A trip home

[Dutchman]

MODS-- if this belongs somewhere else please move it. thanks

For once I am going to be serious though.

For those who were at Beaufort, my appologies for sneeking out at the last minute. I tried to get all my see ya laters in.... but i had to meet someone

While at the Beaufort invasion this weekend I was fortunate enought to spend a bit of time with my friend Kevin Duffus author of The Last Days of Black Beard The Pirate. Not a plug for Kevin -well Ok it is- but folks, if you are interested in a different view than what has been circulating for the past couple hundred years read the book. On the way to Beaufort, Graces GPS sent us way off course via a ferry resulting in an erie sequence of deja-vu from when i was eight years old. but anyhow after relaying this story to Kevin, he explains that there was another whole issue that i was unaware of close by. This led to a wonderful fieldtrip on the way home.

We took a left, then a Right, then turned around and another left.. or was it a right? we ultimately ended up walking through a field and entered a patch of woods where we were greeted by balast stone headmarkers of no less than a dozen guests. we don't know which one she was but Kevin has narrowed the site down to the final residence of Black Beards sister Susannah Beard Franck!

I can't even begin to explain the feeling of knowing that I was one of a very small handful of people that had come to visit her in the last 200 years, that we were most likely standing on the grounds of the last place Black Beard visited, took care of daily business and made plans before his death and that only a few people know where this is! The five of us were standing on the shore just absorbing the scene and I got to thinking about Adventure sitting at the mouth of the creek, a long boat rowing ashore with the man I've done so much reading and learning about on board visiting his family and just wondered what he did before he headed back to sea. Kevin asked what I thought of the whole thing. I just sat there for a second...... a clear still day became cloudy, the wind picked up, white caps formed, and a few rain drops fell. All I could say was we were not alone out there. I don't know if it was Susannah or her brother Edward- but we were definitely not alone!

We can read the books and put on our outfits for a weekend and visit the sites. We can sit in front of our monitors and argue about bucket boots till we are blue in the face. But I have never experienced living history like this. I have done my darnedest to portray my characters as accurately as I can based on the information we have. But after a wonderful weekend with many good friends, doing what we love and being able to conclude with a humble visit to an unknown, non-commercialized bit of history this important- all i can say is thank you all for a wonderful education!!! Thank you Kevin for introducing me to Susannah!

[Matusalem]

but you won't tell us the specific geographic location for whence it lie, will ye

[Dutchman]

out of respect for the location. not a snowballs chance- sorry

[Carolina Buccaneer]

MODS-- if this belongs somewhere else please move it. thanks

For once I am going to be serious though.

For those who were at Beaufort, my appologies for sneeking out at the last minute. I tried to get all my see ya laters in.... but i had to meet someone

While at the Beaufort invasion this weekend I was fortunate enought to spend a bit of time with my friend Kevin Duffus author of The Last Days of Black Beard The Pirate. Not a plug for Kevin -well Ok it is- but folks, if you are interested in a different view than what has been circulating for the past couple hundred years read the book. On the way to Beaufort, Graces GPS sent us way off course via a ferry resulting in an erie sequence of deja-vu from when i was eight years old. but anyhow after relaying this story to Kevin, he explains that there was another whole issue that i was unaware of close by. This led to a wonderful fieldtrip on the way home.

We took a left, then a Right, then turned around and another left.. or was it a right? we ultimately ended up walking through a field and entered a patch of woods where we were greeted by balast stone headmarkers of no less than a dozen guests. we don't know which one she was but Kevin has narrowed the site down to the final residence of Black Beards sister Susannah Beard Franck!

I can't even begin to explain the feeling of knowing that I was one of a very small handful of people that had come to visit her in the last 200 years, that we were most likely standing on the grounds of the last place Black Beard visited, took care of daily business and made plans before his death and that only a few people know where this is! The five of us were standing on the shore just absorbing the scene and I got to thinking about Adventure sitting at the mouth of the creek, a long boat rowing ashore with the man I've done so much reading and learning about on board visiting his family and just wondered what he did before he headed back to sea. Kevin asked what I thought of the whole thing. I just sat there for a second...... a clear still day became cloudy, the wind picked up, white caps formed, and a few rain drops fell. All I could say was we were not alone out there. I don't know if it was Susannah or her brother Edward- but we were definitely not alone!

We can read the books and put on our outfits for a weekend and visit the sites. We can sit in front of our monitors and argue about bucket boots till we are blue in the face. But I have never experienced living history like this. I have done my darnedest to portray my characters as accurately as I can based on the information we have. But after a wonderful weekend with many good friends, doing what we love and being able to conclude with a humble visit to an unknown, non-commercialized bit of history this important- all i can say is thank you all for a wonderful education!!! Thank you Kevin for introducing me to Susannah!

I know how you felt, when you visited that gravesite, I've had the same feeling while walking thru old cemeteries , you can't describe it till you do it.

I love looking at old tombstones, their like a museum to me.

I wonder if blackbeard didn't have more than one sister, you would think he would have, in that time period there was very large families, just him and a sister doesn't sound right, I'm sure he might of had some brother's too, just my thought's of doing genealogical research myself thru the years.