By: Elyssa Creef

Primary Documents Final

Project

The Beginning

On July, 1585 a group of 115 men, women, and children landed on Roanoke Island, a 36 square-mile island just inside of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. There landing in the New World was to establish the first English colony. On August 18, 1587 Eleanor Dare gave birth to the first English child born on American land, Virginia Dare.

The Middle The leader of the colony, John White,

departed from the colony on ten days after the birth of his granddaughter to get supplies for the colony. He would not return to see the faces of his daughter or granddaughter ever again. Upon him arriving in England, White found himself trapped by the invasion of the Spanish Armada. He would not get the chance to leave to go back the colony until two years later, returning on his granddaughters birthday August 18, 1590.

The EndWhen White landed on Roanoke Island on

August 18, 1590 the colony was abounded. The colony was just destroyed remains of what use top be the first English Colony. The only thing that White found of any evidence of what had happed was on one of the palisades. The single word "CROATOAN" was carved into the surface of it. And the letters "CRO" carved into a nearby tree. The 117 pioneers of Roanoke Island had vanished into the wilderness.

Theories of What Happened“Soon after the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, neighboring

Indians told the new colonists stories of white skinned people with houses of stone living in the interior regions or of “men like thee” living with other tribes. Similar reports of white skinned people living among Indians continued throughout the 1600s and 1700s. In 1709, historian John Lawson reported that the Hatteras (Croatoan) Indians “tell us, that several of their Ancestors were white People…..the Truth of which is confirmed by gray eyes being found frequently among these Indians, and no others.”Today’s Lumbee tribe of North Carolina, who are thought to be the descendants of the Croatoans, have always maintained that their ancestors include the Roanoke planters. Their claims have been supported by some historical researchers who point to the English sounding words and names that have been used by the Lumbees for several centuries. Other authorities, such as the late British historian, David Beers Quinn, have concluded that the colonists most likely went northward to the Chesapeake Bay area.”-John k. Davis

Cite Sources Davis , John K. "The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island." American History . 3 Jan. 2009. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.Hause, Eric. "The Lost Colony ." History of Roanoke Island . http://www.roanoke-island.com/history.html, 7 July 2007. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.