Oak Island the Strange, the Bizarre, and Maybe the "Truth!

Gidday amigos.

Here is bio and will from find a grave.

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Born in South Carolina in 1765 to a very poor black family, Samuel was born into a life of misery, a hopeless life with no future. His family were in fact, slaves for the rich landlords of the infamous southern plantations.

Black men were offered promises by the British forces during the American Revolution and none were so promising than the chance for some land and to be free. Adopting the name of his former master, Ball went to New York serving with General Henry Clinton and then spent some time in the Jersey’s where he served until the end of the war on January 14, 1784 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. It was also reported that he served some time with Lord Cornwallis after the war. From here, Ball made his way to Shelburne Nova Scotia and lived there for two years.

Unhappy with his treatment in Shelburne, he then moved to Chester where it is reported he lived for 23 years. He bought a piece of land on Oak Island and then was granted 4 acres more at lot number 32. As time went on, he eventually owned around 100 acres of land, and an island called Hook Island, today called Sam’s Island, along with his farm on Oak Island consisting of around 36 acres.

In 1795, Samuel Ball married a young woman, Mary, from Halifax who worked as a domestic for Treasurer Wallace. They had three children, Andrew (1798), Samuel (1801) and Mary (1805) all born in Chester. Among his many friends, he could count on one of the treasure hunters, Anthony Vaughan who was named as executor of his will. On Lot 25 on Oak Island, Samuel and his family built a house and worked the land, they broke it into ploughed acreage and raised crops. He also maintained cattle and made a good living on this famous island, cut firewood, and breathed the clear salty air. The foundation of his home can bee seen on Oak Island to today. Somewhere along the way, his wife Mary was no more, history does not record her passing or reason for the absence from the family. In his will of 1846 he speaks of his wife Catherine.


1846. Will of Samuel Ball, Oak Island, Book 1, pg.37, Dated 1 Oct. 1841, Probated 5 Jan. 1846, wit. John Barkhouse Sr., James Brewer, George Keddy and John Zwicker, Gold River. Executors Rev. Joseph Dimock, Anthony Vaughan and wife Catherine. After funeral expenses etc.

I Give my wife, Catherine, the furniture, wearing apparel and all Real and Personal Estate during her life. First, situated and lying between lands owned by John Berghaus and Daniel Mc Innis, containing about 100 acres; also an Island called Hook Island containing 3 acres, all my farm at Oak Island containing ?? acres more or less. All Cultivated Land during her life and then to Mrs. Best until her
decease.

Grandson, Simeon, to have the half of the 100 acre lot between John Barkhouse and Daniel Mc Innis, the Ploughed Land, house and barn from John Mc Innis's line.

I give all my real estate and personal estate, the half of the 100 acre lot to my servant Isaac Butler, if he takes the name Ball, if he dies without male issue it is to go to friend Henry Joudrey's son, Alexander William, and if he dies without male issue to Isaac Parsons' son. None shall possess same unless they take the name Ball.

Mrs. Elizabeth Best to be comfortably maintained during her
life, and if she should survive his wife she is to have control of house and farm during her life.

If grandson dies without male issue the land results to Isaac Butler. After decease of wife and Mrs Best, the Executors to give cattle to the amount of £ 15 to the Bible Society.

Crow
 

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Ball supposedly paid Vaughn 5 pounds for an island which was about $22 back then. ( British Pound was worth about $4.44 in 1800 ) seems pretty cheap for a whole island but who knows. Not sure how big it was and or why Ball wanted it.

The average price of one acre of "good, arable farmland" in the late 18th-early 19th Centuries was *about* 10 shillings (1/2 Pound). This is also roughly the equivalent of the weekly income of "upper-blue-collar" class of worker, or about 6£/year - one earning this much was considered "comfortable" and could be married, own/rent a house and raise a family on such a wage. So it appears that Ball sold his land for about 80% of an a "comfortable" year's salary...what would such a price be today? What is a "comfortable" yearly salary? $50,000? $65,000? $100,000? Remember, too, that prior to 1816, the British Pound was quite LITERALLY the value of one Troy Pound of silver.
 

Hola Crow amigo

Mary is mentioned in a index list of marriages town of Chester family marriages with Samuel Ball

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However it appears her full name was Mary Catherine “Maria” Wallace Ball. Wallace was her maiden name. Its quite possible that Samuel Ball did not have two wife's but only one Mary later in life using second name Cathrine in the will.

