned Boldrup Plantation for a time.
See also Colony of Virginia Governor's Palace History of Virginia
References
External links
Biography at Encyclopedia Virginia