The La Verendrye Stone. Is it on Oak Island?
One of the most neglected yet interesting lost history stories of North America involves the strange tale of a lost stone first found in the wilds of Canada by Pierre and Louis-Joseph La Verendrye sons of famous French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye. The stone was first described by Swedish naturalist and botanist Pehr Kalm in his book “Travels to North America Volume II.”
Kalm had interviewed the elder La Verendrye in 1749 about his sons expedition “in the 1730’s” to go as far west as they could before returning. At that time the La Verendrye brothers are noted as the first Europeans to see the Rocky Mountains. It was likely near the time of that event that they found a strange stone situated in an alcove of what is described as alternately a sandstone pillar or cairn of rocks. Interestingly as in the case of the Kensington Rune the stone was found in a geographic context that marked the border between French Louisiana and Lands said by the Hudson’s Bay Company to be theirs. Other accounts have the strange stone being found in the area of the Mandan’s south of the Missouri River in whag is now North Dakota. Other sources suggest the La Verendrye brothers found the stone in 1742 as that matches the date they first saw the Rocky Mountains.
The story that Kalm then relates states the stone was sent to Montreal where it was examined by Jesuit Priests who determined the writing on the stone was “tartaric.” Since “tartaric” does in some ways resemble runes later advocates for the authenticity of the Kensington Rune such as Hajalmar Holland suspect this stone to have been runic and not tartaric. This even though no one beyond La Verendrye, his sons and a few others ever claimed to even see this stone. In fact the last time anyone has ever seen this stone may be just prior to WWII. Even though Kensington Rune proponent Holland went to France to search for the stone he was never able to find it.
There is some record of the stone ending up in the possession of the Comte Mauripas who was the minister of the French Navy at that time. Some accounts of the provenance of the stone then state it ended up in a museum in Rouen France that was destroyed during WW II. Here is where the trail of the La Verendrye stone grows cold. It is only with more modern scholarship and resources that we may be able to thread together a fact based theory as to what happened to this mysterious stone. Along the way the stone itself and its resemblance to similar more ancient stones may have motivated people such as George II of England himself to be curious about this strange stone that was found so far away.
We may be able to discern that the story of this stone made quite a splash in certain circles. The mention of the stone harkens back to the biblical story of the Pillow Stone of Jacob as well as references to the Holy Grail being a stone in the grail romances. Some of the attributes of the story of this stone may suggest some skullduggery at play on the part of Jacobite interests. This ploy may have involved the suggestion that this stone was the original Stone of Destiny valued by monarchs of the U.K. today as being the Stone of Scone that originally all Scottish monarchs were crowned on. Later of course this extended to the monarch of all of Britain or United Kingdom.
Other interesting aspects of this story involve he characters surrounding the story of this stone also being part of three of the most bizarre lost treasure and landscape mysteries of history. The story of the La Verendrye stone has ties to the story of the Cyclic Cross of Hendaye, the story of Shugborough Hall, Rennes le Chateau and astoundingly even the story of a lost treasure said to be located on Oak Island Nova Scotia. Many things about all these stories suggest that over time Masonic concepts may have been applied to stories that didn’t originally have these overtones.
In the course of telling this story it will also become obvious that Jacobite concerns also have a role to play in the telling of this story as they also displayed a large amount of interest in the story told by Pehr Kalm. Kalm was a member of the Linnaean Society along with another period cohort Alexander Von Humboldt who also noted the story of this stone in one of his publications. As it turns out these two naturalists also had some connections to a type of Freemasonry that has been developed in Europe by the supporters of the fallen Jacobite Kings also known of as the Stuart family. Von Humboldt was a Freemason of the Strict Observance which was a type of Freemasonry that had been associated with the Jacobite movement for a long period of time.
Pehr Kalm had direct connections to the circle of Bonnie Prince Charlie who was the then Jacobite claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland. Kalm’s benefactor and mentor Bielke. Beilke in turn was a part of the circle of Emanuel Swedenborg and Bonnie Prince Charlie. Swedenborg is well known to Masonic historians and also used techniques like dream interpretation and other divination techniques in league with his Masonic beliefs. His Jacobite sympathies are now well known to the point that many consider him a Jacobite spy who spent a great deal of time in England. It is with this in mind that we need to consider Pehr Kalm’s involvement in the overall story of the La Verendrye stone. Was Kalm sent to gather information in order to dicatate the narrative of this stone to other concerns that may have been keeping an eye on this story? In the end it is possible that the Hanoverian rulers of Britian at that time were concerned about this entire story as it is inferred that Jacobites had taken the original Stone of Destiny and hidden it in the wilds of North America in what would become the Province of Alberta, Canada.
