Area Research History

The Curse of Oak Island:
Area Research History and Investigative Lead Ideas
by Erick Weinstetter

It is my opinion that the Curse of Oak Island, the mystery of Oak Island, is probably much less dramatic then buried pirate treasure, Crusader treasure or even Holy Relics like the Ark of the Covenant. In fact that kind of makes me laugh. Mayan Treasure? Incan Treasure? Aztec Treasure? The works of William Shakespeare? It is fantastical to think so, the allure is understandable but I think misguided.
It seems more likely a simple explanation will suffice. Therefore I’ve concluded the most probable scenario, is the young men stumbled upon an old well site. The block and tackle allegedly found was used to raise up dirt and when they hit water, water. The layers of wood were used to support ladders so a worker could climb down deeper and deeper to dig with no need for a long ladder. A shorter ladder would be more stable. More on my conclusion on another page, I will name “Conclusion”.

Starting my research quest at Wikipedia – History of Nova Scotia. The colony of Nova Scotia (New Scotland) was at first made up of native Indians, the Mi’kmaq and then the arrival of Acadians from France.

There are first, two holes in my theory that must be investigated. One, if described above was a common technique for digging wells in the 1700’s, why wouldn’t the young men and later the men who formed the Onslow Company in 1804, see it as that? Two, who surveyed the property and dug the test well. So one must look at construction of well techniques of France, England etc. in the 1600’s. It may be that the British of the area of the late 1700’s and early 1800’s were not familiar with French well construction or surveying techniques of the 1600’s. That is, assuming it was early Acadian settlers, who surveyed the area. It is possible it was later British settlers after they fought with and eventually defeated the Acadians in 1761, built the test well. But that would be awful close, in time, to the discovery of the Oak Island treasure site (aka Money Pit). Therefore the British (Scottish?) teens and adults who soon followed in the search for treasure would have been very familiar with their own nations current construction methods. So it would seem more likely we are looking at an Acadian or earlier British site.

There are other possibilities though worth considering, especially if Acadian and British leads do not pan out. The very first people to land on Nova Scotia were led by the Italian, John Cabot (aka Zuan Chabotto and Giovanni Caboto) in 1497. He claims (no reason to doubt this) that he explored most of Nova Scotia for a few weeks. That of course would mean Mahone Bay was likely investigated by him and perhaps even Oak Island. See if any of his maps or writings still exist.

Nova Scotia was also explored by the João Álvares Fagundes of Portugal in1520. He was searching south of his settlements in Newfoundland. As with Cabot, see if any of Fagundes maps or writings remain that could indicate they saw Mahone Bay or Oak Island. Perhaps some writings or logs also can be found in archives somewhere in Portugal. So we also must investigate 16th century Portuguese construction methods for digging wells.

Port Royal
The people though that finally colonized Nova Scotia where the Acadians. So who are these Acadians? Would they have been in Mahone Bay? Where exactly did the settlers of the 1600’s come from? Acadia was a province of New France.
Visit Wikipedia for more information https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadia
The Acadians set up their first capital in Nova Scotia at Port Royal in 1605 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-Royal_National_Historic_Site). In fact nearby Lunenburg is only about 80 miles from Port Royal. With Port Royal being on the opposite coast. So perhaps before settling on the Port Royal site Oak Island was considered and tested. Does Oak Island have a suitable harbor for ships, a vantage point and fresh water? From the maps of Oak Island it had 2 coves perhaps considered for a harbor, Smugglers Cove and Smiths Cove.
And from what I remember, the site of the Money Pit is at or near the highest point on the island, close to the coves. Giving a small fort a tactical viewpoint.
So perhaps the Acadians tested and looked at Oak Island as a possible site for their first Capital or more likely as an auxiliary fort for a nearby Capital. The following book would be helpful, if nothing else, interesting reading: “The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763” (Fortress) by René Chartrand with illustrations by Brian Delf. Could even contact them for help in deciding if the island would be large enough for a small fort, that the Acadians would have even bothered to dig a test well.
Indeed small islands were often site of forts. I found this example on Boston.com, http://archive.boston.com/travel/explorene/articles/2006/07/02/tour_of_duty/
It shows Fort Warren on Georges Island in Boston Harbor (also visit http://www.bostonharborislands.org/georges-island). Though built in the 1800s it shows that during the era of which Oak Island may have been explored, small fort islands were indeed used. Georges Island is just 53 acres but only 39 full time acres as the rest is sometimes claimed by the rising tide. Oak Island by contrast is about three times larger at 140 acres. But of course you would need fresh water and when those explorers dug down at the potential Fort site, they found sea water. Filled in the site and moved on. Over the years the fill started to fall and a sump depression could be seen.

