When the time came to name my sons, I looked for family names and settled on
Matthew for one son because the name showed up in both sides of the family,
Matthew Agee, the first Agee in the new world and Matthew Scrivener, the earliest Scrivener in the new
world. It seemed a propitious name. Unfortunately, I didn't do quite enough research all those years ago, and while my son is definitely a descendant of Matthieu Agee, I've never been able to prove a relationship to Matthew Scrivener. Nevertheless,
since my son is named after him, I feel a certain fondness for Matthew.
Matthew Scrivener was born about 1580 in Ipswich, England during the reign of Elizabeth I. He was baptized in May 1580 at St. Nicholas Parish in Ipswich. He was the son of barrister Ralph Scrivener,
who had grown wealthy in the wool trade, and his wife, Mary Dowsing Smith. Ipswich was the hometown of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, counsellor of Henry VIII. The Cardinal had a keen interest in education and built 12 schools, including one in Ipswich, which Matthew may have attended.
Matthew inherited property from his father's will in 1607, along with his brother John and sisters Elizabeth and Marie, but since he was the younger son, he may have decided to try and improve his fortune in the new world.
Matthew Scrivener was among the first settlers in Jamestown VA, arriving in January 1608 aboard
the
John & Francis, commanded by Captain Christopher Newport.
The ship brought badly needed supplies to the settlement that was struggling
with one of the coldest winters of the century. However, the supplies didn't
really help the colony since they were mostly destroyed by a fire only a few
days after Newport's arrival.
Listed as "Matthew Scrivener, gentleman" in early
Virginia records, he was a friend and supporter of Captain John Smith. He served as the first secretary of the colony and briefly as the Governor of
the colony.
Unfortunately, the talented young Matthew drowned in January 1609 at
the age of 28 while attempting to cross to nearby Hog Island in a storm. Eight
other colonists were drowned in the accident including several members of the
Governing Council.
So, Matthew died with no children and therefore we cannot be
his direct descendants.
However, he did have a brother John Scrivener, who
purchased Sibton Abbey in Suffolk, and built an estate nearby where Scriveners
still live, in Suffolk that is, not the Abbey, which is now a ruin.
I haven't entirely given up hope of finding a relationship to these Scriveners.
Scrivener isn't a very common name, after all, and I would love to discover that the John Scrivener who ended up in Maryland in the early 1700's was a nephew or cousin of Matthew who followed him across the Atlantic. But for now, Matthew Scrivener
remains a lost connection.
