The enterprise was originally financed and organized by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who drowned in 1583 returning from a voyage to the fishing settlement at St. John 's, Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert 's half - brother Sir Walter Raleigh later gained his brother 's charter from the Queen and subsequently executed the details of the charter through his delegates Ralph Lane and Richard Grenville, Raleigh 's distant cousin.
who financed the roanoke colony with his own money
Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert