Powhatan, Pocahontas, and the Red Bollings

Matoaka was the beautiful and lively daughter of Powhatan, ruler of the land that the English named Virginia. “Pocahontas” was her childhood nickname, translated as “little wanton,” meaning she was playful and hard to control.

David Morenus, The Real Pocahontas¹

Powhatan

Powhatan, aka Wahunsenacah, was the Werowance or king of some two to three dozen loosely allied Algonquian-speaking tribes that inhabited the Chesapeake Bay region. Though he had an estimated 100 children, the spirited Pocahontas was his favorite. In May 1607 three English ships arrived and established a tenuous nearby outpost. There they fortified their position, traded peacefully with some Powhatans, and battled with others.

Pocahontas and Captain John Smith

When an 11 or 12-year old Pocahontas prevailed upon her father not to execute captive English explorer and trader Captain John Smith in December 1607, friendship and relative peace followed. Despite her youth, Pocahontas often acted as her father’s ambassador and missioner of mercy, getting to know and freely interacting with the children of the settlers. After a sudden injury in the fall of 1609, John Smith returned to England. Pocahontas and the Powhatans were led to believe he had died. Relations again soured, the girl’s visits ceased, and bloody conflict presaged a winter of disease, near starvation, and death for the remaining settlers until supplies arrived in the spring of 1610.

Pocahontas and John Rolfe

In 1613 Pocahontas, then a 17 or 18-year old young woman, was kidnapped as a negotiating tactic. She was reportedly treated with respect and instructed in the Christian faith. Baptized “Rebecca,” in April 1614, with the permission of both her father and Colonial leadership, she married widowed tobacco farmer John Rolfe. An eight-year “Peace of Pocahontas” ensued. One can imagine the dimly-viewed hope that similar future unions might lead to a melding of the two cultures, and a lasting unity.

Visit to England and Death

The Rolfes, accompanied by their infant son and a retinue of representatives of the Powhatans, sailed for England in early 1616 on a tour to promote the colony. Princess Matoaka Rebecca was granted an audience with the King and Queen, sketched by an artist in royal court attire, and had an emotional reunion with a dear friend she thought was dead. Captain John Smith was destined to outlive the young princess, who died of disease before the delegation could return to Virginia. Her son was left with family members to be raised in England.

Real People in the New World

Powhatan, Pocahontas, John Smith, John Rolfe. Each was a real person, striving to live during a period of great change. Though the 2005 film The New World takes some significant historical liberties, overall it respects the individuality of the characters, captures the beauty of the tidewater region, and depicts the struggles of real people from two conflicting cultures unable to forestall the coming change. It is well worth watching to get a feel for the people and the time.

Descendants of Pocahontas through the Generations

“All must die. But ’tis enough that my child liveth.”

last words of Pocahontas, per John Rolfe

Pocahontas lived a short time, but her life and story still echo – and not just in popular culture. It is estimated that Pocahontas has more than 100,000 known descendants. Doubtless the descendants of her father Powhatan number in the millions, all of whom can validly claim to share a DNA thread with his favorite daughter.

• Generation 1: Thomas Rolfe (1615-16??), only child of Pocahontas, returned to his maternal tribal kingdom of the Virginia Tidewater region in 1640 to inherit land left to him by both branches of the family.
• Gen 2: Jane Rolfe (16??-1676), only child of Thomas Rolfe and Jane Poythress, m. 1675 Col. Robert Bolling (1646-1709)
• Gen 3. Col. John Fairfax Bolling (1676-1729), only child of Jane Rolfe and Col. Robert Bolling, m. Mary Kennon. They had one son (see Generation 4 below) and five daughters.

Red, White, and Blue Bollings

Scholarly research over the years has mapped out family lines connected to Pocahontas. From these come the Red, White, and Blue Bollings. Red Bollings are descended from Col. John Fairfax Bolling (Gen. 3) and Mary Elizabeth Kennon. They are direct descendants of John’s great-grandmother Pocahontas. White Bollings are descended from Jane Rolfe’s (Gen. 2) husband Col. Robert Bolling through his second wife Ann Stith. Pocahontas is not their direct ancestor. Blue Bollings claim direct descendancy through alleged additional children of Maj. John Kennon Bolling and Elizabeth Blair (Gen. 4). Modern scholars, including the Pocahontas Foundation, are dubious.²

Family Connection

The first definitive genealogy of Red Bollings was published in 1887. Entitled Pocahontas, Alias Matoaka, and Her Descendants,³ within the subtitle it reads, “Including the names of Alfriend, Archer, Bentley, Bernard, Bland, Bolling, Branch, Cabell, Catlett, Cary, Dandridge, Dixon, Douglas, Duval, Eldridge, Ellett, Ferguson, Field, Fleming, Gay, Gordon, Griffin, Grayson, Harrison, Hubard, Lewis, Logan, Markham, Meade, McRae, Murray, Page, Poythress, Randolph, Robertson, Skipwith, Stanard, Tazewell, Walke, West, Whittle, and Others.” There we see surnames both ordinary and notable in early American history. Grayson is the name of most interest to us.

• Generation 4: Maj. John Kennon Bolling (1700-1757). He and his wife Elizabeth Blair (1708-1775) had 19 children, seven surviving to adulthood including
• Gen. 5: Col. Robert Bolling of Chellowe (1738-1769). Robert married twice and had six children including
• Gen. 6: Pocahontas Rebecca Bolling (17??-1834) m. 1782 Col. Joseph Cabell (1762-1831) and had four children including
• Gen. 7: Sophinisba E. Cabell (1784-1857) m. 1809 Robert Harrison Grayson (1788-1828) son of Sen. William Grayson (1736-1790) and Eleanor Smallwood (1744-1789). Sophinisba had ten Grayson children including
• Gen 8. Col. William Powhatan Bolling Grayson (1810-1873) and Pocahontas Rebecca Bolling Grayson (1821-18??)

Thus we see in the Bolling-Cabell-Grayson branch the pride taken in being descendants of Matoaka, the beautiful and lively daughter of Powatan, one time ruler of the Virginia Tidewater. All must die. Nevertheless, the legacy of Pocahontas, whose blood heirs continue to multiply, lives on in the Chesapeake Bay region, in popular culture, and throughout the New World.

Further Reading: https://www.pocahontaslives.com/

¹ https://pocahontas.morenus.org/

² https://www.startresearching.com/blog/are-you-a-descendant-of-pocahontas-here-are-the-sources-you-need-to-find-out

³ Robertson, Wyndham, Pocahontas, alias Matoaka, and Her Descendants through her Marriage at Jamestown, Virginia in April, 1614, with John Rolfe, Gentleman (1887, J.W. Randolph & English, Richmond)