USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > Annals of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania in the olden time; being a collection of the memoirs, anecdotes, and incidents of the earliest settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 26
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In the year 1701, such were the apprehensions from pirates, from their depredations on the seacoast. that watches were appointed to give alarm in Sussex.
Mrs. Bulah Coates, (once Jacquet-this was the name of the Dutch governor in Delaware, in 1658,) the grandmother of Samuel Coates, Esq., late an aged citizen, told him that she had seen and sold goods to the celebrated Blackbeard, she then keeping a store in High street, No. 77, where Beninghove owned and dwelt- a little west of Second street. He bought freely and paid well. She then knew it was he, and so did some others. But they were afraid to arrest him, lest his crew, when they should hear of it, should avenge his cause by some midnight assault. He was too politic to bring his vessel or crew within immediate reach; and at the same time was careful to give no direct offence to any of the settlements where they wished to be regarded as visiters and purchasers, &c.
* Wilcox Phillips, who kept the inn for many years at the east end of the long stone bridge leading to the Kensington market place, (who would now be about a hundred years of age,) told an aged friend of mine that his grandfather, who lived on or about that spot, used to tell him that a pirate had actually wintered his vessel in the Cohocksinc creek. a little above that bridge.
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Blackbeard was also seen at sea by the mother of the late Dr. Hugh Williamson, of New York ; she was then, in her youth, coming to this country, and their vessel was captured by him. The very aged John Hutton, who died in Philadelphia in 1792, well remembered to have seen Blackbeard, at Barbadoes, after he had come in under the Act of Oblivion. This was but shortly before he made his last cruise, and was killed, in 1718. The late aged Benjamin Kite has told me, that he had seen in his youth an old black man, nearly a hundred years of age, who had been one of Blackbeard's pirates, by impressment. He lived many years with George Grey's family, the brewer in Chestnut street, near to Third street. The same Mr. Kite's grandfather told him he well knew one Crane, a Swede, at the Upper ferry, on Schuylkill, who used to go regularly in his boat to supply Blackbeard's vessel at State island. He also said it was known that that freebooter used to visit an inn in High street, near to Second street, with his sword by his side. There is a traditionary story, that Blackbeard and his crew used to visit and revel at Marcus Hook, at the house of a Swedish woman, whom he was accustomed to call Marcus, as an abbreviation of Margaret.
How long Blackbeard exercised his piracies before the years 1717 and '18, which terminated his profligate career, I am not enabled to say, but in this time the MS. papers in the Logan collection make frequent mention of him and others, as in that hateful pursuit, to wit:
In 1717, Jonathan Dickinson, at Philadelphia, writes, saying, " The pirates have not yet quitted our coast, and have taken one of our vessels at the cape, in which you happily did not ship my wine."
In August, 1718, he says, " We have been perplexed by pirates on our coast and at our capes, who plundered many of our vessels, also several from Virginia, Maryland, and New York, and some of the piratical crews are come into our province to lurk and cover themselves."
In Murch, 1718, he writes-" We have account from Virginia, that two small sloops fitted out there, and manned by the men-of- war's men against Captain Teach, alias Blackbeard, conquered his vessel after a bloody battle, and carried Teach's head into Virginia. We have heard too that Major Bonet and his crew, with another crew, were hanged in South Carolina; and one Taylor and his crew at Providence. But this latter wants confirmation. How these sort of men have fared in other parts we wait to hear. For these two sum- mers they have greatly annoyed our trade. They pillaged one of my vessels, and destroyed the letters."
In another letter he writes and says, " Colonel Spotswood, go- vernor of Virginia, formed a design with the captain of a small man- of-war to send out two of their country sloops, with about fifty men, to attack Captain Teach, alias Blackbeard, a pirate then at North Carolina, whom they took, and brought his head into Virginia, after VOL. II-2 C 19
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a bloody battle, and most of them killed and wounded," *- he also adds a sentence of peculiar character, saying, " I have to remark that papers and letters taken in Blackbeard's possession will strongly affect some persons in the government of North Carolina!"
In 1717, James Logan writes, saying, " We have been extremely pestered with pirates, who now swarm in America, and increase their numbers by almost every vessel they take-[compelling them to en- ter by coercion or otherwise.] If speedy care be not taken they will become formidable, being now at least fifteen hundred strong. They have very particularly talked of visiting this place; many of them being well acquainted with it, and some born in it, for they are gene- rally all English, and therefore know our government can make no defence."