It was not unusual during this period of history for Jacobites to be associated with Sweden. Over the course of the Jacobite movement many Scottish exiles had made their way to Sweden just as others had gone to the American Colonies. This Jacobite migration to Sweden and other Baltic rim countries produced new nobility such as the Swedish Counts of Hamilton and the Swedish Counts of Douglas who were directly related to and many times worked in concert with the same families in Scotland. The later owner of the Hudson’s Bay Company Lord Selkirk Thomas Douglas is directly related to both of these Swedish families for example.
It is due to these connections that it becomes interesting that Pehr Kalm had first questioned La Verendrye about this stone and that in the ensuing years many people seemed to show a great interest in the whereabouts of the stone. This is interesting because in effect we are looking at the story of a missing stone no one has ever seen even to the extent that no drawings or illustrations of the stone have ever surfaced either. Kalm’s connections to the Jacobite movement help to fill in some of the missing blanks with regard to speculation and value of this strange stone story.
What is so special about this stone?
A series of naval battles and their associated history may well reveal the truth about how this stone may have ended up on Lot #5 of Oak Island, Nova Scotia. Had this stone been part of some sort of bizarre Masonic ritual? Or was it an authentic sacred stone from the Temple of Jerusalem that had been the coronation seat for Scottish Kings for centuries? The stone found on Oak Island does resemble descriptions of the La Verendrye stone but is there more evidence than this fact along with Pehr Kalm’s likely Jacobite sympathies?
As we will see many parts of this story had unfolded even prior to Kalm questioning La Verendrye about the stone. In fact Kalm’s purpose for interviewing the elder La Verendrye in the first place may have been an attempt to find out more about the stone especially its location at that time. If Kalm was a Jacobite sympathizer the French also were during this period of history. So it wold have made sense that if there were some additional intrigue with regard to this stone that La Verendrye would have shared the details without reservation. The symbolic overtones of the story of such a stone would have caught the attention of those that valued Masonic history and lore. As we will see Kalm visited Benjamin Franklin after he had interviewed La Verendrye thus making it possible Franklin was aware of this stone even prior to Kalm publishing his account in this book.
History dictates two possible places of discovery of the La Verendrye stone. In both places sandstone pillars or “hoodoos” are present as a result of centuries of erosion. These pillars are present at both locations where the La Verendrye stone is said to have been discovered. This would involve one possible site on the Missouri River and one possible site on the Milk River in what is today Alberta. Both potential sites of discovery are present in a geographic context that suggests they were placed to mark the borders of French Louisiana.
The first said location is along the Missouri River in Mandan territory in what is today northern North Dakota. For many years this area was the one that was considered based on the evidence at hand. Subsequently researcher Louis Buff Parry and historians from Carleton University discerned what may have been the true location of the original recovery of the stone by the La Verendrye brothers. By examining the La Verendrye 1742 expedition it became clear that a site on the Milk River in what is today Alberta was the correct location.
On that expedition the La Verendrye’s were said to be the first Europeans to have sighted the Rocky Mountains. This is always curious to me in that it had been a European who had left the stone in the sandstone pillar and had also possibly sighted the mountains at that time. Note that Mr. Parry also speculates that Jacobite concerns had left this stone in this context and in many ways this author agrees.
The only difference is that the person who had Jacobite sensibilities had likely been part of a French effort to mark the boundaries of what they had originally claimed. The site Mr. Parry points out on the Milk River matches the boundaries of French Louisiana as does the location of the Kensington Rune. Had some French expedition that was kept a secret left the stone? had the Tartars done it? lol. Or had it been Jacobites from Scotland?
It would not have been unusual during this period of history for a Scottish Jacobite individual to have been part of the French military. It is also true that during this period people associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company (part of the U.K.) would have also possibly had Jacobite sympathies. So either way there are many reasons this stone would have been valued by Jacobites or French Knights of Malta or Freemasons via a form of Freemasonry that was unique to continental Europe at that time.
In fact many scholars such as Dr. Martha Keith Schuchard document how the Jacobites at the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie had developed a form of Freemasonry that valued not only the Knights Templar but the stories of King Solomon and Enoch in a way that had not been expressed in Freemasonry prior. Freemason author Albert Mackey had also previously documented Jacobite involvement in the development of Freemasonry in this book “The History of Freemasonry; Its Legendary Origins.”
In some ways it is easy to pick out strange historical stories that have overtones valued by this type of Freemasonry such as Oak Island, Rennes le Chateau, and others. Many times a treasure is involved which also quite often has a real story behind it once the cloud of allegory and metaphor is pierced. Other common imagery in some of the tales as told involves what may be termed Solomonic or Enochian imagery and symbols as well.