Annapolis Royal
Though the Acadians built the first Port Royal fort in 1605 it was attacked by the British and destroyed in 1613. The Acadians then built a new fort just 5 miles upstream in 1632. Also called Port Royal and now known as Annapolis Royal (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-Royal_(Acadia). Wikipedia has a great map showing the layout of the second Port Royal. It would remain the Acadian capital until another Bristish attack in 1710. At this time Port-Royal was the primary Acadian settlement, according to wikipedia, until Acadians migrated out of the community to Pisiguit, Cobequid, Grand Pre, and Beaubassin (Isthmus of Chignecto) in the 1680s.

Halifax
The British then further tried to once and for all wrest control of Nova Scotia away from the Acadians. The built a new city of Halifax, named after the 2nd Earl of Halifax. The long war was because earlier the British claimed the land as there own, way back in 1497. Cabot received financing from British and Italian banks and patent issued by King Henry VII of England. Cabot set sail in 1496. Upon landing on 24 June 1497, Cabot raised the Venetian and Papal banners, claiming the land for the King of England.

However by the time the French Acadians arrived England was no longer a Catholic nation, but a Protestant one. The Acadians were Catholic. Cabot had claimed the land for the King of England. However he also claimed it for the Roman Catholic Church. Furthermore leading to the war, was the fact the Acadians actually settled the area first, though claimed by the British they had not established themselves there. Both sides feeling they had claim to the area and both having signed treaties with the native Mi’kmaq Indians.

So finally after establishing their capital at Halifax, the British began building settlements. British fortifications were erected in Bedford (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Lunenburg (1753) and Lawrencetown (1754). The Acadians had little chance to win the war. The British controlled the entire eastern seaboard of North America with their 13 colonies (the future United States). So sending troops and supplies and resupplies was much easier for the British. However it was that same greed of wanting to control the entire North American seaboard that ultimately proved to much even for England. The United States declared its Independence in 1776. Canada would declare its Independence in 1867.

Again though, getting back to the search for treasure on Oak Island, the British exploration periods came very close to the discovery of the treasure pit. Likely local people would have been familiar with their own British construction techniques of wells. They also would have been familiar with any local person that had surveyed the Island only to find sea water after digging a well. No, if they did not know who built the pit, it was likely earlier peoples, the Acadians presumably or early British, perhaps the Portuguese.

French Acadians
So what do we know about the French Acadians? Where did they come from in France and how did they dig test wells there? Again let me turn to Wikipedia (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians). They came primarily from the regions of Île-de-France, Normandy, Brittany, Poitou and Aquitaine. Acadian family names have come from many areas in France. For example, the Maillets are from Paris; the LeBlancs of Normandy; the surname Melanson is from Brittany, and those with the surname Bastarache and Basque came from the Basque Country. Perhaps a good investigation would take you to these regions of France. Find Catholic families who may have letters, churches that may have records of those who left for Nova Scotia (Acadia) in the 1600. Perhaps one of those early settlers or crew of the ships wrote about Mahone Bay or the islands within it and their search for water. Perhaps even a map remains intact.

You also may find evidence of Oak Island exploration in the United States. Many Acadians migrated to present day Louisiana, where they developed what became known as Cajun culture. Some of those Acadians moved back to Canada but many remained. Perhaps in Louisiana you can find written evidence or maps of Nova Scotia’s early history. Someone may have a map or letter and not even realize what they have. They may not even realize their family originally came to Louisiana from Acadia.

Another starting point is courtesy of yet another Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Acadian_Villages_of_Nova_Scotia). It lists some of the early French families who settled the area. The very first family listed is Windsor. It also is not very fat from Oak Island. In fact to this day a road goes almost straight from Windsor to Mahone Bay. The old village was about 50 miles from Oak Island. Another village listed was Trahan, it was not far from Windsor. Guillaume Trahan left La Rochelle in France on April 1, 1636 aboard the Saint-Jehan. Maybe some records, writing and mention of others who left for Nova Scotia with him exist.

