Did You Know?

Here are just a few of the amazing items I have uncovered through the writing of my three books on Oak Island. ​

Mirligaiche

The area surrounding Oak Island and nearby Lunenburg was once known as Mirligaiche, a Scots Gaelic word meaning "Part of the Alliance." This name is first recorded in a 1630 Baronet of Nova Scotia charter given to the former French governor of Acadia (the French name for Nova Scotia) by the new Scottish governor of Nova Scotia, in order to form an alliance between these two men. All of the islands in Mahone Bay were included in the area known as Mirligaiche, which means that this charter records the first individual ownership of Oak Island. 

Knights Templar

 This new governor of Nova Scotia, and a large number of the clan chieftains he initiated as Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia, had links back to the Knights Templar through land records and clan traditions. This governor lived on former Templar land. His partner lived in a former Templar castle. The first Baronet initiated was a descendant of Sir Henry Sinclair. The second descended from the man I believe was the inspiration for the Mi'kmaq legend of Glooscap. The third Baronet was from my own extended Scottish family of MacUisdean (McQuiston). 

Freemasons

Three sons of this new governor of Nova Scotia became the first, second and seventh Freemasons in history. In fact, all of the first seven Freemasons had direct connections with the Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia. In addition, Sir Robert Moray, one of the most famous of early Freemasons, descended from a father and grandfather who were Baronets of Nova Scotia. His partner in the establishment of the Royal Society, based on the scientific works of Sir Francis Bacon, was Sir George Mackenzie, also a Knight Baronet of Nova Scotia.

Oak Island research is a family affair for me. While I've spent since October 2016 researching this mystery, and most of my life wondering about it, another man named McQuiston corresponded frequently with Mel Chappell who owned Oak Island from the 1950s to the 1970s, with his own theories about the mystery. I don't know much about him yet, but I am working on getting some information from the folks on Oak Island. Meanwhile, I have been contacted by a man who exactly matches my DNA, and that of three other McQuistons, meaning he a family member, even though his name is spelled a bit differently. He is sending me his Oak Island theories, as he has been studying this story for a long time, too. He made an interesting statement that he thinks we are part of a family who is having a "reawakening" about history that was hidden in our family traditions for centuries.