Virginia's Important Ghost Stories - Dr. Alena Pirok Interview

In which Dr. Alena Pirok discusses Ghost Stories' importance to Colonial Williamsburg and Virginia's history.

[@Lowest_Levels]

Enjoyed the podcast with Dr. Pirok and the story of Governor Spotwood's ghost son. It's interesting how ghost stories and tales of ghosts help drive traffic to historic sites. In the UK, ghost themed tours and events are used heavily to shore up needed revenue upkeep of various sites/homes and within the US, similar themed events. I remember seeing a video of ghost hunters that went to Bacon's Castle in Surry County, VA and creaked around over night seeking out otherworldly phenomena. Seems to be a great way to encourage people to visit historical sites and be educated in the process of seeking out being thrilled.

[@rvanness]

Thank you for listening, and your comment. I agree, it does seem to be a great way to encourage visitors to come. So many sites here now offer a series of tours, especially during October. Many other locations do year round tours now too. Bacon's Castle has one of the best ghost tours in October. Rosewell is another. They were somewhat on the cutting edge of these types of tours in that they started doing them years ago. Thanks again for listening!

[@KevinGSmith-mi8js]

I want to hear Ghost, Ghosts sitings, encounters and who the ghosts are NOT a history of ghosts.

[@rvanness]

This episode wasn't for you then, other than the Spotswood story that Alena shared near the end. Perhaps you'd like the older Halloween stories I've done.

[@raspeight22]

I just found your channel and listened to the podcast “founding families of Virginia.” Have you found Francis Speight who came from England on the ship “Thomas & John”?

[@rvanness]

Thank you Ruth. Yes, I have seen Francis' name a few times in various research I've done. I see you share last names. Have you been able to trace your lineage back to him?

[@raspeight22]

@@rvanness Yes!!! I’m a direct descendant. I have my lineage traced back to Francis. I would love to know any sources of information or stories that you may have about him.

[@raspeight22]

I would appreciate it if you would share any info you have on Francis…. Where I came from...... We recently subscribed to netflix so this evening I was watching the documentary about Jamestown VA when the first English settlers landed in this country. The Pilgrams celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621 and just 14 yrs later Francis Speight crossed the Atlantic on the ship "The Thomas and John. Here is the beginning of our story...... Francis Speight was born in 1614 in England. His parentage is unknown. He is our immigrant ancestor coming to America in 1635 at the age of twenty-one. Almost all Speight’s in America (except the family of North Carolina Governor Richard Dobbs Speight whose line died out when his son went childless) descend from Francis Speight. He sailed from Gravesend, England aboard the ship, “Thomas and John”, captained by Richard Lambard. Before the ship left the English port, a minister would have certificated that the Virginia bound passengers conformed to doctrine and practices of The Church of England, followed by an oath of allegiance to King James I. He arrived at Jamestown, Virginia on June 16, 1635 after two and half months at sea with one hundred and three other passengers. Just twenty-eight years after the founding of Jamestown. Jamestown was commonly regarded as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States. Francis was among fifteen people indentured to Puritan leader William Eyres for seven years working on Chuckatuck Creek Plantation in what is now Suffolk, Virginia.. Indentured servants worked out their loans for passage money to America (known as a temporary white slave). If you were an indentured servant it was not the person, but the work of the servant that was owned by the master. That was a large different than a black slave being owned by their master. In the 1600s three-quarters of all English colonists served as indentured servants. Half of them died before their service was completed. One quarter remained poor afterward and the other quarter achieved a degree of prosperity. As a whole, women fared somewhat better than men. A female servant who had completed her service could easily find a husband. Francis was the first and only indentured servant of the Speight Family and the first one to have indentured servants working for him. After his seven-year term as an indentured slave, on May 23, 1642 Francis received fifty acres of wilderness land from Mr. Eyres in Indian Branch (now Lake Prince in Suffolk, Virginia). This meant that Francis had saved enough money for the legal fees, tools, seed, and livestock needed to become a planter (which then meant farmer). Indian Branch was an important waterway. Flat bottom boats transported hogsheads of tobacco to market. Francis married in 1642 shortly after his land was deeded to him. Francis’ first priority would have been building shelter and digging a well for his family. The family house would have been a thatched roof hut. Its roof was made by bundling reeds from a nearby swamp. “Cottages” had an end-hooded chimney and a hard packed dirt floor. In the English tradition they were called cottages not cabins or huts. In the spring of 1643 the Speights were blessed with their first child, John. In 1644 the Opechancanough Indians attempted to run the colonists from their land, killing almost five hundred colonists, but the population had grown too large for them to succeed.