Eleanor Dare

McKenzie Troyer Portraying Eleanor Dare in The Lost Colony Play in 2024

The Lost Colony, Roanoke Island Historic Association

Quick Facts

Significance:

Mother of Virginia Dare

Last surviving child of John White, Eleanor Dare was married to Ananias Dare. She was one of 17 women to join the voyage to the new world in 1587. Eleanor gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World, on August 18, 1587, just weeks after arriving in the New World. John White left his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter nine days after Virginia’s birth to return to England for more supplies. Eleanor Dare vanishes from the historic record in 1587 along with the rest of the Lost Colony.