Thomas Beale Timeline

[chalkoutline]

After the Forrest Finn treasure was found in 2020, I turned my attention to Thomas Beale. I found the Beale ciphers to be intriguing but didn’t want to start the search if they were a hoax so I set out to find Thomas Beale.

I began by extracting the Robert Morriss’s account as told to his Valued Friend (The 1885 Pamphlet Page 5-7):
1. Jan 1820, Thomas Beale arrives with two friends. They are gentlemen, well born, and well educated, with refined and courteous manners and attractive. BTW, Beale means “Attractive Man”.
2. Beale was about six feet in height, with jet black eyes and hair of the same color. His form was symmetrical, and gave evidence of unusual strength and activity; but his distinguishing feature was a dark and swarthy complexion. His social disposition and friendly demeanor rendered him extremely popular with every one, particularly the ladies.
3. He registered simply from Virginia, but I am of the impression he was from some western portion of the State.
4. He remained until Mar 1820 and left with the same two friends
5. Jan 1822, Thomas Beale returns with a darker complexion.
6. Before leaving in Mar 22, he gave Morris a box with important, valuable papers.
7. Morriss never saw Beale again. He did not open the box in 1832 but waited until 1845.

I then started by researching #3: “He registered simply from Virginia, but I am of the impression he was from some western portion of the State”.

I searched US Censuses. According to Robert Morriss’s account, Thomas Beale left for Santa Fe in March of 1820. The 1820 US Census didn’t start until August 1820 so he would have been in Santa Fe and would not appear in the 1820 census. I then searched the 1810 census and there were no Thomas’s. That doesn’t mean he didn’t exist because the 1810 census only identifies the head of household which meant Thomas may have still be living in his father’s house. So I looked in the 1810 Census for Beales living west of Lynchburg, VA. I found four in Botetourt County: Madison Beale, Charles Beale, Rhoda Beale and James Beale.

I then focused on #1. “They are gentlemen, well born, and well educated, with refined and courteous manners and attractive”.

Thomas Beale was well educated which indicated he came from a wealthy household. This also meant his father would have left a Will which could be found at the Botetourt county seat in Fincastle, VA. That’s where I found the will for Tavenor Beale who died 5 Jun 1810. All four of the Beales listed in the 1810 census were descendants of Tavenor Beale. The 1810 Census was started after Tavenor’s death on 6 Aug 1810 and why Tavenor was not listed.

At the bottom of Tavenor Beale’s will is listed Thomas Beale: “I give to my son Thomas Beale 5 Shillings only”. This was a snub to Thomas because he killed James Beverly Risque in a duel in 1806 and fled to New Orleans. This is also why Thomas didn’t show up with his siblings in the 1810 census for Botetourt County. Since Thomas was living in New Orleans in 1819 (age 46) he most likely was not the Thomas Beale who stayed with Robert Morriss. However, he did have a son out of wedlock with Cloe Delancy. His name was Thomas Beale Jr. and born in 1792 and he would have been about 27 years old when he arrived in Lynchburg in 1819. This is the ONLY Thomas Beale who meets the description described in the 1885 pamphlet.

I found the probate record for Thomas Beale Sr. who died in Sep 1820: Louisiana Supreme Court case “Delancy vs Beale”

Using the 1885 pamphlet and the Court case “Delancy vs Beale” I developed a timeline for Thomas Beale Jr’s life. For each timeline entry I have identified my source in parenthesis.

