✅ SOLVED I Found a Treasure Map but is this Gypsy Graves Handwriting?

Bigcypresshunter

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Hello everyone. I was at my storage warehouse when I noticed a pile of books sticking out the top of the dumpster. It appears they cleaned out someones storage warehouse that didn't pay. This happens all the time. Being a person that likes to read and sell junk on eBay, I took a pile of books home. They were all about Archaeology. Inside one of the books entitled "the People Who Discovered Colombus, The Prehistory of the Bahamas" I discovered a hand written treasure map describing a cave "70 feet deep and has more stuff of value than we have any idea of!"

My first clue to the origin of these Archaeology books comes from an inscription written inside a book "Donated to the Graves Museum of Archaeology and Natural History."

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The Graves Museum closed its doors in 2004. A bankruptcy judge later approved the museum's plan to donate its collections to Broward College and Florida State University and dissolve its governing board. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-graves-museum-brow100-20150607-story.html

Inside the Bahamas book was a 4 page hand written letter describing the search of a cave with some hand written maps! I still havent read it all but it describes in detail a trip from Miami to San Salvador, Bahamas in search of something old and valuable. My question to the group. Inside the book is the name of the famous archaeologist Gypsy C. Graves. Is this her signature or her handwriting? Does this mean she owned this book? Could she be the person that wrote the treasure maps? That would certainly add credibility. I hope this works because Im on a very weak WIFI hotspot and Im out of data..

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There is mention of John Watling in this 1880's book: [h=1]History of Central America. 1883-87[/h]
It says Watling replaced Bartholomew Sharp as Captain of the Trinidad until Watling was killed (shot through the liver according to Basil Ringrose, an eye witness) at the Battle of Arica (now in Chile). Sharp assumed command again to organize the retreat of his men. Sharp was a very famous and feared pirate in his day...
 

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Im at my storage warehouse now and the dumpster is locked tight. Its a shame as there may be antiquities inside or something of value. Thanks everyone for the help. I will read it all tonight.
 

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Big C.! Good to see you post.
Hope all is well with you in the swamp.

I'm not familiar with your topic .
Poking around your first post turned up only....
https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/gypsy-c-graves-3rd_id_G-9142316027109468502

I have a youtube channel with wildlife videos. Im trying to monetize but i need more subscribers. You all can help me by subscribing its just one click on the panther (top left or bottom right) or anywhere you see a red subscribe option and its free. If you have a google account you have a youtube account. Thanks. I cant get anything more here from the dumpster. Its a shame.

 

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[FONT=Ubuntu, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Bigc hope your books and maps lead to treasure, awesome info Blak bart[/FONT]
[FONT=Ubuntu, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Thomas Hanna played marbles with gems, found in the caves when he was a boy[/FONT]
https://www.bahamapundit.com/2011/02/treasure-islandsan-salvadors-gold-fever.html

This is great cw! At best I have a treasure map. At worst I have a first hand eye witness account of the heavy digging done at the Fortune Hill site in San Salvador. I will match the dates when I get home. Thanks.

Do you know what year this article was published? Edit. I see now that I got on my laptop it was published in 2011.
 

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I sent you this this morning but I can't find it in my sent file so here it comes again.

Ottilie (Gypsy) Cosden Graves
archaeologist museum director
Gypsy Cosden Graves, museum director, archaeologist. Recipient Volunteer award J.C. Penney, 1992, Community Marine award Week of the Ocean, 1993, Community Service award Broward History Commission, 1986. Fellow The Explorers Club, Royal Geography Society; member Broward County Archaeol. Society (president 1979-1986, Community Service award 1992), Society Women Geographers.
Background
Graves, Gypsy Cosden was born on December 27, 1929 in Big Spring, Texas, United States. Daughter of Joshua Stanley and Marjorie F. (Barnes) Cosden.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Geology and Biology, Transylvania University, 1950. Master of Arts in Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, 1982. Bachelor in Anthropology, Florida Atlantic University, 1983.
Career
Executive director, Museum of Archaeology, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1979-1992; executive director, Graves Museum Archaeology and Natural History, Dania, Florida, since 1992.
Membership
Fellow The Explorers Club, Royal Geography Society. Member Broward County Archaeol. Society (president 1979-1986, Community Service award 1992), Society Women Geographers.
Interests
• Other Interests
Avocations: horse training, cattle ranching, photography.
Connections
Married George Keene Graves III, August 19, 1949 (deceased March 1980). Children: Mary, George, Louise, Kate.
father:
Joshua Stanley Cosden

mother:
Marjorie F. (Barnes) Cosden
spouse:
George Keene Graves III
child:
Kate Graves
child:
George Graves
child:
Mary Graves
child:
Louise Graves