This map shows the region as settled around 1750, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisiguit#/media/File:Acadie_1750.JPG
You can read the related article on Wikipedia. (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisiguit)

Closest Acadian and other settlements to Oak Island
Oak Island, located in Mahone Bay is in Lunenburg County of Nova Scotia, Canada. Lunenburg was established by the English after building Halifax. An attempt to ensure the Acadians could not rebuild in the area. It is the largest town in the county. It was however built on an ancient Mi’kmaq site which in fact became a Acadian village known as Mirliguèche. So they, Acadians were in the Mahone Bay area from near the beginning of the Colony of Acadia, perhaps even before doing surveys. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunenburg,_Nova_Scotia).
One of those exploring the area was Isaac de Razilly (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_de_Razilly).
According to Wikipedia in 1632, Razilly became involved, at the request of Cardinal Richelieu, in the colonization of Acadia. To deal with a shortage of funds, a company was set up by Razilly and some of his friends which became known as the Razilly-Condonnier company. The King gave Razilly the official title of lieutenant-general for New France.

One of his lieutenants in Acadia was Charles de Menou d’Aulnay who was instrumental in maintaining the shipping to and from France. They inform the English they were to vacate all lands North of Pemaquid. This was accomplished shortly before Razilly’s death and resulted in all the French interests in Acadia being restored.
Razilly died suddenly at LaHave, Nova Scotia in December 1635. Curiously, perhaps importantly to figuring out who dug the original site of the Treasure Pit, LaHave is only about 20 miles from Oak Island.

So that puts one notable French Explorer in the region as early as 1630’s. It also puts at least two villages, less then 20 miles from Oak Island, before the young men began looking for treasure there. But lets keep digging.
What do you know, turns out a lot of explorers were in the area in the 1600’s. So going from say 1754 back to the first explorers at 1604 is one hundred and fifty years before the McGinnis family (alt. Macinnes, Macinnis et al.) settled in Nova Scotia. Any one of these explorers or their crew could have dug a test well for fresh water. So below in bold is a list of names one could investigate further to see if any of their writings, maps etc survived.