In the same year he writes to the governor of New York, saying, " We have been very much disturbed the last week [in October,] by the pirates. They have taken and plundered six or seven vessels to or from this place ; some they took to their own use, and some they dismissed after plundering them. Some of our people having been several days on board of them, had much free discourse with them. They say they are about eight hundred strong at Providence, and I know not how many at Cape Fear, where they are making a settle- ment. Captain Jennings, they say, is their governor in chief, and heads them in their settlement. The sloop that came on our coast had about one hundred and thirty men, all stout fellows, all Eng- lish, and doubly armed. They said they waited for their consort, of twenty-six guns, when they designed to visit Philadelphia! Some of our masters say they know almost every man on board-most of them having been lately in the river; their commander is Teach, who was here a mate from Jamaica about two years ago." In an- other letter he says, " They are now busy about us to lay in their stores of provisions for the winter."
In October, 1718, James Logan again writes to Colonel Hunter, the governor of New York, by express, saying, " We are now send- ing down a small vessel to seize those rogues, if not strengthened from sea. We are in manifest danger here, unless the king's ships [which seem careless of the matter] take some notice of us; they probably think a proprietary government no part of their charge.ț It is possible, indeed, that the merchants of New York, some of them I mean, might not be displeased to hear we are all reduced to ashes. [Even so early it seems there were jealousies of trade !] Unless these pirates be deterred from coming up our rivers by the fear of men-of- war outside to block them in, there is nothing but what we may fear from them ; for that unhappy pardon, [the same Teach before em- braced,] has given them a settled correspondence every where, and
· James Logan says Governor Spotswood had before sent on to Philadelphia to ger proclamations printed, offering a generous reward for pirates.
t At that time, as J. Logan writes to John Askew, in London, there was a king' chip at New York, and three or four in Virginia.
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an opportunity [mark this!] of lodging their friends were they please, to come to their assistance ; and no where in America, [mark this !] I believe, so much as in this town. Remember too," says he, " that one of the capes of Delaware, and half of our bay and river, are under thy government."
Such was the picture of piracy, which once distressed and alarmed our forefathers, and shows in itself much of the cause of the nume- rous vague tales we still occasionally hear of Blackbeard and the pirates. Here we have direct fact of his then being on the coast, well armed, with a crew of one hundred and thirty men, and waiting the arrival of another vessel, when he meditated a visit of rapine and plunder on Philadelphia itself! Think too of his crew being men generally known to captains in Philadelphia-some of them born among us,-others had been lately in the river, and the whole busily concerting schemes to lay in their winter supply of provisions; and all this through the assistance on shore of former pirates among them, who had been pardoned by the Act of Oblivion, and on the whole, produced such favour to their object, even in Philadelphia itself, sur- passing any other town! Think too of the alleged force of the whole concentred outlaws-such as eight hundred in Providence, and so many at Cape Fear, in North Carolina, as to have their own governor !
As some incidental proof of " the assistance on shore" from pirates, holding their place among us under the former Act of Oblivion and Pardon, we may add, to wit: Isaac Norris, writing to his friend in October, 1718, says, " My son Harrison, moving from Maryland, had all his household goods and a value of English goods and stores, on board of G. Grant's shallop, taken between Apoquiminy and New Castle, and carried off, with two valuable negro men, by eight or ten pirates in an open boat-rogues that lately came in on the king's pro- clamation ! Grant (the owner of the shallop !) is suspected to be in the confederacy, and is in prison-having secreted goods belonging to R. Harrison, found with him, to the value of forty or fifty pounds.
The same year, (1718,) I found that the grand jury in Philadel- phia presented a case of piracy, to wit: John Williams, Joseph Cooper,t Michael Grace, William Asheton, George Gardner, Francis Royer and Henry Burton, with force of arms, viz., with swords, guns, cutlasses, &c., forcibly took the sloop Antelope of twenty-two tons, riding in the Delaware, and bore her off, &c. It was, however, marked Ignoramus, as not found, probably from the difficulty of procuring direct witnesses.
When we thus consider " their friends," thus "lodged among us every where," it presents additional reasons for the ideas of buried treasure of the pirates, once so very prevalent among the people, of
. This is the same family into which the Hon. Charles Thomson married; they set tled at Harriton, in Merion, where C. 'T'. lived and died.
