Ensign Thomas Savage
In 1607, thirteen years before the Mayflower landed, an ex-privateer who had lost a hand by a
Spanish sword, commanded a fleet of three English ships crossing the Atlantic.
Their destination; Virginia. Their aim; to create a settlement on a river above the mighty Chesapeake. Against all odds,
that settlement called, Jamestown, survived and was the beginning of what would become the United States of America.
The ex-privateer was Captain Christopher Newport and he had on board a boy by the name of Thomas Savage.
Newport gave the boy, as a hostage, to the great Chief Powhatan in exchange for an Indian named Namontack. Newport's
purpose was two-fold, to help insure friendship with the powerful Powhatan and to have Savage learn his language. John
Smith, present at the exchange, tells us Savage was thirteen years of age. Thomas Savage remained with Powhatan for
three years and was an interpreter for the English Colony for the remainder of his life. He became known as, Ensign
Thomas Savage. Had it not been for the influence that Savage had with the Indians, and the generous heart of Pocahontas,
the Jamestown Colony would probably not have survived. In 1619 Ensign Savage settled in Accomack as the first white
settler on the Eastern Shore. The Ensign is said to have given us the oldest continuing family name in America.
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