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New Kent County, Virginia
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==History== New Kent County was established in 1654, as the Virginia General Assembly with the governor's consent split [[York County, Virginia|York County]].<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1914974|title=Notes from the Records of York County|date=April 5, 2018|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|volume=22|issue=2|pages=73β89|doi=10.2307/1914974}}</ref> The county's name originated because several prominent inhabitants, including [[William Claiborne]], recently had been forced from their settlement at [[Kent Island, Maryland]], by [[Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore|Lord Baltimore]] upon the formation of [[Maryland]].<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1923023|title=William Claiborne of Kent Island|first=J. Herbert|last=Claiborne|date=April 5, 2018|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|volume=1|issue=2|pages=74β99|doi=10.2307/1923023}}</ref> Claiborne had named the island for his birthplace in [[Kent]], England. [[Chickahominy (tribe)|Chickahominy]] and [[Pamunkey]] Native Americans frequented this area, as well as nearby [[Charles City County, Virginia|Charles City County]] and [[King William County, Virginia|King William County]], and both tribes remain well-established in this area. The county had two parishes in the colonial era, initially called Blisland (which also included the older [[James City County, Virginia|James City County]] as well as York County) and [[St. Peter's Church (Talleysville, Virginia)|St. Peter's]]. Among the earliest settlers was Nicholas Gentry, who settled in New Kent in 1684. Parish registers of St. Peter's Parish show that Nicholas Gentry's daughter was baptized in the church in 1687.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbhYAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gentry+family%22+virginia&pg=PA227|title=The Gentry family in America: 1676 to 1909, including notes on the following families related to the Gentrys: Claiborne, Harris, Hawkins, Robinson, Smith, Wyatt, Sharp, Fulkerson, Butler, Bush, Blythe, Pabody, Noble, Haggard, and Tindall|first=Richard|last=Gentry|date=April 5, 2018|publisher=Printed for the author by the Grafton press|access-date=April 5, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1719 the Virginia General Assembly split New Kent County, and what had been established St. Paul's Parish became [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover County]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stpaulshanover.org/our-history.html|title=OUR HISTORY|website=St. Paul's Episcopal Church|language=en|access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The vestry book of St. Paul's parish, Hanover county, Virginia, 1706-1786.|last=St. Paul's parish, Hanover co., Va.St. Paul's parish, Hanover co., Va.|year=1940|publisher=Richmond,Division of purchase and printing, 1940|url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015011026666|pages=595|hdl=2027/mdp.39015011026666}}</ref> New Kent county's first brick courthouse was built by 1695, but it and two successors were destroyed in 1753 and 1775. Another fire in 1783 destroyed the clerk's office and jail, so few colonial era non-religious records remain. However, a manual entitled "The Office and Authority of a Justice of Peace" published in 1736 by county court justice George Webb, the son of London merchant Conrad Webb and whose son Lewis Webb would briefly represent New Kent county in the House of Burgesses and later in the House of Delegates during the American Revolutionary War.<ref>Lyon Gardiner Tyler, (1915) vol. 1 pp. 354-355</ref> Perhaps the county's most noteworthy patriot during the conflict was [[James Armistead Lafayett|James]], an enslaved man who became a double agent, and whose reports to the Marquis de Lafayette helped secure victory during the [[Siege of Yorktown]] months after British troops led by Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis passed through the county seat (and raided local plantations) in June 1781. In addition to men who enlisted in the army, New Kent county also established an American military hospital during the conflict. As the result of arson confessed to by John Price Posey and Thomas Green, and allegedly involving "a negro boy belonging to W. Chamberlayne", many later county records were burned, making identifying relationships between family members difficult.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1915053|title=New Kent County|date=April 5, 1895|journal=The William and Mary Quarterly|volume=4|issue=2|pages=115β116|doi=10.2307/1915053}}</ref> Two [[First Lady of the United States|first ladies]] β [[Martha Washington]] and [[Letitia Christian Tyler]] β were born in New Kent County. The church where George and Martha Washington are believed to have been wed, [[St. Peter's Church (Talleysville, Virginia)|St. Peter's]], still holds services today. Confederate and Union troops fought in as well as passed through New Kent County during the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. The [[Battle of New Market Heights]] in September 1864 proved a crucial victory as Federal forces pushed toward the capitol in the [[Richmond-Petersburg Campaign]]. A later courthouse, damaged during the Civil War, was replaced in 1909. During the state's [[Massive Resistance]] crisis in the 1960s, the United States Supreme Court decision in ''[[Green v. County School Board of New Kent County]]'' (1968) limited the use of [[freedom of choice]] plans at publicly funded schools, where the actual operation of such plans delayed racial desegregation. The historical ties to Hampton Roads stem from its location and the shared history of Virginia's colonial past. The region, known for its military bases, shipyards, and as a commercial and cultural hub, influences the surrounding counties, including New Kent. The proximity to Hampton Roads has led to economic and demographic growth in the county, with residents often commuting to the larger cities such as Newport News and Norfolk for work while enjoying the quieter, rural life that New Kent offers. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau, which considers both New Kent County and Hanover County part of the Richmond metropolitan area (although it also is considered part of the Hampton Roads Region), rated New Kent County among the top 100 fastest-growing counties in the U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/counties/CO-EST2006-08.html|title=100 Fastest Growing Counties|publisher=US Census Bureau}}</ref>
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