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Legendary (c. 1720 - 1814)
There really was an Ocean Born Mary. History reports she was born at sea on July
28, 1720 to James and Elizabeth Wilson. Legend tells us they were passengers on
a ship filled with immigrants to New England when privateers appeared. The pirate
reportedly promised not to harm the passengers if the Wilsons named their new
baby after his mother (or was it his wife?). The Wilsons disembarked in Boston
and moved to Londonderry, NH where red-haired Mary wed James Wallace in 1742,
wearing a dress made from the silk presented to her at birth by the privateer.
This much of the story may be true. Mary had four children and was in her 70s
when her husband died. She moved in with a son in Henniker, NH until her death
in 1814. Mary did not, as one version of the story goes, marry the pirate himself.
She also did not live in the old colonial in Henniker often called The Ocean Born
Mary House. That building, still standing, was owned by another of her sons, and
was exhibited to tourists for an admission fee by the owner during the 20th century.
Imagined tales of ghosts and treasure were offered to tourists as facts, and the
legend grew. In 1939 popular children's author Lois Lenski published a fictional
biography of Ocean Born Mary. Today, Internet sites spread the legends further.
No haunted house, no treasure,
but still a great legend.
More Famous NH People
"OCEAN BORN" MARY WALLACE LINKS
BIOGRAPHY
The Truth About Ocean Born Mary
Our own version of how a great story became a great legend.
Ocean Born Mary House is a Hoax
The best most reasoned essay on this topic tells the historical tale of Mary
and explains why she did not live in the famous Henniker house
The Actual Story of Ocean Born Mary
The faction side of the New Hampshire legend
The Full Ocean Born Mary Legend
A retelling of the romantic fiction by Eibhlin MacIntosh.
Henniker, NH Homepage
The town of Henniker, site of the Ocean Born Mary home
Henniker historical Society
These are the people that know the story best.
New Hampshire Historical Society
A superb collection of NH artifacts, including a piece of the wedding gown reportedly
worn by Ocean Born Mary.
Londonderry Town Web Site
Mary's real home town does not mention her, but is proud to claim revolutionaries
John Stark and Matthew Thornton, poet Robert Frost and astronaut Alan Shepard.
LOIS LENSKI BUILDS THE LEGEND
Lois Lenski, Author
Wrote and illustrated a popular book on Ocean Born Mary released in 1939 and
now a highly prized and a pricey rare book
Lois Lenski
More on the Ocean Born Mary children's book author
Ocean Born Mary by Lois Lenski
Includes a bibliography and some pictures from Lenski's popular book
GHOSTS & LOST TREASURE MYTHS
From "Ghosts of Prarie"
in Alton, Illinois billing itself as "One of the Most Haunted Small Towns in
America"
Warrens New England Society for Psychic Research.
New England's ghost busters talk about the Ocean Born Mary house
Three Haunting Stories From New Hampshire's Past
Ocean Born Mary and Ghosts - Taking "the Road Less Traveled"..
Lost Treasure in Henniker?
One of many wild claims on treasure hunting sites insisting loot hidden in Henniker
More Treasure Tales
Captain Dave's Treasure Tale
Haunted Henniker
The myth just gets wilder and wilder
NH Ghosts and Hauntings
The Paranormal Project
Henniker makes it on to Spooky Sites: Haunted and Ghostly Locations of North
America
More Famous NH People
Created by J. Dennis Robinson
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