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Maria

 

In one of my earlier stories, I mentioned a trip that I and my kids and grand-daughter made, back to my home state of Ohio. While there, we visited the gravesite of a young girl who'd been murdered by my fraternal grandmother's uncle, in 1832. All my life, I'd felt compelled to pay my respects to this girl, as I don't believe anyone in my family had ever done so. I also mentioned that I felt she followed us home. When we visited this girl's gravesite, I figured I'd never get to go back, so I took a little piece of slate. This was before I'd done any research, and found out that you shouldn't take anything from someone's grave, so don't go there LOL. She has a brand new marble headstone, as the original had been vandalized and even stolen a few times. The caretaker has placed the original in the Town Hall. Anyway, some of the pieces that were broken from the original are still around her new one.

When we lost the house and had to move, we would go back occasionally to check on it and make sure everything was still okay; no homeless hanging out etc. Well, every time we went I would go through and check all of the cupboards, closets, medicine cabinets etc, just in case I missed something. There was a cupboard above the toilet in the master bath that had a small shelf under it, and there was never anything on it. Also, there were hooks along the wall, under the window where we could put stuff, and when we'd come back from Ohio, I had hung my jacket there, with the stone in the pocket of it. It hung there for a hell of a long time, and when we moved, I washed all of the stuff in there before I packed it. And yes, I checked the pockets, but the stone wasn't in it. I thought I had put it in my jewelry box, and didn't think about it again until after we'd been moved for a few months.

One day, for some reason, that little stone was on my mind, and I wondered what had become of it; so I searched through everything I own, jackets, purses, jewelry boxes. And it was nowhere to be found. Needless to say, I was really upset with myself for losing it. We'd found out that morning that the house had been sold, so we went back to check on it one last time. I went through my ritual of checking everything, and Brandon (my oldest son) and I were in the master bedroom. We both went into the master bath, and when I went to look in the cupboard above the toilet, there on the shelf was that stone. Absolutely no dust on it, and when I picked it up, no mark in the dust below it like it had been there for a while!

Understand that this is just a little flat rock, and nobody would think it was valuable enough to place there for safekeeping! If someone had found it on the floor, they probably would have thrown it away. Poor Brandon! When I realized what I had, I picked it up and started shaking it at him saying, "Do you know what this is? Do you KNOW what this IS?" He has the funniest "confused" looking face LOL. So I told him, and he was like "What the hell?"

Now, I really have tried to discount that experience as merely odd and coincidental...but, let me go on.

I had a few months ago built this stone into a pendulum, and I've had some great results from her. So when we went to Alcatraz, I planned on taking her with me, to help in protection, etc. The night before, I'd told her I was going to take her; she answered yes. I asked if she was excited to go. She swung yes, but very, very slight. So I said, "Well, you seem hesitant though", and she answered yes in a full on swing. I told her she'd be fine, and I was going to wear it around my neck.

In the morning, we got ready and I placed her around my neck. I checked a few times to make sure she was still there, and she was. We rented a car to drive to Bakersfield to catch the train to San Francisco. About half way there, I had to pee and smoke so we stopped at a Jack-in-the-box in Baker Ca. When I got to the restroom and sat on the toilet, I discovered that she'd slipped out and was gone. I was devastated. I looked in the toilet, and retraced my steps from the car, looked all inside the car, all around and under the car, and nothing. So I thought she was probably home, in the driveway, or in the bathroom. My daughter Krissy had sat with our dogs, and she'd said she cleaned and vacuumed, and I asked her if she'd found a little flat stone, she said no.

The next day I looked in the driveway, the bathroom, the closet, got down on my hands and knees and checked around my computer. I checked the furniture, even stuff I hadn't sat on for a while; the bed, under the bed. Essentially every place I could think of... No stone. I reluctantly allowed myself to believe that she was gone for good, however, it didn't stop me from asking her to come back!

Last Monday, September 26th, I was sitting at my computer and my husband went to get a pop out of his cooler, which is on the dresser by my computer. He bent over, picked something up and put it on my desk and said, "What's this thing?" Yep, you guessed it! There she was.

She, evidently, did not want to go to Alcatraz...

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, zzsgranny, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

osnapitsDebra (guest)
 
11 years ago (2013-07-27)
zzsgranny wow very interesing link you gave me and good details you gave me.

