Darren in NC
Silver Member
- Apr 1, 2004
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A Utah lead...
It was exciting for our family that day in 1995, when Wes Larson walked us through town to show us the now white-stuccoed home at 132 North Toquer Boulevard that James Jackson Jr. built, in which my ancestor Annis lived (he built a separate home for each wife). Unfortunately, the house seemed deserted; its windows staring blankly back at ours.
As we stood there, Dr. Larsen pointed out a lot to the right of the house that also belonged to James. Explaining that there was no bank in town, he retold a legend I had heard before--that James buried his gold in that empty lot, but died without telling his family where to find it. Larsen said folks in town dug all over that lot, trying to find where that gold was planted. I poked around a bit, myself, but it didn?t sprout up and present itself to this worthy descendant.
There?s another reason cousin Allen has gold-dust on his brain. Shiron Wordsworth, another Internet ?find? I mentioned last time, had written him a letter, also copied to me that I guess I?ll let you in on. Writes Shiron:
Noises in the house
Will the coincidences never end? Rockcastle Langfords have their own delicious combination of ghosts and gold. Grandmom had two Langford ghost stories. The one I?ll share with you here involves Liberty Langford, Elza?s grandfather.
According to our family legend, Liberty buried his cash money for safekeeping. To keep it completely safe, he told nobody where it was buried--not even relatives. Unfortunately he was suddenly stricken in his old age and rendered unconscious before he could tell anyone where the gold was buried. And since he could neither read nor write, he didn?t have the option to leave a note as to where the Langfords could uncover his hoard. Shortly after his stroke, Liberty died.
A few nights after his death, there were strange and persistent noises in the house, including banging in the fireplace, the sound of footsteps walking the hall?the usual sensations ghostly visitors evoke to make their presence known. These noises continued night after night. Grandmom said that Liberty?s daughter mentioned the disturbances to some fellow citizens of Rockcastle. Well, I guess! One night of such fun would have motivated me to relocate?and pronto!
The good citizens of Rockcaste assured her that this was her father, trying to communicate with her, and that when the noises began again, she should say, ?What in the name of the Lord do you want?? Liberty?s ghost would then be compelled to answer her.
Plucky Langford that Liberty?s daughter May was, this sounded like a good plan. The noises did come again in the night, and this time May spoke up: ?What in the name of the Lord do you want?? This time Liberty came through. He told her specific directions about where to find the cash, telling her to go a certain number of paces to a large tree and to dig down so many feet to a large rock. Beneath the rock, a few feet down, the gold would be found.
According to Grandmom, Langfords dug all over Pine Hill and under every tree that could possibly be described as large. No treasure. Grandpa Liberty must have felt that he?d done his duty--he never banged in the fireplace or walked the halls, after that. I guess he thought that if his children were too dense to follow directions, the problem of the lost gold was theirs.
It?s not odd that Liberty should have buried his money. Mt.Vernon didn?t have a bank until 1900. A body had to stash the loot somewhere, and to leave it lying around the house in Rockcastle County would have been foolish, indeed. The 1870 census says that Liberty?s real estate was worth $2500, and the value of his personal estate, $1,000.
Liberty was still alive in 1880, so I assume that he might have added to the cash between 1870 and 1880. The Mount Vernon Signal during the time span between 1887 and 1911 records an incident where a farmer?s plow turned up a stash of gold. I don?t think it was Liberty?s because no tree was mentioned in this newspaper account, and I?ve seen Pine Hill?you wouldn?t want to try to plow it! The discovery of buried gold does prove, however, that people buried their money before there was a bank in Rockcastle.
It was exciting for our family that day in 1995, when Wes Larson walked us through town to show us the now white-stuccoed home at 132 North Toquer Boulevard that James Jackson Jr. built, in which my ancestor Annis lived (he built a separate home for each wife). Unfortunately, the house seemed deserted; its windows staring blankly back at ours.
As we stood there, Dr. Larsen pointed out a lot to the right of the house that also belonged to James. Explaining that there was no bank in town, he retold a legend I had heard before--that James buried his gold in that empty lot, but died without telling his family where to find it. Larsen said folks in town dug all over that lot, trying to find where that gold was planted. I poked around a bit, myself, but it didn?t sprout up and present itself to this worthy descendant.
There?s another reason cousin Allen has gold-dust on his brain. Shiron Wordsworth, another Internet ?find? I mentioned last time, had written him a letter, also copied to me that I guess I?ll let you in on. Writes Shiron:
Noises in the house
Will the coincidences never end? Rockcastle Langfords have their own delicious combination of ghosts and gold. Grandmom had two Langford ghost stories. The one I?ll share with you here involves Liberty Langford, Elza?s grandfather.
According to our family legend, Liberty buried his cash money for safekeeping. To keep it completely safe, he told nobody where it was buried--not even relatives. Unfortunately he was suddenly stricken in his old age and rendered unconscious before he could tell anyone where the gold was buried. And since he could neither read nor write, he didn?t have the option to leave a note as to where the Langfords could uncover his hoard. Shortly after his stroke, Liberty died.
A few nights after his death, there were strange and persistent noises in the house, including banging in the fireplace, the sound of footsteps walking the hall?the usual sensations ghostly visitors evoke to make their presence known. These noises continued night after night. Grandmom said that Liberty?s daughter mentioned the disturbances to some fellow citizens of Rockcastle. Well, I guess! One night of such fun would have motivated me to relocate?and pronto!
The good citizens of Rockcaste assured her that this was her father, trying to communicate with her, and that when the noises began again, she should say, ?What in the name of the Lord do you want?? Liberty?s ghost would then be compelled to answer her.
Plucky Langford that Liberty?s daughter May was, this sounded like a good plan. The noises did come again in the night, and this time May spoke up: ?What in the name of the Lord do you want?? This time Liberty came through. He told her specific directions about where to find the cash, telling her to go a certain number of paces to a large tree and to dig down so many feet to a large rock. Beneath the rock, a few feet down, the gold would be found.
According to Grandmom, Langfords dug all over Pine Hill and under every tree that could possibly be described as large. No treasure. Grandpa Liberty must have felt that he?d done his duty--he never banged in the fireplace or walked the halls, after that. I guess he thought that if his children were too dense to follow directions, the problem of the lost gold was theirs.
It?s not odd that Liberty should have buried his money. Mt.Vernon didn?t have a bank until 1900. A body had to stash the loot somewhere, and to leave it lying around the house in Rockcastle County would have been foolish, indeed. The 1870 census says that Liberty?s real estate was worth $2500, and the value of his personal estate, $1,000.
Liberty was still alive in 1880, so I assume that he might have added to the cash between 1870 and 1880. The Mount Vernon Signal during the time span between 1887 and 1911 records an incident where a farmer?s plow turned up a stash of gold. I don?t think it was Liberty?s because no tree was mentioned in this newspaper account, and I?ve seen Pine Hill?you wouldn?t want to try to plow it! The discovery of buried gold does prove, however, that people buried their money before there was a bank in Rockcastle.
