How do I know this? Why, I reburied it there myself. When I was a kid I used to tromp through the deep woods behind my house. Nobody else ever went back there and I doubt that anybody has been back there in the 45 years since, so my secret is safe.
Anyway, not long after Hurricane Hazel struck and had decimated and destroyed the region, I was going through the woods and I saw a giant oak tree that had been uprooted by the hurricane. I saw a bunch of iron pots which had been buried under the roots of the tree, with some shiny stuff inside. I quickly heaped on earth and branches, filling up the hole, planning to return later.
I never thought much about it again until today. In 1992, I learned about the Beale Treasure while researching my book, "The Slave Children of Thomas Jefferson". Thomas Jefferson Beale was a tall light skinned black man with reddish hair believed to be the son of Thomas Jefferson by his devoted slave Edy. Many people do not know this, but Thomas Jefferson had children by several of his slaves, not only by Sally.
The story goes that Thomas Jefferson Beale had gone on an expedition to the far west and had found the gold and silver. He had brought it back to Virginia, arriving in 1819. I believe however that this part of the story is not true. I believe that Thomas Jefferson himself had hidden the gold in Bedford County Virginia. Thomas Jefferson often visited Bedford County on horseback. He even wrote in many of his letters about Judith Creek, a small stream only two miles east from my house, which few people today even know about, so it is clear that Thomas Jefferson knew about Trent's Ferry Road where I lived as a child.
When Thomas Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase, he did it without Congressional Authorization. Congress thought that it was a stupid idea and never approved it, so Thomas Jefferson collected enough gold and silver to buy the Louisiana land himself. Napoleon needed the money to pay for his invasion of Russia which was then in the planning stage and so he needed Thomas Jefferson's gold and silver.
However, as it turned out Napoleon demanded less money for Louisiana than Jefferson thought he would have to pay, so Jefferson instructed Edy, who worked for Thomas Jefferson in the White House doing the same job which two centuries later was done by Monica Lewinsky, to have her son Thomas take care of the extra gold. There was no better place to hide the money but in the deep woods behind my house in Bedford County, Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson Beale checked into the Buford Hotel in 1819. He was concerned that the gold was not his and of course he did not want to be regarded as a thief, so he left three coded messages about the location and the ownership of the money.
This entire story is, of course, well known, although many have intentionally given wrong information such as by saying that the gold had been mined out west. They say this because they do not want the US Government rightfully to claim the money.
I have a guilty conscious about this because the gold and the silver rightfully belongs to the US Government since it was originally supposed to be used to pay for the Louisiana Purchase, I will therefore now reveal where the Gold is.
Here is the map:
http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=17&X=3284&Y=20743&W=1
Now, my house is the dot approximately in the center of the map. Across the road to the south is the Caldwell Farm. Clarence and William Caldwell still live there. To the right of my house is a much a larger house with a swimming pool behind it. That was the estate of Ludwell Strader, his wife Martha, and their children Ludwell Jr. and Leighton. Ludwell was a big time securities trader who taught me how to trade stocks when I was ten years old. He and his wife are dead now but I believe that his son Leighton is a big time corporate executive somewhere. I hope that Leighton did not get the Beale Gold because it was on his land. Ludwell Strader owned a vast estate which extended from his house all the way back to the James River, several square miles in total.
To the left of my house was the house of Sherwood Knight and his lovely daughter Susan. Susan loved her horses and she had a horse stable and she used to go horseback riding in the woods behind our houses. She also won many prizes at horse shows. Her horse could not go deep into the woods however, so I doubt that she found the Beale Gold. I do not know what happened her, but I will bet that wherever she is she still rides horses.
Beyond the house of Susan Knight to the left is the house of Phil Strader, younger brother of Ludwell, who still lives there.
I need to explain that my father was a top level official of the IRS and he taught us never to steal money from the US Government and always to do our patriotic duty by paying more than our fair share of the taxes. This is the reason why I do not go and dig up the Beale Gold myself.
Speaking of which did I even mention that I grew up in Bedford County, Virginia?
I often say that I grew up in Lynchburg, but actually it was about five miles from Lynchburg.
When I was a kid I used to spend my days tromping through the woods behind my house, but I did not know about the Beale Treasure there so when I found it I buried it again.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beale_ciphers
I cannot remember where I put it. My photographic memory has failed once again, because I forgot to put film in the camera.
Here is an aerial view of my mother's house, the one my brother stole.
http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=17&X=3295&Y=20732&W=1
Here is a close-up view of the house where I grew up. It is on Trents Ferry Road about half way between Fox Hill Road and Holcomb Rock Road. Some new houses have been built there so it is difficult to recognize the place, but the forest to the North of the House is where I found the Beale Treasure.
http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=17&X=3284&Y=20743&W=1
Latitude +37.47280 Longitude -79.22565
Here is where others claim that the Beale Treasure is. As you can see, they are close, but not close enough.
Latitude +37.35100 Longitude -79.68920
I found the correct place because William and Clarence Caldwell used to live across the road from me and they still live there, although they have built new houses for themselves and their wives.
That is the Caldwell Farm on the South Side of the Road. My house is the dot more or less in the center of the picture. I left the Beale Treasure deep in the woods behind my house.
I doubt that anybody has been back there in the past 45 years, so I am sure that the treasure is safe, although perhaps I should go back there and dig it up again if only I could remember exactly where I put it. The map is deceptive. The woods there are so deep and the terrain so rugged that nobody else will ever find it.
However, if you do find the treasure, please be sure to turn it over to the US Government right away!
Sam Sloan
Here are links: