Bucksport, Maine: Colonel Buck's Cursed Tomb

I have just read your account of Colonel Buck and his cursed tomb. I am actually married to one of Colonel Buck's descendants. The story told by the family is a bit different from yours, and the curse is said to have another part -- who knows what the actual truth is...

The family story goes something like this...

Colonel Buck began an affair with a young native woman, and she became pregnant. In an attempt to cover this up, he burned her (as your story says). The mother of this young woman is said to be a spiritual leader (or in other words...witch), and cursed Colonel Buck and his family saying that they will never be rid of the girl. In addition to the stain on the tomb, every second generation has at least one child with strong native features. My mother-in-law and one of her sisters seem to have been the "victims" of this curse -- they both look of native heritage. Not one child born in my husband's generation have any trace of native features. We're all excited/curious to see where this curse will turn up next...who's child will stand out from the rest of the family.

I tried to find Colonel Buck's tombstone a few years ago, but didn't have enough time to verify this. Col. Buck was a witch hunter back in the good old days, and supposedly sentenced a witch to burn (hang?). The witch was miffed at this and promised she would step on his grave. When Buck passed away, his gravestone soon showed the imprint of a shoe or foot. The stone was cleaned, replaced, ground down, etc. but the shadow kept returning so everybody gave up.