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I first heard about the legend of Ocean Born Mary in “Haunted New Hampshire” by Thomas D’Agostino. Most of the information in this column is from his book. If there is any other information that I got from anywhere else it will be listed at the bottom of the column.
Our story takes place on July 17th, 1720, as we set sail out to sea. A ship, by the name of The Wolf, is heading towards its destination, which is Boston, Massachusetts. James and Elizabeth Wilson are setting sail to the “new world”-The United States of America. And, within the U.S. was where their new land was, in Henniker, NH. Elizabeth was pregnant and as the coast of Massachusetts came into view, Elizabeth gave birth.
The newborn didn’t have a name though. This was about to change as the Wolf was taken hostage by pirates. Their leader Don Pedro - a ruthless, dark, and well … handsome pirate, got wind that there was a baby on board as Pedro went over to Elizabeth and James. The pirate who took them hostage asked what the baby's name was as Elizabeth said she was just born. Pedro’s demeanor changed from an intimidating pirate to a more kinder approach and asked if she could name the newborn after his mother, Mary. The Wilson’s agreed, but Don had one more request before he came back with gifts for the newborn. He presented Elizabeth with a silk dress and asked when Mary is to wed, he wishes she would wear this dress. Elizabeth told him she would make sure of it. Pedro left with nobody harmed and everyone’s possessions returned.
Sadly, it didn’t take long after they landed safely in Boston that James died. Nonetheless, Mary grew up to be a tall(records show her at 6’2”)and a beautiful woman. In 1742, Mary got married to Thomas Wallace. Mary honored Don Pedro’s wishes by wearing the silk dress. Mary and Thomas had four sons and a daughter. After the birth of the youngest, Thomas died.
As of that time, Don Pedro was retired from his pirate days and decided to settle down in Henniker, NH himself. Long forgotten about Ocean Born Mary, he decided to go and see what she made herself into. Feeling troubled about her being widowed, he begged her to be his housekeeper and promised to take care of her and her four children. Mary obliged and Don Pedro was a man of his word.
Don brought Mary and her children to his grand mansion on 6,000 acres of land. Mary and her children couldn’t be happier as they lived in solace…for awhile. Don, however, being a pirate, had a curse, and that curse was about to catch up to him.
One night, after Mary and her children went to bed, former chums of Don Pedro decided to pay a visit. Sadly, Don Pedro was about to come to realize that his maties were not what they seemed. They killed Don by using a pirate’s cutlass in the front yard of his home. His former “mates” must’ve ran, because once Mary got to the room where Don laid with a cutlass hanging out of his chest, the men were gone. Don, with his final breaths, told Mary to bury his treasure under the hearth with him. Mary, a while before this tragedy happened, saw Don with a retired pirate, a friend of his, carrying a large black trunk out to the orchard. Mary honored Don’s request and buried the treasure under the hearth along with Pedro.
Mary kept her word to Don and buried him with his treasure. Mary lived a long and wonderful life right after that; she died in 1814. She only left in body, though, as some say her spirit remains in the house that her and Don Pedro shared.
In the early 20th century, the house was opened to the general public and Ocean Born Mary made her presence well known after that. A rocking chair would sway softly back and forth(many said this was Mary’s own way of saying the visitors were welcomed). She has also been sensed near the hearth as legend says she was always there, maybe making sure Pedro still had his prized treasure? Also, Hanz Holzer, known for his book “Ghosts of New England” - which also has a chapter on Ocean Born Mary. Mr. Holzer conducted a séance in the Henniker home. Hans felt like there was something there, but he could never get to the bottom of it. He said that Mary kept 'alluding' him, but said that one day, Ocean Born Mary house will make history.
Some Henniker residents have said that on every Halloween, Mary’s ghost can be seen coming out of the Henniker Centre Cemetery, riding a horse drawn coach heading for her home. According to some eye witnesses who have seen her ghost, they have said they see a beautiful woman who is tall with red hair and green eyes watching over them.
However, fellow Graveyard Disciples, here is where the catch is and I hate to disappoint you, but most of this story is fabricated. A lie. Yeah, kind of a letdown, huh? A lot of it was a lie, but was all of it? No. Let’s get to where the story goes from truth to fiction. The last truthful part of this story happens all the way back to where Mary’s husband, Thomas dies. After that, it’s all fictional from there. Here’s the truth: After Thomas died, Mary went to Rhode Island and stayed there until her death on February 13th, 1814 at the age of 93. Her story ends in Rhode Island, but her body was buried in Henniker. But what about the Ocean Born Mary house? Why is it called that?
The Ocean Born Mary house, the one I’ve been showing, is not her house. It did have connections to Mary. It was built by her son, Robert, who lived there, but Mary never did. I read some articles about this story that said her and Robert didn’t like each other, but most reports say she lived out the rest of her 20 years of life in Rhode Island. Wait? You’re thinning. 20 years? I thought she was young when Thomas died? I’ll get to that in a moment. There’s even a few things I read where it said they actually moved Mary’s childhood home from Henniker, NH to Rhode Island for reasons unknown. Does she have ties to Henniker? Yes, but not to the house that claims her spirit resides. Hans Holzer, as well as other paranormalists, may have thought they contacted Mary Wallace, but they were all looking in the wrong house. Reports say, Mary has haunted her home in Rhode Island, but that home burned to the ground in the 1920s. But some say the house that inhabits the location now may have the actual spirit of Ocean Born Mary there. Who knows for sure?
So, yes, this means Don Pedro never came back and Don and Mary didn’t live happily ever after in Henniker. That also means there was no treasure, no pirate buried underneath a hearth, or anything like that. Like I said, after Thomas died, that’s where the story turned to fiction and I just went over what actually happened with Mary Wallace. But who fabricated this story? Who created this legend that some people still willingly buy as truth even though the evidence to contradict it is out in the open? This guy.
Louis Roy. He was a photographer by trade and a legend fabricator as a side job it seemed. He purchased the Ocean Born Mary house in 1917, heard of the story of Robert’s mother, and from there created the story of Don Pedro returning to Mary after she had grown up and took care of her and her kids at his big mansion that he built. No. Mary’s son, Robert, built the house and Roy just spun the rest of Mary’s tale going from where Thomas died. He made it seem like Thomas died when Mary was still young, but Mary and Thomas actually were together for almost 50 years, meaning Mary was in her early 70’s when Thomas died. From here, she would move with her son William to Rhode Island. But people bought Roy’s story as fact for a long time.
When I found out, I was disappointed. I mean, New Hampshire has other great ghost legends and haunted locations that should be on every paranormal investigators list, but the Ocean Born Mary story seemed like something out of a fantasy book and it was in the end. Even if most of it is made up, Mary Wallace did have an exciting origin story where a ruthless pirate had a change of heart. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Keep it scary, folks.
References Used for this Article/Further Reading/Photos Used:
https://www.concordmonitor.com/Henniker-s-ghost-story-lives-on-30620373
http://www.seacoastnh.com/Places-and-Events/Historic-Tours/The-Ocean-Born-Mary-House-Hoax/
https://www.tuckerfreelibrary.org/2015/12/11/ocean-born-mary-original-source-material/
https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/ocean-born-mary-new-hampshire-legend/
https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/homes/famous-house-new-hampshire-house-sale/
https://hollowhill.com/spoiler-the-truth-about-ocean-born-mary/
https://newenglandghoststories.com/tag/ocean-born-mary/
https://newengland.com/today/travel/new-hampshire/the-legend-of-ocean-born-mary/
Thomas D’ Agostino’s Haunted New Hampshire
Hans Holzer’s Ghosts of New England
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