6 Disturbing Unsolved Mysteries In Virginia That Will Leave You Baffled

Mary Snead, Caroline Martin, and Virginia Wardlaw may have committed their alleged crimes more than 100 years ago – but their legend and the mystery that surrounds them remains very much alive today. The sisters, called "the Black Sisters" because of their black clothing, came to Christiansburg around 1902, where Virginia Wardlaw ran the Montgomery Female Academy. Her sisters, Caroline and Mary, were widows who helped the unmarried Virginian run the boarding school for girls. During their time there, a number of mysterious events occurred, including the "disappearance" of an illegitimate baby birthed by one of the students and the death of Mary’s son, John, found burned to death in his bed. Just one week before, his mother and aunts had taken out a sizeable life insurance policy on him. Despite a number of other mysterious "accidents" and happenings, it wasn’t until the women showed up in New Jersey in 1909 that authorities caught on. After the suspicious drowning of Caroline’s daughter, Ocey, in a bathtub, police arrested the sisters. Ocey, who was married to her first cousin (and Mary’s son), Fletcher Snead, also left a significant life insurance policy behind.

Caroline was convicted of murder and sentenced to 7 years in a state mental hospital where she later died. It was later suspected that she had likely killed her husband and her young son, Hugh, who died after a fall down the stairs in 1888. Mary pleaded guilty but got off on a technicality and fled to Colorado. Virginia starved herself to death before the judge could make a ruling. While convicted for the death of Ocey, the full extent of these women’s crimes went with them to the grave. Far from a conclusive outcome, the mystery of the Black Sisters and their serial crimes remain unsolved. The sisters were featured in a 2013 book by Philip Kent Church titled "The Notorious Black Sister: Murder and Madness, Southern Style," which is available on Amazon.com.

With the international success of books like Dan Brown’s "DaVinci Code" and "Angels and Demons," new interest has shone on the mysteries of the Masons and other secret societies, of which founding fathers like Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin were a part. What many people don’t know is that Virginia has her own Masonic-style mystery – one riddled with political conspiracy and historical intrigue. Rumors have long persisted that Sir Francis Bacon, an Elizabethan philosopher, scholar, and patron of the arts, assembled a secret vault containing nothing short of the blueprints for a new world order that would bring the religions of the world together – as well as a few other "minor" odds and ends, such as several of Shakespeare’s original manuscripts (which Bacon followers claim were written by Bacon himself), an original translation of the King James Bible and a map of Rosicrucian vaults buried throughout Europe that hold other documents with similar significance.

While the Jamestown settlers and Pilgrims seem to get all the headlines, they may not have been the only revolutionary pioneers to settle early America. History tells that as colonies formed and explorers made their way inland from the coastal settlements of Virginia, communities were discovered already living in the wilderness of Appalachia where modern day Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee meet. These people, marked by distinct physical characteristics, called themselves the Melungeons. Neither black, nor white, nor Native American, they appeared to be a mix of all three and spoke broken English, Elizabethan English, and mixed Indian dialects. While many had dark skin and hair, others had blue or green eyes, red hair, and beards. Who these people were was never revealed and their ancestral roots have long been shrouded in mystery as the racial segregation of the early south kept them secluded and hidden from recorded history.

Speculation over the ancestry of these mountain folk has ranged from claims that they are descendants of the Lost Colony of Roanoke who fled to the Appalachian Mountains to theories that they are descended from Portuguese sailors who survived a shipwreck and headed inland where they intermarried with escaped slaves and Native Americans. Other theories claim Melungeon ancestry stems from the Black Dutch and the Powhatan Indians. Late 20th century research included ancestors who were Turks and Iberian Sephardi Jews who fled to North America during the Inquisition.

Unfortunately, for centuries in America, being "of color," regardless of the origin, was socially isolating. And, because of the social implications, many of the Melungeon people shunned the idea of African ancestry. However, based on recent DNA studies, Melungeon bloodlines show the highest presence of European and African ancestry, a discovery that shocked many who had grown up believing they were Portuguese or Native American. Fortunately, as time has passed, stigmas previously associated with the Melungeons have diminished and regardless of their true origin – which may never be fully discovered – the fact remains that they share a distinct heritage and culture that deserves recognition and celebration. To learn more, check out one of the many books on the subject, including "Melungeons: Footprints From The Past" by Jack Goin, available on Amazon.com.