+ It may be seen in the sequel that Joe Cooper became commander of a pirate vessel and he and his crew came to their untimely end in the bay of Honduras, in 1725.
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which I have presented several facts of digging for it, under the head of Superstitions ; they believing that Blackbeard and his accomplices buried money and plate in numerous obscure places near the rivers ; and sometimes, if the value was great, they killed a prisoner near it, so that his ghost might keep his vigils there and ter- rify those who might approach. Those immediately connected with pirates might keep their own secrets, but as they might have children and connexions about, it might be expected to become the talk of their posterity in future years, that their fathers had certain concealed means of extravagant living ; they may have heard them talk myste- riously among their accomplices of going to retired places for con- cealed things, &c. In short, if given men had participation in the piracies, it was but natural that their proper posterity should get some hints, under reserved and mysterious circumstances of hidden treasure, if it existed. Certainly it was once much the expectation and the talk of the times-for instance, the very old two-story house at the north-east corner of Second street and Gray's alley, (i. e. Mor- ris' alley,) originally built for Stephen Anthony, in digging its cellai they found there a pot of money, supposed to have been buried by" . the pirates. This story I heard from several very aged persons. have stated elsewhere the fact of finding another pot of money in Spruce street near Front street.
It may seem strange to us that so much aggregate depravity among English seamen could have been found, as to accumulate such num- bers of pirates as alleged at Providence and Cape Fear, but they had just come out of a war in which privateering had been much fostered and depended upon by many. It presents an awful proof of the corruption of morals usually produced by the legalized robbery, called privateering, so generally conducted in an irresponsible man- ner. Indeed the ideas of privateersmen and pirates were so identified in the minds of people generally, that a privateer was often called the pirate.
I happen to know the fact that Blackbeard, whose family name was given as Teach, was in reality named Drummond, a native of Bristol. I have learned this fact from one of his family and name, of respectable standing, in Virginia, near Hampton. Captain Drum- mond was a half-crazed man, under high excitements, by his losses and imprisonment from the French He had been a privateersman out of Liverpool, and had made several French captures, all of which ne lost by their restoration at the peace. He then went again to sea and took all French vessels which he could, as a pirate, and eventu ally, being an outlaw, he captured of all kinds which he came across. His surgeon, for a part of his time, was a Doctor Cabot, who became the ancestor of a family of respectability settled in Virginia. The. name of Teach, it may be observed, seems to be a feigned name because no such name can be found in the Philadelphia or New York Directories, just as I happen to know, that the names of Crowell
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in this country, is an altered name, in 1675, from Cromwell, the Protector.
When the vessel which captured Blackbeard returned to Virginia, they set up his head on a pike planted at " Blackbeard point," then an island. Afterwards, when his head was taken down, his skull was made into the bottom part of a very large punch bowl, called the infant, which was long used as a drinking vessel at the Raleigh tavern at Williamsburg. It was enlarged with silver, or silver plated ; and I have seen those whose forefathers have spoken of their drink- ing punch from it, with a silver ladle appurtenant to that bowl.
There is at present a large marble tombstone, in a grave place half a mile out of Hampton, on the Pembroke farm of John Jones, Esq., which had been placed there by governor Nicholson in 1700, which records the death of Peter Heysham, Esq., collector of the customs, who had been killed, as a volunteer on board the king's ship, the Shoreham, in a brave encounter with a pirate on the coast; most problably, from the date, with Kidd. The action lasted seven hours, and the governor was also present. Near the same grave are three others, of like marble, with family arms, of the years 1697, 1700, and 1719. These graves had been for many years overgrown with underbrush and accumulated earth, and were lately unexpectedly brought to light, by a clearing off of the place.
In noticing the history of the pirates, there ought to be considered the cause and time of their origin, and why it appears, in the old books and accounts of them, that the Turks, Moors, and Sallee pi- rates were so often named as being dreaded on the Atlantic, and even in the West Indies! All these inquiries may be satisfied by no- ticing what has been said by Capt. Smith, in his History of Virginia, London edition, 1626.
