The Ancestry of Pocahontas
Genealogy Resources to Determine if Pocahontas Is an Ancestor
Mar 2, 2009
Pocahontas, originally named Matoaka, lived in the Powhatan federation of nations in what is now Virginia. Her father, Chief Powhatan, ruled in the early seventeenth century and presided over an uneasy time of co-existence with the early English settlers. His daughter’s legendary rescue of Captain John Smith is disputable, but Pocahontas’ marriage to English settler John Rolfe is a fact.
Genealogy Beyond Disney: Pocahontas in England
While the popular Disney movies about Pocahontas are somewhat based in fact, the true story of Pocahontas after marrying John Rolfe is as follows: Pocahontas was baptized as Lady Rebecca Rolfe and went to England with husband John and son Thomas. She was received by King James and Queen Anne, but died from disease before she could return to Virginia.
Pocahontas’ Descendants in England and the United States
Pocahontas’ son Thomas was her only descendant and eventually returned to Virginia. This is where the Indian ancestry of Pocahontas’ descendants effectively ends. According to the Powhatan Renape nation, each person then had the choice to identify as Indian or white. As the Powhatan Renape nation notes, “As near as we know, all the descendents of Pocahontas and John Rolfe made the latter choice, continuing in each generation to marry non-Powhatan persons.” The Nation estimates that a descendant of Pocahontas would be 1/16384 Powhatan.
Pocahontas’ Family Tree for Five Generations
- Pocahontas m. John Rolfe = son Thomas Rolfe
- Thomas Rolfe m. Jane Poythress = daughter Jane Rolfe
- Jane Rolfe m. Col. Robert Bolling = son Col. John Bolling
- Col. John Bolling m. Mary Kennon = son Maj. John, Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, Ann Bolling
- Maj. John Bolling m. Elizabeth Blair = John, Robert, Mary, Sarah, Archibald, Anne, Thomas
- Jane Bolling m. Capt. Richard Randolph = Richard, Mary, Jane, Brett, Elizabeth,John Randolph
- Elizabeth Bolling m. Dr. William Gay = Elizabeth, Capt. William Gay
- Mary Bolling m. Col. John Fleming = Mary, Caroline, William, Charles Fleming
- Martha Bolling m. Thomas Eldridge = Judith, Mary, Rolfe, Martha Eldridge
- Ann Bolling m. James Murray = John, Anne, Margaret, William, Mary, James Murray
Some people mistakenly believe they are related to Pocahontas because they have the surname Bolling. Pocahontas’ granddaughter Jane Rolfe had one son with Col. Robert Bolling. Her husband then remarried and had several children with wife Anne Stith. These children are not related to Pocahontas and are known as the “White” Bollings.
Further complicating matters are the “Blue” Bollings. These twelve supposed descendants of Maj. John Bolling and Elizabeth Blair appeared “out of the blue” in a book published in the 1960s. David Morenus, who runs a Pocahontas genealogy website, points to these made-up descendants as the consequence of dishonest family tree creation by some and sloppy follow-up research by others. “Others researching the legitimate ancestor find his bogus pedigree and add it to their own family tree. Over time, enough cross-citations accumulate that it looks like a solid fact. But it's not a fact, just a false hope.”
Pocahontas' Descendants by Stuart E. Brown
Morenus recommends the 1887 book Pocahontas, Alias Matoaka, and Her Descendants by Rev. Wyndham Robertson and the subsequent volumes of additions and corrections, called Pocahontas’ Descendants. Pocahontas’ Descendants, by Stuart E. Brown et al., is available at Amazon.com. Historical books by Helen Rountree on Pocahontas and the Powhatan nations are also recommended by Morenus and the Virtual Jamestown website.
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