Ralph Hamor's "A True Discourse of the Present State of Virginia [1614],"
(reprint Richmond, VA, 1957), p. 11 notes the wedding took place 5 April 1613.
The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Alexander Whitaker, the first
minister of Henrico Parish -- which was seated at Henricopolis (near modern
Dutch Gap) on the James River. Whitaker had been responsible for Pocahontas'
conversion.
Although Henrico Parish dates from 1611, St. John's, as Jon Kukla points out,
dates from 1741. The extant vestry book begins in 1730. The earliest
"systematic" records of marriages begin with scattered marriage licenses
recorded in the Henrico county records beginning in 1682.
The most comprehensive work on Pocahontas is still Philip Barbour's _Pocahontas
and her World_, (Boston, 1970).
The 1595? birth date comes from her painting by an unknown artist in the
National Gallery in Washington, in which she is stated to be 21 years old in
1616. As I recall Barbour has an extensive analysis of this painting and its
likely predecessors in a series of etchings. In any case, the date seems to
have been established at the time of her death, and this is probably only of
relative accuracy.
I sure would like to see a copy of this purported "birth certificate." Even as
a baptismal document it would have to have been created about 1612-1614, the
time of her conversion to Anglicanism. As one who has been studying Virginia
and especially Virginia source materials for over thirty years, I've got say
that if this document exists, it will "be a new one on me."
Peter V. Bergstrom, PhD
Independent Historian,
PC Services Consultant & Web Designer
336-286-8654
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Jon Kukla
Sent: 06 December 2005 3:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Pocahantas Birth Date and St John's Church
I suppose one could make a geographical link between the Henrico area
where John Rolfe lived at the beginning of the 17th century and the mid
18th-century parish - but St. John's church dates from 1741.
jk
> The only place that may have had information on her age was St. Johns
> Church in Henrico County. That is the church where she married John Rolfe.
> The age would have been a guess only as Natives did not count years in the
> same way as Europeans. I doubt that there is a birth certificate for
> Pocahontas anywhere.
>
> Anita
>
>
> -- Langdon Hagen-Long <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> There is not enough factual information concerning Pocahontas's birth to
> offer anything but a question mark. Even if a "certificate" had been
> produced in England, years after her birth, it would be considered
> "heresay" and not enough documentation to use for a birthrecord without a
> question mark, even if her parents signed it - which they didn't. And of
> course they didn't use our calendar either. You might ask this girl which
> Native American Church or Native tribe recorded her birth and produced a
> certificate - 12 years before English settlers arrived! [some say she
> was 16, or 8 in 1607!]
>
> Langdon Hagen-Long
>
>
>
> Anne Pemberton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Folks,
>
> I recently got a response from a 14 year old girl who was exploring my
> Pocahontas site http://www.educationalsynthesis.org/famamer/Pocahontas
>
> She wrote to tell me that the question mark by the date 1595 as her birth
> was in error. She said she is 12th generation descendent and an uncle did
> some research and found a copy of Pocahontas' birth certificate. I find a
> birth certificate a bit of a stretch, and wonder if a baptismal
> certificate
> is in some archives somewhere that gives her date of birth as Sept 17,
> 1595.
>
> Does anyone have any clue where this young historian got this date of
> birth?
>
> Anne
>
> Anne Pemberton
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.erols.com/stevepem
> http://www.erols.com/apembert
> http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
>
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>
Dr. Jon Kukla, Executive Vice-President
Red Hill - The Patrick Henry National Memorial
1250 Red Hill Road
Brookneal, Virginia 24528
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