Earliest Explorers
1604 – Pierre Du Gua de Monts , from Saintonge, sailed to Acadia with 79 men in 1604. (b. 1558 to Guy and Claire Goumard Du Gua)
1604 – Francois Grave Du Pont and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt sailed back to France before winter
1605 – Grave Du Pont arrived back at St. Croix in June 1605 with 2 ships. They spent 6 weeks exploring the entire coast to Cape Cod
1605 – They built structures at Port Royal. Grave Du Pont and Samuel de Champlain and 45 men remained the winter, while de Monts and Poutrincourt returned to France
1606 – Poutrincourt returned to Port Royal in July 1606 with 50 men (including his son Biencourt, Louis Hebert, and Marc Lescarbot)
1610 – Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt, Baron de Saint Just became the first seigneur of Acadia when de Monts granted him the Port Royal area in 1604.
1610 – Forty men stayed with de Poutrincourt the winter at Port Royal
1611 – His son, Charles de Biencourt, returned with his mother and more men including 2 Jesuits, Pierre Biard and Enemond Masse
1613 – Samuel Argall (British) attacked St. Sauveur and then Port Royal in November
1614 – Though Poutrincourt decided to abandon the colony, his son and a few others (Claude LaTour, Charles LaTour, etc.) decided to stay
1616 – The French that remained were said to be mainly of Huguenot stock
1617 – Forts were build at Pentagouet, on the St. John River, and at Cape Sable (Fort Lomeron). Lomeron was a merchant who supported Poutrincourt and the LaTours
1621 – Sir William Alexander, Earl of Stirling got a charter for New Scotland (“Nova Scotia”) in 1621
1622 – Alexander headed to Acadia in 1622, but had to winter in Newfoundland
1623 – He explored the south shore of Nova Scotia and sailed home
1623 – Jean de Biencourt died and Charles LaTour took over. He moved the headquarters to the Cape Sable
1623 – LaTour also established a fort at Pentagouet
1628 -1632 – Canada & Acadia were under English and Scottish control
1629 – James Stewart started another Scottish settlement at Port Baleine on Cape Breton (Ile Royale)
1630 – Posts at Pentagouet, on the Saint John River, at Cape Sable, at Miscou, and at present-day St. Ann on Cape Breton and Fort Lomeron (in the Cape Sable area)
1632 – After France regained Acadia and New France under the Treaty of St. Germain-en-Lay
1632 – Isaac de Razilly left France on L’Esperance a Dieu on July 4, 1632 with 2 transports and 300 people
1632 – d’Aulnay de Charnisay, and Nicholas Denys de la Ronde, Razilly left them and the group at LaHave on September 8 (LaHave is very close to Oak Island)
1635 – de Razilly dies. d’Aulnay de Charnisay of LaHave and LaTours had forts at Cape Sable, St. John River, and Pentagouet. Moves his base to St. John
1636 – St. Jehan, which left for Acadia on April 1. Some names on the passenger list: Isaac Pesselin dit Champagne, Pierre Martin, Guillaume Trahan
1636 – A complete passenger list is found here http://www.acadian-cajun.com/stjehan.htm
1640 – Sometime between ’35-’40 d’Aulnay de Charnisay moves his headquarters from LaHave to Port Royal but some men remain in LaHave
1641 – The St. Francois in 1641 passenger list (here http://froux.pagesperso-orange.fr/divers/stfran.html) shows the names of Jacques Bourgeois and Jehan Poirier
1642 – The Saint Clement in 1642 sails to Nova Scotia to help LaTour with 63 men
1643 – It’s estimated that there were 45-50 households at Port Royal and LaHave. An estimated 300 to 350 colonists just at those two locations
1645 – For the last decade both d’Aulnay and La Tour believed they were in charge of Acadia
1647 – d’Aulnay destroyed LaTour’s fort at the St. John and was confirmed as Governor of Acadia. LaTour left for exile in Quebec
——Date of wood found at money pit in season 4 dates to @1650-1699 ——
1650 – d’Aulnay dies, LaTour returned as Governor of Acadia and Lt. Philippe Mius d’Entremont was one of his leaders
1650 – LaTour also asumes d’Aulnays debts bringing him in some conflict with a creditor LeBorgne whom d’Aulnay had borrowed large sums
1651 – Nicolas Denys took advantage of d’Aulnay’s death and set up posts at St. Ann and St. Peters
1652 – Jeanne Motin soon kicked Denys out
1653 – Denys is taken prisoner by LeBorgne and kept at Port Royal.
1653 – LaHave was burned down by LeBorgne
1654 – Robert Sedgewick of Boston attacked Acadia in August and destroyed most of the settlements including Port Royal, La Have, and the Saint John River
1654 – He left the area, but names an Acadian Council with Guillaume Trahan placed in command
1657-1658 – Sir Thomas Temple came to Acadia aboard the Satisfaction. His grant of Acadia was shared by LaTour and William Crowne, came from Lord Robert Cromwell
1658 – Temple kicked out some of LeBorgne’s men at LaHave
1664 – Temple again kicked out some Frenchmen this time at Port Rossignol
1665 – Though Temple established a presence at Rossignol and Mirligueche (now Lunenburg, not far from Oak Island), he lived in Boston and most power centered at Port Royal
1657 – Pierre LaVerdure, his wife Priscilla Mellanson, may have been aboard the Capt. Pierre Butler’s ship Satsifaction
1658 – Charles and Pierre, sons of Pierre and Pricilla stayed in Acadia. They adopted their mother’s name (Melancon/Melanson) and later helped establish Grand Pre
1659 – Other settlers that may have settled in this period were Laurent Granger and Roger Caissy
1666 – France made the decision not to send more colonists to New France (and therefore, Canada and Nova Scotia)
1667 – France regained Acadia after the Treaty of Breda in 1667. LeBorgne’s son Alexandre LeBorgne de Bellisle became Governor
1670 – Hector d’Andigne de Grandfontaine received the surrender of the English forts at Port Royal
1671 – de Grandfontaine orders a census taken. 392 people, though many others not counted. Most (around 350) of the population was in Port Royal
1671 – The census can be found here http://www.acadian-cajun.com/1671cens.htm It appears there were 6 settlements with only one being major
1674 – Julian Aernoutz, a Dutch naval officer in command of the frigate Flying Horse arrived in Acadia and captured two forts before returning to New York
1691 – French privateer Baptiste. Essentially a pirate, supported by the French. He recruited a crew from Acadia
1693 – Acadia census shows a small colony at LaHave including one La CHAPELLE age 45. Any relation to the later Oak Island Treasure Hunter, William Chappell?
1693 – Others at the LaHave colony include Marie GAROST age 17, La RUINE 50 with wife Madeleine 45, Jacques (volunteer) 38, and unamed wife of Provost age 50
————————————————
1753 – The new Governor of Nova Scotia, Col. Peregrine Thomas Hopson sent most of the German settlers to Merliguish (which was renamed Lunenburg)
1755 – 1758 – British exile almost all Acadians (mostly French Catholics)