More Info: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1986-04-20-8601230919-story.html
https://florida.intercreditreport.c...-archaeology-natural-history-inc-n04000009586


Survivors: George K Graves V
1115 N Rio Vista BlvdFort Lauderdale FL 33301-3041

This is definitely the surviving son of Ottilie (Gypsy) Cosden Graves the archaeologist. The names of his siblings match the info in the report.
 

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Thanks Phil. Im not sure I want to contact relatives at this time unless I cant identify the writer any other way. Im going to try to read the other pages and make a list of the people involved. I mean no disrespect to Mrs. Graves, her family or her legacy. She seems to be an interesting person and may still be alive and well at 89 years of age.


Ever since, Deveaux and others have been searching for buried treasure at Fortune Hill. "I know more about this than anyone else and I'd like to see it found for the benefit of the country," he told me recently. "I used dowsing rods to find the cache, and there is more than one. We think there could be billions buried there."

A)- It was Deveaux's Watling Archaeological Research Company that ignited the first treasure frenzy back in 2006, when he began work at Fortune Hill with a permit from the Antiquities Corporation. Brave Davis, who is the current MP for San Salvador, was the company's lawyer, but the operation was shut down by the government so that conflicting land claims could be sorted out. These conflicts are magnified by the island's raw political divisions.

B)- Gold fever erupted a second time in 2008 when competing families again began jostling for position. This led to the formation of a non-partisan group that included Nassau-based restaurateur Enrico Garzarolli; a wealthy American named Grant Rose, and a committee of leading citizens that included Kevin Williams, Jim Storr, Bert Deveaux and Charlie Jones. Rose was to provide the prospecting funds from his own pocket.

My letter is dated October of 2007 and seems to take place over several days. So it falls somewhere in between A and B. The letter says "there were 20+ people including us, Jim M., Dr. Tinker mostly curious onlookers." .... "the constable had to fly in from Nassau to keep law and order."


Added: Gold fever erupted for a third time in 2019 after the Gypsy Graves papers were discovered in a dumpster in a MIami warehouse district ha ha lol
 

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Your not kidding. Well......theres something else I'll add. Like with any big legend theres a curse !!! The curse of the rooster !! Not just any rooster but a very large 4 foot tall rooster. He guards the cave area, and some of the guys swear they seen him. Lol. I can just picture these guys all running for their lives at the crow of a rooster. Some very big bahamian men have told me stories of sprinting out of the Bush at the sight of this thing. It's a great island and we have alot of fun. Most of our treasure hunts involved beer and consisted of trampling around fortune hill beating brush looking for caves and ended on the beach with rum and food. Good times over there with those folks. Some of the best blue marlin fishing on the planet, and super sized wahoo like in my signature pic.
 

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Funny how it says waitling archeological research company. That's not what they portrayed to the islanders.....it was a treasure hunt !! Kevin is a good friend and has helped us alot in the marina. Those were crazy gold fever days and the islanders ran that waitling company off !!
 

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Funny how it says waitling archeological research company. That's not what they portrayed to the islanders.....it was a treasure hunt !! Kevin is a good friend and has helped us alot in the marina. Those were crazy gold fever days and the islanders ran that waitling company off !!

Ok I finally read the entire letter. Its more like a diary or scribbled notes that an archaeologist might keep. And yes it appears to be a treasure hunt. It may or may not be written by Gypsy Graves herself but it was found in a book that she most likely owned. Its a precise record of events written by a member of the group that flew from Miami to Bahamas with Mrs. Black, even describing the hotel they stayed in. I wonder if they are the Waitling group? Here is a list of names as they appear in the notes. I may have the spellings wrong.

