The following is being posted at the request of another researcher. He is exploring the mystery of the Lost Colony in our country. Perhaps it will be of interest to some of our list members. Thanks, Martha Wooten Solomon ----------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick A. Payne 12617 Cleydael Blvd. King George, Virginia 22485 (540) 775-4147 ppayne1203@earthlink.net A case for solving the Mystery of the “Lost Colony.” See web site at http://papayne.rootsweb.com/Lost-Colony I am sure that everyone is familiar to some degree with Sir Walter Ralegh’s “Lost Colony” that has become engrained in our American folklore and is our countries most enduring mystery. Under Governor John White, 150 men, women and children, set out on May 8th, 1587, from Plymouth, England, for the new Virginia colony. On August 27th, at the request of the colonists, the Governor, and one other man, departed from the colony to return to England for badly needed supplies and support. No white man was to ever see these colonists again. For over 400 years, many theories have been put forth as to what became of the colonists, but none of these have solved the mystery as proof is lacking to support them. Among these theories, it has been claimed that the colonists had either been massacred by the local Indian population or by the Spanish. Yet no remains have ever been found to indicate that this occurred. In fact, the evidence points to an orderly abandonment of the colony. They had taken the time to pull down the structures they had erected and to bury the personal items of Governor White, as they had agreed to do before his departure. They had even left the marks of “CRO” and “CROATOAN,” without the cross as a sign of distress, which they had also agreed upon with Governor White. As a result, the prevailing conclusion is that the colonists had simple removed themselves from Roanoke Island to some other place. Many believe that they had either sought to join with the Croatoan Indians or that Croatoan indicated a place rather than a people. There are those that believe the traditions held by the Lumbee and other Indian Tribes that they are descendants of the Lost Colonists who had assimilated into their population. The Lumbee tradition is particularly interesting and long-standing, while researchers have also suggested other Tribes as the possible haven for the colonists. With this brief narrative of the problem confronting historians who would solve the mystery of the Lost Colony, I would like to acquaint you with a possible solution that I am now undertaking. You, or perhaps someone you know, may be able to assist in this effort by participating in this project. In January of 2002, I coordinated a Payne family DNA project in an effort to determine if there was any genetic evidence to support my research indicating that some of our 17th century Payne families, which came to America at that early date, had been related. The project met with a great deal of success [http://home.earthlink.net/~ppayne1203]. During the process, however, it occurred to me that we also had the opportunity to perhaps solve some of the questions surrounding the Lost Colony, as one of the colonists in 1587 had been a Henry Payne. There are claims among Native American Tribes that they are descendants of the 1587 colonists- particularly of Henry Payne among the Lumbee. Researchers and historians have also suggested other Tribes. Because of this, it was my hope to locate a Lumbee to include in our Payne family DNA testing. The idea behind including a Native American in our DNA testing is that all males (regardless of race) inherit the Y-chromosome of their fathers, and they from their fathers, and so on. The Y-chromosome remains virtually unchanged as it is passed on from father-to-son in successive generations. Therefore, if a Native American could be identified to have a Y-chromosome that matches the Y-chromosome of a participant of European descent, we could conclude that, at least in this case, some Native American's do indeed descend from the Roanoke colonists. It is a bit more complicated than this, but this will do for an introduction. If you would like more details, visit the web site above or http://www.contexo.info/DNA_links.htm. I was unable to locate a Lumbee with the surname Payne (although there are apparently at least a few- and I did not make a thorough search at the time), it occurred to me that it is not necessary to limit my search to a Payne, or a surname, or even to a Lumbee. It could be any Lumbee or other Native American Tribe member from which there are traditions or claims of descent from the Roanoke colonists. The Y-chromosome of select Native Americans could then be compared with participants of European ancestry who have the most likely chance of belonging to the same family lines from which the Roanoke colonists derived to see if a match exists, indicating that both shared a common ancestor. Such a match would provide our first scientific proof that the Roanoke colonists not only survived, but that they had left descendants among the Native American population. I believe that this is a very worthy research effort and one that should spark a great deal of interest and support. But it is one that will require the participation of many people. Therefore, I am initiating a search for potential participants using a variety of methods, including posting this information to rootsweb mailing lists. I realize that there are likely other mailing lists for many of the surnames in the list below, and I would ask that if anyone has knowledge of other lists, or is in contact with anyone that may have an interest in this project, please forward a copy of this to them. The first requirement for this project to succeed will be to identify suitable candidates for DNA testing among European descendants with the surnames present at the 1587 colony. A list of those surnames is included below. Ideally, I will be looking for individuals who have traced their ancestry to early colonial America from England whose ancestors had been associated with other surnames present at the Roanoke colony. For example, my research indicates that over 50% of the surnames present at Roanoke were also present at the later Virginia colony, beginning with Jamestown in 1608. Like the Roanoke colonists, whom historians have concluded were largely kinsmen and friends, these surnames that later appear in the Virginia colony, can also be associated as kinsmen and friends in some cases. So I will be looking closely at the genealogy of these families in an attempt to find such associations when making selections for DNA testing. I should mention that this DNA testing is simple and painless. The participant collects the DNA sample by simply using a cotton swab on the inside of the cheek. Also, confidentiality will be of the utmost concern and identities