Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard (1680-1718)
Little is known about Blackbeard prior to his pirate career, but my sister believes that we are illegitimate descendants of Blackbeard on my father’s side of the family. I doubt we’ll ever be able to prove whether we are in fact descendants of Blackbeard, but it’s an interesting fact to consider, and an equally fascinating blog entry.
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Blackbeard’s Pirate career began in the Caribbean in 1717 when Benjamin Hornigold rewarded him with a ship they had hijacked. Renaming the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard outfitted her for piracy with 300 men and 40 cannons. Blackbeard then commenced to sailing the Caribbean and the Atlantic along the coastal waters of American colonies, torturing merchant ship crewmen and passengers, stealing valuable cargo, and leaving only destruction in his wake.
In battle, Blackbeard was a savage butcher with almost inhuman strength. He intimidated foes by wrapping slow-burning lighted coils in his long black hair and beard. Wearing two gun belts across his chest and carrying six pistols into battle, he was a formidable opponent. Feared by everyone sailing the seas, he was without conscience. He showed no mercy in his thievery, and often murdered those unfortunate enough to cross his path.
Blackbeard was also a ladies man. It is believed that he may have had as many as 14 wives. He treated women kindly, fell in love easily, and treated each as if it were his first love. Only his last marriage, to a 16-year-old young lady (thought to be Mary Ormond), is believed to have been legitimate. His previous marriages were conducted on board his ship so often that they were almost commonplace to the crew.
Blackbeard's reign of terror ensued for eighteen months before North Carolina residents and shipping merchants prevailed upon Governor Spotswood of Virginia for help. Acting with the utmost secrecy, Governor Spotswood arranged for ships and men to battle Blackbeard, and strike a blow against piracy for all time.
Royal Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard was chosen to battle Blackbeard. Cautiously heading down the coast, he hoped to catch the pirate off-guard. But when Maynard entered Ocracoke Inlet, Blackbeard was already there preparing his new ship (Adventure) for battle.
On November 22, 1718, the heated confrontation took place. Maynard's two ships, Jane and Ranger, were both fired upon by Blackbeard. The Ranger was badly damaged and several of Maynard's crew died instantly. When the Jane was hit, Maynard instructed his crewmen to go below and the entire ship took on the illusion of death. In the smoke and fire of the battle, Blackbeard was fooled into leading a charge aboard Maynard's vessel. Maynard and his men surprised the pirates and finally took the upper hand in this battle for the first time.
In the end, Blackbeard had succumbed to twenty-five stab wounds and five bullet wounds before finally perishing. His head was hung on the Rangers bowsprit as a trophy, his body thrown overboard. But had Blackbeard given up yet? Legend holds that Blackbeard’s beheaded body swam several laps around the Ranger before finally sinking from sight in the channel now known as Teach’s Hole.
Those of you that know me best already know that I share Blackbeards steadfast determination, and that I’ve, on occasion, been tempted to spit on my hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. But whether or not I actually share enough blood with Blackbeard to justify these pirate tendencies is likely remain another unsolved mystery.
My family says we are direct lineage to Blackbeard also... does your sister have any information on your family tree. I am desperately trying to figure out my own family history
I have a friend from NC named Tony Teachy who is a dark haired ladies man. Says he is descended from Blackbeard and I'd say his claim is valid.
I am related to blackbeard through his last wife Mary Ormond. Blackbeard is suppose to be my great great great great grandfather.
I have proof of being a direct decendent of black beard black beards safe haven was in bath NC were he had several wifes one wich was a rosenthal kidnipped daughter of the phillip rosenthal 8th wich searved the east india trading company. black beard also had 1 family named tech. when black beard died the rosenthal changed her name to rose and the tech to keech so that the royle army would not find them my rose family then married into the keechs and made the rose family the rose then became leaders in bath NC as the governors Seat at that time also being married to the rose of scottland were the rose family castle still remains King phillip rosenthal 3rd wasphillip rosenthals family the rose and keech and rosethals surnames r one of the best records keep in the history of scottland. there is a few missing documents around 1603 when king of england burnt the rose church to the ground but most about 90 precent of the rose name is intact
Thanks for an interesting and entertaining article ! I really enjoyd it....
On a more serious note, I'd like to comment on a couple of things:
A lot of people claim descendancy form Blackbeard. From what I can glean, this hangs largely on being able to trace some family connection back to colonial NC, rather than any verifiable link to the pirate. These assertions are just based on family legend; likely told as children's entertainment.
Almost nothing is known "for certain" about Blackbeard. A lot of the "facts" (about him and other pirates) stem from a mysterious Captain Charles Johnson in his book "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most Notorious Pyrates". Nothing is known of Johnson, and there is speculation that he was in fact Daniel Defoe. If so, a lot of pirate history is total fiction...
But it makes for good storytelling !
I'm a decsendant of Jack Sparrow :D
How old was black beard when he died? How old were the two women on black beards ship?
Mary Ormond? How does anyone prove this? She disappeared in history so if someone has a birth record of a child of hers (and a record of her death, how when) please post it. Due to the sad story of her being "gifted" by Blackbeard to the crew, can this story be disproved- I would also wonder how they could trace themselves to Blackbeard when it could be any one of the crew after that. I would highly doubt any Mary Ormond lineage claim.
A few years ago someone did a family lineage on my grandmother and supposedly found that we are decendants of both Blackbeard and Leif Erikson. Not sure whether either claim is true or if someone was just trying to make an interesting family tree so that she would tell people about it and give that person more business.
