Eleanor Dare facts for kids

Eleanor Dare (born Eleanor White) was a member of the famous Roanoke Colony. She was born around 1568 in Westminster, London, England. Eleanor was the daughter of John White, who was the governor of the colony.

We don't know much about Eleanor's life. But we know more about her than most of the other sixteen women who traveled from England in 1587. She married Ananias Dare.

Eleanor gave birth to their daughter, Virginia Dare, on Roanoke Island. This island is now part of North Carolina. Virginia was the first child of English parents born in North America. She was born on August 18, 1587, soon after the colonists arrived. Eleanor Dare, along with everyone else in the "Lost Colony," disappeared. This happened during the two years before her father, John White, returned with supplies from England.

The Mystery of the Lost Roanoke Colony

The Roanoke Colony is famous for its mysterious disappearance. In 1607, John Smith and other members of the Jamestown Colony tried to find out what happened.

What Happened to the Colonists?

One report suggested the Lost Colonists found safety with friendly Chesapeake Native American tribes. However, Chief Powhatan claimed his tribe attacked the group. He said most of the colonists were killed. Powhatan showed Smith some items he said belonged to the colonists. These included a musket barrel and a brass mortar.

The Jamestown Colony heard reports of some survivors. They sent out search parties, but none found the colonists. Eventually, they thought all the early colonists had died.

New Ideas About the Lost Colony

In her 2000 book, Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony, anthropologist Lee Miller shared new ideas. She thought some Lost Colony survivors found shelter with the Chowanoc tribe. Another tribe, called the "Mandoag" by the Jamestown Colony, attacked the Chowanoc. Miller believed these were the Eno people.

Survivors were supposedly sold into slavery. They were held captive by different groups of the Eno tribe. The Eno were known for trading slaves. Miller wrote that English settlers in Jamestown heard about captive Englishmen in 1609. But these reports were kept quiet. The settlers had no way to rescue the captives. They also didn't want to scare the Jamestown colonists.

William Strachey, a secretary for the Jamestown Colony, wrote about the Roanoke settlers in 1612. He said that at some Native American settlements, there were two-story houses with stone walls. These houses were built in the English style. The Native Americans supposedly learned how to build them from the Roanoke settlers.

There were also reports of European captives at different Native American settlements. Strachey wrote that four English men, two boys, and one girl were seen at an Eno settlement. They were protected by a chief named Eyanoco. These captives were forced to work with copper. He reported that they had escaped the attack on the other colonists. They then fled up the Choanoke River, which is now the Chowan River in North Carolina.

Possible Descendants of the Colonists

Over time, the Chowanoc tribe joined with the Tuscarora. The Eno tribe also joined with the Shakori and later with the Catawba or Saponi tribes.

From the early 1600s to the mid-1700s, European colonists met Native Americans with gray eyes. Some also met Native Americans who spoke Welsh. These groups claimed to be descendants of the Roanoke colonists.

In 1669, a Welsh preacher named Morgan Jones was captured by the Tuscarora. He was afraid, but a visiting Doeg warrior spoke to him in Welsh. The warrior promised he would not be killed. The Doeg warrior helped Jones and his group get free. Jones stayed with their tribe for months as a preacher.

In 1701, a surveyor named John Lawson met members of the Hatteras tribe on Roanoke Island. They said some of their ancestors were white people. Lawson wrote that several Hatteras tribesmen had gray eyes.

Today, some Native American tribes in North Carolina and South Carolina claim to be partly descended from the Roanoke colonists. These include the Coree and the Lumbee tribes. A group called the Lost Colony Center for Science and Research has started a Lost Colony DNA Project. They are testing people who might be descendants.

The Eleanor Dare Stones

From 1937 to 1941, some carved stones called the "Dare Stones" were in the news. People claimed these stones were found in northern Georgia and the Carolinas.

The first stone supposedly announced the death of Eleanor's daughter, Virginia Dare, and her husband, Ananias Dare. It said they were killed by "savages" in 1591. Other stones described Eleanor later marrying a Native American and her own death.

Most of these stones were proven to be fake in 1941. However, some experts still believe that the very first "Dare Stone" might be real.

Images for kids

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  St Bride's Church Fleet Street, where Eleanor Dare was married.

See also

• List of colonists at Roanoke
• List of people who disappeared