This is the reason the Money Pit on Oak Island is described in a similar fashion to the nine layered vaults of Enoch complete with “90ft.” stone at the bottom. This is why in the modern era so many pundits and authors attempt to relate the story of the Temple Treasure and legacy of the Knights Templar to a part of history in which it is virtually impossible for them to have actually taken part in. Someone or some group continually applies the overtones of this Masonic imagery to any treasure story that gains notoriety for example. This continues today even on very popular television shows. In many ways this author also feels that these overtones are sometimes applied intentionally to cloud the waters and compel the public at large to not learn the truth about these fascinating stories.
Many times these Masonic elements seem to have been added to an already existing story that involves lost treasures or amounts of gold lost in times of war.
In either case the imagery of the lost stone that was found in a sandstone pillar and taken away never to be seen again does match some elements of another history valued by Freemasons even today. Researcher Parry points out the similarities to this story and the Teraphim or sacred stones of the Temple of Solomon that were likely taken after the Temple Mount was sacked by Titus in 70AD.
At that time these stones possibly along with items like the golden Menorah or Leavening table from the Temple were paraded through the streets of Rome upon Titus’ return from the Levant. At that point the Temple Treasure was displayed in the Temple of Peace of Rome. The Temple of Peace of Rome was then looted by the Visigoths and the Temple Treasure as such has never been seen again. In fact this very story is also related to the story of Rennes le Chateau just as others have related it to lost treasure stories at Oak Island and Williamsburg Virginia. A very real chain of events does in fact suggest that the Temple Treasure could have been hidden in the environs of Rennes le Chateau as they controlled that region at that time.
Continental Freemasonry as effected by Jacobite concerns had also built a great value of objects such as those from the Temple Treasure into their lore and mythology. The stories of King Solomon and Enoch seem to have a special value to all beyond Freemasons alone. Eventually even English or Hanoverian Freemasonry also built a value of these concepts into their ritual and routine values. Given that it is interesting to note that records associated with real Stone Masons guilds from as far back as the middle ages do not state a value of these same stories though many of their legends do involve the Tower of Babel.
So it is with this background that we may be able to take a guess or speculate as to what may have actually happened to the stone.
Is it possible that for some reason the French wanted to return the stone to the sandstone pillar? This is possible and it also makes sense that if Jacobites also had placed the stone in the sandstone pillar then they may have also had a desire to return the stone there for symbolic and practical reasons. In many ways this stone may have been valued by Freemasons as a foundation stone similar to the concept of the cornerstone of a building.
It is within the realm of possibility that both the La Verendrye stone and the Kensington Rune had been deposited via ritual and ceremony at different times along a historical border that had been valued by a form of Freemasonry they were associated with. All of this was likely done well within an established time line of history. This suggests that no Vikings or “Templars” were involved in any of this at all.
If this were true then the La Verendrye brothers had stumbled into a find they didn’t understand or had no record of for a variety of reasons. After the stone made its way to Mauripas in Paris someone in the know had recognized that this was a stone that makes the border and advised the it be sent back and placed where it had been found. Of course this is speculation but at least has real historical events and trends to back it up.
Alternately the stone had been placed by Jacobites in a context where they knew it may be found in an effort to confound their Hanoverian adversaries in England at that time. Was this entire concept developed to make George II believe that this strange stone was the real Stone of Destiny?
The next part of this story involves how Admiral Anson of Shugborough Hall had captured the Chevalier St. George, Blaise d’Abbadie, and Admiral Jonquierre at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747. This is where the story takes a strange turn due to the cast of players that were captured at that time. Each of these men could have been aware of the truth of the La Verendrye stone and there is also a very real reason that Admiral Anson and the then British Monarchy would have also had some interest in this story.
Admiral Anson had an extensive organization of spies that also included many French nationals. This may be one of the reason’s Anson had captured so much French gold over the years. He had captured what would be worth millions at the Battle of Cape Finisterre alone. Here we will see how each of the men captured Jonquierre, St. George, and d’Abbadie had an impact on this story in way that suggests they had inside knowledge of stories like that of the La Verendrye stone. I have also gathered evidence that Anson also gleaned a large treasure from the second siege of Louisbourg that his fleet took part in. There are some direct associations between the Anson’s and the family of the treasurer of Louisbourg who was also coincidentally the treasurer of the d’Anville Expedition.
Anson likely knew Jonquierre’s fleet was leaving and had intercept it via information obtained by his spy network. It may have been that via this same spy network that he had heard the story of this stone. In fact Admiral Anson’s brother Thomas was strangely known to have visited Paris and other places in France including the Royal Court during this time period. There is a documented visit with Madame Pompadour the mistress of Louis XV for example. It is also possible as I have speculated prior that Thomas also knew and met with Bonnie Prince Charlie at various times. Thomas was also known to run in similar circles to that of the Comte St. Germain who in part I theorize was a Hanoverian British spy.
