The Bell Buried by Margaret Sheridan-and the Rope That Kept Pulling

The Bell Buried by Margaret Sheridan-and the Rope That Kept Pulling

Cold, deliberate, and buried under an oak: a bronze bell cast in 1897 was found 14 inches underground with an 18-inch hemp rope threaded through living roots and emerging three feet away - as if it had been meant to keep pulling. Who buried a church bell and why did the rope seem intended to keep tugging on something no one could see?

In this episode, we follow the discovery at Saint Bridget's Episcopal Church and the paper trail that led back to one woman, Margaret Sheridan, whose life and absence changed a congregation. What did the handwritten note "refer to Sheridan matter, still unresolved" mean, and why did Margaret bury a bell the spring her husband died?

Person: Margaret Sheridan
Location: Saint Bridget's Episcopal Church grounds, Dorvale
Date: April 9, 2019 (discovery)
Object: Bronze bell cast in 1897 buried 14 inches underground
Document: Diocesan letter dated April 14, 1951 with margin note "refer to Sheridan matter, still unresolved"

- The bell was buried 14 inches beneath an oak on church grounds and had an 18-inch braided hemp rope tied to the clapper ring.
- The rope's free end was threaded through the root system and emerged three feet away from the bell.
- Contractor Silas Dorn invoiced the church $38.50 for "bell tower access work and rigging modification" in spring 1949.
- Carl Sheridan died in early May 1949 in a barn on Briar Cutoff Road; coroner ruled accidental fall and no inquest was held.
- A diocesan letter dated April 14, 1951 contains a handwritten margin note from Reverend Thomas Aiken referencing the unresolved "Sheridan matter."

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