Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter
Volume 2.2 (May 1995)

Notes & Queries

Paul A. Smith, Jr., of Arlington, Virginia, sends notice of a recent past publication not included on our 1992-93 Bibliographic Checklist.  He published “Raleigh’s Virginian Seas” in Tributaries 2.1 (1992): 22-25.  Tributaries is a publication of the North Carolina Maritime Council; for information on the council and Tributaries contact Rodney D. Barfield, Director, North Carolina Maritime Museum, 315 Front St., Beaufort, NC, 28516.  Mr. Smith is currently at work on a project entitled “Raleigh’s Roanoke Base: English Operations in the Western Atlantic, 1584-1588” and can be reached at 4615 North 38th St., Arlington, VA, 22207.

Thomas Rightmeyer of Durham, North Carolina, is working on a biographical directory of Church of England clergy in British America before 1785.  The only Roanoke colonization entry he has thus far is for Thomas Hariot, who mentions in his Briefe and True Report that during the 1585-86 expedition he went out preaching among the Native Americans; for this reason, he is perhaps the first English missionary in America.  However, the fact that Hariot’s will describes him as a “gentleman,” not a “clerk,” indicates that Hariot was probably not ordained.  Adding in the issue of who baptized Virginia Dare during the 1587 colonization attempt raises the question of whether or not there were any ordained clergy on this or any of the voyages.  Rightmeyer would like any and all information anyone might have on clergy, ships’ chaplains, or others with church connections who might have been on any of the Roanoke voyages.  You can contact Rightmeyer at 210 Selkirk Place, Durham, NC, 27707.

“Environmental Cultures: Historical Perspectives” is a conference to be held in Victoria, British Columbia, April 26-27, 1996.  Sessions will be organized around the use or exploitation of natural resources in indigenous, colonial, and industrial societies; however, papers that show links between these stages or that challenge this typology are also encouraged.  The proposal deadline is September 15, 1995.  Individual papers should be described in a one-page abstract accompanied by a one-page c.v.  Proposals for complete sessions are also invited.  Questions or proposals should be sent to Lorne Hammond and Richard Rajala, Environmental Cultures Conference, Department of History, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3045, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 3P4.

The new interdisciplinary Journal of Material Culture is concerned with the relationship between artifacts and social relations irrespective of time and place.  It aims to systematically explore the linkage between the construction of social identities and the production and use of material culture.  Its first issue is scheduled to appear in March of 1996.  For a detailed “Notes for Contributors” sheet, contact Christopher Tilley, Department of Anthropology, University College London, Gower St., London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.

A comprehensive revision of the Oxford English Dictionary is being undertaken and the editors are asking for help.  Any scholars working on literary or historical texts who have found discrepancies between the materials with which they are working and entries in the OED should send this information to Chief Editor, Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Walton St., Oxford OX2 6DP, England.

Top
Contents Page