Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet

Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet served King Charles I during the English Civil War. He rose through the Royalist ranks during the conflict, but later had his land-holdings seized when the Cavaliers were finally defeated by Parliamentary forces. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, he was one of eight individuals rewarded with grants of land in Carolina by King Charles II for having supported his efforts to regain the throne.

Origins

He was the second son of Peter Colleton of Exeter in Devon, Sheriff of Exeter in 1618, who was born in the parish of Monkenzeale who following his death in 1622 was buried at St Olave's Church in Exeter. His mother was Ursula Hull, a daughter of Henry Hull of Exeter, who married John Colleton in 1578 at St Kerrian's Church in Exeter. John's sister Elizabeth Colleton was the wife of Sir Hugh Croker, Mayor of Exeter, a younger son of the Croker family of Lyneham, Yealmpton, in Devon.

Career

Civil War

He was a Royalist and very active at the beginning of the Civil War, serving as a Captain of foot-soldiers. He received a commission for Colonel from Sir John Berkeley, general of the royalist forces in Devon, signed by the Prince of Wales, and successfully raised a regiment within ten days. He spent £40,000 of his own money in the king's service, and lost a further £7,000 through plunder and sequestration. Eventually he fled to the Island of Barbados. After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 Berkeley petitioned King Charles II on his behalf as follows:

Created a baronet

In recompense for his service during the Civil War, King Charles II in 1661 created him a baronet with territorial designation "of London". And in further recompense for his great services, in conjunction with the Duke of Albemarle, Earl Clarendon, Earl Craven, and four other noble persons, granted by letters patent to them, their heirs, and successors, large dominions in Carolina, and the Bahama Islands.

Grants in Carolina

In 1663 King Charles II granted Colleton and another seven persons, called Lords Proprietors, the land called Carolina, named in honor of his father King Charles I. Colleton brought a group of settlers from the Caribbean Isle of Barbados. These settlers introduced the cultivation of rice to the area. Colleton County, South Carolina, is named after him as is Colington, North Carolina.

Marriage and children

In 1634 at St Mary Arches Church in Exeter, he married Katherine Amey, a daughter of Thomas Amey of Exeter, by whom he had children as follows:

Sir Peter Colleton, 2nd Baronet, eldest son and heir. He was awarded the title of Landgrave, pre-Revolutionary, English colonial titles of nobility in the lowcountry of Carolina, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
John Colleton of St John's College, Oxford, who died unmarried.
Thomas Colleton of Barbados, created a Landgrave. He married a member of the Mead family, by whom he had children including Elizabeth Colleton, wife of Colonel Thomas Garth and mother of John Garth, a Member of Parliament for Devizes in Wiltshire, whose sons included General George Garth who served in the American War of Independence, a Colonel of the 17th Regiment of Foot and Charles Garth, Colonial Agent for the Provinces of South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland, between 1763 and 1765, who succeeded his father as a Member of Parliament for Devizes, and served as Recorder of Devizes.
James Colleton of Barbados, created a Landgrave. He was a governor of the English proprietary Province of Carolina from 1686 to 1690. He married Anne Kendall, a daughter of James Kendall, Governor of Barbados. His son John Colleton of Barbados married Elizabeth Ernle, widow of Thomas Drax of Drax Hall, Barbados and of Ellerton Abbey, Yorkshire, a sister of Sir Edward Ernle, 3rd Baronet who married the heiress of Charborough House in Dorset. John's son was James Edward Colleton, a Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel in Cornwall, who married Lady Anne Cowper, a daughter of William Cowper, 1st Earl Cowper.
Katherine Colleton, eldest daughter, born in the parish of St Olave's, Exeter.
Anne Colleton, 2nd daughter, who married firstly "General Stewart", secondly Humphry Selwood.
Elizabeth Colleton, 3rd daughter, died in infancy, buried at St Olave's, Exeter.