The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-10
KILLED BY PIRATES.
THE FATE or AARON BURR's BEAU
TIFUL DAUGHTER IL DISCLOSED.
Weird Tradition COnarmed-an
OH Painting Tells of the Confession
OF a Dying FreebOotcr-The Singu-
lar Rnrmuu.a ,f m. Sen

Elktons Md. June 5.-Ihe story Of how
Aaron Burr's only child. beautiful young
Thcodosia. met her death at the hands
of ocean pirates years ago. and how shat
fact was only very recently established
by the discovery of portrait of her, res
cued from the schooner from whence she
was thrown into the sea, is told in print
herewith for the first time. Involving, as
ii does, the death-bed confession of one
Is the pirates who drowned the young
woman, the tale seems more like fiction
than verified history but there are persons
/ liVing hereabouts who have verified it in
detail. and who Will vouch for its accu-
racy.
Iheodosia Burr young woman of UNI
usual mental attachments. was married
4 to the son of Judge Aston, of South Caro-
lima, relative Of Washington Aston,
/ the celebrated historical portrait painter.
/ Mr and Mrs Aston resided on their plan
/ tatlOn near Charleston When Aaron Burr
/ contemplated returning from the extend
| ed visit he made to Europe after his trial.
] ne wrote Mrs. Aston, to whom he was
/ deVotedly attached asking her to meet
/ MIN in New York on his arrival there. Mr..
/ aston, engrossed with the business of
/ MS plantation, found it impossible to ac-
/ company his Wife
There being no railroads in those DAYS.
| ana Mr.. Aston, deeming that a summer
! Trip from Charleston to New York by sea
| would be less irksOme to his wife than a
| stage journey by land chartered a coasting
schooner. In this Mrs. Aston set out She
/ TOOK with her as a present to her father
/ beautiful painting of herself. But she
| never reached New York, and down to the
! present day the fate of Aaron Burrs only
enid mas been matter of speculation
| among historians. some contending that
| the vessel and all on board were lost at
! sea, others asserting that Mrs. Aston fell
| INTO the hands of some of the pirates
who IN those days infested the Atlantic
! coast
But the mystery has at last been cleared
! up It's accuracy Is vouched for by the
| former rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Elkton. clergyman well known through
out Maryland and the Middle States.
About 1--WE years ago this clergyman was
| visiting in his native state, North Caro-
| INA, and for several days was the guest
| OF the widow of the late DR.. William
| Poole, near Elizabeth City Above the
mantelpiece in Mrs. Pooles parlor was
| an old-fashioned painting, exquisitely ex-
ecuted, of a beautiful young woman
dressed in white. 1t so greatly Interested
| the clergyman that he asked Mrs. Poole
| whom Ii was intended to represent. She
then gave the following story of it;
| Eight years previously. she said, Dr.
| Poole had taken his family to pass the
| summer at the little coast town of Nays
| Head, n. c., where the United States man
of-war Huron came to grief. The place
| is largely populated by bankers" gener-
| ally rough class of men who mainly earn
livelihood by picking up all species Of
| fiotsam and jetsam along the coast. One
| of these bankers" however, was a very
| respectable and very old fellow named
| Mann His wife was suffering f'0ft1 a
| complication of diseases, and Or. Poole
took a great interest in her case Under
| his treatment she recovered! and as a
| token of gratitude to the doctor presented
him with the painting which so greatly
interested the clergyman. Mrs Mann said
her husband had recovered it from
wreck.
! When quite young man he was walk
ing along the shore one morning. His
attention was then called to a coastwise
schooner under full sail, bearing swiftly
down upon the dangerous bar which in
later years caused the loss of the Huron.
With other bankers Mann put out to
| her assistance.
They boarded the schooner but found
that the only living thing aboard was
little black and tan dog. Careful In
| spection of the schooner proved nothing
as to her anteeedents. Even her name
was not ascertainable. But one of the
| cabins had evidently been very recently
| occupied by a woman, and in this cabin
was the painting which Mrs. Mann gave
! DR.. Poole, and which Mann appropriate ed
in his share of the salvage. The schooner
! shortly afterward went to pieces.
DR.. Poole was an enthusiastic student
| of national matters. He felt certain
that the picture had very valuable his
! tory and formed a suspicion that it might
/ have represented the mysteriously lost
! daughter of Aaron Burr.
He put himself in communication with
! several historical societies on the matter
but his theory found little weight, in
spite of a family likeness being admitted
AS the clergyman upon whose author
ity of this story is given out was returning
from a recent visit to Mrs. Poole while
driving from that ladys house to Eliz-
abeth City to take the cars home, he
met a young man, whom he knew to ! e
very bashful and much afraid of the
! gentler sex, driving a strange woman in
/ buggy toward Mrs. Poole's residence.
| In a letter written to Mrs. Poole shortly
1 afterward he sood-naturedly referred to
! the incident and to the young fellows
| evident embarrassment.
This brought from Mrs. Poole another
/ chapter in the history of the beautiful pic
/ ture. The strange woman was a descen-
/ dant of the Burr family, who resides in
! Detroit, Mich. Her name has temporarily
/ escaped the clergyman's memory She
/ had been visiting at Virginia Beach, Va
/ where she had heard of Mrs. Poole's mys-
! FERROUS painting from a North Carolina
| gentleman. Her visit to Elizabeth City
/ was solely for the purpose of seeing the
! painting and no sooner had she set eyes
/ on it than she offered Mrs Poole $500 spot
/ cash for the same, besides any other ad-
! ditional sum she might require Mrs
/ Poole refused to part with the treasure
/ She told the visitor that there was a
strong family likeness between the latter
and the subject of the picture, whoever
/ that subject might have been; and further
informed her of the facts, already given
here as to how the painting came into her
/ possession.
This ELECTED from the Detroit woman
another remarkable reminiscenee, and
one which, taken in connection With the
/ foregoing facts, proves that the painting
| is that of Aaron Burr's daughter-the one
| destined as a present to her father-and
that the unfortunate young woman was
drowned by pirates. This, in substance, is
he m cfn