A sketch by John White of Indians at Roanoke.

John White (c.1540 – c.1606) , flourishing 1585-1590, the Virginian pioneer and English colonist in America, sailed with Richard Grenville in 1585, and returned with Sir Francis Drake in 1586.^[1] White was sent by Sir Walter Raleigh as Sir Richard Grenville's artist-illustrator on his first voyage to the New World (1585-6). During this journey he made numerous famous sketches of the landscape and native peoples they encountered (including the one at right). These works are significant as they pre-date the first body of "discovery voyage art" created in the late eighteenth century by the artists who sailed with Captain James Cook. 1585 sketch by john white of indians at roanoke The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... 1585 sketch by john white of indians at roanoke The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... English colonization of the Americas began in the late 16th century. ... Sir Richard Grenville (June 6, 1542 – September 10, 1591) (sp. ... 1585 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. ... Sir Francis Drake, c. ... 1586 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. ... Alternatively, Professor Walter Raleigh was a scholar and author circa 1900. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... This article is about the British explorer. ...

White, "Gentleman of London," later became governor of the newly-established Roanoke Colony. In 1587 he led a band of settlers sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh. White, as Governor, with thirteen others, were incorporated under the name of “The Governor and Assistants of the Citie of Raleigh of Virginia”.^[2] He was the father of Eleanor Dare (née White), by whom the first English baby was born in the New World, White's granddaughter Virginia Dare. However, when the colony ran low on supplies the colonists requested that White return to England for provisions. His return to Roanoke was delayed by England's conflict with Spain and the Spanish Armada, and when he at last returned to Roanoke in August of 1590 he found it deserted. Forced by bad weather to abandon the search of adjacent islands for the colonists, he returned to Plymouth, England on October 24 of that year. An Indian he brought back from Virginia, was left in Bideford. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... “Lost Colony” redirects here. ... 1587 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Eleanor White Dare (c. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ... Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587) was the first child born in the Americas to English parents, Eleanor (or Ellinor/Elyonor) and Ananias Dare. ... For the modern navy of Spain, see Armada Española. ... , Plymouth (Cornish: ) is a city of 243,795 inhabitants (2001 census) in the south-west of England, or alternatively the West Country, and is situated within the traditional and ceremonial county of Devon at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar and at the head of one of the... is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... , Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. ...

A map of the Roanoke area, by John White

Little is known of White's life after the failure of the Roanoke Colony. He lived in Plymouth, ^[3][4] and also owned a house at Newtowne, Kylmore (Kilmore, County Cork), Ireland. He appears to have been in Ireland living on the estates of Sir Walter Raleigh, making maps of land for Raleigh's tenants. The last surviving document related to White is a letter he wrote from Ireland in 1593 to the publisher of his Roanoke drawings. Image File history File links Roanoke_map_1584. ... Image File history File links Roanoke_map_1584. ... Nickname: Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country State County Plymouth County Settled 1620 Incorporated (town) 1670 Government [1]  - Type Representative town meeting  - Town    Manager Mark Sylvia Area  - Town  134. ... Kilmore is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Cork Code: C (CK proposed) Area: 7,457 km² Population (2006) 480,909 (including City of Cork); 361,766 (without Cork City) Website: www. ...

However, a record from May of 1606 that a Bridgit White was appointed estate administrator for her brother "John White" may refer to him. A Bridgett White was also the second wife of a Robert Wight (1578–1617) of Hareby, Lincolnshire, England whom he married on November 25, 1613 at Alford. As this Robert was also the son of an obscure John Wight (b. abt. 1552) and the father of an Elizabeth Wighte (1606–1671) who is sometimes thought to have been the ex-wife of Nathaniel Eaton (1610–1674), the first schoolmaster of Harvard College, Massachusetts; there is a possibility that Bridgit White, the sister of John White the Governor of Roanoke Colony, and Bridgett White, the second wife of the same above-mentioned Robert Wight, are directly related to each other. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... Alford (pronounced Olford) is a town in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of about 3,500 people. ... Nathaniel Eaton (1610–1674) was the first schoolmaster of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and later became a clergyman. ... Harvard Yard Harvard College is the undergraduate section and oldest school of Harvard University, founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts Legislature. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ...

