Loch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs The Worlds Most Puzzling Mysteries Solved by Albert Jack
Authors: Albert Jack
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about five hundred pounds, to its final resting place. Presumably people wanted to make sure he had actually gone for good.
Eight slaves carried the casket down the steps of the Chase family vault. As they stepped inside, the men suddenly froze with fear. By the flickering light of their candles they could see that little Mary Anna Maria's coffin was now upside down, standing on end at the opposite side of the chamber from where it had originally been placed. Dorcas's had also moved to the opposite side of the vault, and only Thomasina's coffin remained in its original location. The men inspected the vault and could find no sign of forced entry or any other disturbance. The coffins of the two girls were replaced in their previous positions and their father's casket was settled on the opposite side of the vault. Once the service was over, the men checked for secret passages or other means of entrance before cementing the heavy marble slab back into place, this time using double-strength concrete lest the colonel himself should rise from the dead.
The disturbance was blamed on slaves with a strong grudge against the Chase family. Plantation and slave owners on the islands particularly feared revenge attacks upon their dead, which is why such strong family vaults were built in the first place. In fact, the reverse would have been true: fearing that the evil spirits they called “duppies” might be at work, slaves would stay a long way from cemeteries and graveyards, especially the one housing the Chase tomb.
Four more years passed before the next death, a young Chase relative, Samuel Brewster Ames, who died just before his first birthday. On September 25, 1816, workmen once again broke open the marble seal, but this time they were unable to push open the wooden doors at the vault entrance. A group of the strongest men on the island were called for, and after much effort they managed to force the door open. Thomas Chase's five-hundred-pound lead coffin had been standing on one end with the top resting against the doors, blocking them. The girls had also been disturbed again, while only Thomasina remained peacefully in place.
When the tomb was reopened a month later, for the funeral of the earlier boy's namesake, another Samuel Brewster—killed by slaves during an uprising—it was, once again, in complete disarray, with no obvious signs as to how the disruption had been caused.
The next time the tomb was opened was in 1820 to receive the body of Thomasina Clark, Mrs. Goddard's daughter. By now the mystery of the Chase Vault had spread far and wide, and a crowd of nigh on a thousand curious onlookers were squeezed into the churchyard. The presiding clergyman, the Reverend Thomas Orderson, was accompanied by Viscount Combermere, the governor of Barbados, who was keen to solve the mystery of the disrupted vault, and by island dignitaries such as Major J. Finch, the Honor able Nathan Lucas, Mr. Rowland Cotton (a trusted relative of Combermere's), and Mr. Robert Boucher Clarke. The viscount ordered a thorough inspection of the exterior of the tomb until all present were satisfied it had not been breached. Two masons were then ordered to remove the concrete seal of the marble slab and, accompanied by eight pallbearers, the dignitaries descended the steps.
As the door was pushed open, there was a loud grating sound from inside. This time Dorcas's coffin was found wedged into the doorway. Little Mary Anna Maria's casket had been thrown so violently against the wall it had gashed a chunk from the smooth surface. The other lead caskets had been so chaotically disturbed that Thomasina's wooden coffin appeared to have been smashed in the process and bits of her skeleton lay strewn around the vault.
It was a horrifying sight: some of the slaves fainted while others were violently sick. Comber mere and his shocked party were determined to solve the mystery, however. Lady Combermere recorded the subsequent events in her
Eight slaves carried the casket down the steps of the Chase family vault. As they stepped inside, the men suddenly froze with fear. By the flickering light of their candles they could see that little Mary Anna Maria's coffin was now upside down, standing on end at the opposite side of the chamber from where it had originally been placed. Dorcas's had also moved to the opposite side of the vault, and only Thomasina's coffin remained in its original location. The men inspected the vault and could find no sign of forced entry or any other disturbance. The coffins of the two girls were replaced in their previous positions and their father's casket was settled on the opposite side of the vault. Once the service was over, the men checked for secret passages or other means of entrance before cementing the heavy marble slab back into place, this time using double-strength concrete lest the colonel himself should rise from the dead.
The disturbance was blamed on slaves with a strong grudge against the Chase family. Plantation and slave owners on the islands particularly feared revenge attacks upon their dead, which is why such strong family vaults were built in the first place. In fact, the reverse would have been true: fearing that the evil spirits they called “duppies” might be at work, slaves would stay a long way from cemeteries and graveyards, especially the one housing the Chase tomb.
Four more years passed before the next death, a young Chase relative, Samuel Brewster Ames, who died just before his first birthday. On September 25, 1816, workmen once again broke open the marble seal, but this time they were unable to push open the wooden doors at the vault entrance. A group of the strongest men on the island were called for, and after much effort they managed to force the door open. Thomas Chase's five-hundred-pound lead coffin had been standing on one end with the top resting against the doors, blocking them. The girls had also been disturbed again, while only Thomasina remained peacefully in place.
When the tomb was reopened a month later, for the funeral of the earlier boy's namesake, another Samuel Brewster—killed by slaves during an uprising—it was, once again, in complete disarray, with no obvious signs as to how the disruption had been caused.
The next time the tomb was opened was in 1820 to receive the body of Thomasina Clark, Mrs. Goddard's daughter. By now the mystery of the Chase Vault had spread far and wide, and a crowd of nigh on a thousand curious onlookers were squeezed into the churchyard. The presiding clergyman, the Reverend Thomas Orderson, was accompanied by Viscount Combermere, the governor of Barbados, who was keen to solve the mystery of the disrupted vault, and by island dignitaries such as Major J. Finch, the Honor able Nathan Lucas, Mr. Rowland Cotton (a trusted relative of Combermere's), and Mr. Robert Boucher Clarke. The viscount ordered a thorough inspection of the exterior of the tomb until all present were satisfied it had not been breached. Two masons were then ordered to remove the concrete seal of the marble slab and, accompanied by eight pallbearers, the dignitaries descended the steps.
As the door was pushed open, there was a loud grating sound from inside. This time Dorcas's coffin was found wedged into the doorway. Little Mary Anna Maria's casket had been thrown so violently against the wall it had gashed a chunk from the smooth surface. The other lead caskets had been so chaotically disturbed that Thomasina's wooden coffin appeared to have been smashed in the process and bits of her skeleton lay strewn around the vault.
It was a horrifying sight: some of the slaves fainted while others were violently sick. Comber mere and his shocked party were determined to solve the mystery, however. Lady Combermere recorded the subsequent events in her
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