The Wilmington morning star., 1940-10-24
AUTHORITIES TO EXAMINE
DARE STONES AT MEET
by ANNE HERS

BY ANNE HERS
On October 10Th, and goth, a con-
ference of historians, biologists
and other scholars will be held at
|Brenau for the purpose Of study.
ing the Dare Stones, which may
contain the solution of the prime
mystery in American history-the
Lost Colony of Roanoke.
Among the eminent scholars
who have accepted the invitation
of Brenau are: DR.. S. E. Morrison,
head of the History Department OF
Harvard University, and DR.. c. E.
Crittenden, of Raleigh, N. c., sec
rotary of the, North Carolina His.
torical Commission. DR.. Morrison
will preside at the round table to
be held Saturday evening, October
10Th, at which the credibility OF
the Dare Stones will be discussed.
Three years ago in September
the first stone, seeming to bear on
the fate of the Lost Colony of Roa-
noke. was found in a tidal swamp
on the Chowan River near Eden,
ton, N. c. This stone contained
closely carved inscriptions which
summarize the fate of the Lost
Colony from the time when Cover.
nor John White left them on Roa.
noke Island, North Carolina, ir
August, 1887. until the massacre Of
seventeen of the surviving twenty.
four members in 1891. Among the
seventeen massacred persons, &C.
cording to the stone. were Virginia
Dare, the first English child born
in America, and her father, Ana
MAS Dare. The first stone re-
ferred to a burial place east Of a
river at which another stone bear
ing the seventeen names would be
found.
DR.. H. J. Pearce, Sr., and son,
DR.. H. j. Pearce, Jr., conducted a
search in the Albemarle country of
North Carolina for more than a
year for this second stone. Finally,
in the spring of 1889, a stone bear
ing the story of the massacre and
the names of the seventeen persons
massacred was found near the Sa-
luda Rive in South Carolina. At
the same time the person finding
this stone found twelve others halt
buried in a ditch on a hillside
These thirteen South Carolina
stones in part related to the death
and burial of sixty-four members
Of the Lost Colony, of whom forty.
eight were listed by name. One
of the thirteen stones carried the
clue that the seven survivors were
going Southwest.
The third chapter in the history
Of the stones is concerned with the
discovery on the Chattahoochee
River in Hall County and Haber-
sham County, Georgia, of ten more
stones relating to the fate of the
seven survivors. These ten stones
as well as most of the South Caro-.
lima stones, were signed Eleanor
Dare. who was the daughter OF
Governor John White and the mo-
ther of Virginia Dare. The ten
stones on the upper Chattahoochee
convey messages from Eleanor
Dare to her father and are chiefly
concerned with directions as to
how he might reach the surviving
colonists.
For about a year the story of the
colonists seemed to end on the up
per Chattahoochee with seven sur-
vivors, apparently now under the
protection of friendly Indians, and
apparently endeavoring desperate
ly to get word to Governor White
as to their whereabouts. The last
of these stones read: Father, sea-
ven survivee hither. Eleanor Dare
1893"
The latest chapter in the history
of the stones began to come to life
in the summer of 1910. Some ele-
ven other stones have been found
on the Chattahoochee River in Full.
ton County, Georgia, some ten or
fifteen miles from the City of At
lanta.