Fire destroys Lost Colony buildings [and costumes] Roanoke Island, NC

At 12:35 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11, a Villa Dunes resident spotted a fire across the sound on Roanoke Island and called 911. Part of The Lost Colony’s Waterside Theatre was in flames. All fire departments north of Oregon Inlet responded.

Fire crews worked swiftly and efficiently to control the blaze and take necessary precautions to save the nearby men’s dressing room structure. Despite of the efforts, the maintenance shed, thought to be at or near the source of the fire, was completely destroyed.

Charred pieces of framing in a flimsy skeleton, pointing irregularly toward the star-lighted sky, appear to be all that remains of what was the Irene Rains Costume Shop. All of the show costumes, the historic costumes, fabrics, shoes and hats are traditionally stored in the costume shop. All are lost except the court costumes which are at the dry cleaners, and a few already delivered to the NC Museum of History for the Lost Colony exhibition scheduled to open in October.

All of the colonist and Indian costumes were destroyed, as well as the vintage costumes made by Irene Rains in the 1940s and 1950s and Fred Voelpel’s in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s.

No other structures appear to be damaged. The Nags Head resident who reported the fire saved the theatre.

Sixty years ago, in June 1947, a late afternoon fire destroyed two-thirds of the Waterside Theatre and most of the sets and props. The costumes in the 1947 disaster escaped the flames, however, because of costumer Irene Rains’ quick action in removing them from the dressing rooms and casting the items on the shore. There was no possibility of saving anything from the current disaster. From the point of arrival of the firemen, it was impossible to enter the building. The flames were already topping the trees.

Once again, The Lost Colony and its supporters must suffer the loss of their history and re-build. Community support is critical and a fund will be established for the replacement of the costumes.

The Lost Colony Center for Science and Research is using primary sources, archaeology, oral histories and satellite technology to uncover the fate of the first English settlers. That path has led to present-day descendants. The Research Center is discovering some of the newest and most interesting findings of what happened to the Lost Colonists of 1587? Begun as The Croatan Group in 1993 with the finding of the capital town of the Croatan Indians, the grass-roots effort raises money for education, archaeology, and scientific research. Instructors, researchers, technicians, and friends have partnered together to unearth the migration of the Lost Colony. A multidisciplinary approach using geography, geology, history, biology, anthropology, and oceanography has been applied to investigate the clues that are still left behind. Prepared with an abundance of findings, the Center is poised for the next stage of discoveries ~ DNA evidence of possible living descendants, and archaeological findings of a presumed relocated English fort. The Center’s mission is to be self-funding to ensure this research continues well into the third millennium.

Are you one of the Lost Colonists? Could you be the key to unraveling the greatest mystery in America today? Find out by using a combination of DNA testing and genealogy.

What happened to the lost colonists? Were they assimilated into the Native American population or did they perish? Today, for the first time, using DNA technology, we may find the answer.

If your family descends from the Eastern Carolina area, if your family has an oral tradition of Lumbee or other Native American ancestry from the Eastern United States, or if your family includes one of our “most wanted” surnames, join our Lost Colony DNA Project with Family Tree DNA. Click here for the list of surnames.

Interested in the Lost Colony, but don’t think you connect. That’s fine, you can join our foundation, The Helix Foundation, as a supporter and receive our electronic newsletters, updates, and be included in all of our findings on our private Newslist.

Our “Families of Interest” include the surnames of the colonists and families associated through historical documents with local Native American heritage. If the colonists survived and were integrated into native village life, DNA, matching that of the colonists, will appear within the descendants of the local Native American population.

DNA Project Plan
Our project plan includes the following steps:

1. Locating and testing individuals closely associated with local families whose history implies they are of Native American ancestry, specifically those who lived on the land that is historically associated with Native villages where the colonists would have located.
2. DNA testing descendants of these early inhabitants to determine whether their deep ancestry indicates Native American or Indo-European origins.
3. Work with DNA surname project administrators to determine whether English families of surnames matching those of the Lost Colonists have already been DNA tested.
4. Connecting English families of the same surname to Lost Colonists genealogically.
5. Using DNA, genealogy and history, attempt to connect living descendants to colonists and local Native American tribes.
6. Certify the genealogy of those believed to be connected to the Lost Colony.
7. Reconstructing families of interest using DNA results and genealogy.
8. Tracking population migration using DNA. What happened to the Colonists and the Native population? Where did they go? Who are they and where do they live today?
9. After development of the above data base, DNA testing of archaeologically excavated skeletal remains to determine who they match.