Also thank you for telling what pop is and other southwestern words 😆

-Debra ❤
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
 
11 years ago (2013-07-26)
Elfstone: If you're interested, here's a link to the trial transcripts. Of course, they lack a lot of the detail of modern transcripts, but that's just a sign of the times. The article I sited earlier has Ira's execution date wrong. He was executed the following year, November 1, 1833.

Http://books.google.com/books?id=3pQpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA392&lpg=PA392&dq=ira+west+gardner+murdered+maria+buel&source=bl&ots=JVWQlQi24a&sig=ISp5fUcjFy5Oapk8hGOmfNtVyEk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gXTyUbilCabSigKJ1oHgDA&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=ira%20west%20gardner%20murdered%20maria%20buel&f=false
elfstone810 (227 posts)
+1
11 years ago (2013-07-26)
Granny, thanks for sharing this fascinating account! I write mysteries, often with an historical angle, and I've developed a real appreciation for old true crime stories. The sordid reasons people kill people probably haven't changed since time began. It's how society deals with violent crime that defines an era. And the stories of the victims are always so poignant, especially when they were so young.

As to regional colloquialisms, in Missouri we say "soda pop" and shopping "carts", but we stand "in" line. I didn't know anyone anywhere stood "on" line. When you say "pecan" which syllable gets the accent and does it rhyme with "fan" or "fawn"?
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+1
11 years ago (2013-07-26)
Debra: 😆 "Pop" is what we in the Midwest call soda. I've lived in the Southwest for 20 years, and still say things like "pop" for soda, shopping carts are "buggies", one stands "in" line not on line at the bank, and it goes on and on LOL. And for some reason, I always assume everyone else in the world knows what I'm talking about 😆.

Maria was 16 at the time of her death. Here is part of the story from an article in the Warren Tribune Chronicle (http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/513028.html), also taken from the few transcripts left of the trial:
"GUSTAVUS

AUG. 8, 1832

Only one man ever was executed by the state in Trumbull County. Ira West Gardner of Gustavus was hanged in 1832 after stabbing his stepdaughter to death.

Gardner had married Anna Buell, a widow, and tried to seduce her 16-year-old daughter, Frances Maria. She ran away from home and lived with neighbors. After a while, Gardner sent word to her that if she would return home, she would be safe. Needing some clothing, she came home and "Gardner, meeting her at the gap of the fence, plunged a butcher knife into her heart," Taylor Upton writes.

He was tried and convicted. He was escorted to the place of hanging by a great procession and band, Selden Haines being in command of the soldiers. Parents brought their children to see the execution, which took place at the old courthouse at South and Chestnut Streets.

"Elder Mack, a Methodist minister, walked with Mr. Mygatt and the prisoner to the scaffold. A hymn was sung, in which the prisoner joined, and he was then swung to a great overhanging limb where he breathed his last," Upton writes.

Lauth said Gardner's brother claimed his body and buried it in an unmarked grave.

Buell's grave also is unmarked for a different reason. Gustavus trustees removed the headstone because they worried it was getting damaged due to pranksters thieving and vandalizing.

The inscription on the headstone says, 'In memory of the young, beautiful Frances Maria Buell who was butchered by her stepfather, Ira Gardner, on Aug. 8, 1832.' "

This was/is actually pretty big news/history for such a small town as Gustavus.

You can see her new headstone here (keep in mind that this new stone is made of marble and is an exact replica of the inscription on the original slate stone)
Http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54638750
osnapitsDebra (guest)
 
11 years ago (2013-07-25)
Zzsgranny what a cool story you posted. But one question what does "pop" mean? Even though this is a paranormal website I had to ask you that question hehe 😆

And how old when this girl got murdered and how? Also why was her tombstone vandalized and stolen a few times, was she important? If so, why?

Debra ❤
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
 
12 years ago (2012-03-30)
LOL Martin, there seems to be a lot of SIGHing going on lately 😆 😆
Martin (602 posts) mod
+3
12 years ago (2012-03-30)
Thanks guys, and yeah, I'm aware of the \\\ monster... SIGH, getting right back on that in a hurry. 😕
clever210 (3 stories) (189 posts)
+2
12 years ago (2012-03-30)
Yay, Martin! Thanks so much for getting the site back up and running! 😁
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+2
12 years ago (2012-03-30)
granny - I add my thanks to yours because I know Martin received emails from several of us letting him know the site was down.

