WAS THERE EVER AN "UNKNOWN AUTHOR" OF THE BEALE PAPERS?

[ECS]

As Gorham B Walker reflected to Lt Fawcett, with NO evidence that there was an actual "unknown author", the logical conclusion is that James Beverly Ward in addition of acting as copyright agent, was the author of the Beale Papers.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Rebel - KGC]

Must be the TURKEY "talking"...

 

[ECS]

How many times are you going to "REPEAT" this information. I think we all know that is a given. That is why we seek other sources.

Seek other sources and then "REPEAT" the same information?
I think we all know that your replies are a given.
Either an "idle punctilio" or a complaint about another's post.

 

[franklin]

You said it brother.

 

[ECS]

The entire treasure story is based on this "unknown author" hearsay account of what Robert Morriss told and shown him while Morriss was under the care of his niece, Anzoletta Saunders during the "2nd year of the Confederate War".
Then, for 20 years tries to solve the three ciphers, but only succeeded with C2, so he writes a manuscript and brings it to Ward, for Ward can act as agent and publisher...
...and then Ward applies for copyright with only the title, accepting that the story presented is true while NEVER seeing the evidence, ie the letters, iron box, handwritten ciphers that the Beale story is based, and has his cousin , John William Sherman print the pamphlet copies, write book review copy and adds for the newspaper at which he was sub-editor.
During the period of publishing and sale this "unknown author" who started this just disappears from the scene.

The obvious conclusion being that:
1. There never was an "unknown author"
2. The "manuscript" was not completed when Ward applied for copyright as "agent".
3. There never was a Beale, or letters, or iron box with ciphers outside of the narrative text.
4. The "unknown authors" most probably were Ward and Sherman, with other relatives contributing input.

Anzoletta Saunders is never mention in the Beale Papers, only that this "unknown author" heard the story from Morriss at his nieces house- Would the 1885 Lynchburg buying public know the identity of this niece?
Why was she not mentioned by name?
Who this "unknown author" chose as his "agent" is not mentioned by name in the Beale narrative story, but only on the copyright and title page of the job print pamphlet.
Max Guggenheimer, well known Lynchburg businessman AND contemporary of Ward and Sherman AND the of the publishing and sales date of the pamphlet WAS MENTIONED by name. Why Max ?

 

[franklin]

I have to go back and read the story again. Can not remember.

I read the story again. It is mentioned in the newspapers that Robert Morriss died at the home of his niece at Roslin, not in the Beale Papers. According to what I can read and the way it sounds, Robert Morriss was the author of the story and he handed the iron box and the Beale Papers to James Beverly Ward, agent for the author. When he mentions of using the DOI to find the meaning of one of the papers he is talking about himself. And I can find no mention where the iron box exchanged hands after Robert Morriss gave it to him in 1862. So Robert Morriss, author and James Beverly Ward agent for the author.

Since Roslin was owned by Anzoletta Saunders at the time of Robert Morriss' death in January, 1863, and it was reported in the newspapers is the only reason no one ever contacted her about the story. Also she was not that accessible to get to and to talk to unless you traveled.

 

[ECS]

That's just it, the entire story, everything about it, including the author, is just a compilation of complete unknowns. People have been blindly filling in all of those blanks ever since the publication hit the shelves simply because they want so badly to believe in the story's unbelievable treasure.
The author understood this human nature and he certainly set out to capitalize on it. If there was any truth at all to the story then there would be some directly connectiving evidence remaining, yet there is none, not to any of it.
This story is just like all of other classic treasure tales, without any provenance whatsoever, it was just penned by different design. 132 years and thousands upon thousands of researchers later and there still isn't a single hint of that provenance, and there never will be, and for good reason...

The Beale Papers contain enough plausible, but ambiguous references created to foster believability in the presented treasure tale, that has caused many to "fill in the blanks" possible connections to the alluded people, events, and locations in the Beale narrative text, but nothing has ever been found to be conclusive evidence that can prove the story true.

 

[ECS]

... What we do know for certain is that this adventure never took place as described and that many of the details in the story are seriously flawed and laced with author deceptions. Once we accept these facts then it becomes pretty clear that there was never a treasure or said grand adventure. And that's all that really matters.

...and those that claim cipher solution or search endlessly in Bedford county for this "Beale treasure" deny these most obvious accepted and backed up by research facts.
They will attack others with theory posing as fact or accuse others of "making up" fact, anything to support their illusion of belief that this dime novel treasure story is true.

