Thomas Colpeper, 2nd Baron Culpeper of Thoresway (baptised 21 March 1635 – 27 January 1689) was the colonial governor of Virginia from 1677 to 1683.

Biography

Born in 1635, Colepeper (often referred to by the alternate, Culpeper) was the son of Judith and John Colepeper

John Colepeper, 1st Baron Colepeper

John Colepeper of Bedgebery, 1st Baron Culpeper of Thoresway was an English politician.-Life:He was the only son of Thomas Culpeper of Wigsell and Anne Slaney , daughter of Sir Stephan Slaney, Lord Mayor of London...

. As a royalist, his father left England at the end of the English civil war

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 following the execution of Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. Thomas Culpeper lived with his father in the Netherlands and there on 3 August 1659 married the Dutch heiress Margaret van Hesse. He returned to England after Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

's restoration.

Culpeper was made administrator of the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 which involved little administration but did add to his wealth. He became governor of Virginia in July 1677 but did not leave England until 1679, when he was ordered to by Charles II. While there, he seemed more interested in maintaining his land in the Northern Neck

Northern Neck

The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This peninsula is bounded by the Potomac River on the north and the Rappahannock River on the south. It encompasses the following Virginia counties: Lancaster,...

 than governing and soon returned to England.

Rioting in the colony forced him to return in 1682, by which time the riots were already quelled. After apparently appropriating £9,500 from the treasury of the colony, he returned to England and Charles II was forced to dismiss him, appointing in his stead Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham

Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham

-External links:* from the Executive Journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia, Vol. I, June 11, 1680 - June 22, 1699....

. During this tumultuous time, Culpepper's erratic behaviour meant that he had to rely increasingly on his cousin and Virginia agent, Col. Nicholas Spencer

Nicholas Spencer

Col. Nicholas Spencer was a London merchant who emigrated to Westmoreland County, Virginia, where he became a planter and which he represented in the Virginia House of Burgesses...

. (Spencer succeeded Culpepper as acting Governor on the Lord's departure from the colony.)

Culpeper lived the rest of his life in London with his mistress, Susannah Willis, and their two daughters. He left a will in favour of Willis and her daughters that was suppressed. Catherine Culpeper, his only child with his wife Margaret van Hesse, inherited much of his wealth and married Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron

Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron was the great-grandson of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. His father was Henry Fairfax, 4th Lord Fairfax of Cameron and his mother was Francis Barwick...

in 1690.