Summary:
After his father’s death, University of North Carolina archeologist Jamie Ellison comes across a family tree that his dad had compiled. For the first time he sees that he is the grandson 8 times removed of one Tobias Ellison, the ship’s carpenter on the flagship of a small fleet sent by Queen Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587 to establish the first English colony in America. Jamie also finds at the bottom of an old sea chest Tobias’ journal. After a first cursory reading, he realizes that he has in his hands the solution to the oldest American mystery: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 117 COLONISTS WHO DISAPPEARED FROM ROANOKE ISLAND IN 1587 WITHOUT A TRACE?
• • • •
This novella draws its inspiration from the renowned play written by UNC professor Paul Green in 1937, which is produced with an 80-actor cast and 40-person crew annually at the breathtaking Waterside Theater - located in the same area as the original Roanoke Colony.
The play has earned an impressive record for running for over 85 continuous years, the longest symphonic drama in the US. The Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre prize was presented to the production in 2013, and its popularity is evidenced by the over 4.5 million viewers.
Everyone who visits the Outer Banks or has heard the story is left to ponder, "What happened to the colonists?”
About the Author:
Don Bernardo is a native of upstate New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University with a major in American literature (concentration American Colonial literature) and a minor in art history (concentration American Colonial art). He attended law school at Buffalo University. Before retiring to Roanoke Island where the events in this book took place and where he lived for 6 years, Don managed trust departments in banks and credit unions on the East Coast, specializing in estate planning for high net worth individuals. Don has a number of technical articles on advanced estate planning to his credit and has lectured on the subject all over the United States. He lived on Roanoke Island for five years, the site where the events in this book took place.