 

[ECS]

... It is mentioned in the newspapers that Robert Morriss died at the home of his niece at Roslin, not in the Beale Papers.
According to what I can read and the way it sounds, Robert Morriss was the author of the story and he handed the iron box and the Beale Papers to James Beverly Ward, agent for the author.
When he mentions of using the DOI to find the meaning of one of the papers he is talking about himself. And I can find no mention where the iron box exchanged hands after Robert Morriss gave it to him in 1862.
So Robert Morriss, author and James Beverly Ward agent for the author...

It is all quite possible that there never was an iron box, letters, sheets of numbers covered papers, as in the Beale narrative text it states that an "unknown author" presented Ward with a finished manuscript, and Ward, his wife, and cousins, contributed to the creation of the Beale Papers and used Robert Morriss like Thomas J Beale, as fictional characters in the dime novel pamphlet.

 

[ECS]

The entire treasure story is based on this "unknown author" hearsay account of what Robert Morriss told and shown him while Morriss was under the care of his niece, Anzoletta Saunders during the "2nd year of the Confederate War".

Then, for 20 years tries to solve the three ciphers, but only succeeded with C2, so he writes a manuscript and brings it to Ward, for Ward can act as agent and publisher...
...and then Ward applies for copyright with only the title, accepting that the story presented is true while NEVER seeing the evidence, ie the letters, iron box, handwritten ciphers that the Beale story is based, and has his cousin , John William Sherman print the pamphlet copies, write book review copy and adds for the newspaper at which he was sub-editor.
During the period of publishing and sale this "unknown author" who started this just disappears from the scene.

The obvious conclusion being that:
1. There never was an "unknown author"
2. The "manuscript" was not completed when Ward applied for copyright as "agent".
3. There never was a Beale, or letters, or iron box with ciphers outside of the narrative text.
4. The "unknown authors" most probably were Ward and Sherman, with other relatives contributing input.

With all the various theories and claims that have been presented over the years, those presented on these TN Beale threads, most evaporate into the vapors when NO connection to Ward or the extended Risqué family bloodline, or to Ward's wife, Harriet and her cousin J W Sherman and the extended Buford/Otey family bloodline which also included Sarah Mitchell Morris.

 

[franklin]

It is all quite possible that there never was an iron box, letters, sheets of numbers covered papers, as in the Beale narrative text it states that an "unknown author" presented Ward with a finished manuscript, and Ward, his wife, and cousins, contributed to the creation of the Beale Papers and used Robert Morriss like Thomas J Beale, as fictional characters in the dime novel pamphlet.

I have stated several times on this forum and others that I talked to Pauline Innis on the telephone several times while she resided at the Watergate Hotel. She told me she had the iron box and that she was going to look in it to see if there was any other papers other than the two pieces of something that looked like a receipt. She had no reason to lie and I believe she was telling the truth. George Hart told her where the iron box was located in Roanoke at the home of an Otey. Everyone knows that the cipher sheets of Clayton and George Hart's where different from the cipher codes in the "Job Print Pamphlet. Now if the Hart brothers obtained their sheets of code from Newton Hazelwood and he is descended from the Otey's and the cipher codes printed by Pauline Innis in Argosy magazine in August, 1964 are different than the "Job Print Pamphlet" where else did the different cipher codes that Newton Hazelwood had come from other than from the iron box?

 

[ECS]

Was not Clayton Hart married to an Otey?
Also, Clayton Hart made several copies of the numbered papers that N H Hazelwood provided to him- those that Pauline Innis received in the 1960's could have been written by Clayton Hart.
There is NO mention of what became of the "original" iron box, if indeed one existed outside of the dime novel story, once this "unknown author", also according to the story narrative, delivered a finished manuscript to James Beverly Ward for copyright and publication.
There is NO hard verification that the iron box possessed by Pauline Innis WAS the Beale iron box of the story.