It is also via this network of spies that Anson may have learned that the d’Anville expedition had deposited a Jacobite treasure on Oak Island which they then in turn spent on developing an organization that would later in part cause the American Revolution. In the process it is entirely possible people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were aware of this entire scheme over time. In fact Ben Franklin had personally met with Pehr Kalm who wrote the account of the La Verendrye stone! So what I am basically saying here is that this entire story does in fact link to my Founding Fathers theory with regard to the truth of the Oak Island treasure. There are many other documented reasons people like Jefferson would have been aware of such a treasure yarn especially if a Jacobite influence was involved.
If the La Verendrye stone had symbolic or real associations with French and Jacobite Freemasons then it does make sense that Jonquierre may have been returning the stone to New France so that it could be returned to its original site of discovery. This act may have been important in the context of Freemasons having consecrated a land claim via the laying of a foundation stone.
During the battle of Cape Finisterre several of the Fremcj ships were indeed bound for French Acadia at that time. If I am correct about a Masonic value of this stone via Jacobite sensibilities then it makes sense that the stone was then stashed with any Jacobite treasure that had been previously delivered to Oak Island via the d’Anville Expedition. In the process the bizarre story of the captives from the Battle of Cape Finisterre may also support the above speculation as being possible. It also may make sense that any ship from Jonquierre’s fleet that had made its way to Acadia would then also visit other parts of New France including Quebec and other sites in the region.
First of all Admiral Jonquierre was also part of the d’Anville Expedition. He assumed command of the debacle the expedition had become after the duc d’Anville succumbed to what was likely cholera at that time. The duc’s replacement then also committed suicide in a fit of fever as the story goes thus leaving Jonquierre in command. The Admiral was originally enroute to assume his post of Governor of French Canada. As the expedition unfolded he was forced to return the battered French fleet back to France at that time. It was upon his second attempt to assume his post in Canada that Anson captured him. Eventually the Admiral was returned to France in a prisoner exchange and did in fact eventually assume the post of governor albeit a few years later than planned.
The most interesting fact with regard to Jonquierre is his position in having knowledge as to anything secretive the d’Anville Expedition may have been charged with and then possibly having been given the responsibility of both returning the stone and a large amount of gold to Acadia for use in colonial operations. So in this story we are seeing the presence of yet another “sacred stone” that has great Masonic meaning and symbolism.
I theorize that the d’Anville Expedition had brought some Jacobite funds and hidden them on Oak Island. In this sense Jonquierre and possibly the other captives of Anson had knowledge of this and Anson may have even known all of this via his spy network. As part of the overall ploy the French may have returned the stone to where they knew they had hidden Jacobite funds prior because they knew the Jacobites had engineered the placement of the stone in the sandstone pillar to begin with.
As part of this story the stone in question likely was brought to Acadia where its guardian had instructions to put it on Oak Island as part of the stash there. Since Jonquierre had been captured any knowledge of the stone being returned to the its original site of discovery had been lost for the moment. In the end Jonquierre may have also not been aware of how or why this stone ended up on Oak Island. It was not long after all this that Acadia finally came under the full control of British interests which may have stranded the stone on Oak Island before it could be taken back to the Milk River county to be place where it was originally found. To be honest this author sees a lot of the same characters being involved in all these different stories to the degree that they must be associated. But there are also other very real reasons.
As stated Mr. Parry believes the La Verendrye stone was actually a Jacobite relic and even possibly the Stone of Destiny that all Scots kings were and are crowned on. The so called Stone of Scone it is known of. Is it possible that Jacobites ended up with the stone during one of the rebellions and then taken it to mark the boundary of Hudson’s Bay Company land and French Louisiana? Or had one of these very Jacobites been a member of a French expedition to mark their territory? Had the Jacobites somehow made the Hanoverian rulers of England believe they had the “real” stone? There are a few different possibilities here. Either way the story and the symbology involved with what is going on is screaming “Jacobites! Jacobites!” This imagery includes the historical description of the Money Pit on Oak Island in lore and reality.
The life of Blaise d’Abbadie also has many interesting aspects to the mysteries of history during this era. Blaise was from a well to do Basque family and was also an ardent supporter of Basque nationalism in a period of history during which France and Spain had separated his culture via the common border of both countries. Blaise had a Chateau in Auduax France and he often sponsored the staging of Basque festivals. Blaise eventually became a part of the French Navy and worked in the dept. of acquisitions for a time. Eventually he did go to sea and was part of the fleet of Jonquierre at the Battle of Cape Finisterre during which he was captured.
