The San Antonio Company of the Jamestowne Society

The Jamestowne Society was organized and chartered at Jamestown Island in May 1936
and now has 40 companies throughout the United States.

The San Antonio Company was organized on May 8th, 1982.

The Jamestowne Society is composed of descendants of Jamestowne adventurers, founders and early settlers, ca. 1607-1700.

The Jamestowne Society was organized for educational, historical, and patriotic purposes, and to that end:

To discover and record the names of all living descendants of those early settlers who made the great sacrifice to establish our English-speaking Nation; and to unite these descendants to honor the memory of our settler ancestors; and to record their deeds, and to do homage to the birthplace of Virginia and the Nation.

To bring the members into closer association through activities revolving around matters of common historical and genealogical interest.

To promote the restoration of historical records, documents, objects, and edifices which are of lasting cultural value to the people of Virginia and of the Nation.

To assist in the organization of state companies, reminiscent of the London and Virginia Companies, in states where membership and interest justify them.

In 1607, thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys began a settlement on the banks of Virginia's James River. They were sponsored by the Virginia Company of London, whose stockholders hoped to make a profit from the resources of the New World. The community suffered terrible hardships in its early years, but managed to endure, earning the distinction of being America's first permanent English colony. Significantly, the first representative government in the new world was organized and, members having been elected, met in the church at Jamestown in July, 1619. For more about this click here.

In 1625, the Virginia Company of London, which could no longer finance this venture, was dissolved by King James I, and Virginia became a royal colony.

The formal organization of the Jamestowne Society, at Jamestown Island on 14 May 1936, was the result of a vision by George Craghead Gregory, who was the founder and the guiding spirit of the society. The objects of the society were: "To discover and record the names of all living descendants of those early settlers who made great sacrifices to establish our English speaking nation; and to unite these descendants to honor the memory of their settler ancestors, to record their deeds, and to do homage to the birthplace of Virginia and the Nation."

By gathering together the descendants of those who experienced Jamestown's hardships and took advantage of its opportunities, we hope that like-minded individuals will work together to keep its history alive for new generations yet to come.

By 2005, the National Jamestowne Society had grown to over 5,000 members in 25 Companies throughout the Nation. The San Antonio Company was founded on May 8th, 1982.

We hope that all will find the information contained in this web site -- and in the national Jamestowne Society web site -- helpful in strengthening the bonds of interest in this special period of our history that link us together.

About San Antonio

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second most populous city in the state of Texas, with a population of 1.3 million. It was the fastest growing of the top 10 largest cities in the United States from 2000-2010. The city is located in the American Southwest, the south–central part of Texas, and the southwestern corner of an urban region known as the Texas Triangle. The Texas Triangle is anchored by the metropolitan areas of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin and is connected by a highway system Interstate 45, Interstate 10, and Interstate 35 that forms up a 60,000-square-mile triangle when connected. Additional cities in the region include Bryan-College Station, Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, and Waco. San Antonio serves as the seat of Bexar County, Texas.

San Antonio was named for Saint Anthony of Padua (he is sometimes called the "Evangelical Doctor" (Doctor Evangelicus), whose feast day is on June 13. In 1691, a group of Spanish explorers and missionaries came upon the San Antonio River Valley in the San Pedro Springs area on June 13, the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, and named the place and river "San Antonio" in Saint Anthony's honor. Early Spanish settlement of San Antonio began with the Martin de Alarcon expedition and the establishment of the San Antonio de Valero Mission (now the Alamo). Famous for historical Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, and host to SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country. San Antonio is home to five Fortune 500 companies and the South Texas Medical Center, the major medical research facility in the South Texas region.

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination. The River Walk meanders through the Downtown area. It was one of the first restorations of an urban river. Lined with numerous shops, bars, and restaurants, this attraction is transformed into an impressive festival of lights during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, and is suffused with the local sounds of folklorico and flamenco music during the summer, particularly during celebrations such as the Fiesta Noche del Rio. In April, San Antonio is famous for its Fiesta Battle of Flowers Parade and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade. The Flambeau Parade is one of the largest night parades in the country.

The San Antonio Company is home to an active Company of the Jamestowne Society. Far away from their Jamestowne roots, San Antonio Company members travel 1500 miles northeast to Richmond, Virginia, when the National Jamestowne Society gathers its membership for meetings. The San Antonio Company has Company meetings every six months, in May and November, and welcomes those who are interested in documenting their ancestry from one of the Jamestowne settlers, those courageous people who became the First Permanent English Settlers in America. Jamestowne Company members from other locations are very welcome to make reservations for and come to visit our meetings. It's a great excuse to come and visit San Antonio !