For over four centuries, the legend of Pocahontas (Matoaka) has gripped the American psyche. Most of us grew up with the endearing legend of Pocahontas throwing herself over John Smith to save his life before his possible execution.
The rest of her story is rarely shared, though. How many of us today know about her life as the daughter of Powhatan, chief of the Powhatan tribe in the Tidewater region of Virginia? Who is aware that she wed John Rolfe, not John Smith, after English colonists kidnapped her?
Longtime City of Allen employee Tom Keener will separate the biography of Pocahontas from the traditional myth that surrounds her life at the Allen Heritage Village's Allen Christian Church.
Sharing the story of Pocahontas has been a lifelong passion for Tom. As a boy, he was told there was a familial connection to Pocahontas through his Bolling lineage. Pocahontas and John Rolfe had one son, Thomas. He married Jane Poythress and they had a daughter named Jane, who would wed Col. Robert Thomas Bolling.
Tom observes, “Pocahontas is a classic heroine; she makes decisions to chart her path and endures probable pressures to conform to the desires of others. It is a story of adventure, leaving home, colonialism, interaction and collision of cultures, and, above all, love.”
Events at the Allen Heritage Village will not be streamed live.
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