It is interesting in the context of the story of Oak Island and Shugborough Hall we see the name d’Abbadie surfacing. The d’Abbadie family also has other famous members including Jacob Abbadie who was a seventeenth century Huguenot minister who was exiled in Ireland. Jacob wrote about the apocalypse and is famous for his book on the subject.
Later in history an enigmatic alchemically oriented book entitled “Mystery of the Cathedrals” penned by the equally enigmatic Fulcanelli would compel many to speculate as to his family’s involvement in the placement of a calvary cross with strange artwork in the courtyard of the St. Vincent’s Chapel in Hendaye, France. Hendaye had been the location of one of Blaise’s homes in addition to his estate in Audaux.
This strange cross came to be known of as the Cyclic Cross of Hendaye after Fulcanelli described it as a monument that foretold of the coming destruction of the world in alchemical terms. Strangely the same kind of subject that d’Abbadie ancestor Jacob Abbadie had expressed in his writing. The mystery is even more odd and does delve into the world of the Solomonic and Enochian values of Freemasonry in the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
Blaise d’Abbadie would be released in the same prisoner exchange as Admiral Jonquierre and would go on to be the last governor of French Louisiana. He had a personal correspondence with Thomas Jefferson due to his post. When Blaise passed he was interred in the Churchyard of the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans which also does have some legends associated with the symbolism of the Knights of Malta seen there. Many sources state Blaise had been a Knight of Malta. All of this shenanigans with regard to these captured French officers was going on just prior to the time Pehr Kalm was interviewing La Verendrye about the stone and later cavorting with Benjamin Franklin himself.
Blaise d’Abbadie’s direct descendant Antoine Thompson d’Abbadie also had a large impact on the story of what would later come to be known of as the Great Cyclic Cross of Hendaye. Antoine inherited the Audaux estate that had once belonged to Blaise. In the mid nineteenth century Antoine and his brother Arnaud would go on to have an interesting impact on the study of geography and what may have also been of great interest to Masonic concerns.
As a young man Antoine developed an obsession with a book that had been written by James Bruce entitled “Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile In the Years 1768 to 1773” about his travels in Ethiopia. Bruce had gone to Ethiopia in about 1768 and his travels there had a huge impact not only on common history but that of his own family and Freemasonry at large. During his years long stay in Ethiopia Bruce studied the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as the enclave of early Jews that had settled there in antiquity.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church preserved some very old manuscripts and versions of their bible which may have been considered apocryphal to European Christians. Among these was the Book of Enoch. Bruce managed to convince the authorities there to let him return to Europe with three original one thousand year old copies of the Book of Enoch from Ethiopia. In many ways the versions of the stories in these ancient books matched those told in Europe during the time of Dr. John Dee in the early seventeenth century. To Freemasons who valued these stories in their degrees and lore this was a great boon to their knowledge of the way these stories had been appreciated by others in the past. It is possible that some of the imagery on the famous Kirkwall Scrolls is the result of the influence of James Bruce and his travels in Ethiopia. Of interest is also the fact that some of the imagery on the Kirkwall scroll resembles the Cyclic Cross of Hendaye.
It was in this spirit and Antoine d’Abbadie traveled to Ethiopia much later in the nineteenth century in the footsteps of his hero James Bruce. He and his brother Arnaud completed many geographical and astronomical observations while in Ethiopia for a few years and also searched for the true source of the Nile River. Bruce had also spent some time searching for the true source but had been unsuccessful.
Antoine like his ancestor Blaise was an ardent Basque nationalist who also staged Basque flower festivals and did many things to preserve and promote Basque culture. In fact the Cyclic Cross in Hendaye was thought by many to have been placed at St. Vincent’s by the d’Abbdie family. Though no disrespect to Fulcanelli or other new age pundits who have made the Cyclic Cross their poster child for world destruction I believe the message of the cross actually applies to Blaise and Antoine’s view of the destruction of their own race or culture. From my estimation, it was likely Blaise d’Abbdie who had seen the cross installed at St. Vincent’s with the later Antoine being fully aware of the meaning of this family secret…… that may have actually not been a secret at all.
After Antoine’s return from Ethiopia he would go on to express his beliefs in a very unique piece of architecture in the form of his estate Chateau Abbadia near Hendaye. Chateau Abbadia was built in the tradition of the alchemical tower and axis mundi. The home is actually a working astronomical observatory. A small windrose (array of small monuments like a compass) similar to that of the Vatican is present on the grounds of the estate and “points to” some fascinating places on the globe.