Thomas Beale Jr Timeline
1. Birth of Thomas Beale Jr: 1792 in Botetourt County, VA. Father: Thomas Beale Sr. Mother: Cloe Delancy (Delancy vs Beale).
2. Apr 1817 - St. Louis preparing for trip to Santa Fe (1885 Pamphlet).
3. Dec 1817 - Arrived in Santa Fe (1885 Pamphlet).
4. Mar 1818 to Nov 1819– Some of the party find gold when hunting buffalo and mine the gold through Nov 1819 (1885 Pamphlet).
5. 27 Apr 1819 – Thomas Beale Sr. transferred his property in New Orleans to Thomas Beale Jr in exchange for $120,000 in [promissory] notes (Delancy vs Beale).
6. Nov 1819 – Four miles from Buford's Tavern. Thomas Beale deposits treasure in vault four miles from Buford’s (1885 Pamphlet).
7. Jan 1820 – Thomas Beale arrives at Washington Hotel, Lynchburg, VA (1885 Pamphlet).
8. Mar 1820 to Nov 1821– Thomas Beale leaves for second trip and returns Nov 1821 (1885 Pamphlet).
“On my return [summer 1820] I found the work still progressing favorably, and, by making large accessions to our force of laborers, I was ready to return last Fall [Fall 1821] with an increased supply of metal, which came through safely and was deposited with the other.”
9. Death of Thomas Beale Sr.: Sep 1820 –Thomas Jr., is by his side (Delancy vs Beale).
“Beale Jr. resided with his father until his death, and afterwards possessed and controlled the property until he died in 1823”.
10. Dec 1821 – Four miles from Buford's Tavern. Thomas Beale deposits 2nd treasure in vault (1885 Pamphlet).
11. Jan 1822 – Thomas Beale arrives at Washington Hotel, Lynchburg, VA (1885 Pamphlet).
12. Mar 1822 – Thomas Beale leaves a locked box before he leaves for third trip to the mine (1885 Pamphlet).
13. 9 May 1822 – Thomas Beale writes a letter to Robert Morriss in St. Louis (1885 Pamphlet).
14. Death of Thomas Beale Jr: 22 Oct 1823 – Thomas Beale Jr dies in New Orleans (Delancy vs Beale).

Timeline conflicts between the 1885 pamphlet and Delancy vs Beale
1. 27 Apr 1819 - Thomas Beale Sr. transferred his property to Thomas Beale Jr. while Thomas Jr was in Santa Fe.
In the court case Jun 1830, Delancy vs Beale, the property transfer was deemed improper.
The first conflict looks suspicious but is not a show stopper. Maybe the note was improper because Thomas Jr. wasn’t present or never fulfilled the promissory note.
2. Sep 1820 – Thomas Beale Sr. dies in New Orleans and Thomas Jr is by his side YET the pamphlet indicates he is at the mine not to return until the Fall of 1821. This conflict is a show stopper since it places Thomas Jr in New Orleans and out west at the same time.

The court record (Delancy vs Beale) indicating he was in New Orleans takes precedence over the pamphlet making the story in the pamphlet is NOT TRUE!

You could also resolve this conflict by saying the Thomas Beale Jr I identified is not the correct Thomas Beale; however, since there are no other Thomas Beales who lived west of Lynchburg at the time means if he is not the correct Thomas Beale then he DOES NOT exist. This conclusion would also prove the story is NOT TRUE!

Take your pick!

 

[potsherd_creek]

Agree on not true
At 200 years ago a man man and his team made two trips to what was then Mexico, now part of the states, 1500 plus miles with wagon train through hostile territory, mined the gold and silver (that took awhile) totaling 8000 lbs of treasure plus some precious gems.
Can you imagine the chances of this to actually happen in that time period, not one but two trips to successfully get the precious metal back to Virginia. These were not Brinks trucks.
In my opinion, the chance of success would be astronomical.
In my opinion someone had some fun making up some ciphertexts.

 

[ehibb77]

Agree on not true
At 200 years ago a man man and his team made two trips to what was then Mexico, now part of the states, 1500 plus miles with wagon train through hostile territory, mined the gold and silver (that took awhile) totaling 8000 lbs of treasure plus some precious gems.
Can you imagine the chances of this to actually happen in that time period, not one but two trips to successfully get the precious metal back to Virginia. These were not Brinks trucks.
In my opinion, the chance of success would be astronomical.
In my opinion someone had some fun making up some ciphertexts.

As much as I want to believe that the Beale Treasure exists I am now almost entirely of the belief that the whole thing was either a hoax or just a cover story for the Lost Dutchman saga. If it's a cover story (I just learned of that possibility a couple of days ago so please forgive me) then that would almost completely upend most everything we have ever been told about both the Lost Dutchman Mine and the Beale Treasure.

If the Beale Treasure is indeed a total hoax I believe that it would be so merely on the logistical and logical considerations alone. (1) Given that the Beale party was traveling some 1,500 or so miles with wagons one-way across most of the US (much of it in dangerous or enemy territory at the time) a party of 30 or so men would need at least several wagons just to carry their basic supplies such as food, clothing, equipment, etc. if they were to stay gone for a prolonged period of time. While some wagon space would be opened up as they consume their goods it still wouldn't be nearly enough wagon space to haul the sheer amounts of gold and other valuables. Beale's party is almost certainly going to need at least several more wagons just to haul everything back to Virginia. (2) There is almost no way that no one noticed a large wagon train going back and forth across the 1,500 miles and either not said or done something about it. If it were just a couple or so wagons then sure they could have made it through without hardly anyone noticing them.

