In the year 1584, two ships sailed across the Atlantic looking for a suitable settlement in which the English could stake their claim of land in North America. The ships, sent by Walter Raleigh, landed off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island, a region rumored to be rich in silver and gold. The land appeared fertile and green and the natives were hospitable, so the ships returned to England and delivered their report. Full of hope, Raleigh requested permission from Queen Elizabeth to start a colony there and name it "Virginia" in her honor, since the unmarried queen was known as the "Virgin Queen". Permission was granted and Raleigh sent about a hundred men to Roanoke to form a colony.
The colonists soon found that not only were the rumors of gold and silver false, but the soil was too sandy to farm. When their crops failed, the desperate men raided the fields of the Indians, prompting hostility. Finally, they withdrew and sailed back to England. They had been at Virginia less than a year.
Undeterred, Raleigh gathered a second group of colonists in 1587 to make a second attempt. This time he sent women and children along with the men - about 120 people. After the long voyage and delivering the colonists to Roanoke, the ship went back to England for supplies and because of the threat of the Spanish Armada, all worthy ships were required to stay in English ports for a time. When they were finally permitted to leave again, they returned to find the settlement at Roanoke destroyed and the settlers no where to be found. Their fate remains a mystery.
Following is a list of the people of the "Lost Colony" at Roanoke (sorted by last name):
*Allen, Morris
Archard, Arnold
Archard, Joyce (woman)
Archard, Thomas (child)
Arthur, Richard
*Bailie, Roger ("Assistant")
*Bennet, Marke
Berde, William
*Berrye, Henry (or Berry)
*Berrye, Richard (or Berry)
Bishop, Michael
Borden, John
*Bridger, John
Bright, John
*Brooke, John (or Brooks)
*Brown, Henry
*Browne, William
Burden, John
*Butler, Thomas
*Cage, Anthony
*Chapman, Alis (or Charman?, a woman)
*Chapman, John
*Cheven, John
Clement, William
*Colman, Thomas
*Colman, ___ (woman)
*Cooper, Christopher ("Assistant")
Cotsmur, John
*Dare, Ananias ("Assistant")
*Dare, Elyoner (woman)
*Dare, Virginia (born at Roanoke)
Darige, Richard
Dorrell, Henry
Dutton, William
Earnest, John
Ellis, Robert (child)
Ellis, Thomas
English, Edmond
Farre, John
Fernando, Simon ("Assistant")
Florrie, Charles
Gibbes, John
Glane, Elizabeth (woman)
*Gramme, Thomas (or Graham/Graeme)
*Harris, Thomas
*Harris, Thomas
*Harvie, Dyonis ("Assistant")
*Harvie, Margery (woman)
*Harvie, __ (born at Roanoke)
Hemmington, John
Hewet, Thomas
*Howe, George ("Assistant")
*Howe, George (woman)
Humfrey, Thomas (child)
Hynde, James
*Johnson, Henry
*Johnson, Nicholas
*Jones, Griffen
*Jones, Jane (woman)
*Jones, John
Kemme, Richard
*Lasie, James
Lawrence, Margaret (woman)
*Little, Peter
*Little, Robert
*Lucas, William
Mannering, Jane (woman)
Manteo, a "savage" from England
*Martyn, George (or Martin)
Merrimoth, Emme (woman)
Myllet, Michael
Mylton, Henry
Newton, Humfrey
Nicholes, William
*Pattenson, Hugh
*Payne, Henry (or Paine)
*Payne, Rose (woman)
Phevens, Thomas
*Pierce, Jane (woman)
Powel, Edward
*Powell, Winnifred (or Wenefred, a woman)
Prat, John (woman)
Prat, Roger ("Assistant")
Rufoote, Henry
*Sampson, John ("Assistant")
*Sampson, John (child)
*Scot, Thomas
Shaberdge, Richard
Smart, Tomas (child)
*Smith, Thomas
Sole, William
Spendlove, John
Starte, John
*Stevens, Thomas ("Assistant")
Stilman, John
Sutton, Martyn
Tappan, Audry (woman)
Taverner, Richard
Tayler, Hugh
*Taylor, Clement
Tomkins, Richard
Topan, Thomas
Towaye, a "savage" from England
Tydway, John
*Viccars, Ambrose (child)
*Viccars, Ambrose
*Viccars, Elizabeth (woman)
Warner, Thomas
Warren, Joan (woman)
Waters, William
*White, Cutbert
*White, John ("Governor")
Wildye, Richard
*Wilkinson, Robert
*Willes, William
*Wood, Agnes (woman)
Wotton, Lewes
*Wright, John
Wyles, Brian
Wyles, John
Wythers, William (child)
The Governor, John White, and ship captain, Simon Fernando, returned to England. George White, an Assistant to Governor White, was killed by Indians soon after the colonists arrived.
Many of the other names were found among the Indians in Robeson County, North Carolina, as late as 1888 and "the traditions of every family bearing the name of one of the lost colonists, point to Roanoke as the country of their ancestors". These names are indicated with an asterisk ("*") in the list above.
Sources and further reading:
The English voyages of the sixteenth century, by Sir Walter A. Raleigh (1861-1922), 1910. Read it free online [Link] or click here to find a copy on eBay!
Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony, by Hamilton McMillan, 1888. Read it free online [Link] or click here to find a copy on eBay!
Tour the island on Google Maps here:
UPDATE: 9/23/2021 I found this video on YouTube. If you like a good storyteller, this is your guy!