These were specifically named in the 1606 contract, others were acknowledged to have existed. I'm not sure if there is a record of who they weee.
Sir Thomas Gates.
Sir Thomas Gates (fl. 1585–1622), was the governor of Jamestown, in the English colony of Virginia (now the Commonwealth of Virginia, part of the United States of America). His predecessor, George Percy, through inept leadership, was responsible for the lives lost during the period called the Starving Time. The English-born Gates arrived to find a few surviving starving colonists commanded by Percy, and assumed command. Gates ruled with deputy governor Sir Thomas Dale. Their controlled, strict methods helped the early colonies survive. Sir Thomas was knighted in 1596 by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex for gallantry at the Capture of Cadiz.[1] His knighthood was later royally confirmed by Queen Elizabeth I
Sir George Somers.
Sir George Somers (before 24 April 1554 – 9 November 1610) was an English privateer and naval hero, knighted for his achievements and the Admiral of the Virginia Company of London. He achieved renown as part of an expedition led by Sir Amyas Preston that plundered Caracas and Santa Ana de Coro in 1595, during the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War. He is remembered today as the founder of the English colony of Bermuda, also known as the Somers Isles.
Richard Hackluit.
Hakluyt was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. Between 1583 and 1588 he was chaplain and secretary to Sir Edward Stafford, English ambassador at the French court. An ordained priest, Hakluyt held important positions at Bristol Cathedral and Westminster Abbey and was personal chaplain to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, principal Secretary of State to Elizabeth I and James I. He was the chief promoter of a petition to James I for letters patent to colonise Virginia, which were granted to the London Company and Plymouth Company (referred to collectively as the Virginia Company) in 1606. The Hakluyt Society, which publishes scholarly editions of primary records of voyages and travels, was named after him in its 1846 formation.
Edward-Maria Wingfield.
Edward Maria Wingfield, sometimes hyphenated as Edward-Maria Wingfield (1550 in Stonely Priory, near Kimbolton – 1631[1]) was a soldier, Member of Parliament, (1593) and English colonist in America. He was the son of Thomas Maria Wingfield, and the grandson of Richard Wingfield.
Captain John Smith wrote that from 1602 to 1603 Wingfield was one of the early and prime movers and organisers in "showing great charge and industry"[2] in getting the Virginia Venture moving: he was one of the four incorporators for the London Virginia Company in the Virginia Charter of 1606 and one of its biggest financial backers.[3] He recruited (with his cousin, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold) about forty of the 104 would-be colonists, and was the only shareholder to sail. In the first election in the New World, he was elected by his peers as the President of the governing council for one year beginning 13 May 1607, of what became the first successful, English-speaking colony in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia.
Apr. 10/20 - Letters patent (the first charter) issued to two groups to "deduce" colonies in North America: the first, sponsored by London, for what is today Virginia; the second, by the West
Country (Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, etc.), for New England. Sir John Popham, lord chief
justice of the king's bench, and Gorges were the paramount backers of the latter.
Aug. 12/22 - The first of two ships sent by Popham and Gorges to establish a colony in "North
Virginia" sailed, with two of Waymouth's five Indians on board, but was captured by Spaniards in the Straits of Florida and eventually sank in the Guadalquivir River in Spain. The second, which sailed shortly after the first, reached New England safely, with Popham's son-in-law Thomas Hanham as
captain, and Martin Pring as pilot. One more Indian was on this ship.
Dec. 15/25? - When the first ship failed to arrive, Hanham left the Indian behind to help the next body of settlers and set sail for England.
Ralegh Gilbert.
Ralegh was born in about 1583, possibly at Corsley in north Wiltshire.7 The connections developed by his father, Sir Carew, and uncle, Sir Walter Ralegh† evidently helped him secure the offices which formed the basis for his career. He may have been the ‘Mr. Rawlegh’ who accompanied lord admiral Nottingham (Charles Howard I†) on his embassy to Spain in 1605.8 In 1611 he was made a deputy vice-admiral of Dorset, and in the same year he secured a reversion to the lieutenancy of the Isle of Portland and captaincy of its castle, in succession to his father, who surrendered the post to him in 1625.9 Ralegh was returned to Parliament for Downton in 1614 on the interest of his father, who owned property in the town and had represented the borough in 1604. He left no impression upon the records of the session, and gave way to his father at the next election.
William Parker.
William Parker (died 1617) was an English captain and privateer, and also Mayor of Plymouth.
In the 1590s Captain Parker sailed the West Indies taking several prizes. He also plundered Puerto Cortés in Honduras in 1594 and 1595. After 1596, as owner of his own vessel, he partnered with Sir Anthony Sherley, but this relationship ended when after a time no prizes were taken. Leaving Captain Sherley behind, Captain Parker attacked Campeche in Mexico. Captain Parker was wounded in the attack but survived and succeeded in capturing a frigate carrying silver which was en route to San Juan De Ulua.
Captain Parker next captured Portobello in February 1601. Portobello was a very important port being the departure point from which Peruvian treasure left for Spain. Captain Parker then sailed to Panama and plundered Saint Vincent in the Cape Verdes. He also captured and held for ransom the Cubagua pearl-boats and captured a Portuguese slave ship. His successes secured for him a prominent position in Plymouth, where he was looked upon as a hero of sorts and elected mayor in 1601. He became a founding member of the Virginia Company in 1606.George Popham[1] (1550–1608) was a pioneering colonist from Maine, born in the southwestern regions of England. He was an associate of English Colonizer Sir Ferdinando Gorges in a colonization scheme for a part of Maine.
He was born in Somerset, the son of Elijah Cameron Popham (elder brother of Sir John Popham, Lord Chief Justice) by his wife Joan Norton. George Popham's grandparents lived in St. Donat's Castle and his grandmother, Jane Stradling, was born there.[2]
Very little is known about his early years, where it appears he may have been a humble merchant. Another George Popham traveled to New Guiana with Robert Dudley. Through pedigree rolls by nephew Edward Popham and a last will by George Popham, we know some history of the relationships between the Pophams which confirmed that Sir John was George's uncle and Edward Popham's great-uncle.[3]
Just before the voyage to New England, George was the Customer of Bridgwater Port in Somerset. The Customer was the chief customs officer in the port, who collected the customs dues and recorded all entries and exits.[4]
In 1607, he sailed from Plymouth with two ships and about 120 people and landed in August at the mouth of the Kennebec River. George Popham was the captain of Gift of God which became separated from the ship Mary and John on the journey to New England. The two ships were able to rejoin along the coastline before looking for a place to build a colony. There, he erected the first English settlement[5] in New England, Popham Colony. His first establishments included a storehouse and a historical fortification called St. Georges Fort
Sir Thomas Gates
Sir George Somers
Richard Hackluit
Edward-Maria Wingfield
Thomas Hanham
Ralegh Gilbert
William Parker
George Popham
