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JodyLane3 wrote: I have been reading here and there items questioning John Smiths involvement with the Money Pit and here's what I believe.
The question of whether the story of the year 1795 being a start date of all this exploring may not be exact as Smith had already been living there on the island for some time and may have known about the Pit depression in the ground earlier. I do think that 1795 could be the date when he and his friends decided to finally take a crack at finding out what was down in it.
JodyLane3 wrote:The question over the description of the three original treasure explorers as either boys or young men can be attributed to the cultures and eras in which they are described. I believe Dan was 13 and the youngest of the three while John was 19. In that time 19 could definitely be a description for a young man but even at 13 in the 1790s wasn't far off from when young men were marrying and starting families of there own. Here in the states we have one state that still has it on the law books that women as young as 14 can marry with their parents permission (usually what we call a shot gun marriage). By the 1890s though the age of starting out a family and accepting responsibilities , especially in the more educated class, was definitely later. Today we would describe the three as teenagers.
JodyLane3 wrote:As far as the question of John Smith's involvement I think owning the Money Pit plot for 62 years speaks for itself. People have pointed out Vaughn being the source of the early history of the search as he told reporters and the 1850s searchers and seemingly that Smith was rather silent on the matter. I feel that every group needs a spokesman and Vaughn filled the role.
JodyLane3 wrote:Also the history or legend that Daniel was the original finder of the Money Pit, I think, is how Vaughn and Smith wanted it. I really think that Smith found it sometime before Daniel did and had included Vaughn in the secret. But before they could get around to trying to find out what was in the ground their younger friend stumbled onto it. So possibly to keep him from letting everyone else in town know, and someone beating them to it, they commenced the dig.
JodyLane3 wrote:As to whether or not Daniel, the Onslow group or anyone else early on knew there was a prior knowledge of the Pit's depression in the earth I don't care to speculate. I think when the 1850s came along the story as has been passed down to what we consider the origins of the Money Pit had been told so many times by Smith and Vaughn that they just let it perpetuate.
JodyLane3 wrote:One other thought on Vaughn as the spokesman/historian of the original trio. He had the main story to tell, but Smith had the stone to show and tell.
JodyLane3 wrote: Finally back at a computer. As far as the ages go, I may have switched the ages of Vaughn and McGinnis as they have been stated in the past (the ages of the three being between 13-19 or 12-19). But as far as hiding the stone goes, other references place the stone in full view in back of the fireplace. Going by fireplaces I can see this being dead center of the back wall with the characters facing out as you look into the fireplace. So like many of our discussions it seems we will have to agree to disagree with each other based on our sources. I think John Smith buying the MP lot in 1795 is a great indicator when all this began.
JodyLane3 wrote:And how does Samuel Ball fit into this if you take Smith out?
JodyLane3 wrote:If Smiths stepfather bought a lot on the island in the time you describe it would definitely put him in the 1795 timeline.
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