The lost treasure of David Marteen

[Tom_in_CA]

We live in Connecticut and Tom does not and he knowns nothing about the great state of Connecticut buried treasures. Good hunting and good luck.

The principles of seeking potential more plausible explanations, apply to all 50 states

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[Honest Samuel]

Unless you are planning in moving to the great state of Connecticut to search for buried treasure on our state, do not worry about buried treasures in our state.

 

[M.Brian]

Oldest is 1740s & 1750s, which is OLD for CA . And thousands of silver coins, 15 gold coins, etc.. But those are all fumble fingers individual coins. From stage stops, parks, beach-storm erosion, old town demolitions

Very cool, and thanks for the detector advice. Does anyone know anything about underground scanning? Scanning under the soil and using imagery software to determine what lays below the surface? As new technology emerges I’d imagine our ability to see what lies below does as well. Without necessarily having to blind dig.

The house I grew up in was built in 1798 and we’ve found many relics on the property over the years. However I’ve never searched the property for coins and am excited to do so this summer.

The intention of this thread was to garner some additional interest, and to cooperate with other fellow researchers. Share Maps, theories, ideas, past digs etc. want to organize as much knowledge on the subject as possible.

Hero’s are remembered but legends never die.

Thanks

 

[Ryano]

The earliest mention of this legend I found on the internet is a (still online) angelfire CT community webpage from 2000 and refers to Marteen's treasure as "The Santa Barbara".

http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/unsolvedct/othercases.html


Another treasure legend in your area is mentioned at the bottom of the article

 

[Tom_in_CA]

....underground scanning? Scanning under the soil and using imagery software to determine what lays below the surface? As new technology emerges I’d imagine our ability to see what lies below does as well. .....

GPR is highly un-refined. Pixel sizes are an inch across at the absolute finest. Hence anything we look for (coins, rings, tabs, nails, etc...) is ... doh ... 1 pixel. Doing no good whatsoever for ID. Even larger objects that you'd *think* have shapes to be revealed (like a horse shoe, or a stirrup, etc...) are nothing but a messy blotch of pixels. You are not going to get a magical TV image of your object on a screen.

About the only thing they're good for, is finding outhouse pits, or tracing out foundations, etc....

Just geta 2-box unit (like a TM 808) if large boxes/caches are what you're after.

 

[M.Brian]

The earliest mention of this legend I found on the internet is a (still online) angelfire CT community webpage from 2000 and refers to Marteen's treasure as "The Santa Barbara".

http://www.angelfire.com/ct3/unsolvedct/othercases.html


Another treasure legend in your area is mentioned at the bottom of the article

Excellent piece of material thank you, I wasn’t aware it was also referred to as “the Santa Barbara”. You’ve unlocked a door.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Ruches had died many years ago. The stones are where the treasure is. Find the stones, and you will find the treasure. Remember, I also looking to recover this treasure. Good hunting and good luck.

 

[amgrunt69]

I believe, if the legend is true, I have located two Marteen burial sites. Getting it out is a real problem. I did some pretty extensive research, and I have historical aerial photos, documents and 100 pages outlining my research. I've known this since 1992, and much like Anthony Ruches, I simply couldn't get it out. It is buried deep, just before King Philips War erupted. After all but 20 piratess were massacred they were unable to dig up their main cache. They had smaller caches and perhaps came back for more, but they didn't dig up the main cache and another that was buried deep. This is apparent to me, by the condition of the site today. It is really an amazing story, I just never could figure out what to do with it. It will never be removed clandestinely. In the case of the main cache, you would have to buy a piece of property and the smaller cache of 5 chests would require state involvement. I'm almost 72 now and I still don't know what to do with it. The money became secondary to me long ago, but I 'd love to know if I was right

 

[BennyV]

Great story! I believe there is another about Revolutionary War loot stolen and buried around Granby.

 

[Honest Samuel]

The story about the 13 wagons load of gold coins is total untrue started by a little old lady to a newspaper.

 

[Honest Samuel]

M. Brian, what is the latest news of your research? Maybe we will run into each other. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[BennyV]

The story about the 13 wagons load of gold coins is total untrue started by a little old lady to a newspaper.

Weren’t some gold coins found?

 

[Honest Samuel]

NO, There is a author out west who books are full of manure. No coins which I am willing to pay two thousands not for the coins but pictures for over twenty years, no takers including the author.

 

[amgrunt69]

Ruche claimed to have removed the stones and he probably did remove most of them, but I believe this could be one of them. It's in the right area , relative to other clues.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Thanks for the picture. It may have clues.

 

[Sir Treasure T. Treasury]

Any update on this one? I just started digging in and would love to help anyone out who's looking.

@amgrunt69 are you still looking?