Let's say that Beale does obtain a large amount of treasure and he tries to bring it back to Virginia. I would personally find it hard to believe that he could have just sneaked back across such a vast distance in slow moving wagons without a single soul in his party saying something about it to someone, even if inadvertently, or someone discovering what they were up to or what they had. Every single tavern stop, a stop at a bar or saloon along the way, or even traveling through a town or village along the route could expose Beale's entire operation, opening them up to being potentially robbed or even getting killed for the treasure.

I'm sure this has been said on here before but from a logical standpoint I would find it rather implausible that a party of 30 men would be perfectly willing to just sit on their share of the treasure for 25 years without making at least some small withdrawals of it from time to time. Given that the average lifespan in those days was rather shorter than they are now I would expect that a fair number of the Beale party would have already been dead by the time the 25 years expired. The sheer amount of gold, jewels, and silver would have changed each of the Beale party's lives forever as well as those of their close familymembers.

Sorry if I rambled on for a bit but as I stated I would really love for the Beale Treasure story to be real but based on available evidence I now feel that it's either a hoax or a cover story to something much bigger.

 

[chalkoutline]

As much as I want to believe that the Beale Treasure exists I am now almost entirely of the belief that the whole thing was either a hoax or just a cover story for the Lost Dutchman saga. If it's a cover story (I just learned of that possibility a couple of days ago so please forgive me) then that would almost completely upend most everything we have ever been told about both the Lost Dutchman Mine and the Beale Treasure.

If the Beale Treasure is indeed a total hoax I believe that it would be so merely on the logistical and logical considerations alone. (1) Given that the Beale party was traveling some 1,500 or so miles with wagons one-way across most of the US (much of it in dangerous or enemy territory at the time) a party of 30 or so men would need at least several wagons just to carry their basic supplies such as food, clothing, equipment, etc. if they were to stay gone for a prolonged period of time. While some wagon space would be opened up as they consume their goods it still wouldn't be nearly enough wagon space to haul the sheer amounts of gold and other valuables. Beale's party is almost certainly going to need at least several more wagons just to haul everything back to Virginia. (2) There is almost no way that no one noticed a large wagon train going back and forth across the 1,500 miles and either not said or done something about it. If it were just a couple or so wagons then sure they could have made it through without hardly anyone noticing them.

Let's say that Beale does obtain a large amount of treasure and he tries to bring it back to Virginia. I would personally find it hard to believe that he could have just sneaked back across such a vast distance in slow moving wagons without a single soul in his party saying something about it to someone, even if inadvertently, or someone discovering what they were up to or what they had. Every single tavern stop, a stop at a bar or saloon along the way, or even traveling through a town or village along the route could expose Beale's entire operation, opening them up to being potentially robbed or even getting killed for the treasure.

I'm sure this has been said on here before but from a logical standpoint I would find it rather implausible that a party of 30 men would be perfectly willing to just sit on their share of the treasure for 25 years without making at least some small withdrawals of it from time to time. Given that the average lifespan in those days was rather shorter than they are now I would expect that a fair number of the Beale party would have already been dead by the time the 25 years expired. The sheer amount of gold, jewels, and silver would have changed each of the Beale party's lives forever as well as those of their close familymembers.

Sorry if I rambled on for a bit but as I stated I would really love for the Beale Treasure story to be real but based on available evidence I now feel that it's either a hoax or a cover story to something much bigger.

I took a look at this and I don't think they used wagons but pack mules.

• U.S. Army specifications suggest American mules can carry 150-300 pounds for 15-20 miles per day in mountains.

They sent 10 men back. If each had a pack mule they could carry as much 3000 lbs of gold/silver
Stash 1 was 1825lbs.
Stash 2 was 3200lbs
So pack mules seem plausible.

The real question is...how did they get these pack mules across the Mississippi.?
They would have taken the Wiggins ferry at St. Louis which was established in March 1819. Their first trip/stash was in the fall of 1819 so the use of the ferry is plausible also.