Thank you, Martin. We appreciate you.
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+2
12 years ago (2012-03-30)
I want to give an extra big THANKS to Martin for all his hard work to keep this site up and running (mostly 😆)...He busted his butt for the last day or so to get us back and running smoother than ever...

Martin, you're the best! 😁 ❤
TruthInDarkness (4 stories) (259 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-28)
Interesting story. I've been to Alcatraz. A friend told me that there is (or used to be) a tour that allowed you to spend the night in one of the cells. That would be pretty cool.
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-16)
granny,
It's amazing we have gotten as far as we have. All the obstacles put in our way, especially for those of us with a few years under our belts, could have stopped us cold. But some of us were too stupid 😜 to listen to those who thought they knew better, and here we are, we still believe. We've seen too much to change our minds now. Best not even try, eh? 😆

Jav 😊
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+2
12 years ago (2011-10-16)
Jave: Hey there!...Yeah, it's pretty cool...Geez, you know I wish I'd have known about this stuff when I was a kid, things may have been a lot cooler then LOL... My Mom was talking to my hubby the other day via Skype (she didn't think I could hear her); she told him to "get her away from all that supernatural bullsh!t, and tell her to grow up!" 😆 😆...Makes me wonder how many, if any, ghosties have followed me since childhood?...My next step is to find a medium and possibly gain a little more insight...

Thanks for reading and commenting 😊
Javelina (4 stories) (3749 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-10-15)
granny,
This was such a sweet and touching experience. It makes me smile when I think of how these little ones want to stay near you. Think about it. One hitches a ride, and another travels hundreds of miles (shadow puppies in tow) just to land at your doorstep, tired, but happy and relieved to have finally reached her destination. Perhaps Maria knew something no one else could have known about that trip to Alcatraz, and made the wise decision to stay safely at home.
Face it granny, you're a kid magnet! 😊

Jav
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+1
12 years ago (2011-10-12)
D/A you'd better get your recorder and camera ready!...Might get some interesting feedback... Or not! 😆 ❤
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-10-12)
Did you guys hear something? It's almost as if...someone's talking...?

Nah. Probably not.

❤😆
TIGERKING (2 stories) (60 posts)
-1
12 years ago (2011-10-12)
hi granny.

I must admit dear lady. It sure is a good web-sight. Ha hua.

Sorry. Happiness intended
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
Okay, first of all, Stephy you are my hero LOL. I always listen to J-rock, J-rap and J-pop around the house while I'm cleaning. I am a huge Dir en Grey fan and I grew up listening to Gackt, Malice Mizer, Siam Shade, X Japan, Ayumi Hamasaki, Utada Hikaru, the list goes on and on... I am such a nerd lol. I thought about the song too once I looked up the lyrics, but I have never heard it or played it around my other half and he does not listen to Japanese music unless I am around. He just is not that much of a fan and I think he only tolerates it for my sake, LOL. He is a metal head so the only band I listen to that he actually enjoys is Dir en Grey.

Granny, I really do not know if there is a correlation with the name or not... It could have been a completely random thing, I just have no clue why it would have come up into my mind without me ever knowing someone by that name. The only thing I found odd was the name... Dream Island. A dream within a dream, so to speak? I just do not know how he could have come up with that on his own.
stephyw2001 (guest)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
stephyw2001 (guest)
+1
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
AAAAHHHH! I have to comment, sorry granny, but I get so geeked when someone else likes J-Pop. 😁 Devious you're one cool chic! I adore my cds of J-pop, I have like 7 of them. I listen to them while cleaning the house, and I'm not so grumpy. I mean, they rap, but their raps are all perky like "the sun is shining, birds are singing, and life is great", not raps about strangling a b****. This particular song always makes me jump up and dance:

Http://youtu.be/l5SttAWcafE
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
 
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
D/A: I know, we get busy sometimes LOL...I've looked through all of the friends I have on facebook from that side of my family and can't find the name you mentioned... Not even anything close... I think it's time to invest in an account on RootsWeb or one of those sites 😆...You have me thinking in a whole other direction than I did originally... Wonder if she was the daughter of the brother (of Ira Gardner) who retrieved his body?...I got'ta find out now LOL...

