Introduction: In this article, with Halloween approaching, Melissa Davenport Berry writes more about ghost hunter John Parker, focusing on a long-ago visit from Captain Kidd. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.

Today I continue my series on John Cuthbert Parker (1904-1997), architect, artist, and famous paranormal investigator, who bewitched a whole generation with his tales of ghost hunting on some of the most infamous haunted historical properties.

To recap: In Part 5, I covered the Legend of the Bowing Spectre that Parker reported when he visited the Manor House on Shelter Island in New York.

The Manor House was built by the descendants of Nathaniel Sylvester (1610-1680), who became known as the “Lord of Shelter” for harboring Quakers.

Read: “Nathaniel Sylvester, ‘Lord of Shelter’ for 17th Century Quakers.”

Parker wrote a narrative about his visit that includes a story of the famous Scottish privateer Captain William Kidd (1645-1701), who visited the Manor House.

Below is a section of John Parker’s notes that he wrote when investigating the ghost haunting the Manor House on Shelter Island. This passage concerns Captain William Kidd.

These notes read:

There is also told a story of famous Captain Kidd, who made an unexpected visit to this Manor House. Captain Kidd often sailed the waters of Long Island Sound.

On this particular sunny day, Captain Kidd put into shore on Shelter Island, with some of his men, landing near this Manor House. He was in search of some fresh meat, to replenish the larder of his sleek ship, flying the Jolly Roger.

When Captain Kidd ordered his men to seize two fat pigs he found meandering around the farmyard, the pigs put up a noisy objection. A most brave, almost belligerent maid servant came hurriedly out of the Manor House kitchen, and not the least awed by the presence of Captain Kidd and his men, she demanded payment for the two pigs.

Captain Kidd saw this was a case calling for some degree of diplomacy, so he removed a heavy gold chain he wore about his neck, and releasing several links, he handed them to the unruffled servant as payment for the two seized pigs. These heavy gold links are a prized reminder of this visit of Captain Kidd and his men and are still in safe keeping at the Manor House.

It is said some of Captain Kidd’s treasure is buried on Shelter Island. Many have searched for the treasure without success.

However, there is also proof that Captain Kidd visited the Gardiner family on their island not far from Shelter Island and may have hidden his treasure there.

Here is an illustration of Captain Kidd depicted in The Pirates Own Book by Charles Ellms.

Below is an image of the original receipt given to John Gardiner when he turned over Captain Kidd’s treasure to Governor Bellomont as ordered. The receipt can be seen at the East Hampton Library.

This curio linked to Captain Kidd, shown in the photo below, was hidden away in the Sylvester Manor House: a frayed scrap of green and yellow fabric from a gift given by Captain Kidd to Mrs. Gardiner.

The handwritten note of provenance with the cloth reads:

“a piece of the ‘Gold Blanket’ presented by the Pirate Kidd to Madame Gardiner of Gardiners Island, presented by Mrs. Kimball to Mrs. Horsford [of Shelter Island], descendants of [illegible] Gardiner.”

As noted in Part 5, the Sylvester Manor House has remained in the family throughout its history. When the male Sylvester line ended, the property passed through the female line to the Gardiners and, by the same pattern of inheritance, to the Horsford family.

Now here is a version of Capt. Kidd’s visit to Gardiner’s Island, published in the San Franscisco Chronicle, as told by Charles B. Driscoll in a chapter of his book Pirates Ahoy.

According to Driscoll’s story, Captain Kidd’s ship lay off Gardiner’s Island, three miles north of the eastern end of Long Island. John Gardiner, grandson of Lion Gardiner, who had been made manorial proprietor of the island by a special grant from the British Crown, went aboard.

John Gardiner made an affidavit concerning his meeting and subsequent relations with Kidd, which includes various exchanges of gifts and Captain Kidd asking Gardiner to “care for three Negro children.” Kidd also asked Gardiner to safeguard some of his treasure.

This article reports:

It was then, according to the affidavit, that Kidd turned over to Gardiner to hold for him “a chest and a box of gold and a bundle of quilts and four bayles of goods.” Gardiner took all this loot ashore. It was Kidd’s plan to leave this portion of the treasure with Gardiner and return to claim it in case he should need ready money after meeting with Governor Bellomont.

Gardiner adds that Kidd’s men delivered to him on the island two bags of silver weighing thirty pounds, “a small bundle of gold, and gold dust of about a pound weight, to keep for him, and did also present the Narrator with a sash and a pair of worsted stockings. And just before the sloop sayled Captain Kidd presented the Narrator with a bag of sugar, and then took leave and sayled for Boston.”

Poor Kidd never returned from Boston to claim his treasure. It was to Lord Bellomont’s political advantage to get him out of the way, so he was taken to England illegally, there being no provision for capital punishment for piracy in New England, and railroaded to the gallows.

The Boston Herald published an account of Gardiner’s story, also written by Charles B. Driscoll, with this illustration.

This article gives more details about Kidd’s treasure left on Gardiner’s Island. Note this account says Kidd buried his loot on the island, whereas the San Francisco Chronicle report says Kidd turned his loot over to John Gardiner for safekeeping:

Kidd explained that he was on his way to report to Lord Bellomont in Boston, but that he wished to leave on the island some personal things before he ventured to put himself into the Governor’s power. Lord John consented, and Kidd went ashore with his men, who buried a box of gold, a chest of treasure of various sorts, and several bales of goods.

Kidd was arrested in Boston [for piracy], upon Bellomont’s orders, and was immediately questioned about his loot. He gave the Governor a list of the goods buried on Gardiner’s Island, but insisted that all of this was his personal property, and should be sent to his wife to defray the expense of his trial.

Bellomont sent out to Lord John a demand for surrender of the loot, and Gardiner brought the box, the chest and the bales in to Boston, and received the Governor’s receipt for the same [shown below]. He did salvage one large diamond out of the lot, according to a tradition of the island, and this he gave to his daughter, who became Mrs. Thomas Green of Boston…

The receipt for the Kidd loot is still among the Gardiner possessions. It was dated July 7, 1699, and itemizes the contents of the treasure chest of Kidd. There were three bags of gold dust, one of gold coins, one of silver coins, a bag of silver rings and precious stones of several kinds, a bag of unpolished gems, a bag of silver buttons and fragments of broken silver objects, two agates, two carnelians, two amethysts, gold bars, silver bars, and 69 precious stones in bulk.

This newsclip also mentions the gifts of gold cloth to Gardiner’s wife.

Captain Kidd never returned from Boston to claim his treasure. That story is for another day. What is known is that John C. Parker visited the Sylvester Manor House and found some wandering spirits among the beauty and splendid architecture of Shelter Island.

Note: some of the graphics in this article have been AI enhanced.

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Note on the header image: “Captain Kidd, Burying Treasure,” from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes, c. 1888. Credit: George S. Harris & Sons; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Wikimedia Commons.

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