The decor and art present in the Chateau has also compelled some people to call Abbadia the “Rosslyn Chapel” of France. Indeed many mysterious pieces of sculpture and Ethiopian script are present in the house and grounds of the estate. It is said that Antoine was such a proponent of Basque culture that those that worked the fields and functions of the estate all wore traditional Basque clothing. This same concept applies to his Auduax estate where eventually two of his Ethiopian servants were entombed.
Recently my friend Lara Lamberti found another very similar cross in the town square of Sare, France about 10km from where the original cross is located. Sare is actually a treasure of France and reflects the attributes of Basque culture which the town is known for. It is no surprise that another similar cross was found there. The discovery of a second similar cross is also interesting in that Fulcanelli speculated the meaning of the cross based on only one example.
Given all of this it is interesting that Blaise was captured and held prisoner by Admiral Anson at the same time as Admiral Jonquiere. But it is his other fellow prisoner the Chevalier St. George whose story is the more bizarre and spectacular. St. George’s connections to Admiral Anson and others is simply astounding and if one reads between the lines we may see some very real connections to the stories of not only Oak Island and Shugborough Hall but also to the famous story of Rennes le Chateau. Each story has Solomonic and Enochian overtones that in turn point to a specific value of Jacobite oriented freemasonry that was very popular during the time all of this was going on.
It is possible that any one of these three captives was privy to the true story of not only the La Verendrye stone but the story of lost Jacobite gold that the French had delivered to Scotland during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Admiral Anson also seemed to have expressed his interest in Jacobite gold via a painting he commissioned of one of his captains harassing the ship taking Bonnie Prince Charlie to Scotland prior to the ’45 Jacobite rebellion. At that time Anson’s captain had turned back another ship bringing a shipment of gold to help fund the revolt.
The course of the history of the rebellion suggests that more than one shipment of gold worth millions today made its way to Scotland over the next year or so. It is some of this gold originally donated by the Vatican and Spanish interests, delivered by the French that I speculate could have ended up on Oak Island for later use in efforts associated with the American Revolution. It is clear that over the years the Vatican has shown an interest in any stories that may be related to a horde of hidden Jacobite gold.
The Chevalier St. George was one of Jonquiere’s ship’s captains during the Battle of Cape Finisterre. At that time St. George’s ship the Invincible was one of the few remaining French ships near the end of the Battle. St. George kept fighting even as his ship was sinking and dismasted even using his personal silverware for shot for the cannons when there was no more. Admiral Anson upon seeing this admired St. George who upon capture presented his sword to Anson. The two became close friends. In fact may weird and bizarre things happened to St. George during his time in so called captivity.
During his time in England St. George was allowed to visit Admiral Anson likely at Shugborough Hall or his other estate Moor Park. The Admiral and St. George were known to play violin together. Note this Chevalier St. George is not to be confused with a later African man of the same name who was also a famous violinist. The Chevalier St. George became so familiar with the Anson’s that he attended social functions with Anson’s brother Thomas as well as the Admirals wife Elizabeth. In some of her correspondence Mrs. Anson even notes that St. George attended social functions with them at which the famous Comte St. Germain was also present.
If this was not curious enough the Chevalier became a member of the Gray’s Gentlemen’s club in London. He also had an audience with King George II. What in the world is a King of England doing having an audience with a captured French Captain? This is very curious and speculation may involve the fact that there was more than the Chevalier St. George’s charisma at play here. Could it be that the King was curious about the story of the La Verendrye stone? Had it been somehow suggested to the King that the stone in question was said to be the real stone of destiny by Jacobite concerns. No matter the truth of this story we can see how tales like this could be used to have a psychological impact on one’s enemy.
Though speculation it appears as if St. George had shared intelligence information with Admiral Anson that may have also sparked the interest of King George. It is not unusual at all for nobility to be interested in lost amounts of gold or other treasure stories. We do see previously in history Kings Charles II and James II actively financing searches for Spanish shipwrecks. Some of these searches were successful with large amounts of spoils being recovered mostly in the Caribbean. In fact it is possible that those efforts may contain the germ of the origins of the story of Oak Island itself.
Is it possible St. George spilled the beans about any stash of Jacobite funds hidden on Oak Island? Had he also told the King of a strange stone that was rumored to have been the real stone and not a fake one he may have been crowned on? That in fact is the crux of why King George II may have been interested in the strange stone found by the La Verendrye brothers. Undoubtedly the truth or propaganda of this story would be of concern to his family. What if he had been crowned on a fake “Stone of Scone” while the Jacobites had absconded with the real one and had it installed in a sandstone pillar that marked a border between two political entities that they favored? There was a strong Jacobite influence in both the Hudson’s Bay Company and French sympathies during the era in question.
One would be forced to ask if even the Jacobites would stash such an important artifact in the middle of a grand wilderness whose inhabitants wouldn’t have understood or valued such a thing? But this is what the story does infer in many ways.
