Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510230165
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: MCLEAN LENGTH: Medium
William Womeldorf, 67, wants to unearth the Indian princess' remains from an English graveyard and bury them next to those of her father, Chief Powhatan, on the Pamunkey reservation in southeast Virginia.
Womeldorf's 200-plus letters seeking corporate donations have produced just $300. The Walt Disney Co., which produced the animated ``Pocahontas,'' was among those who passed on the project.
The project's estimated cost is $200,000. If he doesn't see signs of support by January or February at the latest, Womeldorf told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the fund drive will be shut down.
Barry Albin, owner of the Albin Funeral Home in London, said Womeldorf contacted him several months ago and asked him to make preliminary arrangements to exhume the remains from a church in the village of Gravesend.
Albin wrote Womeldorf, telling him the project would require hiring an expert to search British museum records and ancient land deeds. The letter said Albin would need a deposit of about $4,700.
Womeldorf, who lives in Northern Virginia, said he has spent $2,375 of his own cash since launching his one-man campaign.
Pocahontas married English settler John Rolfe in 1614, and they went to London two years later. While waiting to sail back to America, Pocahontas died of smallpox in 1617. She was about 23.
The idea of digging up her remains dates to at least 1991, when a lawyer who said he was representing entertainer Wayne Newton contacted Womeldorf about the idea. Womeldorf said Newton, who has Indian bloodlines, was supposed to pay the entire cost.
But Newton declared bankruptcy the following year, and the money to move Pocahontas never materialized.
- Associated Press
by CNB