I have a family history done by a relative in New Bern, NC. Our family was recorded as to being in that area from 1715 - 1779, when Blackbeard was reportly in that area. The history doesn't show before that date. His name was John Thach.
He was married to a Sarah Stadin in 1774, he had a previous bride in 1736 but there is no mention of her name. My family has passed down the story for generation that we were decendants of Blackbeard
Here is an interesting note, check out the "Barbados Records" 1637-1800 Marriages (vol 1) and will (vol 3) by Joanne McCree Sanders these list records of the Thach/Thatch families. The significant point is that Blackbeard may have directly or indirectly orginated from Barbados.
hi im related to blackbeard i was just woundering if there is any web site that will say the watters are turle realted to blackbeard
Maybe we are all relatives; my father also claimed kinship with Blackbeard. I am a Day from the decendents from Cedar Island, N.C. I am looking for any information on the wives of Blackbeard. Any help or correspondance will be appreciated.
My family is as well said to be relatives of Blackbeard. My grandfathers name was Frederick Teachman, changed from Teach to avoid persecution. And i think that it is said that Blackbeard was his great grandfather, i just wish there was a way to be sure, but when i was little i did see a book that my dad used to say mentioned my sisters and I specifically as descendents..once again, i wish i could know for sure or if that was my dad's interpretation.
Some of you claim to be related to Blackbeard. Well, it has always been a family rumor that we were also related to him. Now I'm trying to find the truth. Could any of you provide me with your proof so I could look for similarities to my family? Or could you tell me if he has any connection to the names Shively, Hutchison, Campbell, Boyle, Tate, or Hurst? I'd very much appreciate any of this.
I am related directly to blackbeard and feel him in my blood trying to tell me the truth of this all and it is a mystery only dna solve
My mom just called me last night saying that my great-aunt has documentation that we're related to Blackbeard, too (like all the other commentors here). But the documentation that she has is all old-school studies (work she did in her young adult years; she's in her 80's now), nothing with newer-verifiable evidence. As everyone else here has requested, would you mind, please, sending me a link or something to Edward's lineage? Thanks for your time. ~Christi
My father, William Thomas Thach, always thought that the Thaches were descendants of Blackbeard aka Edward Teach/Thach/Thatch/Tache. Second cousins of ours were the Thaches originally from Arkansas. James Harmon Thach and John Smith Thach both trained at Anapolis and were officers in the Navy during WWII. James H. commanded the battleship Missouri; John S. "Jimmie" was a navy fighter pilot who developed the "Thach Weave", a a squadron formation designed to compensate for the inferior speed and maneuverability of American fighters as compared to the Japanese. He went on to become an Admiral and head of naval operations of the joint chiefs of staff. They would seem to be fitting descendants of Blackbeard himself!
William Thomas Thach,M.D.
I'd suggest that you read the book "The Last Days of Blackbeard the Pirate" by Kevin Duffus. It is a well documented book that makes a compelling case for the true identity of Blackbeard and explains the true origins of a lot of the myths surrounding him.
Whether you agree with Duffus or not, the book is a great read.
My Family has old papers and proof that were realted to him in this old box.. Its actually amazing.. =] Something I've been pproud of since I was little.. Would be cool if all of us were related heh? :) Lol :D
we have a direct family connection to balckbeard, which we can prove as we have artwork by his little known sister, anna blackbeard.
My Keech family is from Eastern North Carolina, my father was raised on Goose Creek Island, due west of Ocracoke Island. We've been told for years, by people we aren't related to, that we are direct descendants of Blackbeard. One who claims this us Jolene B. Clark, of Chesapeake, VA, an author of historical works. There is also a pirate who lived in the vicinity of Goose Creek simply called "KEECH". The only adult Keech in coastal NC in the mid 1700's, mentioned in records, was John Keech, my 6th Great Grandfather. He wrote his will in 1759 in Bath, NC, Blackbeard's home when he went legit. My theory is that John Keech was either "Keech the pirate" himself, or the son of Keech. Further, I believe that "Keech the Pirate" was a son of Blackbeard Teach. Although his last name had been changed to Keech, piracy was apparently still in the blood. Sadly, this will probably always remain a theory, but somehow, I believe it to be a likely probability. John had three sons from whom all Keeches of Eastern NC descend. They were Jasper, John, and Joseph, I descend from the latter. I am sceptical that anyone has "proof" of the Keech descent from Blackbeard, however, if they do, I would love to see it and confirm my belief.
My oldest brother, who lives in Virginia Beach, which is where my parents and I still live, was having a roof put on his house. The roofers must have been from Eastern NC, because, when they saw his last name on the check he was writing him, they asked where his family was from. When he told them Eastern NC, they asked him if he knew that he was a direct descendant of Blackbeard. They added that this was common knowledge to people of Coastal NC that the Keeches from that area were all descended from Edward Teach. Who knows?????
i can not say for sure without further review whether any of you are also related. With that many generations in between the late 17th/ early 18th century i suppose anything is possible. however i have in my possession two walk-in closets full of stuff belonging to teach and his wife that were passed on to me by my grandfather when he died. this includes a diary ormond kept and other equally fascinating stuff.
I myself am a possible descendant of Blackbeard, as my grandfather's last name is Teague, and Blackbeard's wa Teach, which can be translated into Teague, so I believe strongly that i too am a descendant of him, and a pirate by his genes.
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I am a descendant of Robert L Maynard. My Grandfather and my Uncle were both named Robert L. Maynard after the Lt. Robert L Maynard.
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