The Wiggins ferry was still in use when my great grandfather settled in St Louis in 1869. The ferry went out of business after they built the Eads bridge

 

[chalkoutline]

As much as I want to believe that the Beale Treasure exists I am now almost entirely of the belief that the whole thing was either a hoax or just a cover story for the Lost Dutchman saga. If it's a cover story (I just learned of that possibility a couple of days ago so please forgive me) then that would almost completely upend most everything we have ever been told about both the Lost Dutchman Mine and the Beale Treasure.

If the Beale Treasure is indeed a total hoax I believe that it would be so merely on the logistical and logical considerations alone. (1) Given that the Beale party was traveling some 1,500 or so miles with wagons one-way across most of the US (much of it in dangerous or enemy territory at the time) a party of 30 or so men would need at least several wagons just to carry their basic supplies such as food, clothing, equipment, etc. if they were to stay gone for a prolonged period of time. While some wagon space would be opened up as they consume their goods it still wouldn't be nearly enough wagon space to haul the sheer amounts of gold and other valuables. Beale's party is almost certainly going to need at least several more wagons just to haul everything back to Virginia. (2) There is almost no way that no one noticed a large wagon train going back and forth across the 1,500 miles and either not said or done something about it. If it were just a couple or so wagons then sure they could have made it through without hardly anyone noticing them.

Let's say that Beale does obtain a large amount of treasure and he tries to bring it back to Virginia. I would personally find it hard to believe that he could have just sneaked back across such a vast distance in slow moving wagons without a single soul in his party saying something about it to someone, even if inadvertently, or someone discovering what they were up to or what they had. Every single tavern stop, a stop at a bar or saloon along the way, or even traveling through a town or village along the route could expose Beale's entire operation, opening them up to being potentially robbed or even getting killed for the treasure.

I'm sure this has been said on here before but from a logical standpoint I would find it rather implausible that a party of 30 men would be perfectly willing to just sit on their share of the treasure for 25 years without making at least some small withdrawals of it from time to time. Given that the average lifespan in those days was rather shorter than they are now I would expect that a fair number of the Beale party would have already been dead by the time the 25 years expired. The sheer amount of gold, jewels, and silver would have changed each of the Beale party's lives forever as well as those of their close familymembers.

Sorry if I rambled on for a bit but as I stated I would really love for the Beale Treasure story to be real but based on available evidence I now feel that it's either a hoax or a cover story to something much bigger.

In response to 30 men sitting on the treasure for 25 years...i have a theory for that: they didn't !

Upon their 3rd return, they arrived minutes St. Louis and picked up the letter that was addressed to Robert Morriss with the key to the 3 Ciphers.

They then headed to Buford's and divided the treasure.

This is why Morriss didn't get the promised letter after 10 years. didn't need to claim the box from Morriss and why the men didn't claim the box.

 

[ehibb77]

In response to 30 men sitting on the treasure for 25 years...i have a theory for that: they didn't !

Upon their 3rd return, they arrived minutes St. Louis and picked up the letter that was addressed to Robert Morriss with the key to the 3 Ciphers.

They then headed to Buford's and divided the treasure.

This is why Morriss didn't get the promised letter after 10 years. didn't need to claim the box from Morriss and why the men didn't claim the box.

I totally get what you're saying, that could be a very plausible answer indeed. It would make sense to divide the treasure up after the final trip because merely leaving it there increases the risk of someone, quite likely a local, discovering the treasure and making off with it themselves. That could very well explain why no one could ever find the Beale Treasure despite the untold number of treasure seekers digging up almost every square inch of Bedford County looking for it.

Even if say they did decide to ditch the use of wagons and went with your idea of using pack mules instead, I still struggle with the idea that they could've hauled all that treasure back 1,500+ miles and not a single soul saying a word about it or stumbling upon it while in transit. I would personally think that the odds of them successfully getting it all back to Virginia without another person knowing or hearing about it would still be astronomically stacked against Beale and his men.

I am new to the TreasureNet forum as a member but this is a pretty good site to hear everyone's theories. I've previously read a few posts on here but never officially joined until today. Thanks for having me!

 

[chalkoutline]

I totally get what you're saying, that could be a very plausible answer indeed. It would make sense to divide the treasure up after the final trip because merely leaving it there increases the risk of someone, quite likely a local, discovering the treasure and making off with it themselves. That could very well explain why no one could ever find the Beale Treasure despite the untold number of treasure seekers digging up almost every square inch of Bedford County looking for it.

