William Brand

Heh. Only as serious as a 21st Century Teacher portraying an 18th Century Pirate. On another note, they have a great forge at the fort. Any plans to roll up your sleeves and forge some new goods?

Good man. It looks like you and I have the Saturday night detail.

Fort Taylor did not settle on this decision. It was made at the upper state level. Boycotting the battles would not send a message to the person or persons at the state level who made this decision, because it's likely that they don't attend or care. If they cared one way or another, they would have considered all of the research and paperwork that were submitted, but they didn't. The state made a broadstroke decision despite the pleas of the Friends of Fort Taylor and the park staff. What's done is done. We can picket and complain or move forward.

Just a reminder to everyone about the Dead Man's Chest auction. If you have pirate items you would like to donate you can mail them down early, so that you don't have to fly with them. We'll be selling them to fellow pirates to raise money for Fort Taylor, and it doesn't hurt to see Chrispy get crazy.

It turned out great! Wonderful attention to detail.

Thanks to everyone who researched and submitted all the paperwork that the state asked for, despite their ruling. I know that the blanket statements that come down from the state level are frustrating, but I appreciate the efforts you've made and continue to make on our behalf.

Did you mean to post that here? I don't influence gate duty and town crier duty for crew members outside the Mercury.

Aye. No. Yep. And that score of yours is making me miss one of my hats in particular. I was forced to attend the Utah Pirate Festival without the wide brim and the tricorn and I still haven't found them. Also missing are my haversack and my ditty bag, but I did find that sweet bowl.

Yeah, and with CaptJ and Janet storing so many things at their place as well, I don't know that we'll ever hurt for stuff in the Missouri area.

Score on the felt hat! I'm missing both of my hats, so I'm envious.

Ahoy, the Mercury! With the Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion fast approaching, and with so many events happening year round in Florida (and the Midwest), I thought we should broach the subject of 'ship's stores'. We already have numerous 'stores' in the keeping of individual members of the crew. We also have many goods housed year round by John and Janet in Missouri, but I'm hoping to set up larger stores in key places around the country if we have some crew members willing to store them. These would house such things as canvas (tents, ground cloths, tarps, tent flies, etc.), lanterns, line, cordage, stakes, poles, etc. Most of the 'group buy' items and Mercury objects that were left at Fort Taylor over the years have 'grown legs' and disappeared, so we're looking to house new items under the roof of crew members in strategic places around the country to cut down on the need to ship or travel with gear that is too cumbersome to move about. We would also mark these items for the Mercury crew. For example, I would keep a growing camp of items for the Utah Pirate Festival, so anyone traveling to attend said event wouldn't require anything more than their basic kit when flying or driving. I've already begun collecting furniture, canvas, poles, lighting etc, for next year's event, which I will keep stored in my outbuildings throughout the year. I would also like to keep a list here on the Pub that shows what we can use from one event to another. Please sound off if you can store items year round for the Mercury and which events are conveniently located near you. Ship's Stores: Florida: (Iron Jon) Canvas, Line & Poles: 1 dining fly with poles and stakes 3 ground cloth/tarp Assorted rolls of line large wall tent, poles, and stakes small wedge tent, poles and stakes Fire and cooking: 2 small braziers Large camp skillet and asst cast iron cookware Plates, bowls, utensils, etc large dutch oven with tripod cooking grate for campfire Furniture: 1 wooden table 3 stools 2 beds Lighting: 6 lanterns 1 candle box (maybe 50 candles?) Storage: 1 large wooden camp box for food and cookware 1 medium cooler w/ canvas cover 1 large cooler w/ canvas cover 1 insulated water container w/ canvas cover 1 cedar sea chest for clothing Midwest: (Thatchers) Canvas, Line & Poles: 3 tents awnings Poles ground cloths rugs Furniture: tables chairs chests Lighting: lanterns and homemade candles galore Utah: (William Brand) Canvas, Line & Poles: 1 dining fly (12' x 15' ) 2 ground cloth/tarp (4' x 12' and 6' x 9') 1 tablecloth/tarp (4' x 6') Assorted small hemp line 8 rustic aspen poles Fire and cooking: Large dish brazier with stand Cooking tongs Large camp skillet Plates, bowls, trenchers, drinkware spoons, ladles, knives 10 horn spoons Furniture: 1 small folding table 1 folding card table 5 small stools 2 high back chairs 1 small book desk 1 drop front secretary desk 2 Windsor chairs Lighting: 2 lanterns 1 candle box (6 candles) Personal Gear and Kit: 5 walking sticks misc clothing Storage: 1 large tent box 1 medium storage box 2 small storage boxes