Paul
Mrs. Black from Miami (Springs or Gardens)
Ellie May Jones
Kate
Mr. Ritchie Administrator of San Salvador
Mr. Tinker Head of Museum in Nassau
Jim Miller
Paul Hanna
Charles Hanna
Richard
Mr. Rolle backhoe operator
John Patterson and friend from a different group showed up with court papers but were not allowed on the property.


The notes take place from Tues 10/16/07 to Thurs 10/18/07. That's unfortunate because they had a permit till 10/23/07 and the notes end with "tomorrow getting a larger excavator". So we know where they dug with the backhoe by the maps and who was there but unfortunately we don't know what was found and unfortunately the other notes may be in that dumpster! I don't see it as having any big monetary value. But it is interesting and it is a precise record of events in those 3 days and maybe has value to someone. I could run it on eBay and see what happens.

If anyone wants to search those names to make a connection with the Waitling group, go at it. :skullflag: This group seems to be composed of Richard, Paul, Charles, Mrs. Black and the writer. Elle May Jones was also on the private jet and Kate may have stayed back in Miami because the writer tells Kate that she/he doesn't know when she will be home. There is also a boat involved probably to carry supplies and a Fisher Magnetometer was used. A generator and extension ladder arrived to drop a light down into the cave. By Thursday the entire island seemed to know about the site.
 

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I can only add that my wife had a Black pure bread rooster of a breed I can't remember! He was the Devils own spawn. No ****! He attacked livestock, poultry, *****cats, and other small wildlife. He pecked me on my ACL and rendered me crippled for weeks. I'm a really good shot with a rifle but it took me 3 rounds to kill this demon. I'm sorry if I have offended right to life advocates but I was defending my survival rights, no joke
 

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In Feb 2011, Attorney-General's Office was satisfied that Dorothy Black-Beal (Mrs.Black), who was born on the island but lives in Florida, was the rightful owner.

But in 2010, Dennis Bethel (remember San Salvador's administrator, Theresa Bootle-Bethel ? ) secured, on behalf of his family, a consent order to halt excavation efforts on the disputed property. As the representative of the estate of Nimrod Newton — the person granted the land by the Crown in 1876 — Dennis Bethel holds a temporary grant in relation to the land.
Claim over land filled with pirate treasure dismissed | The Tribune

Right now as it stands (Jan 30, 2015) the matter is between the descendants of Nimrod Newton and the ruling that we now (are waiting for) from the Deputy Registrar Camille Gomez as to sorting out the probate of the estate of Nimrod Newton.

“The matter is only now between descendants of Nimrod Newton. The other adverse claimants don’t have a stake in this matter and the issue for them is over.”

Any updates?
 

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Here are the names and addresses of two of Gypsy's children.

George K Graves V
1115 N Rio Vista Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL
33301-3041

Kate Gaskill
2275 SW 44TH ST
FT LAUDERDALE, FL, 33312 Ms Gaskill was formerly the Vice president of the museum. It was closed in 2005. These were white page listings.

The rooster was a Black Australorp.
 

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Here are the names and addresses of two of Gypsy's children.

George K Graves V
1115 N Rio Vista Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL
33301-3041

Kate Gaskill
2275 SW 44TH ST
FT LAUDERDALE, FL, 33312 Ms Gaskill was formerly the Vice president of the museum. It was closed in 2005. These were white page listings.

The rooster was a Black Australorp.

Not sure I want to contact any relatives and tell them I picked their mothers trash. Its a shame I see it all the time. When I die my treasure papers will go into the trash Im sure. And I mean no disrespect to the family. But the Kate stuff is great! That pretty much convinces me the museum was involved and the writer is Gypsy Graves herself. Thanks. It seems that Richard was in charge of the operation. I would like to ID him because Im still not sure this is a Waitling Archaelogical Research Co. venture.. And who is John Patterson with the court papers?
 

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Here's my favorite take away from the research I did on this thread:

During his brief stint as Captain of the Santisima Trinidad, John Watling left behind a crew member, a Mosquito Indian named Will, on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile in January 1681. Will had been hunting goats on the island's interior when crew members on the beach spotted Spanish warships approaching and promptly departed.

Rescued by the English some 4 years later, it is said that Will became the inspiration for Man Friday, the cannibal character in Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.

How cool is that...?
 

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This by far is my favorite thread here in a LONG time. Keep up the good discussion! And for the record, I loathe roosters!
 

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