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Two
THE STATE
July 27, 1935
The Last Journey
of Theodosia ISurr
В
<lp.iih of
'•n M r*.
greatly prostrated.
She longed
«*>
moot hor
father. Undw dslf of
August 12. 142. flu*
wrote: "I wish to see
you and will leave this
as soon a* possible. I
could not go alone by
In n<l for our coachman
is a great drunkard
find requires the pres-
cnee of a master. and
my husband is obliged
to wait for a military
court of inquiry."
On the noth of De-
cent her
. 1612, she oin-
bark
:ed
at Georgetown.
s. C
., on the schooner
Patriot for Xew York.
The vessel did not ar¬
rive. For months her
father waited in an
agony of suspense. In
letters to Governor
Alston he entreated him
BY WAY OF EXPLANATION
In the May 25 issue of “The State" there ap¬
peared an article by G. E. Dean, telling of the
portrait of Theodosia Burr Alston which had
teen found some half a century ago in a fisher¬
man’s shack at Nags Head and also mentioning
the fact that the mysterious disappearance of
the beautiful woman had never been explained.
Last week. Rev. D. H. Tuttle, one of the best
loved men who ever filled a pulpit in North Caro¬
lina, came into the offices of "The State" with
excerpts from the “History of the Tuttle
Family,” which throw some new light on the
Theodosia Burr Alston mystery. Incidentally,
she was related to the Tuttle family, of which
Rev. D. H. Tuttle is a member. So are the
Tuttles of Caldwell County, and also the Court¬
neys up in that section. Rev. D. H. is 70 years
old and is still in good health.
We believe you’ll enjoy reading this sequel
to Mr. Dean’s article, as it is set forth in the
"History of the Tuttle Family.”
him
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hope: that the vessel had put
into some port and would vet be heard
from. No tidings over came. Hope
slowly gave way to despair. From
this blow ho never recovered.
At the time it was commonly sup¬
posed that the vessel had foundered at
*oa in a heavy gale a few days after
leaving port. Many believed that she
had been captured by pirates, who in¬
fested southern waters, and her crew
and passengers murdered. Tn Is 70 a
.Yew York city nowspntior contained
the following extract, taken from the
Wtuhxnnfon
Theodosia Burr’s Fate— The Alleged
Confession of a Penitent Old Pirate
bv th
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Chicago
Time
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will
i the do
nth .
iii * r I • 1 a
#f Theod
'-'ll III
osia 1
lurr
Alston has been again brought to pul-
lie notice. \. the article in these pa¬
per* was token from the Tost. I write
to you been use my story corroborate'
it.
In 1550 an old man. who, year* be¬
fore, bad been a sailor, an occupant
of the
Сям
County poorhouse, C«»-
sopoli*. Mich., in conversing with a
lady, the wife of a Methodist minister,
about his past life, filled with wrong¬
doing and crime, said that the net
which caused him the most remorse
wa« the tipping of the plank on which
Mrs. Alston, the daughter of Aaron
Burr, walked into the ocean.
Said he: “I wan n sailor on n pirate
vessel. We captured the vessel in
which this lady was. When told she
must walk the plank into the ocean.
?he n*ked for a few moments alone,
which w.i- granted. She came forward
when told her time had expired, dressed
beautifully in white, the loveliest
woman I had ever seen. Calmly she
stopped upon the plank. With eve*
raised to the heavens, and hands
cro«««*d reverently upon her bosom, she
walked -lowly and firmly into the ocean
without an apparent tremor. Had I
refused to perform my work, as I wish
with all my heart I had, my death
would have been -ure and certain.”
This is the testimony of an almost
dying man. the confession of the most
terrible net of his life. It seems to
»>e " hen an old man. bemoaning his
life., filled with sin. make* such a con-
frsrion without any other provocation
whatever than the unburdening of hie
soul during his preparation for an¬
other life — for death came soon after
—that there must be truth in his state¬
ment.
The lady to whom the confession
was made, repeated to my grand¬
mother. whose maiden name was Mary
Edwards, and who was a cousin of
Aaron Burr, the story as I have told
it. as she had frequently heard her
speak of the mystery concerning th»
death of Mrs. Alston.
S
A. Drake.
•Sturgis St., Jo County, Mich., July 27.
After the death of his wife and son
a settled despondency took possession
of Mr, Alston, from which nothing
could arouse him. He died III Charles¬
ton. S. C„ September 10.
181Й,
aged
35 years.
Theodosia’s Will
August 0. 1805. Theodosia to Joseph
Alston. "Whether it is the effect of
extreme debility and disordered nerves,
or whether it is a real presentment of
the existence of which I have been
often told and always doubted. I can¬
not tell; but something whispers me
that my end approaches. In vain 1
reason with myself; in vain I occupy
my niind and seek to fix mv attention
on other subjects; there is about me
that dreadful heaviness and sinking of
heart ; that awful foreboding of which
it is impossible to divest myself. Per¬
haps I am now standing on the brink
of eternity, and ere I plunge into the
fearful abyss I have some few request*
to make.
To you, my beloved husband, I leave
our child: the child of my bosom and
who was once a part of myself, and
from whom I shall shortly be separated
by the cold grave. You love him now.
henceforth love him for me also. And
oh. my husband, attend to the last
prayer of a doting mother: never, never
listen to what any other person tells
you of him. Bo yourself his judge on
all occasions, lie ha* his faults: see
them ami correct them yourself. De¬
sist not an instant in your endeavors
to secure his confidence. It is a work
that requires uniformity of conduct as
well a* wealth of affection towards
him. I know, my beloved, that yon
can foresee what 'is right on this sub¬
ject as on every other. But recollect
these are the last words 1 can ever
utter. It will tranquilizo my last mo¬
ments to have disburdened mvself of
them.
I feel you will lie scarcely able to
read thi» scrawl, but 1 feel hurried
and agitated. Death is not welcome
to me. I confess it is even dreaded.
Yon have made me too fond of life.
(Continued on page twenty- two)