75-480: The New River Coalfield is located in northeastern Raleigh County and southern Fayette County , West Virginia . Commercial mining of coal began in the 1870s and thrived into the 20th century. The coal in this field is a low volatile coal, known as "smokeless" coals. The seams of coal that have been mined include Sewell, Fire Creek, and Beckley. This is very high quality bituminous coal rated at approximately 15,000 BTU (16,000 kJ). The New River coalfield
150-577: A Northwest Passage . They failed to find a passage, but succeeded in raiding Spanish ships. See Plantations of Ireland From 1579 to late 1580, Raleigh took part in the suppression of the Desmond Rebellions . He was present at the siege of Smerwick , where he led the party that beheaded some 600 Spanish and Italian soldiers. In September 1584, Queen Elizabeth I had the land surveyed to be divided amongst her "Undertakers"(People she appointed to undertake supervision of colonization of
225-569: A "City of Gold" in South America and sailed to find it, publishing an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of " El Dorado ". After Queen Elizabeth died in 1603, Raleigh was again imprisoned in the Tower, this time for being involved in the Main Plot against King James I , who was not favourably disposed towards him. In 1616, he was released to lead
300-639: A cousin of Sir Richard Grenville . Little is known of his early life, though in his late teens he spent some time in France taking part in the religious civil wars . In his 20s he took part in the suppression of rebellion in the colonisation of Ireland ; he also participated in the siege of Smerwick . Later, he became a landlord of property in Ireland and mayor of Youghal in east Munster , where his house still stands in Myrtle Grove . He rose rapidly in
375-555: A favourite of Queen Elizabeth I because of his efforts at increasing the Protestant Church in Ireland. In 1585, Raleigh was knighted and was appointed warden of the stannaries , that is of the tin mines of Cornwall and Devon, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and vice-admiral of the two counties. He was a member of parliament for Devonshire in 1585 and 1586. He was also granted the right to colonise America. Raleigh commissioned shipbuilder R. Chapman of Deptford to build
450-583: A fleet that resulted in the capture of a Spanish ship in retreat carrying vital information regarding the Spanish plans. In 1597 Raleigh was chosen as member of parliament for Dorset and in 1601 for Cornwall . He was unique in the Elizabethan period in sitting for three counties. From 1600 to 1603, as governor of the Channel Island of Jersey , Raleigh modernised its defences. This included
525-432: A group of authors had actually written the plays later attributed to William Shakespeare , the main writer being Walter Raleigh. Later, George S. Caldwell asserted that Raleigh was actually the sole author. These claims have been supported by other scholars throughout subsequent years, including Albert J. Beveridge and Henry Pemberton , but are rejected by the majority of Shakespearean scholars today. In 2002, Raleigh
600-531: A heated discussion about religion with Reverend Ralph Ironsides. The argument later gave rise to charges of atheism against Raleigh, though the charges were dismissed. He was elected to Parliament, speaking on religious and naval matters. In 1594, he came into possession of a Spanish account of a great golden city at the headwaters of the Caroní River . A year later, he explored what is now Guyana and eastern Venezuela in search of Lake Parime and Manoa,
675-481: A hurricane prevented John White from investigating the island for survivors. Other speculation includes their having starved, or been swept away or lost at sea during the stormy weather of 1588. No further attempts at contact were recorded for some years. Whatever the fate of the settlers, the settlement is now remembered as the " Roanoke Colony " later known as the "Lost Colony". Raleigh himself never visited North America, although he led expeditions in 1595 and 1617 to
750-406: A meeting with Lord Cobham . One of the judges at his trial later said: "The justice of England has never been so degraded and injured as by the condemnation of the honourable Sir Walter Raleigh." Raleigh's poetry is written in the relatively straightforward, unornamented mode known as the plain style. C. S. Lewis considered Raleigh one of the era's "silver poets", a group of writers who resisted
825-473: A more diverse group of settlers was sent, including some entire families, under the governance of John White . After a short while in America, White returned to England to obtain more supplies for the colony, planning to return in a year. Unfortunately for the colonists at Roanoke, one year became three. The first delay came when Queen Elizabeth I ordered all vessels to remain at port for potential use against
