Alexander Whitaker

Who was Alexander Whitaker?

Alexander Whitaker was an English Christian theologian who settled in North America in Virginia Colony in 1611 and established two churches near the Jamestown colony, and was known as "The Apostle of Virginia" by contemporaries.

Born in Cambridge, he was the son of William Whitaker, noted Protestant scholar and Master of St. John's College, Cambridge. Whitaker was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and became a clergyman in the North of England.

Travelling to Virginia in 1611, he was a popular religious leader with both settlers and natives, and was responsible for the baptism and conversion of Pocahontas at Henricus two years later. She took the baptismal name "Rebecca". Richard Buck presided at her marriage to John Rolfe on April 5, 1614. His relative tolerance of the Native American population that English colonists encountered can be found in his sermons, some of which were sent back to England to help win support for the new colonies in North America.