Is There a Pirate in Your Family Tree?

Introduction: Mary Harrell-Sesniak is a genealogist, author and editor with a strong technology background. In this blog article, Mary searches old newspapers to learn more about pirates – their legends, and their true stories.

As long as there have been newspapers, there have been stories published about pirates. You can certainly find lots of them in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives.

Search Tip: Use these search terms to find pirate stories in the old newspapers: buccaneer, buried treasure, corsair, freebooter, marauder, raiders and privateer.

illustration of a pirate
Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division: LC-H824-T01-240

So avast ye family historians – is there a pirate in your family tree? Some of the stories I found in old newspapers will shiver ye timbers. Read on if you want to know more about this spine-tingling topic.

Pirate John Quelch (1666-1704)

Private ship owners were often commissioned to make reprisals or gain reparations for the British crown. They were called “privateers.” When they seized an enemy ship it was called a “prize” and all was perfectly legal. Proceeds were split, so it was a lucrative undertaking. But not all excursions went well.

Ponder Captain Daniel Plowman’s story. In 1703 he was commissioned a privateer by Governor Joseph Dudley, who happens to be one of my ancestors. His ship the Charles was authorized to attack French and Spanish ships off the coast of Newfoundland and Arcadia, but his crew soon mutinied and murdered him. See Wikipedia’s article about Quelch.

[search_box]

John Quelch, Plowman’s lieutenant, was elected leader and turned the Charles south to plunder Portuguese ships off the Brazilian coast. Legend has it that some of the pirates’ captured gold was later buried on New Hampshire’s Star Island. After looting and plundering for ten months, they returned to Marblehead, Massachusetts, where some of them were captured. Quelch and five others were executed and the rest put in jail. After languishing for 13 months, a pardon was granted to Charles James, William Wilder, John Dorrothy, John Pittman, John Carter, Dennis Carter and Charles King. Perhaps one of them is your ancestor.

article about the pardoning of some members of pirate John Quelch's crew, Boston News-Letter newspaper article 23 July 1705
Boston News-Letter (Boston, Massachusetts), 23 July 1705, page 2

Pirate Narratives

Encounters with pirates were the tabloid sensations of yesteryear.

This gripping report describes actions with a pirate schooner, chases and even how a brig was “much cut up with musquetry.” During one encounter the captain was burned from a gun powder explosion but survived, with the fight leaving several pirates dead on the ship’s deck.

stories about pirates, Hallowell Gazette newspaper article 12 June 1822
Hallowell Gazette (Hallowell, Maine), 12 June 1822, page 2

Obituaries That Mention Pirates

Pirate encounters often followed men to their death by appearing in their obituaries.

James MacAlpine, who passed away in 1775, had been “taken by a French Pirate and carried into Rattan, where he lived six weeks entirely upon turtle…” Interestingly, this forced diet cured him of consumption which earlier had nearly killed him.

obituary for James MacAlpine, Pennsylvania Ledger newspaper article 1 April 1775
Pennsylvania Ledger (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 1 April 1775, page 2

This next obit from 1789 for Captain Luke Ryan reports that his ship Black Privateer had “captured more vessels belonging to Great Britain than any other single ship during the war.”

After being captured in 1781, Ryan was tried as a pirate and thrown into the Old Bailey prison. Although condemned to be executed on four different occasions, each time he was reprieved – though he ended up dying in prison.

obituary for pirate Luke Ryan, Massachusetts Centinel newspaper article 7 October 1789
Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, Massachusetts), 7 October 1789, page 26

Famous Pirates

Ever wonder if legendary pirates were real? Even if they stretch the truth, some of the anecdotal articles you can find in GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives are marvelous.

For example, there is this 1789 account of one of Blackbeard’s legends. After a swordfight that went “pell mell,” Blackbeard supposedly “received a severe stroke on the shoulder” from a lieutenant from a “British ship of war” who had challenged the old pirate to single combat. “Hah, cried he, that’s well struck brother soldier!” A stronger blow followed that “severed his black head from his shoulders.” The old newspaper article reports that Blackbeard’s head was then boiled and a drinking cup made out of his skull. The cup was presented to a “keeper of a publick house, as a cup to drink punch out of.”

article about the pirate Blackbeard, Massachusetts Centinel newspaper article 26 August 1789
Massachusetts Centinel (Boston, Massachusetts), 26 August 1789, page 186

Believe It or Not

The depth of one’s imagination often runs wild when it comes to the subject of pirates.

In 1820 a man identified only as J— D— passed away, supposedly at the age of 103. He claimed to have been one of the crew of the “old noted pirate” Captain Kidd. Since Captain William Kidd (1645-1701) died 119 years earlier, it’s apparent that this claim merely came from JD’s vivid imagination.

obituaries, Concord Observer newspaper article 17 January 1820
Concord Observer (Concord, New Hampshire), 17 January 1820, page 3

Any Pirates in Your Family History?

Please share your genealogical pirate stories in the comments section.

[bottom_post_ad]

8 thoughts on “Is There a Pirate in Your Family Tree?

  1. I have at least 6 Hallamore (mother’s side) pirates, or 3 generations, per:

    1. Walter Hallamore, (1632, Penryn, Cornwall, England – ), 1st generation;

    2. Son John, (ca. 1660 – after 1695), accused in 1683 New York city piracy trial, 2nd generation;

    3. At least 4 sons: 1. John, (1688 – 1750); cooper when back in Penryn after 1718 amnesty; 2. Peter, (1691 – 1747); 3. William, (ca. 1695 – 1740, ouse, boat and portrait painter; 4. Samuel (d. 1748, nothing further as yet known), 3rd generation.

  2. I wonder if Peter Harris the pirate is a cousin of mine by any ancestry, or even by the surname Harris? Does his Harris descend from de Heriz in Nottinghamshire like mine does? Or perhaps a different origin?

    I don’t yet know of any ancestors of mine that were pirates, but possibly distant cousins like maybe Sir Henry Morgan or other pirates who have surnames I find in my ancestry besides Harris. For instance, I have Morgan ancestry which I think is Welsh, but I have yet to trace this.

    I will say my distant cousin by at least our Drake line is Sir Francis Drake, “el pirata” as known by the Spanish.

    1. Peter,

      What a fun thought.

      Unfortunately I haven’t researched his ancestry to be able to answer your question. Let us know if you connect to him.

      Mary

  3. Well… I am not sure how I am related. But while doing a random Google search I found a John Carnes who was captured aboard Edward “Blackbeard” Teach’s ships and of course because he was there… He could have been killed in battle, quickly killed (like Teach was) or what I hope was tried, convicted and hung. This would have been about 1718-20. But I am having a hard time trying to find more records on this elusive family member.

  4. I heard that Lucking and Milligan were pirate names but would like some help finding out for sure! Both were from England.

  5. I was told by my grandfather, that passed away at age 104.5 that his mother was related to Diego Grillo the mulato pirate of Cuba. He fought the Spaniards with Francis Drake. I know is true but i need to find out exactly more.Like obituaries and so forth. He was the son of a Spaniard that fell in love with a African Slave , he couldn’t marry her because of the times, but he baptized the child. At age 12 he ran away and i guess he met Francis Drake later on when he joined pirates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *