Haunted Island:
Harman & Margaret Blennerhassett & Why They Haunt
How many times have I looked
Out this window?
How many times have
I waited here?
Glorious was the sunlight
Upon the stream…
Among the green way
There is a path—
Where I escaped into wonderment—
I still remember the way—
But cold was the moonlight
When all was lost—
Yet in praise I return
To the dream this day.
Harman and
Margaret Blennerhassett arrived in the Mid-Ohio Valley in the last years of the
18th Century. The couple decided to move to the United States where few knew
they were of the same blood. Harman, the dashing, thirty-year old husband of
the finely featured young woman in her early twenties, was in fact Margaret’s
uncle. The Blennerhassetts booked passage on a ship bound for the New World
in the spring of 1796. The Irish couple brought with them some of their favorite
pieces of furniture, a wardrobe of stylish clothing, jewelry, and Harman’s
inheritance. They arrived with their belongings on American soil on August 1st,
1796.
The large merchant ship took seventy-three days to travel from
England to New York City. During that time, one peculiar event took place that
foreshadowed things to come for Margaret and Harman. During the voyage, the
ship’s captain died quickly. He fell gravely ill en route to New York. Poison
was suspected but they had no obvious suspects. (Of course, food poisoning would
have the same symptoms.) Thus, the reason behind such a sudden death was never
solved. Later, other eerie and unfortunate events seemed to nip at the heels of
the Blennerhassetts.
After traveling from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Harman and Margaret
moved south toward the small towns of Marietta and Belle Prairie, Ohio, and what
would become Parkersburg, West Virginia across the Ohio River. Soon, the
Blennerhassetts purchased a small island on the Ohio River south of the villages
of what are now Belpre and Parkersburg. The Irish couple cleared a section of
land to build a Palladian mansion so splendid in its grandeur that it is still
talked about to this day.
This was perfect retreat for European aristocrats, even dubbed
“Little Eden” by others, forming a destiny that held the Blennerhassetts on the
island for less than five years. The mansion took two and a half years to
complete from natural hardwoods and other supplies imported from Pennsylvania
and Europe. Soon Blennerhassett Island was a magnificent sight along the Ohio
River at the birth of the 19th Century. The Blennerhassetts had three children, Harman junior, Dominic (a
French boy they adopted), and baby Margaret, the youngest child. Unfortunately,
the toddler Margaret died when she was only two years old. A small, unmarked
grave behind the mansion is where is where the remains of baby are thought to
be. The children that survived were given the finest of education and
upbringings.
But Margaret’s spirit was so attached to the island that she wrote
poetry in her unmistakable, fluent handwriting about her “paradise.” Some of her
verse praised the natural beauty of the island with yearnings about how she
never wanted to leave it. Little did Margaret know she would be forced to
abandon her island home, and would never again return — at least not in
this gracious and artistic woman’s lifetime.
Before the downfall of the Blennerhassetts, they had met a
brilliant, troubled man by the name of Aaron Burr, former Vice President of the
United States. He had come up with the idea to purchase a vast amount of lands
that are now Louisiana, Florida, and Mexico in order to form a separate country — apart
from the laws of the U.S. government. This made sense to Harmon since he had
worked for Irish Independence from England earlier in an underground movement of
wealthy Irish aristocrats.
Burr was also in need of a supporter with a large amount of money to
invest in the plan and remembered his friend Harman Blennerhassett. By this
time, the Blennerhassetts were feeling the effects of their lavish living.
Harman’s finances were stretched, so he eagerly accepted Burr’s proposal in the
hopes of replenishing his fortune.
President Thomas Jefferson issued a Presidential proclamation
calling for “all residents of the United States to bring to punishment against
all persons engaged in such treasonable enterprises as Burr’s expedition.”
Blennerhassett and Burr fled the island, leaving Margaret and the children
behind.
The United States
government sent the Virginia militia to seize Blennerhassett and his island. As
Margaret escaped to Marietta Harmon left for Kentucky. When Margaret finally
returned home, she found the house had been ransacked and greatly damaged by the
militia. Later, Burr and Blennerhassett were apprehended and imprisoned in the
Virginia State Penitentiary After serving out his sentence for treason Harman
and Margaret were finally reunited. Later the couple attempted to start
plantations in Canada and Mississippi but those were losses as well. Margaret
regretted each day that she could not return to the island, but the fiasco with
Burr slandered the noble name of Blennerhassett. She realized it would never be
the same on the island.
While abandoned, the mansion fell into disrepair. Expensive
belongings were taken earlier from the mansion by some that Harmon owed money
to. Glass windows were shattered. Weeds reclaimed the grounds of formerly
groomed and cut shrubbery. The mansion dwindled to a shell. After the
Blennerhassetts retreated, the mansion was used to store hay and hemp from
nearby farms.
One night, thieves stormed the mansion. They aimed to steal
whatever remaining liquor there was from the wine cellar. A lantern brushed
against a bale of hay and caught fire. Within minutes, the mansion was engulfed
in flames. In 1811, in only an hour, the Blennerhassett mansion burned to the
ground. All was lost. Or was it?
This compelling story did not end when the Blennerhassetts deserted
their island. It did not even end when the Blennerhassetts died. Those who
understand the workings of the spirit world know that when issues are not
settled ghosts will haunt.
Numerous accounts claim that Margaret’s ghost still appears on the
island along with other mystifying apparitions. There is a long history of
reports of seeing Margaret’s pale ghost, as well as others, on the island. Over
the years, visitors reported many odd and spectacular sightings that suggest the
island is still haunted. Here are just a few of the ghostly tales below.
Native American Apparitions
Long before Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett settled on the
land, there were people who had earlier lived on the island. Archaeologists have
unearthed human artifacts from dozens of Native American graves that may date
back nearly 12,000 years. The remains of what appears to be important American
Indians (judged by the type of relics found beside the skeletons) were buried
beside rudimentary weapons, tools and rich grave goods. Some of the remains of
the Indians were enormous, close to seven feet tall. This gives us reason to
believe the island may have been a sacred site as well as a burial site for the
nomadic groups who traveled through the Mid-Ohio Valley before whites arrived.
As is in the tradition of some Native Indians, if a holy place or a
burial site is desecrated whoever defiles the remains can become cursed until
the area is returned to its original state. Is this what caused of Harman and
Margaret’s hardships after they built the mansion on the island? We may never
know.
However, we do know the Blennerhassetts are not the only former
inhabitants to return to island — if only in
spirit. Long before the island was turned into an historical state park, people
traveled by boat to camp out. A few that ventured into the woods claimed to see
a man with long black hair, wearing buckskin clothing, walking between the older
trees on the island. It was the specter of an unusually tall Indian.
But no one
saw the stranger’s face. He appeared viewed from behind. Those that saw the
apparition agreed that he was a Native American from long ago. The aboriginal
stranger acted preoccupied as if hunting for game... or maybe tracking something
else. Whenever approached, the native was
said to quicken his pace and disappear deep into the thicket. He became known as
“the wild Indian of the island.”
Sightings of Margaret Blennerhassett
By far the most famous
haunt on Blennerhassett Island is that of Margaret Blennerhassett herself. Her
ghost typically appears as a young woman in a white empire-style dress whose
vision is often accompanied by the sweet scent of floral perfume and sometimes
even the smell of horses. (Margaret was an equestrian.) Witnesses describe her
apparition as in early adulthood, perhaps thirty years of age. When approached,
Margaret typically fades away into nothingness before the eyes of surprised
onlookers.
Live horses (there are weekend carriage rides on the island) tend to
get spooked easily for no apparent reason while on Blennerhassett Island. Horses
are just not at ease while visiting there. It is recorded that Micah “Cajoe”
Phillips, a slave to the Blennerhassetts, was responsible for bringing the
horses over the river to the island. Riding in the boat made Mrs.
Blennerhassett’s horses extremely nervous. Horses who visit the island to this
very day seem to suffer from mysterious anxieties and unexplained nervousness.
Visitors to the island also report seeing a willowy woman along the
shoreline dressed entirely in white. With hand shading her brow, she gazes as if
waiting for someone to return. Like many haunts, she at first materializes as if
in the flesh, then fades.
A woman riding on the Mississippi Queen down river spied two
women dressed in white walking on the shoreline of island. Later, she asked one
of the docents on the island “If there was a convent or nunnery in Parkersburg?”