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#1732772597315900-468: A result, the ship was renamed Ark Royal . In 1586 one of Raleigh's expeditions caught Spanish explorer Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa . Raleigh held Gamboa prisoner in his house and had long conversations with him. Gamboa passed messages to the Spanish ambassador who forwarded them to King Philip II . Raleigh wanted to defect to Spain and sell his ship the Ark. Philip refused to buy the ship, but encouraged
975-447: A second expedition in search of El Dorado. During the expedition, men led by his top commander ransacked a Spanish outpost, in violation of both the terms of his pardon and the 1604 peace treaty with Spain . Raleigh returned to England and, to appease the Spanish, he was arrested and executed in 1618. Little is known about Sir Walter Raleigh's birth but he is believed to have been born on 22 January 1552 (or possibly 1554 ). He grew up in
1050-472: A ship for him. She was originally called Ark but became Ark Raleigh , following the convention at the time by which the ship bore the name of her owner. The Crown (in the person of Queen Elizabeth I) purchased the ship from Raleigh in January 1587 for £5,000 (£1.1 million in 2015). This took the form of a reduction in the sum that Sir Walter owed the queen; he received Exchequer tallies but no money. As
1125-464: A small copyhold , you would have witnesses or good proof to lead the jury to a verdict; and I am here for my life!" Raleigh argued that the evidence against him was " hearsay ", but the tribunal refused to allow Cobham to testify and be cross-examined . Raleigh's trial has been regularly cited as influential in establishing a common law right to confront accusers in court. Raleigh was convicted, but King James spared his life. While imprisoned in
1200-457: A velvet bag until her death. After Raleigh's wife's death 29 years later, his head was removed to his tomb and interred at St. Margaret's Church. Although Raleigh's popularity had waned considerably since his Elizabethan heyday, his execution was seen by many, both at the time and since, as unnecessary and unjust, as for many years his involvement in the Main Plot seemed to have been limited to
1275-583: Is land and 4.0 square miles (10 km ) (0.7%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 79,220 people, 31,793 households, and 22,096 families in the county. The population density was 131 people per square mile (51 people/km ). There were 35,678 housing units at an average density of 59 units per square mile (23 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 89.63% White , 8.52% Black or African American , 0.19% Native American , 0.72% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 0.12% from other races , and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.92% of
1350-408: Is named after the north flowing New River . Over 60 coal towns were once located there, supported by independent commercial districts at Beckley , Oak Hill , Mount Hope , and Fayetteville . By the 21st century many coal camps had partially or completely returned to nature. These company towns were located along Dunloup (Loup) Creek, Laurel Creek, White Oak Creek, lower Piney Creek, and, of course,
1425-562: Is now the domain of the National Park Service as the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve , and they have done what their budget allows to preserve the coal heritage of the area. 37°56′N 81°04′W / 37.933°N 81.067°W / 37.933; -81.067 Raleigh County, West Virginia Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia . As of
1500-563: The 2020 census , the population was 74,591. Its county seat is Beckley . The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh . Raleigh County is included in the Beckley, West Virginia, Metropolitan Statistical Area . Raleigh County and the surrounding area have long been home to many indigenous peoples. Early encounters describe the land as being the ancestral home of the Catawba -speaking Moneton people, who referred to
1575-707: The Elizabethan era , he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America , suppressed rebellion in Ireland , helped defend England against the Spanish Armada and held political positions under Elizabeth I . Raleigh was born to a landed gentry family of Protestant faith in Devon , the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. He was the younger half-brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and
