Capt Kidd's Treasure. Overset Island Long Island, ME. (Misspelled Oversel)

[KANACKI]

Ironic for such an awesome story almost forgotten because of one reporters ignorance of connecting any buried treasure on the eastern American seaboard being connected to Captain Kidd or any other celebratory pirate.

Many treasure are proceeds of crime buried out of fear of getting caught and hung for piracy. Many of perpetrators are virtually unknown.

Kanacki

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[BillA]

sorry Kanacki, the more impressive part of this forgotten tale is that you are doing a post mortum from the other side of the pond
this is the amazing part

I'm all ears.

 

[KANACKI]

Well we have the story of Mary Cleaves in 1885 searching for a flat stone? And on Oveset island? Why that island when we should ask ourselves why? Considering there a hundreds of small islands along the coast of Maine.What made her certain Overset was the island?

Mary Cleaves husband Daniel cleaves jr was only 2 years younger than her. She was born in 1820, he was born in 1822. And his father was also named Daniel Cleaves Sr born 1790. He was a whaler who in 1823 served on vessel called the Huntress. The huntress made a voyage from Newbedford down into the south Atlantic and Around Cape Horn and up the coast of South America. During the course of that voyage the Huntress called in to collect water at Cocos island. This was just after hostilities had more or less ended by 1821. However there was still piracy being committed along the south America coast.

It will be never known for sure but its quite possible Daniel either found a a small treasure cache on Cocos hidden by privateers or pirates? And grabbed some loot for himself? Or he engaged in piracy himself? One thing for sure what ever his actions he did not act alone? He had a partner in crime.

Hold that thought because through archives and records you can find interesting things. Daniel Cleaves Sr Son Daniel Cleaves Jr born in 1822 was deaf and dumb. When Daniel Cleaves Sr returned from his voyage he bought a farm on the borders of Vermont. Could a humble whaler be able to by outright a farm after one voyage? His son grew up on the family farm and never went to sea like his father.

Later Mary married Daniel Cleaves Jr and they in turn had son named you guessed it Daniel Cleaves jr jr.

Some times before 1860 Daniel Cleaves Sr died. However he must of passed on information about the stolen loot he obtained from South America to his daughter in law. Ie name of the island and stone slab. Mary Cleaves husband and son died before 1885 leaving Mary a widow. Who decided to search for this alleged treasure on Overset island. Hence the badly reported 1885 newspaper story.

However remember I said Daniel Senior had a Partner in Crime?

Its late....

I will post more tomorrow.

Kanacki

 

[KANACKI]

In the 1950's folklorist Alton H Blackington below



In his book below...



He tells about a man became across in Boston a care taker of history museum who had an interesting story to tell. A man by the name of George Benner.

Kanacki

 

[KANACKI]

Gorge Benner told Alton H Blackington story of how he and his friend George Levensaler just after WW1 found treasure buried on the Maine coast.

In 1951 the story got out how they both discovered buried treasure with a map found in an old Attic in a house in Vermont. How they found a flat stone dug under it and found a rotten cask of gold coins and gold cross with precious stones.

Here is a newspaper story of this alleged discovery in early 1920's in 1951.



ONE TREASURE HUNT THAT PAID OFF

Most of the pirate treasure hunts you hear about never succeeded in unearthing real
treasure. But one undertaken by two boys, years ago, on the Maine coast, actually turned up a keg full of old coins and a gem-studded gold cross,
worth a small fortune in all.

The story of this pirate treasure and its discovery is told by Alton H. Blackington, authority on New England lore and legend, in a January Reader's Digest article condensed from the Saturday Review of Literature.

Directions for finding ? the treasure were found in an old sea chest in a Vermont attic.
A pirate, according to the story, had left the chest many years before and had never
come back to reclaim it. A nephew of the chest's owner, and another boy his age. followed the directions, as treasure hunters always do. but this time the directions really led to gold.

Under a flat stone, found after only a one-day search, was a deeply buried wooden
keg. all but rotted away. Digging it out with pickaxe and crowbar, the boys found that
it contained hundreds of coins, plus the gold cross studded with diamonds' and rubies and wound with a pearl necklace.

Next morning, in Boston, the youthful treasure hunters showed their 'find to amazed .
officers of the Atlantic National Bank. In the appraisal which followed the discovery was valued at 20000 dollars, then about £500.



But the Paper was not entirely accurate because boys was not boys they was men who was returned soldiers from WW1

Kanacki

 

[KANACKI]

I discovered Alton H Blackington did a radio show presentation of this alleged discovery. While at first I was skeptical of his style of story telling like if he was reading a novel? The names he gave was all real people confirmed in archival records.

https://archive.org/details/yankeeyarnsotr/1945-01-23+Buried+Treasure.mp3

Kanacki

 

[KANACKI]

Alton H Blackington confirmed what Benner had told him by interviewing a retired bank clerk of Atlantic National Bank.

In radio show Alton H Blackington gives more details telling of an old sailor carrying a sea trunk in rain stayed for night in George Benners Aunties farmhouse who was allegedly looking for an old shipmate of his who he believed was farming somewhere in Vermont. And found the house abandoned.

Was this fellow Shipmate Daniel Cleaves?

Each had part of information to recover the treasure perhaps one with a map with landmarks but no name. The other with the name. Hence the failed search by Mary Cleaves in 1885 and the successful one even thou George Benner and George Levensaler found by landmarks without knowing the name of the island?

Was the story true? Well all the names of alleged people involved exist.....

So perhaps it is indeed a rare case of a treasure map actually leading to treasure?

Kanacki