He gives an account of the making the Moors of Barbary to be- come pirates. He says the long peace under King James put sea- warriors out of employ, and caused them to turn pirates-some for money, some for bravery, and some for vanity of a fearful name. They chose Barbary, because of its numerous convenient roads. Thus Ward, a poor English sailor, and Danaker, a Dutchman, first began their career there, even when the Moors scarcely knew how to sail a ship. Then followed Easton, who got rich-these tuught the Moors to serve them. Then followed Jennings, Harris, Thomp- son and others, whose names he gives. Several were executed in time of King James, at Wapping-such as Hewes, Smith, Ellis, Collins, &c., all captains-had good ships, and well manned, but quarrelled some among themselves-finally became debauched, and so eventually the Turks and Moors took the ascendency of them, and made them serve themselves as subordinates-themselves having learned their practices, with better command of their passions and interests.
When I published the Annals, I said I could not hear of any one wh > then had Bradford's edition of the old pirates, in which was
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contained the history of Mary Read and Anne Bonney, female pi rates -the former of England, the latter of Charleston, S. C., though born in Cork. I have since met with " The Pirates' Own Book," Boston edition, of 1837, which is manifestly formed from that old book, and gives the lives of those two females. From this book I find sundry additional facts concerning Capt. Robert Kidd and Black- beard, from which I select the following additional facts, not before stated in my account of them. This is, therefore, supplemental-to wit :
Edward Teach (Blackbeard) was born in Bristol, England. He first was a privateersman in the West Indies, against the French, He began his piracies in a ship of 40 guns, called " Queen Anne's Revenge." Blackbeard often changed his vessels. At one time he came off Charleston, S. C., with his fellow-pirate, Richards, and one or two other vessels. There they remained some days without the bar, capturing vessels and causing much terror to the inhabitants, and stopping all trade from the port. While there, Teach sent in Capt. Richards, with one of his prisoners, to demand of the governor medi- cines, on pain of his destroying his prisoners. It was granted, and Richards and his men actually walked the town audaciously and unmolested. After this he ran ashore upon North Carolina, and made his terms of surrender to the governor. "The gold of Black- beard (it is said) rendered him comely in the governor's eye, and through his aid he obtained a legal right to the great ship, the Re venge"-" the governor condemning her at Bath Town Court, as a lawful prize to the captor!" While in North Carolina, Blackbeard married a young woman of good family, the governor being present at the ceremonies ! She was said to have been his fourteenth wife- twelve of whom were still living. He went off again to his piracies, and brought his captures into North Carolina, and had them again condemned-the governor and he sharing spoils ! Blackbeard " passed several months in the river, giving and receiving visits from the planters," &c .- they probably not knowing his real character. In time they began to know it-and they and sundry captains of vessels made their representation to the governor of Virginia, as too much distrusting their own governor. The governor of Virginia hired two small vessels, and gave the command to Lieut. Maynard, who, on the 17th Nov., 1717, sailed from James river in quest, and found Blackbeard on the 21st, with but few of his men on board. A fierce fight ensued-Maynard and Blackbeard hand to hand-the latter received twenty cuts and as many shots before he fell dead. He struck off his head, and hung it on the end of his bowsprit, on his return to Virginia. They found on board the prize, letters and papers which criminated the governor of North Carolina and his secretary. The prisoners taken were tried and executed in Virginia, and old court records ought, even now, to show the facts. It is said of Blackbeard that he was peculiarly reckless and gay in his wicked- ness. For instance, he has cocked his pistols at his own banquet,
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and fired at one of his guests, saying, "he must now and then kill a man to make them know and fear him." He has gone into his hold with some of his men to be smoked with brimstone, " to make a hell of their own beforehand, for trial !" He had kept a kind of journal, which was found, containing remarks like these, viz. :- " Rum all out-our company somewhat sober-a d-d confusion among us-rogues are plotting-talk of separation-I must look sharp for a prize." To cherish his long black beard, he used to twist it up in portions with ribbon. In time of action he wore three braces of pistols in a sling, over his shoulders.
It might be curious now to learn what family in North Caro- lina (like Kidd, in New York) may have had the distinguishing in- famy of being descendants of the above young wife! One might ask, too, why should we not expect some one of his wives to be about the Delaware, and to have progeny ?
In the year 1837, Anthony Backhouse, of Virginia, farmer, at the mouth of Tanner's creek, adjoining Pomfret, ploughed up a box of gold and silver coin, amounting to 14,000 dollars. The Norfolk Herald says, " The opinion of course has precedence, that this money was one of the numerous deposits made on our coast by Blackbeard."