Even if say they did decide to ditch the use of wagons and went with your idea of using pack mules instead, I still struggle with the idea that they could've hauled all that treasure back 1,500+ miles and not a single soul saying a word about it or stumbling upon it while in transit. I would personally think that the odds of them successfully getting it all back to Virginia without another person knowing or hearing about it would still be astronomically stacked against Beale and his men.

I am new to the TreasureNet forum as a member but this is a pretty good site to hear everyone's theories. I've previously read a few posts on here but never officially joined until today. Thanks for having me!

I think out west where the roads hadn't been established and there was rough terrain they would have used pack mules.
Once they got past the Indians, it would have been smooth sailing until st. Louis.
They had been through st louis before and knew how to keep a low profile...maybe went in numbers of 2 or 3 until they crossed the Mississippi.
They may have changed to wagons at some point but still had to cross the Appalachians.

The story does indicate it took months to reach the mine. Left in the spring and arriving in summer.
15 miles per day to travel 1500 miles is 100 days passing through Indian territory is a challenge and reason to be a skeptical.

 

[chalkoutline]

I think out west where the roads hadn't been established and there was rough terrain they would have used pack mules.
Once they got past the Indians, it would have been smooth sailing until st. Louis.
They had been through st louis before and knew how to keep a low profile...maybe went in numbers of 2 or 3 until they crossed the Mississippi.
They may have changed to wagons at some point but still had to cross the Appalachians.

The story does indicate it took months to reach the mine. Left in the spring and arriving in summer.
15 miles per day to travel 1500 miles is 100 days passing through Indian territory is a challenge and reason to be a skeptical.

I haven't heard the Dutchman connection but have heard the connection to treasure mountain where a French expedition in the 1700s left new orleans with 300 men for Colorado. They stash their gold before they eventually got wiped out by Indians.

The timeline identifies the only Thomas Beale [Jr] to meet Robert Morriss's description of being wealthy and living west of Lynchburg in iron gate va.
In 1919, TB Jr joins his father, TB Sr, in new orleans. This means that the treasure story could have made its way back to Virginia and adapted to the Beale story in 1885. Some believe the Beale party didn't actually mine goal but we're recovering gold from the French expedition.

As the timeline shows TB would have had to been in two places at the same time...new orleans and out west. I take this to mean there WAS a TB but there never was a Beale party who went west... Just a made up story similar to treasure mountain.

If the Beale party did exist but led by a different TB, then there is no reason to think they didn't make it back to Virginia and divide the treasure. They just never told Robert Morriss.

 

[ehibb77]

That would be a very plausible way of doing it, having them leave in staggered groups of x number of men at a time spaced so many days or weeks apart. They would be far less likely to draw attention that way although that strategy could make them more vulnerable to Indian attacks.

Another thing that I failed to take into consideration is the distribution of the treasure. The current estimated value of the Beale Treasure places it around $63 million in today's money. Let's say that does get divided up into 30 equal parts, assuming the entire party survives, that works out to a bit over $2 million per person in modern money. If they're already well-to-do gentlemen as we've been lead to believe then their individual level of lifestyle might not have changed all that drastically, perhaps not even enough to draw too much attention to themselves.

I think out west where the roads hadn't been established and there was rough terrain they would have used pack mules.
Once they got past the Indians, it would have been smooth sailing until st. Louis.
They had been through st louis before and knew how to keep a low profile...maybe went in numbers of 2 or 3 until they crossed the Mississippi.
They may have changed to wagons at some point but still had to cross the Appalachians.

The story does indicate it took months to reach the mine. Left in the spring and arriving in summer.
15 miles per day to travel 1500 miles is 100 days passing through Indian territory is a challenge and reason to be a skeptical.

 

[chalkoutline]

That would be a very plausible way of doing it, having them leave in staggered groups of x number of men at a time spaced so many days or weeks apart. They would be far less likely to draw attention that way although that strategy could make them more vulnerable to Indian attacks.

Another thing that I failed to take into consideration is the distribution of the treasure. The current estimated value of the Beale Treasure places it around $63 million in today's money. Let's say that does get divided up into 30 equal parts, assuming the entire party survives, that works out to a bit over $2 million per person in modern money. If they're already well-to-do gentlemen as we've been lead to believe then their individual level of lifestyle might not have changed all that drastically, perhaps not even enough to draw too much attention to themselves.

They would have stayed together until they got past indian territory as they had when they escorted TB/10 men as described for the first trip back to Virginia