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#17327725973151650-485: The Italian Renaissance influence of dense classical reference and elaborate poetic devices. His writing contains strong personal treatments of themes such as love, loss, beauty, and time. Most of his poems are short lyrics that were inspired by actual events. In poems such as "What is Our Life" and " The Lie ", Raleigh expresses a contemptus mundi (contempt of the world) attitude more characteristic of
1725-561: The Middle Ages than of the dawning era of humanistic optimism. But his lesser-known long poem "The Ocean's Love to Cynthia" combines this vein with the more elaborate conceits associated with his contemporaries Edmund Spenser and John Donne , expressing a melancholy sense of history. The poem was written during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. Raleigh wrote a poetic response to Christopher Marlowe 's " The Passionate Shepherd to His Love " of 1592, entitled " The Nymph's Reply to
1800-781: The Middle Temple , having previously been a member of Lyon's Inn , one of the Inns of Chancery . At his trial in 1603, he stated that he had never studied law. Much of his life is uncertain between 1569 and 1575, but in his History of the World , he claimed to have been an eyewitness at the Battle of Moncontour (3 October 1569) in France. In 1575 or 1576, Raleigh returned to England. In 1577 and again in 1579 Raleigh made voyages with his half-brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert in attempts to find
1875-465: The Orinoco river basin in South America in search of the golden city of El Dorado . These expeditions were funded primarily by Raleigh and his friends but never provided the steady stream of revenue necessary to maintain a colony in America. In 1580 Raleigh went to fight in Ireland against the 2nd Desmond Rebellion . In December 1581, he returned to England. He took part in court life and became
1950-462: The Orinoco river, in violation of peace treaties with Spain and against Raleigh's orders. A condition of Raleigh's pardon was avoidance of any hostility against Spanish colonies or shipping. In the initial attack on the settlement, Raleigh's son, Walter, was fatally shot. Kemys informed Raleigh of his son's death and begged for forgiveness, but did not receive it, and at once committed suicide. On Raleigh's return to England, an outraged Count Gondomar ,
2025-498: The Spanish Armada . After England's 1588 victory over the Spanish Armada, the ships were given permission to sail. The second delay came after White's small fleet set sail for Roanoke and his crew insisted on sailing first towards Cuba in hopes of capturing treasure-laden Spanish merchant ships. Enormous riches described by their pilot, an experienced Portuguese navigator hired by Raleigh, outweighed White's objections to
2100-455: The Tower of London . Raleigh's trial began on 17 November in the converted Great Hall of Winchester Castle . Raleigh conducted his own defence. The chief evidence against him was the signed and sworn confession of his friend Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham . Raleigh repeatedly requested that Cobham be called to testify. "[Let] my acuser come face to face, and be deposed. Were the case but for
2175-673: The capture of Cádiz , where he was wounded. He also served as the rear admiral (a principal command) of the Islands Voyage to the Azores in 1597. On his return from the Azores, Raleigh helped England defend itself against the major threat of the 3rd Spanish Armada during the autumn of 1597. The Armada was dispersed in the Channel and later was devastated by a storm off Ireland. Lord Howard of Effingham and Raleigh were able to organise
2250-533: The 1902-1903 New River coal strike in which an armed posse led by a US Marshall who shot up miners' houses while they and their families slept, killing at least six. The perpetrators were later acquitted. The lead-up and aftermath were witnessed and widely recounted by Mother Jones , and the massacre is considered a prelude to the West Virginia coal wars . The town of Sophia in Raleigh County
2325-672: The Irish trade with Spain; they were known as An Spáinneach Geal (the bright Spaniard) before his time, A potato crop failure in the 1800s would lead to the Great Famine when they were the only crop not exported in bulk to Britain from 1840 to 1852, a time when potatoes across the continent were destroyed by a gigantic outbreak of blight known as the European Potato Failure. Amongst Raleigh's acquaintances in Munster
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2400-484: The Iroquois Confederacy". Raleigh County was formed on January 23, 1850, from portions of Fayette County , then a part of Virginia. Alfred Beckley (1802–88) said that he named the county for Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), the "enterprising and far-seeing patron of the earliest attempts to colonize our old Mother State of Virginia". Raleigh was one of fifty Virginia Counties that were admitted to
