On this day, 400 years ago, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Richard Pace saved Jamestown.

I’m a direct descendent of Richard Pace (1585-1623) on my mother’s side. Richard and Isabella Pace were “ancient planters” who met and married in England before emigrating to the Virginia colony in 1616. (This was nine years after the founding of Jamestown, and a good four years before the Mayflower pilgrims landed in Massachusetts at Plymouth Rock.) After receiving a patent for land, Richard and Isabella settled on a 100-acre tract across the James river from Jamestown, Virginia. They called their homestead “Pace’s Paines.”

Pace befriended the local natives—in particular, a young man from the Powhatan tribe named Chanco. After Chanco converted to Christianity, the Paces invited him to live on their farm. He learned English, worked and worshipped with the family, and was treated as an adopted son.

In March 1622 Chief Opechancanough of the Powhatan tribe decided it was time to wipe out the European settlers. (Powhatan himself, known in legend and Disney movies as the father of Pocahontas, had died in 1618.) According to the Encyclopedia Virginia:

Opechancanough was paramount chief of Tsenacomoco, a political alliance of Virginia Indians, and famously led massive assaults against the English colonists in 1622 and 1644. The younger brother (or cousin) of Powhatan, who was paramount chief at the time of the Jamestown landing in 1607, Opechancanough was possibly chief of the Youghtanund Indians and, as such, protected one of Tsenacomoco’s most critical territories.

Tsenacomoco sent another young Indian, reportedly Chanco’s own brother, to visit Pace’s homestead. The visitor brought instructions from Tsenacomoco commanding Chanco to kill his adoptive family the next day. Instead, Chanco warned Richard Pace of Tsenacomoco’s plans.

Pace crossed the river to raise the alarm. From an account by Captain John Smith: “Pace upon this, securing his house, before day rowed to James Towne, and told the Governor of it, whereby they were prevented, and at such other Plantations as possibly intelligence could be given: and where they saw us upon our guard, at the sight of a peece they ranne away; but the rest were most slaine, their houses burnt, such Armes and Munition as they found they tooke away, and some cattell also they destroyed.”

Richard Pace’s warning bought the colonists time to fortify their defenses and call in settlers from outlying farms. Though the Indians managed to kill almost 350 settlers in the raid, Jamestown (and the Virginia colony) survived.

From William Stith’s history of the Virginia colony:

“This Slaughter was a deep and grievous Wound to the yet weak and Infant Colony; but it would have been much more general, and almost universal, if God had not put it into the Heart of a converted Indian, to make a Discovery. This Convert, whose name was Chanco, lived with one Richard Pace, who treated him, as his own Son.”

And that’s how my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather saved Jamestown. Again, in the words of Captain Smith:

“…And thus them that escaped was saved by this one converted Infidell. And though three hundred fortie seven were slaine, yet thousands of ours were by the meanes of this alone thus preserved, for which Gods name be praised for ever and ever.”