Thomas Dale in present-day Northampton County near Cape Charles. Governor Dale sailed back to England in the spring of 1616 aboard the "Treasurer". Accompanying him on what was considered an investor-relations journey were John Rolfe, his wife Rebecca (Pocahontas) and their one-year-old son, Thomas Rolfe. Samuel Argall commanded that ship. Queen Anne and others were reportedly charmed by Rebecca, and investment in the Virginia Company was enhanced. However, soon after leaving London, as John Rolfe and his wife sailed down the Thames River, Rebecca became very ill and died on 21 March 1617 before returning to Virginia. Although Dale and Pocahontas were
Gravesend waylaying a regular steamer (whilst under way in the Lower Hope, off Gravesend) bound for Hamburg. (Gravesend also appears in "The Pickwick Papers"). Gravesend is briefly mentioned in the 1818 novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley during Victor's travels through the United Kingdom with Clerval; ultimately culminating in Victor's residence in the Orkney Islands. Also in the 1902 novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad the narrator has dark aired Gravesend as the perspective from which we continue our gaze of a sky that is mournfully gloomy over London. Waiting for the tide near the shores of Gravesend is the setting