The first Lacy to set foot in America

The smallest, most obscure piece  of de Lacy history in the de Lacy Chronicles book refers to James Lacy (James Lasie) who in 1587 was the first Lacy to reach the shores of America,

It was only in February 2019 that I found more information about the demise of James and the revelation that in fact, the mission is a well-documented piece of American History.

On behalf of Queen Elizabeth 1st, Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored the setting up of The Roanoke Colony (also known as the lost colony)  on the island of Roanoke of the shores of Dare County, North Carolina in 1585 as part of his great plantation plan.

James Lacy arrived on the second expedition ship in 1587 only to find the initial settlers had all disappeared. Again the English settlers set up their base under the leadership of John White who had been appointed to be the Colony’s Governor. Among the colonists was Johns, daughter who gave birth to Johns Grandaughter Virginia Dare she was pronounced the first English child to be born in America.

Having set up the colony, James White returned to England to request assistance and more supplies to help support the growth of the settlement. His return, however, was frustrated by the Anglo Spanish War and he did not return to the shores of Roanoak Island until 1590 only to find for the second time the entire colony along with James Lacy had disappeared without a trace. The only indication that they had ever been there was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree.

The most popular theory was that they had been massacred by local tribespeople, but subsequent archaeology digs found no European remains. The more relevant argument now is that they took shelter with the local tribes and through time were assimilated into the tribe. If you want to follow further this early American history, there is a mass of information on the google page “The lost colony of Roanoke”.