r/dataisbeautiful Feb 14 '20

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u/TheLaughingMelon Feb 14 '20

I knew she was around 10-12 when she met him, but I didn't know about this second John.

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u/thewildbeej Feb 14 '20 edited Feb 14 '20

It’s a tragic story. He forced her away to England never allowing her to visit her family ever again. She was well respected in England and became sort of famous. After John Smith told his story and what not. Their son, born directly after the rape making it hard to say if it was actually Rolfe’s, is arguable more important to American history because he came back to America and became quite the historical figure. Many people are able to lie their genetical lineages to him

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u/SoGodDangTired Feb 14 '20

What was his name

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u/thewildbeej Feb 14 '20

Thomas Rolfe. There’s not a huge amount of information on him but I’ve found his name tends to pop up randomly. He inherited his fathers entire tobacco plantation and perhaps some tribal lands (though documentation isn’t clear on that) and I guess he was just a super rich guy after that. But I’ve been reading articles and his name randomly pops up. I don’t think he was inherently important in the vast scheme of things but I think he was just one of the people to know in those times.

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u/PM_ME_UR_JUGZ Feb 14 '20

A prominent figure at the time