2475-634: The New River. The mainline of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway ran right through the center of this coalfield, with spurs branching off in many directions, and rail yards were maintained at Quinnimont, Raleigh, and Thurmond, WV . The Virginian Railway 's main line also passed through the western side of the field as well. Companies such as the New River Company, New River & Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Co., and Mary Frances Coal Co. were
2550-585: The Shepherd ". Both were written in the style of traditional pastoral poetry and follow the structure of six four-line stanzas employing a rhyme scheme of AABB , with Raleigh's an almost line-for-line refutation of Marlowe's sentiments. Years later, the 20th-century poet William Carlos Williams would join the poetic "argument" with his " Raleigh Was Right ". All finished, and some unfinished, poems written by Raleigh or plausibly attributed to him: In 1845, Shakespeare scholar Delia Bacon first proposed that
2625-635: The Spanish ambassador, demanded that Raleigh's death sentence be reinstated by King James, who had little choice but to do so. Raleigh was brought to London from Plymouth by Sir Lewis Stukley , where he passed up numerous opportunities to make an effective escape. Raleigh was beheaded in the Old Palace Yard at the Palace of Westminster on 29 October 1618. "Let us dispatch", he said to his executioner. "At this hour my ague comes upon me. I would not have my enemies think I quaked from fear." After he
2700-480: The Tower until 1616. His son, Carew, was conceived and born (in 1604 or 1605) while Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower. In 1617, Raleigh was pardoned by the King and granted permission to conduct a second expedition to Venezuela in search of El Dorado. During the expedition, a detachment of Raleigh's men under the command of his long-time friend Lawrence Kemys attacked the Spanish outpost of Santo Tomé de Guayana on
2775-450: The Tower, Raleigh wrote his incomplete The History of the World . Using a wide array of sources in six languages, Raleigh was fully abreast of the latest continental scholarship. He wrote not about England, but of the ancient world with a heavy emphasis on geography. Despite his intention of providing current advice to the King of England, King James I complained that it was "too sawcie in censuring Princes". Raleigh remained imprisoned in
2850-526: The Union as the state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863. Later that year, the counties were divided into civil townships , with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts . Raleigh County was initially divided into six townships: Clear Fork, Marsh Fork, Richman, Shady Spring, Town, and Trap Hill. These became magisterial districts in 1872, and
2925-642: The construction of a new fort protecting the approaches to Saint Helier , Fort Isabella Bellissima, or Elizabeth Castle . Royal favour with Queen Elizabeth had been restored by this time, but his good fortune did not last; the Queen died on 24 March 1603. Raleigh was arrested on 19 July 1603 at what is now the Old Exeter Inn in Ashburton , charged with treason for his involvement in the Main Plot against Elizabeth's successor, James I , and imprisoned in
3000-469: The county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2020). 37°47′N 81°16′W / 37.78°N 81.26°W / 37.78; -81.26 Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh ( / ˈ r ɔː l i , ˈ r æ l i , ˈ r ɑː l i / ; c. 1553 – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of
3075-418: The county. The population density was 130 people per square mile (50 people/km ). There were 35,931 housing units at an average density of 59.4 units per square mile (22.9 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 88.5% white, 8.2% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of
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3150-480: The delay. When the supply ship arrived in Roanoke, three years later than planned, the colonists had disappeared. The only clue to their fate was the word "CROATOAN" and the letters "CRO" carved into tree trunks. White had arranged with the settlers that if they should move, the name of their destination be carved into a tree or corner post. This suggested the possibility that they had moved to Croatoan Island , but
