Christopher Levett
| Capt. Christopher Levett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Christopher Levett 5 April 1586 York, England |
| Died | 1630 (aged 43–44) aboard the Porcupine, Atlantic ocean |
| Resting place | buried at sea |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | English naval captain, explorer, author |
| Known for | explorer of New England; granted 6,000 acres to settle Colony of York (now Portland, Maine), 15 May 1623 |
| Title | Captain; His Majesty's Woodward of Somersetshire; Principal, Plymouth Council for New England |
| Spouse(s) | Mercy Levett (née More); Frances Levett (née Lottisham) |
| Children | Sarah Levett Hitch; Mary Levett; Rev. Jeremiah Levett; Timothy Levett; Elizabeth Levett |
| Parent(s) | Percival Levett, Elizabeth (née Rotherforth) Levett |
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Capt. Christopher Levett (1586 – 1630) was an English writer, explorer and naval captain, born at York, England. He explored the coast of New England and secured a grant from the King to settle present-day Portland, Maine, the first European to do so. Levett left behind a group of settlers at his Maine plantation in Casco Bay, but they were never heard from again. Their fate is unknown. As a member of the Plymouth Council for New England, Levett was named the Governor of Plymouth in 1623 and a close adviser to Capt. Robert Gorges in his attempt to found an early English colony at Weymouth, Massachusetts, which also failed. Levett was also named an early governor of Virginia in 1628, according to Parliamentary records at Whitehall.
Levett was the son of Elizabeth and Percival Levett, a York merchant and innkeeper, and was admitted a freeman of York as a merchant himself. Levett was also admitted to the Company of Merchant Adventurers in the City of York, along with his brother Percival. There is evidence that the English attempts to colonise North America caught Levett's interest even while a York merchant. Rev. Alexander Whitaker, an early Anglican minister and English immigrant to the Virginia Colony made note in his will of 1610 that he owed a debt of some £5 to "Christopher Levite, a linen draper of the city of York."
Perhaps Levett's contact with Whitaker and other Englishmen stoked his zeal to become an explorer. Levett apparently grew restless, and instead turned his sights towards a career as an explorer. He served as His Majesty's Woodward of Somersetshire to King James I, and wrote a tract on timber harvesting that became the standard for selection of trees for the Royal Navy.
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