Pauline Innis , with her "GOLD IN THE BLUE RIDGE" created the resurgence of the Beale story, along with articles she wrote for men's adventure magazines and treasure magazines, which has been embellished by other writers who have built additional versions and supplemental stories, mostly from imaginative speculation or psychic visions that began with the aforementioned Harts.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

I have stated several times on this forum and others that I talked to Pauline Innis on the telephone several times while she resided at the Watergate Hotel. She told me she had the iron box and that she was going to look in it to see if there was any other papers other than the two pieces of something that looked like a receipt. She had no reason to lie and I believe she was telling the truth. George Hart told her where the iron box was located in Roanoke at the home of an Otey. Everyone knows that the cipher sheets of Clayton and George Hart's where different from the cipher codes in the "Job Print Pamphlet. Now if the Hart brothers obtained their sheets of code from Newton Hazelwood and he is descended from the Otey's and the cipher codes printed by Pauline Innis in Argosy magazine in August, 1964 are different than the "Job Print Pamphlet" where else did the different cipher codes that Newton Hazelwood had come from other than from the iron box?

One article that I read indicate that NH had read the BPP previous to the C. Hart "event". C. Hart changed the Cipher(s) slightly, went to his brother about such & the Hart Bros. became TREASURE HUNTERS from Roanoke, Va., hence... THE HART PAPERS!

 

[ECS]

... According to what I can read and the way it sounds, Robert Morriss was the author of the story and he handed the iron box and the Beale Papers to James Beverly Ward, agent for the author. When he mentions of using the DOI to find the meaning of one of the papers he is talking about himself. And I can find no mention where the iron box exchanged hands after Robert Morriss gave it to him in 1862. So Robert Morriss, author and James Beverly Ward agent for the author...

The changing of first person to third person and back again in the narrative text does make it confusing on who wrote the story.
The way I have read and interpreted the story, Robert Morriss told the original story to the "unknown author" in 1862, who was young and had leisure time during the Confederate War, but also had affairs in Richmond.
Upon the request of this young "unknown author" Morriss was asked to give all the details of his encounter with Thomas J Beale, which the author wrote down for future reference. This account was presented as first person verbatim from Morriss in the narrative text.
After promises made, Morriss gave the author the iron box, Beale letters, and cipher pages and this young person spent the next 20 years trying to solve the ciphers, only succeeding in the cipher that describes the treasure and vault 4 miles from Bufords.
He then writes the manuscript in first person and presents the finished work to James Beverly Ward to act as agent in publisher.
What most overlook when reading the Beale Papers is that Robert Morriss, Thomas J Beale, the "unknown author", and Ward, all have become characters in the dime novel job print pamphlet.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

BUT! Based on REAL ppl! WHY were their names "used"...?

 

[ECS]

Not necessarily based on real people, but their somewhat "modified" names where employed because of familiarity in the intended market of Lynchburg where they were placed for sale.

 

[franklin]

The changing of first person to third person and back again in the narrative text does make it confusing on who wrote the story.
The way I have read and interpreted the story, Robert Morriss told the original story to the "unknown author" in 1862, who was young and had leisure time during the Confederate War, but also had affairs in Richmond.
Upon the request of this young "unknown author" Morriss was asked to give all the details of his encounter with Thomas J Beale, which the author wrote down for future reference. This account was presented as first person verbatim from Morriss in the narrative text.
After promises made, Morriss gave the author the iron box, Beale letters, and cipher pages and this young person spent the next 20 years trying to solve the ciphers, only succeeding in the cipher that describes the treasure and vault 4 miles from Bufords.
He then writes the manuscript in first person and presents the finished work to James Beverly Ward to act as agent in publisher.
What most overlook when reading the Beale Papers is that Robert Morriss, Thomas J Beale, the "unknown author", and Ward, all have become characters in the dime novel job print pamphlet.

There are a couple of CSA Soldiers that everyone has been overlooking that could very well be the author of the Beale Papers. Anzoletta Saunders had two sons in the Confederate Army. One was in the Calvary and came home at about the time. The other was in an elite special group that no one even knows what they did. Either of these two soldiers could have had time at home and could have been called away to Richmond. Especially the one in the Elite Special Group. He was even in Brazil before the war and where did all of the Confederate Officers and their men go to after the war===========to Brazil and Mexico.

 

[ECS]

Do you have information on these two sons?
I remember reading that she also had a younger son who was still at home when during the time Robert Morris was in her care. I have his name somewhere in my notes.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Why do you constantly ask that question of me when you do exactly the same while claiming to seek "other sources"?

#ME TOO

L.C.

 

[franklin]

Do you have information on these two sons?
I remember reading that she also had a younger son who was still at home when during the time Robert Morris was in her care. I have his name somewhere in my notes.

Yes, Abram was the one in the Calvary. Robert was the one in the Special Unit. Daniel was the one at home, later became an attorney and real estate investor. There was a younger son named John.