Kanacki
 

As is now you do not own over 100 acres of land without being wealthy. Assuming you actual bought it and it wasn't given to you... The average person in America with average income which is around $45,000 in NC can't afford to buy 100 acres of land. In my area that would be roughly $300,000 or more depending on location... He had over 100 acres and had a butler. How many of ya'll have that... I sure as heck don't and make more then the average in NC.

In 1800, 100 acres of land (as a generality) was evaluated at *about* 1/2 Pound per acre (10 shillings) = 50£, or roughly 8 years' wages for a "comfortable" lifestyle (wife/house/family)...so using YOUR average of "45,000"/year, that comes to a price of $360.000 for 100 acres of land. Some land grants are evaluated at one Pound per acre, so at that rate, Ball's land transaction would have brought him DOUBLE that in today's equivalent $$$. (100
= 20 year's wages).

The British Crown did provide land grants to Loyalist Americans (not all, but many), who ended up in Canada after the Revolution. There does not seem to be a "set" amount, but many documents show usually a grant of 100 acres granted to heads of families, or 50 acres given to widows (or orphaned children) of soldiers, and single men, or a combination of land/cash, at about a 1£/per acre ratio ("...granted 25 acres of land, and 25£ in consideration of 25 acres"). Is it known if Ball was given a Land Grant from the British Government?
 

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Not sure what it was called but in my link from yesterday it said he was given I think it was 4 acres.. He bought a 3 acre island for 5 pounds and saw where he bought one of the lots on OI for 6 pounds. Not sure how big the lot actually was..
 

Samuel Ball’s “wealth came from the money pit” storyline debunked (yet again).
 

Gidday Charlie

Forgive my ignorance but what is county GIS?

Geographic Information System (GIS) is a "voluntary" program that local governments (usually county level) can opt into that lists parcel maps, topo maps, property records, aerial images, etc. Ours even has a map library of old, old maps and surveys. GREAT resource if you want to know who owns a specific plot in your county.
 

Still waiting for one iota of evidence proving that anyone of the 1000's of fiction based tales is true.....
 

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As always, thanks to Crow and Kanacki for posting actual facts!

If I were in search of a historical treasure, I would want those two on my team!
 

As always, thanks to Crow and Kanacki for posting actual facts!

If I were in search of a historical treasure, I would want those two on my team!

What in the World would a Skeptic like you be doing searching for Treasure?
 

What in the World would a Skeptic like you be doing searching for Treasure?

A Skeptic who deals with FACTS is likely to be more successful than a searcher that relies on rumors and fantasies. Mel Fisher was Skeptical of the information he researched and REJECTED what could not be proven - he followed the FACTS - and found the Atocha. Tommy Thompson found the Central America (and $150 million) by following the FACTS, not rumors and fantasies. Barry Clifford found the Wydah off Cape Cod by following the FACTS, not rumor and fantasies - which netted $400 Million, and perhaps the champion of treasure hunters, Greg Stemm, who followed the FACTS and ignored the rumors and fantasies and found the Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes - worth $1.4 BILLION

Those who chase psuedo-history and fairy-tale legends are still searching...and have yet to find any proof, let alone treasure.
 

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Thank you Franklin, for sharing Diana Jean Muir's version of Samuel Ball's life.
Hopefully it is more reliable than her alleged found Henty Sinclair Templar Journals.

According to the posted documents, Samuel Ball's mother was Lucy (Lucille?) Ball. Did Desi know about this?
 

"There are certain legends about Oak Island. You hear about legendary objects connected to the island, and we got to hold some of these Oak Island objects in our hands this year"-Gary Drayton
What can these Oak Island legendary objects that they held in their hands be?
Nails? Oxen shoes? Lead fishing weights? Roman sword prop? Coir?
If it was held in their hands it was not the Ark of the Covenant.
 

LOL....if the laginas actually believed anything was there, they would have dug up the entire fictional money pit area to several hundred feet (like so many before them) and prove that there is something there.

The fact that they avoid a serious and all out assault and promote other fiction is yet another clue that they too wear the title of hoax promoters.

Intelligent folks know that the show is fake fictional drama....
 

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