Seems the stones were "confirmed" by a New York State archaeologist. Anyone know anything about who this might be? Or maybe what year Ruches may have taken the stones into the university?

 

[crashbandicoot]

C,mon man,let the man be and look for his treasure,he might find it I hope he does and if you do Samuel there knows some good advice on what to do.

 

[Lucky Charms]

View attachment 1923483
Ruche claimed to have removed the stones and he probably did remove most of them, but I believe this could be one of them. It's in the right area , relative to other clues.

Did you uncover the treasure? Did you give up? Are you still looking? I've recently begun my hunt for it.

 

[Lucky Charms]

Any update on this one? I just started digging in and would love to help anyone out who's looking.

@amgrunt69 are you still looking?

Seems the stones were "confirmed" by a New York State archaeologist. Anyone know anything about who this might be? Or maybe what year Ruches may have taken the stones into the university?

Are you still looking? I started by trying to piece together two timelines. One following the treasure, and one following the treasure hunters. There are a few things that make the story difficult to believe. For one, I cannot find any information on Ruches or Nelson, other than what is stated in the very few articles about the treasure, most of which look like poorly made copies of each other. Another reason for concern in my opinion is the lack of the existence of the stones mentioned by Ruches. One article claimed they were sent to an archeologist from the University of New York, another claiming they were sent to the Treasure Trove Club, also in New York. Where are the stones now? In New York? In the custody of Ruches' living relatives? Do we even know of his relatives or any other member of his bloodline having existed? I'm extremely interested in the story, and the gold of course, but I want to find more answers before I spend hours searching in the summer heat.

 

[lacy]

In the dawn of Connecticut’s history a story emerged of a pirate setting up camp in Windsor for a brief period of time. David Marteen was his name and he had just experienced an incredible streak of good fortune. Successfully plundering a number of unsuspecting cities in Spanish controlled territories, Marteen has amassed quite the collection of riches. His fortune got even better when Marteen intercepted a Spanish galleon named “the Neptune”. The Neptune was carrying 20 million dollars worth of gold (approximately 300,000,000 today.) Marteen overtook the exceptionally slow sailing Neptune and killed the officers on board. With 20 million in stolen Spanish gold marteen was riddeled with paranoia, and desperately in need to find a safe hiding place for his newly acquired loot. The story goes that Marteen sailed up the coast of the colonies and encountered a storm off the coast of New Jersey. Taking shelter from the storm in the Long Island sound, Marteen found the Connecticut river. In favorable winds he sailed up to Windsor and buried his treasure inland in what is now known as East Granby. (As you all know) (at least that’s what I’ve gathered, please correct me if I am wrong)

I hadn’t heard of this until recently and haven’t stopped thinking of it since. Imagining these buccaneers on the banks of the same river I grew up crossing is enchanting. The story of how he even happened upon the ct river itself is interesting. And a good place to hide your loot from other pirates it seems indeed. Until recently I would never of thought stories of pirate lore could have made it this far north. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to start digging up some information pertaining to this legend? What ever happened to the guy Ruches who claimed to have found the stones carved by Caldwell? Does anyone know the approximate location of where these stones were found? And what areas have extensive searches already taken place? has anything from these ships ever been recovered?

I know not many people are going to want to share years of their hard work, but if you’ve hit a dead end maybe some fresh eyes and new state of mind can bring the study back to life. If you’ve been studying this case I’d love to hear any information that you’re willing to share. Would even consider signing a document to ensure you’re entitled to a reward for sharing information if anything were to be found.

I am looking for information on the history of the search for this gold. I agree that the most fun part of this entire thing is doing the research yourself, pouring over old maps and theorizing about what may have been. I’m asking if any of the veterans on this site could point me in the right direction. I read that there is documents in the Boston library pertaining to Marteen. I was going to start with the Windsor historical society.

I grew up in the area of the story’s mentioned “old Newgate prison”, which ironically was a drinking hangout in high school. The prison has long been a Museum which is seemingly never open. The prison held Torres during the revolutionary war and seemed like an absolutely miserable place to be held. The jail cells were underground in an old copper mine, very damp and cold place. In high school we would sit on the back wall and overlook the valley below. Always with a mysterious sense of history in the air. Little did I know a legend of buried pirates treasure was only a stones throw away.

Any information or stories of people’s searches in the past, rumors, hearsay etc would be exciting. At this point I just want to learn as much as I can on the subject, and most importantly the history of the search for his treasure, given that it occurred practically in my backyard. The finding of the stones with the markings on them is fascinating. Does anyone know what happened the man who found them? Where they ended up etc?

Thanks in advance, hope I didn’t ramble too much.

Let’s work together and uncover history not just for us but for the history of the state of Connecticut.

ive looked in the past , Now ive dowsed a map ,,, just a amateur dowser looking ,,, an i have some hits ,,, happy hunting