Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet

Sir John Colleton, 1st Baronet (1608–1666) served Charles I during the English Civil War. He rose through the Royalist ranks during the conflict, but later had his holdings seized when the Cavaliers were finally defeated by Parliamentary forces. Following the restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, Colleton was one of eight individuals Charles II rewarded for supporting his efforts to regain the throne of England.

In 1663, he granted Colleton and the other seven individuals, called Lords Proprietors, the land called Carolina, named in honor of his father, Charles I. Colleton brought a group of settlers from the Caribbean Isle of Barbados, who brought with them slaves from Africa. These settlers also introduced the cultivation of rice to the area.

Colleton County, South Carolina, is named after him.

Family
Colleton's family connections with America continued after his death. He had three sons: Peter, Thomas and James who were given the titles of Landgrave, pre-Revolutionary, English colonial titles of nobility in the lowcountry of South Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. One of his great grandsons Charles Garth MP was Colonial Agent for South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland, between 1763 and 1765 and another, General George Garth fought for the British in the American Revolutionary war.