Identifier: popularhistoryof00brya (find matches)
Title: A popular history of the United States : from the first discovery of the western hemisphere by the Northmen, to the end of the first century of the union of the states ; preceded by a sketch of the prehistoric period and the age of the mound builders
Year: 1876 (1870s)
Authors: Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878 Gay, Sydney Howard, 1814-1888
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : Scribner, Armstrong, and Company
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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• Page 277
• "Deposition of Wingfield"
• Designer: E. A. Abbey
• Engraver: Bobbett

Early in September, Wingfield says the three other members of the council, [John] Ratcliffe, [John] Smith, and [John] Martin, waited upon him and by warrant deposed [Wingfield] from both the council and the presidency. He declined at first to be thus summarily dealth with; more than once he reminder them he had offered his resignation, which the council had refused to accept, and now they could not legally remove him, as, according to the charter, that must be done by a majority of a full council of thirteen. But finally, he gave up the contest, saying, "I ame at your pleasure; dispose of me as you will, without further garboiles."

The next day he was called before the council, and the change in the government was made known and discussed at a public meeting of the colonists. The three councillors [Ratcliffe, Smith, and Martin] gave the reason sfor their action, and with two of them hunger evidently was at the bottom of their discontent. Ratcliffe, the newp resident, complained that he had been denied a penny whitle (a small pocket-knife probably wanted for trade with the Indians), a chickyn, a spoon-ful of beere, and served with foule corne; Martin declared that Wingfield had neglected his duties to the colony, did nothing but tend his pott, spitt and oven; and had, moreover, starved his son and denied him a spooneful of beere. All this would seem frivolous enough if we did not remember that these poor people were in the extremity of hunger, against which no dignity is proof. But Smith showed a nobler passion. Herepelled an accusation of lying ; he resented the scorn with whichhe had been treated by Wingfield, who said that though they were
Deposition of Wingfield. 278 FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA. (Chap. XL equals here, in England Smith would not be a lit companion for his —Wingfields — servant. Archer, who was now made recorder, and subsequently a member of the council, followed with other charges inwriting, too slight to be remembered, though the accuser, says Wing-field, glorieth much in his penn worke. Kendall was deposed from the council earlier than Wingfield, and Kendall shot seems to have belonged to neither party, or, perhaps, to each for mutiny, ^y. tums. Hc was confined for a time with the ex-presidenton board the pinnace, and was subsequently tried for mutiny, and shot. In arrest of judgment the poor man objected that the new presidentsname was not Ratcliffe but Sicklemore, and the plea was allowed ;but judgment, nevertheless, was pronounced by Martin. Afterward,according to the sequence of the narrative — though neither the dateof Kendalls execution nor of this incident is given — Wingfield was

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