John Earnest, of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

Was supposedly a member of the lost "Roanoke" settlement in Virginia

disputed descent

Updated Jan 2018

From http://earnestgen.blogspot.com/2018/01/william-earnest-1610-1677.ht...

John Earnest of Roanoke

One of the most prevailing myths about William Earnest is that he is the son of a John Earnest who sailed to the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

You see, Geni (and many other sites) list John Earnest's birth date in 1587; and while that could in fact be a legitimate birth year for anyone, the fact is that these websites claim that this John Earnest was a part of the Roanoke Colony - which makes this birth year completely ludicrous. Here's why:

There are detailed records kept of who participated in the voyages to Roanoke, who stayed, and who left. John Earnest is listed as an adult male colonist in 1587, the year he was supposedly born according to Geni & other websites. You can read the list of all the colonists HERE

Obviously no one can be an adult in the same year they were born, but we can assume that this is a simple clerical mistake and that 1587 is simply the only year we reliably have showing John Earnest alive, regardless of age. But if we make that assumption, then we encounter multiple new problems with John's identity - both as a Roanoke Colonist and as the father of William Earnest. .....