Types of DNA Testing
The Lost Colony DNA Project will utilized the following types of DNA Tests:

1. Y-line DNA Testing follows the paternal ancestral line. The paternal line follows the surname. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son, so this kind of testing is conducive to surname projects. This type of testing will be used with those believed to be descendants of those whose surnames are of interest to this project. This type of testing not only links people genealogically, but can indicate individuals of Native American and African ancestry.

2. Mitochondrial DNA (mtdna) testing follows the maternal line. Women pass their mtdna to their children of both genders, but only females pass it on to their children. Therefore, since we are following the maternal line, the last name changes with every generation, making the genealogy more difficult but certainly not impossible. This type of testing will be used to test descendants of females of families of interest. Often extensive genealogical work must be done to identify descendants in the current generation of historical women whose mtdna we will want to identify. Mtdna, like yline dna, can indicate individuals of Native American and African ancestry.

3. Autosomal DNA testing is different from yline and mtdna. Autosomal DNA is the DNA where you receive 50% from each parent (as opposed to yline and mtdna where there is no dna from the other parent involved). Because of this 50% mixture rate from each generation, autosomal DNA testing today is not reliably relevant for genealogical testing. The data bases available for autosomal comparison for genealogical purposes are not yet mature. At this point, the Lost Colony Center will not be actively pursuing autosomal testing, but we will gladly include those tests in our records for those who have already individually tested. In time, we will learn more about how genes are inherited, the data bases will ripen, and at that time we will reconsider autosomal testing.

* For Y-line testing, we recommend minimally the Y-DNA-25 (25 marker) test for $148. If your budget can afford a 37 marker test ($189), that is even better. The higher the number of markers ordered, the greater resolution we can obtain when matching you to others. If your budget can only afford a 12 marker test ($99), that is certainly better than no test at all and you can upgrade later, although it’s cheaper to order the 25 or 37 marker now than to order the 12 marker and then the upgrade. Please note that if you wish to be certified as connected to the Lost Colony, a minimum of a 37 marker test will be required prior to that certification.

* For mtdna testing, we recommend the mtDNAplus test for $189. If your budget can only afford the mtDNA test ($129), you can upgrade later. Please note that if you wish to be certified as connected to the Lost Colony, the mtDNAplus test will be required.

* Discounts ~ Please note that Family Tree DNA offers discounts for combined testing of both yline and mtdna for males.

* Note ~ When ordering, use the surname search to enter either a most-wanted surname or the words ‘lost colony’. On the Search Results page, select from the Lost Colony Projects.

Frequently asked questions
I Already DNA Tested and Want to Join the Lost Colony Project …

No problem. If you tested with Family Tree DNA – just click on your blue Join button on your personal page and select the appropriate Lost Colony project, either y-line or mtdna.

I Tested With a Different Testing Company and I Want to Join the Lost Colony Project …

We are in the process of making provisions for those who have tested elsewhere. For now, please contact Roberta Estes, Director of DNA Research, at restes@comcast.net.

I Want to Join the Lost Colony Project but I’m not Sure if My Family Connects …

That’s fine. You can join the Lost Colony DNA Project and work with other researchers to determine if your line connects, or you can simply join The Helix Foundation to follow the progress of our project.

I’m Working on My Genealogy but I Need Help …

Great. We can help. Join the Foundation and collaborate with others. If you need more help, we offer professional genealogical assistance.

I Have My Genealogy Complete and I Just Know I Descend from one of the Lost Colony Families or the Native American indigenous inhabitants …

We definitely need your participation. Our professional genealogist will certify your genealogy and you will then be issued a Lost Colony Found Certificate or a Lost Colony Native Family Certificate when your genealogy has been certified and you have been determined to belong to either the Colonists or the Native Americans associated with the Lost Colony. Certification will rely on industry-accepted genealogical standards of documentation and “proof”, so before submitting your genealogy be sure that your sources are up-to-date and accurate.

http://www.lost-colony.com/DNAproject.html

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