The Mystery Of Blackbeard's Only Legitimate Wife

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

It's highly possible that news of the notorious pirate Blackbeard legally marrying someone would have shocked many people. The governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden, himself performed the marriage ceremony. The governor probably wanted to make sure Blackbeard wasn't lying when he said he would be a good, productive member of society.

And so it was that Blackbeard married his only legal wife in 1718 in Bath, North Carolina, said Owlcation. Ormond was supposedly pregnant either during or soon after the wedding, although there are no records of her giving birth. On the other hand, record-keeping in those days was less than thorough.

To no one's surprise, a few months after the wedding, Blackbeard started thinking about going back to the sea. He took up piracy once more and began going on small raids, bringing his loot back to the home he shared with Ormond. North Carolina authorities heard that Blackbeard started thieving again, and the pirate decided to leave Bath altogether. Blackbeard returned to piracy full-time. He was operating in the coastal waters off North Carolina when Lieutenant Robert Maynard decided to bring him in, said Amherst College.

Maynard had orders from the governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, to apprehend the pirate. Spotswood was concerned that such a notorious criminal lived near his state and wanted him gone. So Maynard took off to capture Blackbeard. Around this time, however, there was no word whether or not Ormond went to sea with her husband.

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