2015 Third Quarter Meeting of the King and Queen Historical Society

On July 26, 2015 the King and Queen Historical Society held its third quarter meeting at the New Court House Building, King and Queen Courthouse, Virginia. The new Board, elected in April, assumed their roles for two years, July 2015-2017. They are as follows:

President: Dr. A. W. Lewis, Vice President: John Spain, Recording Sec: Biddie Shelor, Corresponding Sec: Page McLemore, Treasurer: Pat McLemore, Museum Council Chair: Nancy Herman-Thompson, Membership Chair: Betty Gwathmey, Immed. Past Pres: Pete Glubiak, Director: E. Brownie Bevan, Director: Nora A. Walker, Director: Anne M. Ryland, Director: Frank Hurst, Director: Ellen White, and Director: Richard Rumrill

Nick Luccketti, an archaeologist who has worked closely with the Historical Society on many projects, introduced the speaker, Beverly A. (Bly) Straube, PhD, FDS, a historical archaeologist in the tidewater region for close to 40 years. She conveyed how the dots are connected between the artifacts coming out of the ground with other artifacts to tell a story. For example, the fort at Jamestown was originally thought to be under-water; however, a document found in Spain actually showed an image of the fort and proved that most of the fort was still on land. The fort perimeter and several million artifacts were found. Using DNA testing, a young woman’s skeleton believed to have been cannibalized during the winter of the 1609-10 “starving time” was connected to a name on the lists of women who had come to the colony. Much has been learned about the relationship between the early settlers and the American Indians from the artifacts found in the ground and the records that have survived. Ms. Straube emphasized how important early wells are in providing physical artifacts that tell a story. The site of the first church at Jamestown and three associated graves have been found. This may be the location of the marriage between Pocahontas and John Rolfe. And one of the graves has revealed a connection with the Catholic Church that was previously unknown. She left the audience with something deep to consider.