3225-587: The east coast) received the name "Virginia" for the Virgin Queen Elizabeth I , which is the origin of the name of the modern day state . In 1585, he sent a militarized group to North America to set up a fort to raid Spanish ships and become the first English colony in North America. The voyage was led by Sir Richard Grenville and the colony on Roanoke Island was governed by Ralph Lane . The colony ran out of food after clashes with
3300-450: The favour of Queen Elizabeth I and was knighted in 1585. He was granted a royal patent to explore Virginia , paving the way for future English settlements. In 1591, he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton , one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting , without the Queen's permission, for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London . After his release, they retired to his estate at Sherborne , Dorset . In 1594, Raleigh heard of
3375-479: The gold and silver that might be mined there. This charter specified that Raleigh had seven years in which to establish a settlement, or else lose his right to do so. Raleigh and Elizabeth intended that the venture should provide riches from the New World and a base from which to send privateers on raids against the treasure fleets of Spain . The charter was originally given to Sir Humphrey Gilbert who pitched
3450-719: The house of Hayes Barton (in the parish of East Budleigh ), in East Devon . He was the youngest of the five sons of Walter Raleigh (1510–1581) (or Rawleigh) of Fardel Manor (in the parish of Cornwood ), in South Devon. Raleigh's family is generally assumed to have been a junior branch of the Raleigh family, 11th-century lords of the manor of Raleigh, Pilton in North Devon, although the two branches are known to have borne entirely dissimilar coats of arms, adopted at
3525-529: The idea to Queen Elizabeth I and died at sea while attempting to accomplish it. On April 27, 1584, the Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe expedition set sail from England on an exploratory mission to determine what resources were available in North America. They returned with two of the local inhabitants, Manteo and Wanchese, in August 1584, and reported of their findings. The region (the majority of
3600-528: The largest operators in the New River Coalfield, but there were many smaller ones as well. These companies recruited native born whites , immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe , and African-Americans from the South to work in their coal mines and railroads. The mines began to close down after World War II and today there are very few active coal mines in the field. The New River Gorge
3675-577: The legendary city. Once back in England, he published The Discovery of Guiana (1596), an account of his voyage which made exaggerated claims as to what had been discovered. The book can be seen as a contribution to the El Dorado legend. Venezuela has gold deposits, but no evidence indicates that Raleigh found any mines. He is sometimes said to have discovered Angel Falls , but these claims are considered far-fetched. In 1596, Raleigh took part in
3750-514: The local inhabitants and eventually left with Sir Francis Drake in June 1586 after resupply attempts failed. Sir Richard Grenvile arrived shortly after the Lane colony left with Drake. He left supplies and 15 men on Roanoke Island and returned to England. They were never seen again. On July 22, 1587, Raleigh attempted a second expedition, again establishing a settlement on Roanoke Island. This time,
3825-494: The most severe was the Eccles Mine Disaster in 1914. At least one hundred and eighty miners died in what was the second-worst coal mining disaster in state history. More recently, the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster , which killed twenty-nine miners, occurred in Raleigh County. Raleigh County miners were also killed by violent suppression of labor organizing, such as in the so-called Battle of Stanaford during
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#17327725973153900-534: The parish of Brixham ) and of Compton Castle (in the parish of Marldon ), both in Devon. (The coat of arms of Otes Gilbert and Katherine Champernowne survives in a stained glass window in Churston Ferrers Church, near Greenway.) Katherine Champernowne's paternal aunt was Kat Ashley , governess of Queen Elizabeth I, who introduced Raleigh and his brothers to the court. Raleigh's maternal uncle
3975-522: The passing of information from Raleigh. In 1588, Raleigh had some involvement with defence against the Spanish Armada at Devon. The ship that he had built, offered to sell to Spain, and later sold to the crown, the Ark Royal , was Lord High Admiral Howard 's flagship. In 1592, Raleigh was given many rewards by the Queen, including Durham House in the Strand and the estate of Sherborne, Dorset. He
