A very good friend of mine in England came up with this translation. I believe the stone is authentic: Renee, I suspect the "experts" were American speakers not English ones :-) Points:   Menage is not many . It is (still in modern french)  the household. (Menage a trois eg. ) She is talking about the people in the outfit who came off the ship  together with 24 indians. fain means reluctant surely? Try this. Is there a date? Was this the Roanoke colony in Va.? I thought that nothing had been found there? It's a good step from Hereford mind ;-)) Bryan Dad, soon after you set off for England,we moved here. It has been only misery and fighting for two years now. In less than two years after your departure more than half  had died of  disease. You will remember that there  were twenty-four indians together with our group from the ship. Soon , the indians became  frightened that their gods would punish  them ( for befriending the white heathens maybe ?) and deserted us would you believe? But they then  decided to appease their gods by returning and  killing us . They murdered all but eleven of us including my child Ananias. Grief stricken though we were we survivors gave them all a decent burial on a hill top four miles east along the river from here. We inscribed all their names on a stone and I will leave this message with it for you. I have bribed an indian with the promise of a huge reward to show you this message .... Original text: "Father soone After yov goe for Englande we cam hither/ onlie misarie & > warre-tow yeare/ Above halfe DeaDe ere tow yeere moore from sickenes > beine > fovre & twentie/ salvage with menage of shipp vnto vs/ smal space of > time > they affrite of revenge rann al awaye/ wee bleeve yt nott you/ soone > after > ye salvages faine spirts angrie/ suddiane mvrther al save leaven/ mine > childe-ananias to slaine wth mvch misarie-/bvrie al neere fovre myles > easte > this river vppon smal hil/ names writ al ther on rocke/pvtt this ther > alsoe/ > salvage shew this vnto yov & hither wee promise yov to give greate > plentie > presents E W D > > The bars in the text represent conjectural sen-tence divisions.