With three separate days for 'trying pyrates', we're considering several different trials on different days. 1 - The trial of a pirate by some king's men. This would be a serious trial of captured pirates facing the real possibility of death by hanging and would include several key players of the Mercury on trial with fellow crew members in chains awaiting trial, as well as some players in the crowd. 2 - A ship's trial for some serious infraction and the choosing of the ship's 'liar' for duty at the ship's head. This will be a trial of some infraction such as stealing from a crew mate or falling asleep on duty and the appropriate punishment from the ship's articles. Then the choosing of the ship's liar will follow. Once a week on board ship a 'liar' was chosen by his fellow sailor's to scrub and keep the head (the toilet hole and rope at the forward end of the ship) clean. 3 - I like the idea of the scripted mock trial mentioned by Mission for at least one trial, and it's short enough that we might perform this daily in addition to the others. We'll work out the details over the next few weeks.

AYE.

Hemp cord and rope tend to have a stronger smell. I suggest a good sized hemp rope. Lots of fibers. Lots of smell.

I can't believe that I didn't add these before from jollyjacktar... Merchant Seaman's Effects Part 1 Merchant Seaman's Effects Part 2

Are you looking for a name for yourself? If so, you may already have a pirate name. For example, my given name is William, and William is in the top 20 for popular boys names throughout the GAoP, so I simply hung on to it. In hindsight, I might have kept my surname as well, since the Pace family came to Jamestown in 1611, but I went with a an older family name. Brand. Coincidentally, I've actually found a few William Brands on registries around the colonies. There are no hard and fast rules for surnames, but you should follow names of the period from whatever region your particular pirate would come from. Another quote from the research of Caitlin GD Hopkins. "There are plenty of unusual names in the 1710 Boston Birth Records. My favorite is Cumby Mires, with honorable mention honors going to Pool Varney, Beamsly Perkins, Palsgrove Hunt, and Gammon Stevens."

I'm so glad to hear that you're bringing the grindstone. We'll be sure to get you a good covered area for presentation purposes.

If you're talking about given names I can tell you that we've discussed the fact that middle names were virtually non-existent until later in the 18th century. The best way to research names from any specific country or area is to search birth records by city, county, etc. Example: The most popular given names taken from church records in the greater Boston area from 1635 to 1680* were: 1. Mary 2. Sarah 3. Elizabeth 4. Abigail 5. Hanna 6. Rebecca 7. Ann/Anna 8. Deborah 9. Joanna 10. Martha 1. John 2. Samuel 3. Thomas 4. Nathaniel 5. Joseph 6. Josiah 7. Benjamin 8. Jonathan 9. Isaac 10. Daniel The top baby names in 1710** in Boston show some repeats: 1. Mary 2. Elizabeth 3. Sarah 4. Abigail 5. Susanna 6. Hannah 7. Ann/Anna 8. Rebecca 9. Lydia 10. Jane 1. John 2. William 3. Thomas 4. James 5. Samuel 6. Joseph 7. Nathaniel 8. Jonathan 9. Richard 10. Henry * Names taken from the Windsor Church Records, sample size: 478 girls, 533 boys. Research by Caitlin GD Hopkins **This list is based on the Boston Birth Records for 1710, so it is not applicable to the colonies as a whole. The Boston Birth Records generally include children of all races born within the city limits, but it is possible that births to enslaved Africans and Indians may have been under reported. The sample includes 140 girls and 129 boys.

 Research by Caitlin GD Hopkins

That's the blissful 'Mmmm, yeah, I could live out here' face.

I keep hemp in my kit. The smell of fresh hemp cord and tobacco make a great smells for kit. Keith also keeps a cloth with pine tar on it in my sea chest.

National Geographic television is often entertainment first and history second. It does not trump example after example in paintings, etchings, drawings, artifacts, and writings of the period. That said, did pirates trade beads and shells? Maybe and probably on some scale. Did they wear them? Examples from art and literature seem to suggest 'no'.

I'm sorry about the crohn's disease, but experiencing the same symptoms would give you an empathetic edge when describing scurvy at events. How many of the symptoms had you experienced prior to diagnosis?

I love the Gasparilla Pirate Festival images going back to 1914!

Seconded. The detail of the work is amazing. Laid paper. Hand marbled end papers. While I do not own own of their books yet, I've seen some of the incredible craftsmanship first hand.

Welcome aboard, Shealey!