Above is Site of Werwocomoco, the Powhatan Capital on the York River as it looks today See video on this site or See National Park Service site
Our History
The Bolling Family Association was founded in 1991 following the publication by Maj. Gen Alexander R. Bolling, Jr. of his book, The Bolling Family, Eight Centuries of Growth. The book traces both the ancestors and descendants of Robert Bolling, b 1646, immigrated to Virginia Colony in 1660 and died 1709. Learn more about Robert Bolling
Following the publication of his book, Gen. Bolling or Bud as he was known, convened a meeting of "Bollings" consisting of people that had bought his book or were interested in learning more about their Bolling ancestors. The meeting in June 1991 at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, VA was a success and the group of 96 decided to form an organization of Bollings to facilitate genealogical research, assist its members in understanding their family lines and to learn more about the family. Thus was the birth of the Bolling Family Association.
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The first newsletter was published in February 1992 with details of the formation of the Genealogy Gang (family researchers for each known group) and the plans for the first BFA Family trip to England later that year. Newsletters have been published on regular basis ever since the first issue.
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Early on, it became apparent that the many Bollings of various name spellings were not all descended from Robert Bolling I. Therefore the focus of the group shifted from only a focus on that one ancestor, to helping Bollings of any name variation and ancestor to research their roots and share information. The diversity of our membership became even more clear when in 2001 the DNA Project was started by our Family Genealogist Larry Bowling, who wanted to know if he was descended from Pocahontas. We quickly learned that our Association was made up of over 20 biological families, not related by their paternal ancestors. Our largest group was from Benjamin Bolling (1734-1832) of Flat Gap, VA who fathered 12 children and served in the Revolutionary War. To join BFA or the DNA project, please read the next column. For more on the various families in BFA click on the DNA project tab above.
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From the Newsletter
News About the Status of Werowocomoco
In 1977, Daniel Mouer, an archaeologist at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), identified as the possible location of Werowocomoco a site further west along the York River at Purtan Bay, less than 25 miles (40 km) from West Point and 15 miles (24 km) from Jamestown, about 7 miles (11 km) west of Gloucester. When he collected artifacts from the surface of plowed fields and along the beach, he found fragments of Indian ceramics ranging in time from the Late Woodland Period up to European contact. These indicated that this area was the “possible site of ‘Werowocomoco’.”[8] Based on his findings, the area was designated a Virginia Historic Site.
In 2002 the Ripleys, then the landowners of the site, authorized additional archaeological exploration of their property. They had already found many ancient projectile points on the surface. Between March 2002 and April 2003, archaeologists conducted a comprehensive archaeological survey of a portion of the property. Initial testing included digging 603 test holes, each 12 to 16 inches (410 mm) deep and 50 feet (15 m) apart. They found thousands of artifacts throughout the site, indicating that it had integrity and had not been much disturbed. These finds included a blue bead possibly made in Europe for trading.[9]
Because these findings showed substantial, extended 50-acre (200,000 m2) settlement and accorded with historical descriptions, they suggested this farm was the former site of Werowocomoco. “We believe we have sufficient evidence to confirm that the property is indeed the village of Werowocomoco”, said Randolph Turner, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources’ Portsmouth Regional Office in 2003.[10][3][11] Studies of the early mapping evidence also support scholars’ conclusions.
Since 2003, a team of archaeologists and related researchers has been working at this site. They and the landowners initiated consultation with the Virginia Council on Indians to plan and execute excavations on the site. Representatives of local Virginia Indian tribes, some of whom are descendants of the tributary tribes of Powhatan, continue to advise the
Join The Bolling Family Association or our DNA Project!
Learn more about becoming a TBFA member here.
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If you would like to participate in the DNA study, you'll need to be a male or have a male Bolling relative to take the test as this study uses Y chromosomal DNA.
Click on the link below and request a test kit. Please give us your Bolling lineage to your earliest known Bolling ancestor. A kit will be mailed to you shortly and results are only six weeks away. We use Family Tree DNA as our testing company. They are one of the oldest and most respected firms and have over a 1,000,000 participants in their database. Click here to request test kit.
