Dr. Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough are a mother-daughter research team from Lincolnton, North Carolina.
Oliphant is an associate professor of English at Pfeiffer University, where she has taught in the English Department since 2007. She is an active member of the Hemingway Society, having presented at its international conferences and published in The Hemingway Review.
Beth Yarbrough is a nationally known artist and photographer whose depictions of historic homes and structures across the South are featured on her website Southern Voice and in her extensive collection of published calendars.
Interviews
KRVS Après Midi with Judith Merriweather
An interview with Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough discussing their new book Jean Laffite Revealed : Unraveling One of America's Longest-Running Mysteries. Listen Now
Fox10 Mobile "Exploring History with "Jean Laffite Revealed"
Fox10's Chelsey Sayasane interviews Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough about the infamous pirate Jean Laffite and their new research into how he may have spent his final days . . . Watch Now
Louisiana Insider "In Search of a Pirate"
North Carolina-based mother and daughter co-authors Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough join Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot to reveal discoveries from their new book “Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest Running Mysteries.” . . . Listen Now
WCNC Charlotte "The Mystery of Jean Laffite and Lincolnton"
Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough sit down and talk about the famous pirate Jean Laffite and his connection to the made Lorenzo Ferrer who lived in Lincolnton . . . Watch Now
Lincoln Times-News "The secrets behind the ties of the pirate Jean Laffite to Lincolnton"
That the infamous New Orleans pirate Jean Laffite has ties to Lincolnton is not well known. That’s about the change with the release of a book by Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough, two Lincoln County writers, “Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest Running Mysteries . . . Read Now
Denver Citizen "In search of Jean Laffite: Was Lincolnton man really the famous pirate?"
Lincolnton natives Ashley Oliphant, an English professor at Pfeiffer University, and her mother, Beth Yarbrough, author of the blog “Southern Voice,” spent two years researching Ferrer – a man who many people believed was the pirate Jean Laffite – for their book, “Jean Laffite Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest Running Mysteries” . . . Read Now
Lincoln Herald "Jean Laffite Book Sheds Light On Mysterious Pirate"
Piracy has been with us, a fact of life in maritime nations, for long millennia. It remains alive and well to this day, all over the world. But most folks, when they think of piracy, surely conjure up the images of its golden age, which lasted some 80 years and ended not quite three centuries ago. . . Read Now
News & Reviews
The Current "A pirate gets his due"
By Erin Bass. "Jean Laffite is a household name around South Louisiana, even if we don’t spell it like he did. There’s Lafitte’s Treasure Casino right off the Grand Coteau exit on I-49; Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Acadian-Cultural Center and the Lafitte Oaks on Jefferson Island, where the pirate is said to have buried some of his treasure. . . ." See More
225 Magazine "Fresh Reads: Add some Southern flair to your reading list for those long summer days"
“I’m a sucker for deep dives into history that peel away the layers of legend and rumors. For anyone who has ever heard the stories of this famed pirate’s exploits in New Orleans or the claims of pirate ancestry among residents of Grand Isle, this is sure to offer new insights into a historical figure who always seemed so close to our local hearts yet still shrouded in mystery” . . . See More
WBTV "The Lincolnton, N.C. Pirate: Unraveling the mystery of Jean Laffite"
In the 1820s, pirate Jean Laffite, a smuggler from the Gulf Coast area in Louisiana, allegedly faked his death.
He resurfaced in North Carolina under a different name, an alias . . . Read Now
The Stanly News & Press "Pfeiffer professor and her mother pen book uncovering the truth behind the pirate Jean Laffite"
"While Laffite, who was born near the end of the 18th century, is probably not as familiar to the average person as Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard, people like Oliphant and her mother who grew up in Lincolnton have a special connection with the man” . . . Read Now
Jean Laffite Revealed Review by Pirates and Privateers
"Jean Laffite Revealed is an interesting addition to Laffite history. ... The strengths of this book are the depth of research that the authors conducted and that they recognize this as a starting point for other seekers who wish to prove their hypothesis.” . . . Read Now
Books by Ashley Oliphant and Beth Yarbrough
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