Virginia Dare — First English Child Born in America Vanishes With Entire Colony

Virginia Dare was born on August 18, 1587 on Roanoke Island off the coast of what is now North Carolina — the first English child born in the New World. She disappeared along with the entire colony of 117 people between 1587 and 1590, making her part of the most enduring mystery of early American colonization. Virginia was the daughter of Ananias and Eleanor Dare. Eleanor was the daughter of colony governor John White. When White departed for England to obtain supplies approximately nine days after Virginia's birth, he was leaving not just colonists but his own infant granddaughter. War with Spain delayed his return for three years. When White finally returned in August 1590, the settlement was empty. The word CROATOAN was carved on a post and CRO on a nearby tree. These were the only traces of the 117 people. White had instructed the colonists to carve a cross if they left under distress, and no cross was found — suggesting a deliberate departure. Virginia Dare became an iconic figure in American mythology — the first Englishborn American, the first child born into the New World who represented the future of English settlement, who then vanished into that wilderness without a trace. Archaeological and DNA projects have attempted to trace her descendants among modern Native American populations in the Outer Banks region. No conclusive evidence has yet established what happened to Virginia Dare.