What is exposed here also shows us why Mr. Parry believes the stone is hidden at Shugborough Hall which even with this new evidence he did not consider remains a distinct possibility. Perhaps the new owners of Lot #5 on Oak Island can have a geologist look at the stone in question to see if it possibly originated in the region of the Milk River in Alberta.
The Lot #5 stone is an odd looking piece that seems to have either scratches of indents that do in some ways resemble crude runes or “tartaric” script as originally described by the Jesuit Priests that examined it. Mr. Parry could very well be correct in his assumptions even though he did not include the influence of Blaise d’Abbadie or the Chevalier St. George in his theory.
It is my contention that the involvement of Blaise d’Abbadie and Admiral Jonqiuerre in N. America may indicate the stone was meant to be brought back to where it was originally found. Blaise would go on to be governor of French Louisiana so if the stone was meant to be taken back to its original position marking the border then then someone of Blaise’s status would have been aware of the entire story from start to finish.
The circumstances that would compel them to return the stone may involve the fact that the ceremony done to install the stone from a Masonic standpoint was very important in a spiritual view of claimed land or domains throughout history. This concept goes back to the Greek and Roman concept of a Terminus stone or boundary stone. If Freemason’s had installed the stone in the first place than many of them would have thought it important for that stone to have remained where it was found.
In this case the La Verendrye brothers appear to have been ignorant of this and the news of the stone’s discovery in France and England could have set off a great deal of speculation and guesswork especially on the part of English concerns who would have recognized the similarities in this story to that of the Stone of Scone.
Let’s take a moment to speculate even further as to the most spectacular possibilities here.
What if the story is all “real” in the context of the folklore and Masonic imagery that surrounds it? Is the La Verendrye stone a sacred stone from the original Temple of Solomon? Was this a relic of the Knights Templar that had been intentionally hidden in a dispute between Jacobite interests and the then Hanoverian Kings of Britain? Had this stone been recovered from a secret location during the crusades and come into the possession of French Freemasons over time?
This scenario does match a great deal of Templar and Masonic lore. Unfortunately these points of view do not have the historical documentation that supports them being true. In short that is a broad guess based on legends that have no basis in the historical record. Legends which also happen to be valued by Freemasons to this day despite the fact they can’t be empirically proven. Still the possibilities do make one wonder. Meanwhile the speculation presented here is backed up by historical facts such as the Battle of Cape Finisterre and the three captives.
What if this is a real biblical relic that is either the Stone of Scone or another one of the sacred stones from the original Temple? Either way it is clear that Freemasons have a value of objects that are reproduced to resemble the originals. Reproductions of the Ark of the Covenant for example were common parts of Masonic lodges in the past. Some of the rituals in “Scottish Freemasonry” even resemble stories from King Solomon and the book of Enoch. In the process even if the stone found in a sandstone pillar would be of great value to all involved who would have revered it as a sacred object in the context they meant it to be. Just like one of the real stones.
One of the lessons I have learned as an author is the difference between “Secret Society History” and “Real History.” One can guess what the differences are in these two points of view. Secret Society origin myths overall have had a negative impact on the public’s perception of the real history and I’ll leave it at that.
It is not unusual even in Christian iconography for many copies of valued relics to have been produced that came to be valued as much as the originals. The Knights Templar for example seemed to have an unusual appreciation of the Holy Face sometimes referred to as the Mandylion or Veil of Veronica. It is documented that several copies of the veil were made by bringing an additional piece of cloth into contact with the original. In a very real way it does not matter if the stone in this story is an original stone from the Temple of Jerusalem but it is still remotely possible there are parts of the story we don’t know. If it was the real Stone of Scone then regardless of its original authenticity it would still be the Stone of Scone for example.
In the end Pehr Kalm’s involvement fits Jacobite intrigue given the people he associated with in Europe. Kalm even had an association with Benjamin Franklin for a time which in the end was disappointing to Franklin in some ways. Despite this if Kalm was aware of a lost stone in New France and that he would be visiting French held territory it would not be a surprise if Franklin had questioned him about such things. Franklin is also a well known Freemason who had been associated with both English and Continental Jacobite Freemasonry in his travels to both England and France.
Also of note is Franklin’s opinion of Kalm’s book that includes the La Verendrye story. Franklin laments that Kalm misquoted him and generally changed the gist of their conversations in his book. This is no surprise. In fact Pehr Kalm’s “Travels” had a huge impact on fake history in the nineteenth century. Kalm speculates that the Chinese had colonized the west coast of N. America and other bizarre theories at that time. Ideas that were commonly part of myth and folklore were considered as truths in some of Kalm’s speculation. It is more impressive that Alexander Von Humboldt gave the story of the La Verendrye stone credence. He was personal friends and correspondents with Thomas Jefferson and other minds of the day. In fact it is via Von Humboldt’s influence with Jefferson that a rendering of the Aztec Sunstone was later included in the band of artwork at the base of the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C. Von Humboldt was the first non-Catholic scholar to examine the Aztec Sunstone yet he did note his surprise at how well the Dominican scholars had understood the true function of the stone.
