Downtown in Hampton, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Virginia Laydon
The First Surviving Child Born in Virginia to English Parents
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
1. Virginia Laydon Marker
We Remember
Virginia Laydon
The First Surviving Child Born in Virginia to English Parents
Member of this Parish
Virginia Laydon was born about 1609, the first child of Anne Burras Laydon and John Layton.
Anne Burras, age 14, came to Jamestown as maid to Mistress Lucy Forrest in 1608.
John Laydon, a carpenter, had arrived in 1607 aboard the Susan Constant. They were wed at Jamestown.
And the first white wedding held on Virginia ground
Will marry no courtly dame to a cavalier
But Anne Burras, ladys maid, to John Laydon, laborer,
After some six weeks courtship a Fall wedding
When the leaves were turning red and the wild air sweet.
Western Star
Stephen Vincent Benet
The union prospered and was blessed with three more daughters. The Laydons acquired land in the Kikotan (Hampton) area and in 1625 are listed among the residents of Elizabeth City Parish.
The circle of time is now complete. Jacob Heffelinger, former Union soldier and well known member of this church wrote a history of the Town and Parish ion the occasion of its 300th anniversary in 1910 recommending the erection in the parish of a suitable memorial to the first Virginia Family.
Crafted
this page online
Dedicated May 1, 1986
Erected 1986.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Colonial Era • Religion & Religious Structures • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is May 1, 1677.
Location. 37° 1.556′ N, 76° 20.807′ W. Marker is in Hampton, Virginia. It is in Downtown. It can be reached from the intersection of West Queens Way and High Court Lane. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Hampton VA 23669, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Peninsula and in Coastal Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Elizabeth City Parish (a few steps from this marker); St. Johns Church (a few steps from this marker); Hampton Confederate Monument (a few steps from this marker); Hannah Nicholson Tunnell (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named St. John's Church (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named St. John's Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Founders And Patriots Buried In This Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); War of 1812 Veterans Interred or Memorialized in this Historic Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hampton.
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
2. Virginia Laydon Memorial
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, July 31, 2010
3. St. John's Church Graveyard
Credits. This page was last revised on February 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 1, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 7,438 times since then and 306 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 1, 2010, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
