William Drummond (1617-1677) was a native of Scotland, who came to Virginia in 1637 as an indentured servant. Records indicate that as a young man he was involved in planning an insurrection, or at least the escape of, indentured servants off the plantations around Jamestown. He was given a public flogging and an additional year of servitude for his part.

In later years he became an important and influential member of the community. He served as Justice of the Peace and High Sheriff of James City County. Sir William Berkeley sent Drummond to North Carolina in October of 1664 to serve two years as the first governor of the new colony, but he served almost three years. Drummond returned to Jamestown in 1667. In 1676, he was a Burgess for James City County.

During Bacon's Rebellion, William Drummond was Nathaniel Bacon's ardent and enthusiastic suporter.

"These men were not seeking social change or anything resembling democracy; they were conspiring to bring together by the action of the new assembly a variety of causes under the aegis of political reform...an insurrection against the dictatorial, incompetent, corrupt, and unprinicpled administration...of Governor Berkeley and his small clique of councilors and officials...."

He held Jamestown for Bacon and, as a last resort, set fire to the town, with his own hand setting fire to his residence, one of the most prominent in the villiage, then carried off the public records as the town burned.

But Sir William Berkeley got quick revenge. William Drummond was captured and brought before him. The vindictive old governor could not hide his satisfaction, "I am more glad to see you, Mr. Drummond, than any man in this colony! You shall be hanged in half and hour."

According to legend, Berkeley even took a ring, Drummond's wife's, off Drummond's finger before he hung him.

The British government did not approve of Sir William Berkeley's high-handed massacres. Drummond's property was restored to Sarah, his widow. He left five children, one of them a son, also William, and one daughter, who married Samuel Swann of North Carolina.

There were Scottish Lowlanders in the Albemarle area before 1700. Tracing Lowlanders is more difficult than tracing Highlanders because the Lowlanders were much more willing to disperse themselves within the various communities than were the clansmen. However, there are clear records of Lowlanders in North Carolina before 1700. Lowlander names appear in pre-1700 Carolina records and the first governor of the colony, William Drummond, was a Lowlander (Myer, 1957).

Back when my great great great great great great great great granddaddy William Drummond, the first governor of North Carolina, convened our first governmental assembly on the banks of Hall's Creek in Pasquotank County. No one remembers what came out of that meeting, except for one noteworthy bylaw, which read:

"MEMBERS SHOULD WEAR SHOES, IF NOT STOCKINGS, DURING THE SESSION, AND THEY MUST NOT THROW THEIR CHICKEN BONES UNDER THE OAK TREE WHERE THE ASSEMBLY IS BEING HELD."

During his term of office he participated, in 1666, in a conference at St. Mary’s, the capital of Maryland, with representatives of Virginia and Maryland to consider the possible control of tobacco prices. Drummond and Surveyor General Thomas Woodward, “being ye Legislative power of ye said County for ye time being,” agreed to a suspension of tobacco planting in Virginia, Maryland, and Albemarle from February 1667 to February 1668.

The creation of an artificial shortage, they hoped, would increase the demand and, in turn, the price of the next year’s crop. Although delayed by an Indian uprising, Drummond managed to persuade his legislative body to pass a law agreeing to such an interruption in the harvest. The plan fell through, however, when Lord Baltimore, the Proprietor of Maryland, refused to sanction the agreement.

Drummond returned to Jamestown, Virginia in 1667, resumed his law practice, and accumulated a sizeable property. He became active in Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, which, under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., with William Drummond and Richard Lawrence as his lieutenants, and, ostensibly on an expedition against hostile Indians, sought to overthrow the government of Sir William Berkeley. Bacon died unexpectedly on October 1, 1676 and his followers were defeated by Robert Beverly. Drummond was captured on January 19, 1676/7 and hanged by Governor Berkeley the next day at Middle Plantation. His property was seized by Governor Berkeley but was restored to Drummond's widow by Royal order on October 22, 1677.

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