protected. As you scan the list of surnames below, consider what you know about your genealogy and see if any of the surnames in the list correlate with your family near the same time frame, say between 1550 and 1650. I know that is reaching far back in time for most of us, but if you have some experience within this period, you may have knowledge of interest to this project. The other necessary component of this process will be to find participants among the Native American population. This will undoubtedly be the most difficult aspect of the project. Not so much because they will be difficult to locate, but because there are sensitive tribal issues to consider. Native Americans have worked very hard to achieve a recognized status as a Native People. In some cases, they still have not obtained full government benefits as such. Therefore, they may well feel that it is not in their interest to compound the problem by presenting evidence of European descent within their population. However, I believe that there are many benefits to this project that will ease this concern. Even if it were to be found that some descend from Roanoke colonists, it would not jeopardize the fact that they had been an indigenous Native American people; Only that they had accepted Europeans as part of their own. Moreover, the great publicity that would undoubtedly arise from such a discovery would bring their cause to the forefront. They would be on the mind of every American and the keepers of great legacy. The outcry that such publicity would generate would certainly assist their cause. In any case, if a suitable list of potential participants can be collected among the European descendants with the necessary surnames, I will make every effort to locate participants among these Native American Tribes and work within their community as an advocate. I have initiated contact with Tribe Council's to obtain their support and to coordinate my activities with. If you can be of some assistance in this area, I would welcome it. Once we have the necessary participation, I will begin to approach historical organizations, media, and genetic testing facilities to garner support for the project. With this support, we can move on to the testing stage. In fact, I have already consulted with a testing facility to ensure that the idea behind this project is technically sound. I have been assured that the technology exists to support the project and they have indicated [with some excitement I might add] their willingness to do so. I hope that you see the merit of this project and that you will consider participating. REMEMBER that you must be a MALE direct line descendant holding one of the surnames in the list below, or have some indication or tradition of descent from the Roanoke colonists. Only males carry the necessary Y-chromosome used in this type of genetic testing. If you are not able to participate for this reason, perhaps you will know someone suitable. I urge you to advise them of this project. I will be sending this message out in a variety of ways seeking participants and asking them to respond with their interest to me at ppayne1203@earthlink.net or by visiting my web site at http://papayne.rootsweb.com/Lost-Colony. Those wishing to participate in the project should respond with their full name and contact information, as well as a brief summary of their ancestry with any details (if possible) they can provide which might lead them to believe their family had a connection with the Roanoke colony. Or, perhaps they will identify a family connection with other surnames on the list below. I will respond to all of those who seem to meet the requirements of the testing and add them to my list. Once that list has developed into something useful, I will contact everyone with further details. I will also provide updates and other information from my web site. You might also wish to visit the site if you have an interest in what this Genetic testing business is all about. You will find several useful links on the page with information on Genetic testing. One final word... I am likely to be very busy fielding questions about this project and unable to respond to everyone. I would suggest that you first visit the web site above to see if your question can be answered there or at one of the links provided. General questions about the project should be answered by these resources. If that proves to be unhelpful, by all means, contact me. However, please limit your questions as much as possible to participation questions. Thank you for your consideration and support. Regards, Patrick A. Payne ppayne1203@earthlink.net The Names of the 1587 Virginia Colony (from “The First Colonists,” David B. Quinn and Alison M. Quinn, editors, published 1982, North Carolina Division of Archives and History; originally published in 1973 as “Virginia Voyages from Hakluyt,” Oxford University Press): (Note: not all of the surnames in the list below are suggested as being possible ancestors of Native Americans. Also, these surnames represent the spellings found in contemporary documents. In some cases, several alternate spellings may be found. For example, "Bailie," would also include Bayley, Bailey, etc.) White, John (Governor) Bailie, Roger (Assistant) Dare, Ananias (Assistant) Cooper, Christopher (Assistant) Stevens, Thomas (Assistant) Sampson, John (Assistant) Harvie, Dyonis (Assistant) Prat, Roger (Assistant) Howe, George (Assistant) Fernando, Simon (Assistant) Johnson, Nicholas Warner, Thomas Cage, Anthony Jones, John Tydway, John Viccars, Ambrose English, Edmond Topan, Thomas Berrye, Richard Spendlove, John Hemmington, John Butler, Thomas Powell, Edward Burden, John Hynde, James Willes, William Brooke, John White, Cutbert Bright, John Tayler, Clement Sole, William Cotsmur, John Newton, Humfrey Colman, Thomas Gramme, Thomas Bennet, Marke Gibbes, John Stilman, John Wilkinson, Robert Little, Peter Wyles, John Wyles, Brian Martyn, George Pattenson, Hugh Sutton, Martyn Farre, John Bridger, John Jones, Griffen Shaberdge, Richard Ellis, Thomas Browne, William Myllet, Michael Smith, Thomas Kemme, Richard Harris, Thomas Taverner, Richard Earnest, John Johnson, Henry Starte, John Darige, Richard Lucas, William Archard, Arnold Wright, John Dutton, William Allen, Morris Waters, William Arthur, Richard Chapman, John Clement, William Little, Robert Tayler, Hugh Wildye, Richard Wotton, Lewes Bishop, Michael Browne, Henry Rufoote, Henry Tomkins, Richard Dorrell, Henry Florrie, Charles Mylton, Henry Payne, Henry Harris, Thomas Nicholes, William Phevens, Thomas Borden, John Scot, Thomas Lasie, James Cheven, John Hewet, Thomas Berde, William Sampson, John (boy) Ellis, Robert (boy) Viccars, Ambrose (boy) Archard, Thomas (boy) Humfrey, Thomas (boy) Smart, Tomas (boy) Howe, George (boy) Prat, John (boy) Wythers, William (boy) Harvye (child born in Virginia)