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I had no idea there was a 400 year old controversy brewing there at the time. One of my distant cousins, who follows this blog, sent me an email about the story a while back and I decided to look into it. Jean Day wrote a book called "Cedar Island Fisher Folk" in 1994 that tells the Lost Colony story that had been passed down in her family for generations.
In fact there have been scholarly reports that proposed the Lost Colony settlement location was really on Cedar Island going back to at least the 1940s. They based this on the journals that survived, measurements and descriptions of the island, the physical layout of the North Carolina Coast and the currents and tidal action around Roanoke Island that would have not allowed the English ships to get close to it but match Cedar Island perfectly. There are also a Spanish explorer's report from 1606 about finding white men in the Cedar Island area.
So how do white settlers stay in an area so close to the later expeditions and remain hidden from view? The local account is they decided to live with the Indians, taking Indian wives and enjoying the land they had found. That is after all what their original purpose was in crossing the Ocean. They raised their families, planted crops, fished and lived out their life, happy to be in a good place. If you want to read all the technical arguments, pick up Day's book or find a copy of "Riddle of the Lost Colony" by Melvin Robinson, or read the many newspaper articles about the Cedar Island connection using Google news. There is also a recent news flash about an old map supposedly with invisible ink showing the secret location of the Lost Colony, not at Roanoke Island.
For me the interesting part is the strong belief that has carried down over the centuries from those who live on Cedar Island. They have documentation of place names and deeds going back to the 1700s in the names of Berry, Smith and others who were part of the colony and the same names are found there today. Many of these are related to my family via multiple marriage connections. That is what happens when they stay in the same place for centuries.
But for the folks who live on Cedar Island today, there is no question where their ancestors came from. They've always known they were from the Lost Colony settlement! They tell you, their folks were never lost, they always knew where they were, it was the English explorers and financiers back home who were lost.
4 comments:
My mother, Jean Day, was convinced that Cedar Island was the location of the Lost Colony. So was Melvin Robinson, so were many residents of Cedar Island.
I agree with your mother. I read Melvin Robinson book. Out families have always know this story.
Growing up on Cedar Island my grand dad Fred Goodwin could explain why it wasn’t Roanoke because of an inlet he always said, and if you remember the inlet, the old ships come through was by Portsmouth. I do believe we have artifacts that could prove we are the lost colony plus through DNA. I have a lot of pottery from the old Indians. My mom has a lot of the pipes settlers pipes and Indian pipes we have found through the years there is a grave on Cedar Island back in the 50s they wanted to dig up to prove that this was the island but our people was so clannish and I understand now why they didn’t want the foreigners to move in on their little island And now I know why cause they always always want to change. Growing up in the 70s and 80s on that island. I’d always say when I was away even in Beaufort and Morehead I’m from Cedar Island and everybody will say where is that at no one knew about this island not many people until the Internet
I am 69...grew up on CI ..This info was talked about in our home. I remembered the book by Melvin Robinson about the Lost Colony actually being on CI. My grandmother's mother was supposedly half Indian ( on dads side). My mother was really dark compleced !
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