4050-443: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 31,793 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
4125-420: The population. In terms of ancestry, 41.8% were American , 9.1% were English , 8.6% were German , and 8.5% were Irish . Of the 31,831 households, 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.0% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size
4200-666: The pouch was a Latin inscription: Comes meus fuit in illo miserrimo tempore ("It was my companion at that most miserable time"). Raleigh's head was embalmed and presented to his wife. His body was to be buried in the local church in Beddington , Surrey , the home of Lady Raleigh, but was finally laid to rest in St. Margaret's, Westminster , where his tomb is located. "The Lords", she wrote, "have given me his dead body, though they have denied me his life. God hold me in my wits." It has been said that Lady Raleigh kept her husband's head in
4275-503: The queen. The following year, the unauthorised marriage was discovered and the Queen ordered Raleigh to be imprisoned and Bess dismissed from court. Both were imprisoned in the Tower of London in June 1592. He was released from prison in August 1592 to manage a recently returned expedition and attack on the Spanish coast. The fleet was recalled by the Queen, but not before it captured an incredibly rich prize —a merchant ship (carrack) named Madre de Deus (Mother of God) off Flores . Raleigh
4350-588: The region) to colonize. In 1585, Raleigh received 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) (approximately 0.2% of Ireland) in the Munster Plantation , including the coastal walled town of Youghal and, further up the Blackwater River , the village of Lismore . Raleigh made the town of Youghal in Ireland his occasional home during his 17 years as an Irish landlord, frequently being domiciled at Killua Castle , Clonmellon , County Westmeath . He
4425-458: The reigns of Elizabeth I and James I . Raleigh's family was highly Protestant in religious orientation and had a number of near escapes during the reign of Roman Catholic Queen Mary I of England . In the most notable of these, his father had to hide in a tower to avoid execution. As a result, Raleigh developed a hatred of Roman Catholicism during his childhood, and proved himself quick to express it after Protestant Queen Elizabeth I came to
4500-435: The same year a seventh district, Slab Fork, was created from land that had previously belonged to Wyoming County . These remained largely unchanged over the next century, but in the 1970s the seven historic magisterial districts were consolidated into three new districts: District 1, District 2, and District 3. Heavily involved in the coal mining industry, Raleigh County has been the scene of numerous deadly incidents, of which
4575-456: The start of the age of heraldry ( c. 1200 –1215). His mother was Katherine Champernowne, the third wife of Walter Raleigh senior. She was the fourth daughter of Sir Philip Champernowne (1479–1545), lord of the manor of Modbury , Devon, by his wife Catherine Carew, a daughter of Sir Edmund Carew (d. 1513) of Mohuns Ottery (in the parish of Luppitt ), Devon,. Katherine was the widow of Otes Gilbert (1513–1546/7) of Greenway (in
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#17327725973154650-689: The surrounding area as "okahok amai", and were allies of the Monacan people . The Moneton's Catawba speaking neighbors to the south, the Tutelo , (a tribe since absorbed into the Cayuga Nation ) may have absorbed surviving Moneton communities, and claim the area as ancestral lands. Conflicts with European settlers resulted in various displaced Indian tribes settling in West Virginia, where they were known at Mingo , meaning "remote affiliates of
4725-523: The throne in 1558. In matters of religion, Elizabeth was more moderate than her half-sister Mary. In 1569, Raleigh went to France to serve with the Huguenots in the French religious civil wars. In 1572, Raleigh was registered as an undergraduate at Oriel College, Oxford , but he left in 1574 without a degree. Raleigh proceeded to finish his education in the Inns of Court . In 1575, he was admitted to
4800-435: Was $ 28,181, and the median income for a family was $ 35,315. Males had a median income of $ 33,000 versus $ 20,672 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 16,233. About 14.60% of families and 18.50% of the population were below the poverty line , including 28.70% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2010, there were 78,859 people, 31,831 households, and 21,322 families in