Thinking the visitor meant the DeSales Heights Convent and Academy
that was closed down in 1994, the docent answered that there used to be a
convent in Parkersburg but it had shut down. The woman then told the docent of
seeing two women cloaked entirely in white walking up and down as the boat
approached. She thought, perhaps, they were Catholic sisters visiting the island
that day. But no one else mentioned ever having seen the two women on that day.
Margaret waited for her husband hours on end at the edge of the
island. She often wore a white gown on her walks. Was this the apparition of
Margaret? If so, who was the second woman? Perhaps she was a servant or friend
who dressed similarly to Margaret. After all, the Blennerhassetts were very kind
to their servants. Most of them were of African descent or mixed-race slaves.
Some were very light-skinned. Such a woman may have walked with Margaret.
As pointed out previously, Margaret gave birth to a daughter while
on the island, also named Margaret, who died at two years of age from a sudden
illness. Some believe the small girl was buried behind the mansion — no one is really sure where it is.
After the Blennerhassetts fled the island over the Aaron Burr debacle, the
baby’s gravesite became neglected. One legend claims two farmers plowed a field
on the island near where the mansion once was and unearthed a tiny skeleton.
They immediately reburied it in a small, unmarked grave. To this day the
gravesite has yet to be found.
Locals visiting the island claim to see Margaret’s ghost search the
area where the small bones some believed are buried. Startled by the sudden
presence of an incandescent woman, two farmers claimed the same apparition
walked through their crops. One man recognized Margaret Blennerhassett because
of her silky, chestnut hair and old-fashioned clothing. The other recognized her
by her richly-tucked and pleated dress.
Now Margaret’s remains and her son’s bones have been returned to the
island. But like their daughter, what is left of Harman has not been located.
His body was interred on
Island off England’s coast. Strangely, Mr. Blennerhassett requested to be buried
at night. He did not want visitors at his gravesite. Harmon did a good job of
hiding himself because no one knows exactly where his final resting spot is.
Spirits can sometimes wander unhappily if they do not know where the remains of
their loved ones are.
An Untimely Visit From Aaron Burr
When lyricist Joyce Ancrile penned the lyrics for the musical drama
“Eden on the River” (a story based upon the romance of the Blennerhassetts while
they lived on the island) she decided to lie down and get some shut-eye after a
long period of writing. Only moments passed when Ancrile sensed a presence in
the room and opened her eyes to see a chiseled-featured man in early 19th century
clothing gazing across the room at her. The gentleman was dressed in a rich,
blue jacket and was resting on a settee.
Startled, Ms. Ancrile immediately sat up. The man faded. But Ancrile recognized her apparition from the research she had been doing for the play. There was no doubt. She knew him by his striking profile. The man was Aaron Burr. Later, Joyce would explain, the man’s expression conveyed the words to her, “What has taken you so long?” as if he had been pressing her to tell his story.
More Sightings of a Political Rogue\
Sightings of the ghost
of Aaron Burr are not the norm for Parkersburg but it is interesting to note
that there is a long history behind Aaron Burr ghost sightings in New York City.
Apparently, Burr’s specter shows up at various addresses in
Greenwich Village. One such place is a restaurant that was Burr’s former
carriage house. Workers in the “One If By Land, Two If By Sea” restaurant, claim
that Burr’s ghost returns to smash dishes, swing lamps and scoot chairs noisily.
Also in Greenwich Village, Burr’s spirit also visits the area of his
former stables, now a café called “Quantum Leap Natural Food.” Many believe he
is searching for his daughter Theodosia who was lost at sea. When Burr appears,
he reveals intense dark eyes, is always dressed in a ruffled shirt but cloaked
in a gloom of guilt and sorrow. Burr’s life, it seems did not live
up to his own expectations. But it was his enemy Thomas Jefferson, who ended up
having Burr imprisoned who wrote these hard words about him:
"I
never thought him an honest, frank-dealing man, but considered him as a crooked
gun, or other perverted machine, whose aim or shot you could never be sure of.”
Jefferson had earlier penned: “Burr is a great man in little things but he is
really small in great ones." It does seem for
certain that the spirit of Aaron Burr, even centuries later, had some unsettled
business to contend with. His is the case of a sad yet true haunting.
The Tale of The Wandering Reporter
If Burr’s ghost continues to haunt, then
it seems so does Margaret’s spirit. In 1988, a Pittsburgh magazine writer
came to the area by boat in order to write an article about all of the sights
and sounds along the Ohio River. Blennerhassett Island would be a perfect
addition to his article.
