What you are about to read is, what I think, a very interesting story. It is a story of lies and deception. More importantly, it is a story of a small corner of North Carolina and primarily one of the families who lives there. It is a story of connections. Many people have asked me if this tale is true. I can honestly say that I have no idea. I am certain that much of what you read here is not true. Some of what you will read here is definitely true. The task for the reader is to determine for him or herself what to believe. We have found connections with the Pirate Jean Lafitte, Napoleon's Marshal Michel Ney, Abraham Lincoln, A.A. Springs, Jesse James, Louis XVI, King George III, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and many more. I, and no one else, have been able to confirm most of these connections. However, the more we look into them, the more questions and coincidences seem to pop up. In other words, the more I know, the more I don't know. The following pages will put forth the efforts of my research in pretty much straightforward manner. Many people will think it is all a work of fiction. Maybe it is. Then again, I believe that there is more to the story than many would think. I prefer to call it "speculative nonfiction." You be the judge.