Monday, June 22, 2009

A Spooky Tale of Treasure

I had no photo so I made a picture for you.

After the death of Clark H. Van Dervoort, a paper which recorded the following incident written in his own handwriting was found in his lock box.

I was born in Clarksville, Ohio July 10, 1829, where my father Jonathan Van Dervoort, was a successful Merchant. During the panic of 1838 he lost his business and we moved on to a farm nearby. Soon after this my mother became helpless with inflammatory rheumatism and remained bed ridden for fourteen years before her death. My father and my brother, Jefferson, worked in the field and I did the housework. In the fall of 1842 we decided to move to Tippecanoe Co. Indiana where my Grandmother Ruland, my mother’s mother, lived. We had but little money, one team of horses, a small amount of household goods and one wagon. My brother Jefferson and I walked and drove sheep all the way. My Grandmother Ruland let us occupy one half of her double two story log and frame house, the old homestead. My Grandfather Ruland had been dead for many years. My brother Wilson and I slept in a trundle bed which was pushed under my fathers and mothers bed during the day time. About midnight on December 23 my brother Wilson woke me up crying. He whispered to me that grandfather Ruland had been talking to him about some money. I told him he must be dreaming and to go back to sleep. About five o’clock he woke me up again and said grandfather had returned and that I must get up and do as he said. So we slipped out of bed and went into the kitchen and dressed by the fireplace. Wilson said that Grandfather told him there was some money in a box under the last step of the stairway over the closet back of father’s bed and he wanted us to get it and give it to my mother. Wilson commenced to cry and said he was scared but I told him he must see me through. I lighted a candle and we crept into the closet without waking father or mother. After turning things upside down and moving some boxes stored there, we found a wooden box, it was quite heavy. Wilson was holding the candle and he commenced to cry. I thought he was going to faint. I took him in my arms and comforted him. He wanted to give it up, but after quieting him I told him we must do just as Grandfather told us to do. I took the box and we slipped into the kitchen. I soon had a good fire in the fireplace and started breakfast. I called father and he said it was too early for breakfast. I told him I had a special reason and wanted mother to have her breakfast with us as soon as possible. She said she did not think she was able to sit up but I took some hot water in to father and he gave her a warm bathe, and we carried her out to the table. We put her in a rocking chair with pillows around her and brought out the box and placed it beside her plate. We told her about grandfather appearing to Wilson and telling him where to find it. W opened the box and inside found two buckskin bags filled with silver money. Mother burst out crying and the rest of us were soon all weeping with her. We all wept for some time as there seemed to be such a strange presence in the room. After we quieted down father and I counted the money. There was $265.00 mostly in French and British coinage in the two bags. It was certainly a God send to us as we had less than $5.00 in the house, and a hard winter ahead.

Now I have told my story and every word is true. The last time I talked with my brother Wilson not long before he died in 1892 he said he still had the buckskin bags and the wooden box.

Signed, Clark N. Vandervoort
I found this treasure of a tale in my own grandfather's belongings after his death. Clark H. Vandervoort was my great, great grandfather. I did not alter the story except to correct the spelling.

20 comments:

  1. Wow........ that was some story. Had me shivering & my hairs standing up on end!

    (NUTS in MAY)

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  2. Whoaaaaaa....that is soooo cooool!
    Really cool....to have a story like that in your family makes it double awesome... I wonder how your great great grandfather's grandfather came about the money...there is another mystery to uncover! (Book to be written?!) Thank you for sharing this!

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  3. There are enough fine stories of communications between dimensions to let us know we are not here alone. One that is part of your family history is even better. Thank you for telling us about it!

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  4. This is incredible. I can picture the characters as the story unfolds. How much more meaningful this must be as it isn't a story to you but your family history.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  5. Love mysterious true stories, butternut, and your's is particulary exciting. I wonder what they used the money for? Would that be a real fortune now? We always think times are hard but I think times we quite hard in the past when people "did without" because of seasonal reasons or lack of money/trade. It would be interesting to see you develop this into a young adult historical fiction novel. Don't you think it would work?<3

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  6. There are so many stories to tell. I am sure a book is in here some where. Both sides of my family were early Ohio pioneers and I have heard a few tales of the trials they endured. There is at least one other story that I saw written about a premonition that saved our family from an Indian attack.

    Right now I have a completely different kind of short story finished that I would like to have published. Does anyone have a publisher friend?

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  7. Wow! That story was way cool! Hope you find a publisher!

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  8. It was the last bit that sent this story home for me. Chilled me to the bone.

    What is it with your family and their attraction to ghosts?

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  9. I loved this story and intend to believe every word.

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  10. Every human being creates his own miracles

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  11. How lucky to have evidence of other ways and worlds of communication.

    How lucky to have a writer in your family who left his mark.

    Boo hoo...my son and I are psychic but I cannot trace it to any past family member.

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  12. Fascinating story. Thank you so much for sharing your family tale with us. The ways of the world sure are a mystery.

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  13. WOW!

    It seems that your ability to commune with the mysteries and with all the subtle energies is something that you've inherited. What a great story, what a fabulous thing to find.

    What an enchanting life you live. Wow!

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  14. Thank you for this..right up my alley! It seems as if mind and will hold on for a long time..there was something to be accomplished, and it was done!

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  15. very very neat story - while i don't have one quite as intense, you might find my post on "the girl in the yellow dress" and "the spirits of the bungalow" a bit interesting - they are on my "travel journal" blog - please drop by any of my little journals any time - jenean

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  16. That was alot of fun to read. I think it's incredibly lucky that you have these stories in your family and they've been kept and will continue to be handed down.

    thank you for sharing!

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  17. This is an incredibly moving tale of how life can be more bizarre than fiction! I cannot imagine the feelings of these dear people, what a heavensent windfall in a desperate situation!

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  18. Something happen and we don't know why.At the first glance,it seems an incredible story,but if we suppose that there is no time and no place somewhere sometime, this story is credible.

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  19. What a very amazing exciting story .A big treasure to find Vandervoort sounds like a very Dutch name to me

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