It was in October when he stopped at the island and sat up camp.
Nearing dawn, the writer was awakened by rustling sounds outside. It was odd how
strange shadows surged against the side of his tent.
The writer stepped outside and discovered the source of the sounds.
Much to his surprise he saw a pale woman in a white, flowing dress. The lady
stood staring, never moving. Stunned, he waited for her to speak but the woman
said not a word to him.
Since there was a chill in the air, the reporter motioned for her to
sit by the fire and offered to make her coffee. She simply gazed upon him then
receded into the early morning fog. The writer was unnerved by the appearance of
the lady who stared but did not talk. Not able to figure this visit out, he decided to get a few hours of
shut-eye before his trip in the morning. With the reporter was a collection his
own writings and other reading materials. He had them inside his knapsack
outside the tent. Shortly after drifting off, the writer was awakened by sounds
once more.
Someone was going through his knapsack! Papers rattled as they were
being shuffled. When the sounds finally halted, the man opened his tent and was
amazed at what he saw. Every book was taken from his bag, and neatly stacked
beside the
smoldering remains of the campfire. Whoever discovered them— read every one,
then carefully placed them back into a pile.
The reporter told workers on the island about his uncanny experience
the next day. When he described the woman to the small group of people they were
not surprised. The writer described Margaret Blennerhassett perfectly even down
to the fine brown hair. Some had already encountered the apparition of Margaret
— but never so closely!
Margaret Blennerhassett was a bibliophile. The passion she felt for
books apparently survived the grave. The writer promised he would return to the
island to find out more about Margaret and the hauntings on the island. But
unlike Margaret’s ghost, the writer has yet to return to the island. It seems he
was spooked away by the entire encounter.
It is common knowledge that Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett had
slaves while on the island. However, the slaves they had were treated humanely
and as a part of the family. Although Ohio was a free state and freedom lay less
than a mile across the Ohio River, not one of the Blennerhassett’s slaves, or
servants, were known to have even attempted an escape, at least, while Margaret
and Harman were still there.
Many slaves remained loyal to Harman and Margaret in later times
when the Blennerhassetts began a plantation called La Cashe in the Deep
South—until their funds were depleted.
On the island, one slave in particular was close to Harman and
Margaret. Some believe he is Ransom Reed. Reed often rode horses alongside
Margaret where they admired the beauty of the island and surrounding valley.
Like the Blennerhassetts many of the slaves often referred to the island as
their true home.
After the Blennerhassett estate was rebuilt as a state park in the
1980s some who visited the island described a black man wearing clothes common
during the 18th and early 19th Centuries, at times circling the perimeter of the
mansion.
Most people thought little of a dusky-skinned man who wore period
clothing, taking a solitary tour of the island. There are various artisans from
the island’s craft village and volunteers dressed in period clothing back then.
When workers were asked about the gentleman, they didn’t have a clue as to his
identity. No one knew of an African American male who worked at the craft
village or as a volunteer on the island.
But if one looks back to more than two-hundred-years ago, an
individual is found who fits the description. Ransom Reed was a favored slave of
the Blennerhassetts. Margaret, especially, didn’t have the usual
prejudices that others in her class might have. Many believe Ransom Reed, as
well as other slaves (Ransom Reed is
buried in Holliday Cemetery in Parkersburg -- see "Haunted Places in Parkersburg
II") were Margaret’s trusted friends during her
years on the island.
Over time, the apparition of the African-American man was reported
on less and less to the point that his ghost is rarely seen. The servant’s
appearances have especially waned after the return of Margaret’s remains to the
island in the early 1990s. Still, the phantom does occasionally turn up to
visitors. Perhaps, being the dedicated servant that he was, this proud man
continues to keep vigilant watch until Harman’s remains finally joins Margaret’s
on the island.
So, is Margaret’s ghost an earthbound spirit, doomed to haunt her
enchanted island?
No, the spirit of Margaret Blennerhassett is able to move as freely
about as any other spirit. Ghosts are not so different than the living. They
sometimes like to revisit places, people and memories from times past and most
of all also, spirits still care about the living and how we carry on with our
lives.
Sometimes, when conditions are just right, as it so often is on
Blennerhassett Island, we can connect with these wandering spirits and are able
to see and experience the memories of the souls of the dead exactly as they once
lived.
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