Robert Venables, the old black man who died in 1834, aged 98, told me that he knew personally an old black man, and Carr, a drayman, in Gray's alley, both of whom had been with Blackbeard.
He had heard that Blackbeard had dealings with " Charles the owner of a shallop packet to Burlington-who used, when about to start, to go around the little town, crying, " ho! Burlington, ho !" He supplied the pirate with flour, &c. Heard often of pirates' money. He knew that Murdock, Riley, Farrel and others, went to Point-no-point to dig-success not known-some said they were frightened off. Used to hear that Stephen Anthony, at corner of Gray's alley and Second street, found a pot of money in digging for his cellar. His black, Friday, first came to it in digging, and showed its outward shape. The master, to conceal and keep it, quickly sent off Friday for drink, and when he returned, the pot was gone! Such was the story. Bobert's mother, at Bridgetown, Barbadoes, knew there a Mary Read, who turned pirate.
The 11th August, 1718, Gov. Keith being present in council, (vide minutes,) presented the case of a pirate vessel arrived-being surrendered by the men. The arms and ammunition are ordered into charge-among them are " 10 great guns" and " 9 peteraroes," 1 doctor's chest, 1 black flag, 1 red flag, 2 ensigns, 1 jack, &c. The governor remarks, that "one Teach, a noted pirate, (Black- beard,) had done the greatest mischief of any of the place, and was then said to be lurking for some time in and about this town ;" and for that cause he had granted a warrant for his apprehension, as well as for several others hereabouts, who having received certificates of pardon upon their surrender under the royal proclamation to this and
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other governments, and were now said to be in active correspondence with other pirates at large, &c.
The 17th October, 1718, the governor presents a bill of £90, ex- penses incurred in the expedition of two sloops to the capes, in pur suit of the pirates, commanded by Captains Raymond and Naylor.
A republication of 1829, by H. Benton, of Hartford, called the "History of the Pirates," has an account of Mr. Woodes Rogers, as governor and vice-admiral of the Bahamas, going out to Nassau in July, 1718, and there granting pardon on submission of one thousand pirates on shore, they having for their Captains, Hornygold, Davis, Carter, Burgess, Current, Clark and others. To some of these the governor gave civil commissions. When the Spanish war occurred, many of them were glad again to go out privateering. There are not any cases of marked cruelty represented in the book. Plunder ing was the chief of their action, and killing, when in fight.
On the 4th July, 1726, Governor William Dummer, and his council, condemned, at Boston, Captain William Fly and three of his men, as pirates, who were hung in chains in the harbour. Cap- tain Bellamy and seven others, about same time, get ashore at East- ham, and are captured, condemned and executed
In the proceedings of the court at Philadelphia, in June, 1697, present Governor Markham, Edward Shippen, Charles Sanders, John Farmer and Charles Sober, justices; David Lloyd, attorney general ; Thomas Robinson, attorney for the Earl of Romney-the case of James Brown, member of assembly and son-in-law to Governor Markham, is brought up for trial; Jan Mathias, a Swede. and Peter Clawson, a Dutchman, are the witnesses against him. They give long and vague stories of their numerous voyages, all the world over, with apparent wishes to cover over any direct or volun- tary piracies of their own, and neither of them present any positive culpability on Mr. Brown, who was probably favoured at last with a nulle prosequi, as no decision is recorded. Their story, if much con densed, would go to say, that in Africa, they were forced into Cap- tain Avery's pirate vessel-fought a great Turk in the Red sea, took his money and let him go-did not meet with much to engage or capture, and being at length in the East Indies, in 1693-4, James Brown, the person indited, came on board and asked if he might be indulged in a passage home to Rhode Island, and the crew being first consulted, he took his passage on board ; after that they fell in with no more vessels or plunder! They came across the ocean to Cat island, thence to Providence, where the witnesses and some others were discharged. Some of them went to New London and some to New York, finally to West Jersey, and then to Philadelphia. where hearing that a man had come to seize Avery and all his men, and that there was also a proclamation of pardon, they forthwith surrendered to the authorities! It came out on the whole that James Brown was also in the Red sea, and came on board from the " New Bark" from Rhode Island.
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