THE LOST COLONY

            In August, 1587,  115 settlers arrived at Roanoke Island in what is today North Carolina.  A couple of months later, John White sailed back to England to get more supplies.  He left his daughter and his granddaughter Virginia Dare.  Virginia was the first English child born in America.  Unfortunately, when White arrived in England, it had just declared war.  Queen Elizabeth I needed every ship to face the Spanish Armada.  It was not until three years later that White was able to sail back to Roanoke.  He found an abandoned settlement and no colonists.  The homes had been dismantled as if in preparation for relocation, but the pieces remained on the ground, along with tools and farming equipment.  The only clues were the word CRO carved on a tree trunk and CROATOAN on a log of the fort.  This seemingly referred to either a nearby island of that name or the tribe that lived on that island.  White sailed to search the island, but a hurricane blew him off course and he returned to England.  There he was unable to raise the finances to return to search for his family.  In 1607, Jamestown was founded and rumors about the Roanoke settlers were heard.  One reported that English-looking slaves were seen in a nearby tribe.  Another story had it that there was a tribe of Indians with English traits somewhere to the west.  There are various theories to explain the mystery.  They may have set sailed for England and perished at sea.  They may have been wiped out by hostile Indians or raiding Spanish (although the condition of the fort does not evidence a fight).  They might have moved inland and joined a tribe.  The most logical explanation is that they went to the island of Croatoan to live with the friendly Croatoan tribe.  They were gradually assimilated.

            –  Amazing 645-7

            –  https://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-the-lost-colony-of-roanoke

The Baptism of Virginia Dare