I could not have been nine years old when I went to Roanoke, North Carolina, for the first time. Part of our homeschool curriculum when it came to history was traveling to places where history took place, and one of the first trips we took as a family was to Roanoke, North Carolina. I remember going to the museum, where they had information about the colony. They had a dress-up box with costumes from the period. I also remember driving along the coast and wondering what the colonists on that ship thought and felt as they sailed to North Carolina. It was a rainy day, and the weather was not great. I wondered what the weather was like when they landed on the foreign shore. Not long after that trip, I dressed up as the mother of Virginia Dare for a homeschool co-op presentation and spoke about the history of Roanoke. We went to see a play about the lost colony, and I remember being my typical inquisitive and demanding regarding historical details. I don’t know what detail irked me; there was something about Eleanor Dare’s love life. I do remember liking the play, and I believe it ended with the surviving colonists going to live with Croatan native americans.
My mom talked to me about John Lawson, an early explorer who reported seeing grey-eyed native Americans among the inhabitants of Hatters Island. We also covered the theories of O.M. McPherson, and it bothered me that there was never a satisfying conclusion. As an adult, I wonder if they could do DNA testing on the descendants of Croatan Native Americans, similar to the DNA analysis that was done to confirm the remains of Richard the 3rd. They used mitochondrial DNA passed down through the maternal line, which would be very conducive. Still, I don’t know if they could isolate where precisely in the family tree the DNA was introduced for both parties that, in theory, would be contributing DNA. My interest in historical mysteries has also grown. My other consummate obsession is the prince in the tower, which I did a blog post about within the last year regarding the most recent archival findings that suggest the princes were killed by Richard the 3rd.
I have stayed up to date on the archeological digs that have been done periodically on the island. I was delighted when I heard that a recent dig on Hatters Island had found interesting items that were believed to have been from the period of the colony of Roanoke. The handle of a sword and a Tudor rose were found. The arguments made by the historians on the dig were that no one after Elizabeth the Reign of the First would wear a Tudor rose because Elizabeth the First was responsible for Mary, Queen of Scot’s death, and her son was the one who reigned after Elizabeth the First. as for the sword handle, it was suggested that the sabers were items that would not have been traded, but treated as items of the highest value.
There’s also the recent finding of remains of what archeologists believe was wasted metal from the blacksmithing process. Not everyone agrees that it’s proof. One of my favorite things about historical mysteries is that we can continue to look for evidence and try to make sense of what we don’t understand from the past. I often wonder why the mystery of the colonists from Roanoke has persisted. The idea that over a hundred people could disappear is disturbing for us in modern times. We all would hope that if we disappeared and our loved ones came to look for us like John White did, there would be something left behind to help them find us or at least discover our fate.
For decades, imagining the people at the center of this story has held my attention. John White left his daughter, son-in-law, and newly born granddaughter to seek help back home. He was delayed by war but returned when he could. He never saw his family again. I can’t imagine returning to England, not having found anything of his daughter and granddaughter. I would have woken up every haunted, hoping to learn something to ease my worry. I believe the evidence suggests that the colonists moved to live with the Croatans, which is compelling. At its heart, history is made up of stories about people, and the pain they experienced is not that different from the pain we experience today.
Sources:
https://rla.unc.edu/archives/accounts/lawson/LawsonText4.html
Living on the Spectrum 
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