And a list of the timeline continues and you can pick up the entire trail here: http://www.acadian-cajun.com/origin.htm
Dozens of Captains and their ships, hundreds but more likely thousands of men walked the shores of Acadia in the 1600’s. Any one of them could have prospected and surveyed Oak Island.
For more help deciding on the most promising leads, see the below websites and books. The answer is out there.
If it were me and I had the time or opportunity to research in more depth, I would start with the known explorers, conquerors, settlers of the LaHave (LaHeve) and Mirligueche (now Lunenburg) areas, since they were the closest ancient settlements to Oak Island. Those that are convinced there is Pirate treasure, should look toward Baptiste.

Since it is my opinion that the most likely explanation for the Money Pit is a test well, I wouldn’t waste my time searching Pirate leads. I just don’t think Pirates would have undertaken digging a well, though of course, they could have. And I don’t think they would have bothered to bury anything below the water table depths. Again, I think more likely, explorers were looking for places to locate Forts and Villages. Then of course, it could have been an early Homesteader.

Finally you can see by the above timeline that after the early 1700’s the British controlled the area and little by way of exploration, new settlements near Mahone Bay were being settled. Basically the French Catholic Acadians live under Protestant British rule during most of the century and were offered little incentive for exploration and opening new territories. Obviously with all the new British settlers of the the late 1700’s like the three teenagers who found the Money Pit, any modern Scottish well technology and building principles would be familiar to them. Clearly this leads back again to the 1600s and the explorations by the Acadians or the early English and to a lesser extent the Dutch, Portugese and Germans.

Report on Nova Scotia, 1761 by Charles Morris
This can be found at this amazing website in full. http://www.acadian-cajun.com/morris.htm
I have simply edited it a bit to better focus on items near Mahone Bay and perhaps important to an investigation.

CHESTER.
The next Lands westward is the Township of Chester, this township was begun 1760. There is about Thirty Families containing about One Hundred and twenty persons settled from New England with their Stock, no Improvements but what the present Inhabitants have made. The front of this Township is situated at the Bottom of Mahone Bay, has several small islands close to it, is very conveniently situated- for the Boat Cod Fishery and having good Boat Harbours within the Islands.
*Note that it wasn’t started till 1760. Clearly any well digging methods like using wood every ten feet or so to support a ladder would be familiar with the early searchers.

LUNESBURG.
The next Lands lying westward is the Township of Lunenburg bounded East by Mahone Bay, South on the Ocean, West by the Harbour and River of La Have. This in general is a Tract of good Land, not so Stony a Soil as the Lands to the eastward, but it is in general very thick Timbered Birch, Beach. Spruce, Fin-, Hemlock with a- mixture of some Oak, are the natural growth in general.
The Township first began its Settlement in 1753* by the Dutch and Germans who had been transported into the Colony in the two preceding years, it then contained about Four Hundred Families and proprietors consisting of about fifteen Hundred persons.
*Note that it wasn’t started till 1753. However well digging methods of the Dutch and Germans may have been unfamiliar with the Scottish and English who first began looking for treasure at the Money Pit. The start date of 1753 was perhaps the first major construction period of Lunenburg. We know the area was actually settled and explored much earlier.

Related Books
The Forts of New France in Northeast America 1600-1763 (Fortress) by René Chartrand with illustrations by Brian Delf
A Great and Noble Scheme by John Mack Faragher
Newport, Nova Scotia: A Rhode Island Township by John Victor Duncanson with illustrations by Robert W. Chambers and Walter K. Morrison
Falmouth, a New England township in Nova Scotia by John Victor Duncanson
The Acadians of Nova Scotia Past and Present by Sally Ross and Alphonse Deveau
History of New France by Marc Lescarbot
Voyages of Samuel de Champlain
Acadian-Cajun Atlas by Timothy Hebert
Epistola ex Portu-regali in Acadia
An Encouragement in Colonies (1624)
Acadia at the End of the 17th Century by John Clarence Webster
Capt. Francis Champernowne,the Dutch Conquest of Acadie,and Other Historical Papers, (p. 127-159) edited by Albert H. Hoyt (Boston,1889)

Related Websites
http://www.acadian-cajun.com/origin.htm
http://www.canadiana.org/cgi-bin/ECO/mtq?id=60a3018c89&doc=36652