Wonder what significance the name of the island, or the island itself, holds for you and your boyfriend?...It's interesting that it's a man-made island... Pretty cool!
DeviousAngel (11 stories) (1910 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
Granny, I did not forget about the name I emailed you about... I have not yet had a chance to do thorough digging on it but I still plan to. The journal entry I wrote about it was uploaded to an online storage address on Aug 5th of this year, but I am pretty sure that was not the date I wrote it. I believe I wrote it sometime back in April.

On the very same day that the name popped into my head, my fiance told me about a dream he had about a Japanese rock band that he and I were going to see (I am a big j-rock fan). Now get this, he does not know Japanese at all. I am the only one of us that knows any Japanese and I do not know that much. He said the band name was "Yume no Shima" which literally means "Dream Island". There is no such band, but when I looked it up there IS an ACTUAL PLACE called Yumenoshima in Japan. Here is the wikipedia entry.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumenoshima

Is that weird, or what?
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
+4
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
BeautInside: Thank you for reading and commenting... My next story is up... It took a little while longer to post because of the pictures... ❤

Rebskp: 😆 I have this little blue guy who has a smiley face for a head... He disappears and shows back up too!...I think it's an eraser, I'm not sure LOL... Thank you for reading and commenting...

Believer21: There really isn't a lot of info out there, as I mentioned earlier, but there is some... At the time of her murder, Trumbull County encompassed much of the Northwest Territory: Northeastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania... Her grave is now in Ashtabula County...

TIGERKING: Thank you for reading and commenting...

Skittles, anyone? 😆
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
+6
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
Tigerking - ever heard the old saying "tread lightly"? Telling someone their story is ridiculous is pretty harsh to begin with. But granny isn't some novice who just jumped on this site and has one story behind her name or a year or two of experience dealing with ghosts.

You have the right to your opinion, as does everyone else on this site, but you do not know the history behind this story, nor do you know granny. So by saying her story is ridiculous, you are just making yourself look foolish and losing any credibility you might be seeking on this site.
believer21 (3 stories) (56 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2011-10-11)
Wonderful story, you seem like an amazing person.
Its funny, when I read the part about you going to Alcatraz my whole body tingled. I get such strong vibes just thinking about that place.
I'm very courious about this little history story, going to do some goolge searches (none of the posted links are working for me. 😢)
Keep it up Granny, I'm definitly going to keep an eye out for your next story!

This comment from TIGERKING is hidden due to low rating. Show comment

rebskp (15 posts)
 
12 years ago (2011-10-08)
Hey there,

Great story! I've had that happen to me a few times to. I have this little rubber green lizard I named "Roger" and whenever I lose him I always find him somewhere where he shouldn't be! Lol. I lost him at school in the girls changeroom and thought "Oh well he will come back." A week later out of no where I find him in the dirt outside my school. I was happy I found him but he seems to have a mind of his own.:P Thanks for your story it's really nice to see that you take the time to visit her grave.

-Rebskp
zzsgranny (18 stories) (3329 posts) mod
 
12 years ago (2011-10-07)
Fanny: Yeah, I read that a while ago when searching for her mother's name... I don't think it's mentioned in that transcript either (I think she's refered to as Mrs. Gardner), but I did find out that her mother's name was Anne...Can't remember where I found it though 😆...And unfortunately, I can't find the name of the brother mentioned who retrieved his body for burial...It's probably available on RootsWeb, just been to lazy to do all the research LOL...

Their spelling at that time was atrocious... One reason that there isn't a whole lot of info is because some of the records were destroyed by a fire, and also, they didn't keep very good records at that time...

Thank you for adding that link, it helps in building the chain! 😆
Fanny (2 stories) (105 posts)
+2
12 years ago (2011-10-07)
http://books.google.ca/booksid=3pQpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA392&dq=Frances+Maria+Buel+murder&hl=en&ei=zQmPTqW7Lsjx0gH504wZ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Frances%20Maria%20Buel%20murder&f=false

I googled Frances Maris Bule murder and trial record came up... Interesting read as I am a Law Clerk.

Thanks for the story Granny. I hope Maria finds peace in death that she couldn't find in life.

Best,
Fanny ❤
Miracles51031 (39 stories) (4999 posts) mod
 
12 years ago (2011-10-06)
Granny and Minimom - look at Scent of a...Ghost? There is a little bit of background in that story too.

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