It is this kind of historical symbolism that may have first compelled some band of French explorers to place a stone at the margins of their claims in some kind of ceremony. Either way the legend of this stone has endured even though many people have not heard of it.
The fact is that a strange stone found on Lot #5 on Oak Island Nova Scotia does indeed resemble a description of the La Verendrye stone in many ways. There are also elements of the real history of the d’Anville Expedition and the Battle of Cape Finiseterre that also support the notion that this stone could have been deposited on Oak Island at some point as the story unfolded. The facts of this story do also point to a Masonic value of this stone regardless of its true origins and the myths and legends associated. The story does reveal a very real chain of events that suggest the British would have wanted to capture the stone while the French and Jacobite factions may have wanted it returned to its original place of discovery.
Here I have tried to cover the basics of this story. I discuss many aspects of this story in more detail in my books Oak Island and the Arcadian Mysteries and Timeless Arcadia. Treasure Myths and Legends Revealed.
I think in this case we see a part of a story that leads us to connections between Oak Island, Rennes le Chateau, and Shugborough Hall. These places all separately are somewhat known as repositories of lost treasure and now we are starting to also see some commonalities via the mythological and allegorical values of Freemasons. Each of these stories tempts one with tales of lost riches. The serious adept who wants to find the treasure studies the people and concepts involved and lo and behold are led to Freemasons and a sort of treasure of another type.
Really the theory presented here is speculation driven by the fact that so many of these stories have an overlap in the characters that are involved. In this case the characters in common are all French Navy personnel that could have been privy to both the truth of what went on at Oak Island and the fate of the so called La Verendrye stone. Both stories also have Masonic overtones related to Solomonic and Enochian ideas. Agreed that these concepts may have been applied later to each story. In the end it is just as possible this strange stone did get buried underneath tons of rubble during WWII in Rouen.
In large part the stone’s disappearance is also problematical in any rational examination of the stone. To this day proponents of the authenticity of the (fake) Kensington Rune attempt to relate the La Verendrye stone to Vikings or more recently Knights Templar. Sadly both stones mark the border of a much later political entities in the Hudson’s Bay Company and French Louisiana. There are many other details with regard to authenticity of the Kensington Rune that suggest it was a much later fake that involved Freemasons. Of course those parts of the story are left out by those who have created somewhat of a profitable industry by selling obviously fake points of view with regard to “strange” American history.
Many of these details are present on my blog as well as other stories that illustrate how the Cremona Document was also a nineteenth century Masonic ploy that may have more to do with the type of Freemasonry documented in the famous book “Holy Blood, Holy Grail.” That would include a sect of Catholic Freemasons that began during the Jacobite era and continued on at least into the early twentieth century that may still exist today. Again the existence of Catholic concerns and influence in the development of Freemasonry is in large part ignored in the conspiracy theory views of hidden history in today’s world.
In fact some of the largest Freemason fake history pundits of the twenty-first century seem to harbor a great hate of the Catholic Church thus displaying a complete ignorance that three of the main creators of “Scottish Freemasonry” were Catholic Jacobites including the Chevalier Ramsay, Charles Radclyffe, and Bonnie Prince Charlie himself. Bonnie Prince Charlie is entombed beneath St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for example. Some of these Freemasons aren’t even aware of their own history and instead promote comic book fairytales as the truth.
Given all this it is still somewhat possible that the strange stone on Lot #5 is what was originally termed the La Verendrye stone. The Lot #5 stone does appear to have been modified. The markings on it may need to be examined in more detail and they do appear that they could either be intentional or a result of weathering or scratching of the stone via glacial means. The scratch marks on the stone do resemble a crude script of some kind. The stone also seems to have been decorated with a strange pattern of swirls that extend around the stone.
This along with the curious story of how Anson captured three people who seemed to have played a role in this drama adds to the possibilities. Lacking more extensive evidence it is impossible to say for sure if this is the La Verendrye stone. Despite that this is an interesting story that does expose a group of people who were likely involved in the overall saga of Oak Island to some degree.
That is not to say there is no real treasure involved yet one must be cautious in relation to reality and the way the story is told later. Thanks for joining me on this ramble as to why it is within the realm of possibility that the strange stone found on Lot #5 of Oak Island could be the original La Verendrye stone.
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