LINCOLNTON, N.C. — Pirates are well-known for their love of treasure. But for a Lincolnton mother-daughter research duo, Beth Yarborough and Ashley Oliphant, the treasure is in the hunt itself.

What You Need To Know

  • A mother-daughter team started researching a connection to Jean Laffite on a family vacation

  • They soon discovered more than they imagined

  • They connected letters and poems to other documents around the country

  • The final piece was the discovery of a pirate sword at the Free Mason's Lodge in Lincoln County

The mom is an architectural historian, and her daughter is an English professor.

“We’re a mother-daughter team and being able to research the way we did, it’s really been a daily adventure,” Oliphant said.

A family vacation to the Gulf led them down a rabbit hole of history. 

“I was in Louisiana with the family in the beginning stages of writing a Laffite biography. I wanted to nose around in some libraries down there,” Oliphant said.

What started as curiosity, turned into an obsession. As they learned more about the link between the infamous French pirate, Jean Laffite, and a Lincolnton man named Lorenzo Ferrer.

“We very quickly began finding things that led us to believe that the rumors were true,” Oliphant said. “And we had not set out with that outcome in mind.”

From dusty courthouse basements to prestigious libraries, the two were finding documents along the way, helping them to connect the dots.

The most exciting discovery was right here at home: a sword from Lorenzo Ferrer at the Free Masons Lodge in Lincoln County.

“That is when we discovered the signature, the hand-eched signature on the sword,” Oliphant said.

There was a signature spelling out J-N Laffite, the same way the notorious French Pirate signed his name.

“The adventure continues for us as we’re able to continue to research, and to go around to some pretty exciting places and share what we found,” Oliphant said.

An important part of this story that Yarborough and Oliphant want people to remember is that Jean Laffite was known as a thief, a pirate and a businessman, who made a fortune off of selling enslaved people he and his men seized.

While Yarborough and Oliphant say their research is an interesting discovery, they do want to remind people of the realities of this history.

Their book "Jean Laffite Revealed" is available online, and they are already working on a follow-up book.