4875-575: Was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.87. The median age was 41.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 38,036 and the median income for a family was $ 49,837. Males had a median income of $ 42,405 versus $ 27,347 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 20,457. About 14.5% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over. Raleigh County voters have tended to vote Republican in recent decades. In 67% of national elections since 1980,
4950-407: Was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88. The county population contained 21.50% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males. The median income for a household in the county
5025-526: Was Sir Arthur Champernowne ( c. 1524 –1578), a Member of Parliament , Sheriff of Devon and Admiral of the West . Walter Raleigh junior's immediate family included his full brother Carew Raleigh , and half-brothers John Gilbert, Humphrey Gilbert and Adrian Gilbert. As a consequence of their kinship with the Champernowne family, all of the Raleigh and Gilbert brothers became prominent during
5100-457: Was allowed to see the axe that would be used to behead him, he mused: "This is a sharp Medicine, but it is a Physician for all diseases and miseries." According to biographers, Raleigh's last words, spoken to the hesitating executioner, were: "What dost thou fear? Strike, man, strike!" Having been one of the people to popularise tobacco smoking in England, he left a small tobacco pouch , found in his cell shortly after his execution. Engraved upon
5175-640: Was another Englishman who had been granted land in the Irish colonies, poet Edmund Spenser . Raleigh's management of his Irish estates ran into difficulties which contributed to a decline in his fortunes. In 1602, he sold the lands to Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork , who subsequently prospered under kings James I and Charles I . On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth granted Raleigh a royal charter authorising him to explore, colonise and rule any "remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian Prince or inhabited by Christian People", in return for one-fifth of all
5250-631: Was appointed Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard . However, he had not been given any of the great offices of state . In 1591, Raleigh secretly married Elizabeth "Bess" Throckmorton (or Throgmorton). She was one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting , 11 years his junior, and was pregnant at the time. She gave birth to a son, believed to be named Damerei, who was given to a wet nurse at Durham House, and died of plague in October 1592. Bess resumed her duties to
5325-433: Was elected a burgess of Mitchell , Cornwall, in the parliament of 1593. He retired to his estate at Sherborne, where he built a new house, completed in 1594, known then as Sherborne Lodge. Since extended, it is now known as Sherborne New Castle . He made friends with the local gentry , such as Sir Ralph Horsey of Clifton Maybank and Charles Thynne of Longleat . During this period at a dinner party at Horsey's, Raleigh had
5400-513: Was featured in the BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons . A galliard was composed in honour of Raleigh by either Francis Cutting or Richard Allison . The state capital of North Carolina , its second-largest city, was named Raleigh in 1792, after Sir Walter, sponsor of the Roanoke Colony . In the city, a bronze statue, which has been moved around different locations within the city,
5475-430: Was mayor there from 1588 to 1589. Raleigh encouraged veterans of the earlier attempts of the Roanoke Colony settle in Ireland, including Thomas Hariot and John White from the 1585 trip. (He was the governor of the 1587 trip, but returned with the delivery ship to acquire additional supplies.) Raleigh is credited with introducing potatoes to England and Ireland. though potatoes are more likely to have arrived through
5550-399: Was sent to organise and divide the spoils of the ship. He was sent back to the Tower, but by early 1593 had been released and become a member of Parliament. It was several years before Raleigh returned to favour, and he travelled extensively in this time. Raleigh and his wife remained devoted to each other. They had two more sons, Walter (known as Wat) in 1593 and Carew in 1605. Raleigh
5625-419: Was the home of Senator Robert C. Byrd . The New River flows northwestward along the county's east border. The county terrain consists of wooded hills, carved with drainages. The terrain slopes to the north and west; its highest point is near its southmost corner, at 3,524 ft (1,074 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 609 square miles (1,580 km ), of which 605 square miles (1,570 km )
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