As an additional matter of interest, there is also a record of an Ann Barlow of Petersfield, Hants (died 1665), who was the second wife of a certain Josias White (1573–1622) of Hornchurch, Essex, son of a John White of Stanton St John, Oxford (1540 – before September 30, 1618), who afterwards married a Francis Drake (1573–1634) of Walton, Surrey – the nephew of Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596) the famous explorer.^[5] This Josias White was the grandson of another John White (died 1580) whose relations were connected to the British Crown such as Dr Thomas White (1514–1588), "Lord Warden of New College, Oxford" and apparently good friend of Queen Elizabeth I as he avoided censure due to her personal intervention even though he was an avowed Catholic. Its only conjecture, but as the name Barlow is associated with the initial discovery and mapping of the Virginia coast by Capt Arthur Barlowe (1550–1620) in 1584, and that it was on Barlow's ship John White first sailed in on as the official illustrator of the New World, its easy to jump to conclusions and say that Ann Barlow is directly connected to the first Governor of Roanoke, Virginia in this way. Petersfield is a market town in the English county of Hampshire, situated on the northern border of the South Downs. ... For other uses, see Hampshire (disambiguation). ... Hornchurch is a town in the London Borough of Havering in East London. ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 ( 2001 census). ... is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For a bill proposed in USA in 1998, see Bill 1618. ... Walton-On-Thames is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. ... This article is about the English county. ... This article is about the Elizabethan naval commander. ... This article refers to the Commonwealths concept of the monarchys legal authority. ... Elizabeth I Queen of England and Ireland Queen of France, nominal title Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533–March 24, 1603) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from November 17, 1558 until her death. ... Frontispiece of Peter Martyr dAnghieras De orbe novo (On the New World). Carte dAmérique, Guillaume Delisle, 1722. ...

Endnotes

1. ^ Very little is known of the life of John White. There is record in February 22, 1539 of a christening in the Church of St Margaret, London of a "John Whyte" on that same day; but there is no proof this is the same person.
2. ^ [Queen’s College, Oxford, MSS 137](a). On the occasion he was granted arms with eight quarters. The 1st contained his new arms: Ermine, on a canton Gules, a fusil Argent. The 2nd contained the ancient arms of White of Truro. The remaining six quarters contained the arms of some of his “Assistants”. This marshalling, other than being unorthodox, produced minute detail unsuitable for the New World Tapestry canvas. Therefore White (ancient) of Truro is depicted (on Panel 3 of 1585 and Panel 5 of 1587).
3. ^ as the will of his twin brother Robert White bequeathing him property in the city of Plymouth, referred to him as “of Plymouth”
4. ^ Transcripts of Robert White’s will are in the same MSS [Queen’s College, Oxford, MSS 137]; and in the New World Tapestry Library (as is the New World Tapestry) at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, England.
5. ^ Sir Francis was the son of Edmund Drake and Mary Mylwaye [a probable relation to Sir Anthony Mildmay (1549–1617)] and grandson of John Drake and Margaret Cole. The above-mentioned nephew Francis Drake was the son of Richard Drake and Ursula Stafford, grandson of John Drake and Amy Grenville (1510–1577), and great-grandson of the same above-mentioned John Drake and Margaret Cole. Richard Grenville was the grand-nephew of Amy Grenville, the grandson of Richard Grenville, Amy's older brother. Some think they were related and others don't.

is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events May 30 - In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal to find gold. ... The City of Westminster is a London borough and a city in its own right, situated to the west of the City of London and north of the River Thames. ... The New World Tapestry is the largest stitched embroidery in the world. ... Notable persons named Robert White include: Robert White, Motown session guitarist. ... Sir Richard Grenville (June 6, 1542 – September 10, 1591) (sp. ...

References

Primary sources

• Charles Edward Banks, The Planters of the Commonwealth (1930, 1st ed. no. 668 of 758) p. 87 [ship's list of the Mary & John, sponsored by the Rev John White (1575–1648) of Dorchester and departed Plymouth on March 20, 1630]
• Thomas Hariot, Voyages en Virginie et en Floride ... (1927 edition) Thomas Hariot(1560–1621)

Smeatons tower on the Plymouth Hoe Plymouth is a city in the Westcountry of England, situated at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar in the traditional county of Devon. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events February 22 - Native American Quadequine introduces Popcorn to English colonists. ... Thomas Harriot (ca. ...

Secondary sources

• Frances Rose-Troup, John White, the Patriarch of Dorchester and the Founder of Massachusetts 1575 - 1648 (1930)
• Paul Hope Hulton, America 1585: The Complete Drawings of John White (1984)
• Arthur Wilmot Ackerman, Reverend John White of Dorchester...(1929)
• Thomas Perrin Harrison, The First Water Colors of North American Birds (John White and Edward Topsell) (1964)
• Thomas Hariot, A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of Viginia (1590) [the complete 15 vol Theodor De Bry edition]
• John Hill Wheeler, Historical Sketches of North Carolina, from 1584 to 1851, vols I – II (1851)
• Kim Sloan and Joyce E. Chaplin (ed.s), A New World: England’s first view of America (2007 - ISBN 0714126500, British Museum Press, London), catalogue of an exhibition centred round White's drawings at the British Museum, 15 March – 17 June 2007

The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ...

External links

• Heritage Education Program Web Page about John White
• The American Drawings of John White
• The State Library of North Carolina's website This link gives the complete story of the "First English Settlement in the New World".
• The Church of Stanton St John, Suffolk This link includes a map.
• The Lost Colony Blog John White Paintings, Maps and Articles.