Background
Joseph West was born in England and left his wife there, when he sailed for America.
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Joseph West
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In 1669 he was made agent and storekeeper for the proprietors, deputy for the Duke of Albemarle, and placed in command of three vessels sent to settle Carolina, after the first attempt by John Yeamans failed. His selection by the proprietors for the mission shows he was a man of some importance in England. The vessels were ordered to sail by way of Barbados to Port Royal, where the new plantation was to be established. When they arrived at Barbados, Sir John Yeamans, leader of the first expedition and governor in name, joined the fleet and went as far as Bermuda, where he withdrew after appointing William Sayle governor by authority of the proprietors. Sayle, assisted by West, led the settlers to the Ashley River, and a settlement was made at Albemarle Point. When Sayle died in 1671, West was elected governor by the Council and directed the colony through a trying year, in which there was a great scarcity of provisions. Under his wise guidance, the people conserved their supplies. Each man was required to plant crops, and planting and harvesting were emphasized to the exclusion of all other occupations. He pleased the settlers in this way and also gained favor with the proprietors by obtaining the passage of a measure to authorize the payments of debts incurred in the settlement of Carolina. His authority as governor was contested in 1671 by Sir John Yeamans, who had come to the colony the preceding year. Yeamans claimed that the constitution provided that only a proprietor or a landgrave could be governor, and as a landgrave he was the only individual in the colony having the necessary qualifications. West was supported by the Council, who unanimously refused to remove him without an express order from the proprietors. In 1672 such an order was received, and Yeamans became governor. He was not popular and displeased both settlers and proprietors by his reckless exportation of foodstuffs to Barbados for his own advantage, his extravagance, and his apparent subordination of the interests of Carolina to those of Barbados. His acts contrasted unfavorably with those of West, who shone by comparison and was credited with saving the colony in the economic crisis of 1671. When Yeamans died in 1674, West was made a landgrave and returned to the governorship by the proprietors, a position he held until 1682. The center of settlement was moved in 1679 or 1680 from Albemarle Point to Oyster Point at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers and was known as New Charles Town. In 1682 the name became Charles Town and so continued for one hundred years until in 1783 it was abbreviated to Charleston. West was removed from office in 1682, accused of selling and sending slaves out of Carolina, but was reinstated in 1684. Sometime between June 15 and July 12, 1685, he left the province, and there is evidence that he went to New York and died there before 1692.
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He was married.
