The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel
In anticipation of Season 12 of “The Curse of Oak Island” starting November 12, 2024, The Oak Island Compendium has a new investigation that we would like to share with our readers. During the course of the “Oak Island Mystery”, several strange stones have been found on Oak Island that have fueled speculation that they were left by treasure hunters and could be important clues. The Compendium would like to examine some of these stones and try to ascertain if there is any truth to these claims. The first stone that we would like to analyze is one that appears to have a name written on it. The first picture shows the stone in situ. The stone was located along with two other stones next to the road that runs very close to the Triton Shaft.
Doug Crowell
The stone has the nickname of the “Mc Stone”. It was later cleaned up, restored, and moved to the grounds around the Interpretive Center on Oak Island. Doug Crowell of “The Curse of Oak Island”, and the co-founder of the original Compendium, was kind enough to share with us a current photo of the stone. As you can see, there are some interesting carvings on it. It appears that “McI”, most likely refers to someone from the McInnis/McGinnis clan. Both spellings were used by the family. It also appears that the word before the “McI” ends with an E. Perhaps indicating a first name. Below this script, there appears to be “BLA”. One could speculate that this may refer to “Blacksmith” but has not been confirmed by the Compendium at this time. After reviewing many names involving the McInnis/McGinnis family, it is the opinion of the Compendium that this stone may be referring to George McInnis who was born and lived on Oak Island in the 1800’s.
The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel
Two other stones were found in close proximity to the “Mc Stone”. One had an “A” and what appears to be a date of “18__”. It appears it may be an “8”. This would indicate that it records a year. Based on this information, the Compendium speculates that these stones, along with the “Mc Stone” could possibly have been some sort of grave marker or memorial for George McInnis. It should be noted that this area of the island has the highest elevation and is located on a hill. To our knowledge, no graveyards have ever identified on Oak Island. It is very difficult to believe that none of the island’s residents through the years have ever been buried on Oak Island. In reviewing the history of Mahone Bay, there are several islands that have graveyards and there have been many more than just six people who have died on Oak Island. The Compendium researched information on George McInnis and found even more mystery and intrigue.
Find A Grave
George McInnis was born May 25, 1832, on Oak Island to Daniel McInnis II and Elizabeth Barkhouse. Daniel’s father was the original Daniel McInnis/McGinnis who was the first of the family to settle on Oak Island. George was first married to Emma Elizabeth Corkum in 1866. They had the following children: Ida, Charles, George William (1867-1948), Wallace and Emma. The Compendium doesn’t feel that the stone refers to George William based on the fact that he is buried in Western Shore Cemetery. It should be noted that George William was the first McInnis/McGinnis to tell the story of his Great Great Grandfather Daniel on Oak Island in print. George William continued this link of McInnis/McGinnis family members living on Oak Island. His mother, Emma Corkum McInnis died in 1876. That same year his father, George McInnis, was remarried to Adelaide Publicover. They had the following children: Fanny, Jane, Eva, Rachel, and David. The Gravestone of Adelaide McInnis provides some interesting information about the fate of her husband George.
Find A Grave
At St. Stephen’s Anglican Church Cemetery in Chester, Nova Scotia, the grave of Adelaide E. Morash lies. Her full name was Adelaide Elizabeth Publicover McInnis Morash. Adelaide passed away in 1940. Upon further research, Adelaide McInnis married Burton Morash on January 21, 1900, in Chester, Nova Scotia, according to marriage records in the Nova Scotia Archives. Burton was a bachelor of 27 and Adelaide was a widow of 49. On her gravestone we learn the fate of her first husband, George McInnis. “DROWNED IN CHESTER BAY, 1887”. This is the only record of George’s death that has been found to date. According to Find A Grave, it lists this as George’s burial site as well, but the verbiage on the stone leaves that in doubt. Usually on a combined grave, both names and their birth and death dates are listed. The Compendium reached out to St. Stephen’s to verify if George was indeed buried there. The Church said they would review the records but never confirmed the burial with the Compendium. The question remains, where is George McInnis buried?
Kerrin Patrie
As previously stated, the verbiage on the headstone in question is very puzzling. When Adelaide died in 1940, she had been married to Burton Morash for 40 years. If Morash was responsible for his wife’s headstone, why would it mention her first husband’s death? This may have led to speculation that George was buried in the same grave. It seems likely that Adelaide’s children with George McInnis were responsible for the gravestone. Perhaps the McInnis children wanted their father’s death mentioned on their mother’s grave. Burton Morash would live until 1961. Certainly, the drowning was a tragedy for the McInnis family. Unfortunately, history would repeat itself. On December 2, 1920, Ambrose (Ambers) Melbourne McInnis drowned off Martin’s Point, in Mahone (Chester) Bay. Ambrose was the grandson of George McInnis and son of George Willaim McInnis. He was 18 years old and was laid to rest in Western Shore Cemetery. Again, tragedy struck the McInnis family. The Compendium would like to thank Kerrin Patrie, a McInnis descendant, for sharing Ambrose’s death certificate with us.
The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel
As stated in our investigation, there is no known cemetery or burial ground on Oak Island. Interestingly, in Season 6, Episode 3 of The Curse of Oak Island called, “Depth Perception”, Eagle Canada conducted seismic testing of the Mega Bin. This is a rectangular shaped area that contains the Triton Shaft, near where the stones were found. Eagle Canada’s testing indicated that there was some sort of anomaly in this area that needed further investigation. This was consistent with some sort of underground activity. After drilling in the area, it was the Oak Island team’s opinion that the earth went from hard packed clay to loose material. They thought this might be why an anomaly was detected, and they stopped their investigation of the area on the show. Is it possible that this area of disturbed earth was in fact indicating where bodies were buried in the past? The Compendium would urge the Oak Island team to investigate this possibility thoroughly. Perhaps the final resting place of George McInnis and others is somewhere within the Mega Bin area.
Coming soon, in Part 2 of our investigation, we will focus on a number of stones found by Gilbert Hedden in 1936 that have been the subject of debate for many years. One, in particular, still has a prominent role in the Oak Island Mystery. Don’t forget to visit us every Wednesday for our episode summaries of Season 12 of The Curse of Oak Island and Thursdays for our Throwback Thursday article from the Original Compendium/Blockhouse Blog. Also, watch for special Investigations and other features through the course of Season 12.
Good day from the Compendium!