The Grave of Captain Jack Sparrow

[Captain Jim]

QUOTE (Captain Jim @ Aug 25 2005, 09:09 PM)

QUOTE (MadMike @ Aug 24 2005, 08:27 AM)

Here's a good place to review-

http://www.capecodgravestones.com/styles.html

Take a look in the section "Grim Winged Skulls from the early 1700's"

Yours, &c.

Mike

Aye, I be lookin' up tha' there site and noticed a 'eadstone fer a certain "Jonathan Sparrow" (second under Grim Winged Skulls.) An' as we all know, nicknames fer blokes named Jonathan were "Jon", "John" or "Jack." And did I mention that this 'ere Jack Sparrow was a Captain?

http://www.capecodgravestones.com/easthamp...rrow06cove.html

Is there anyone living near Eastham Cove, on Cape Cod, that could go and get a better picture of the upper corners of this gravestone? There seems to be something in the round symbols on the upper corners. Sparrows perhaps? Could it be that we have found the grave of Captain "Jack" Sparrow?

Alright ye scallywags, I just copied this from Captain Twill, 'cause I be needn' some information.

1. Who wrote the screenplay fer POTC? Did they have knowledge of this gravestone?

2. Where did the name of Jack Sparrow come from, if not from some historical source?

3. Is there anyone who can get us a better look at those gravestone corners?

[Rumba Rue]

I took a magnifying glass, but still couldn't tell if those were birds or X's at the top of each side.

I must say this is pretty darn interesting.

[blackjohn]

Five years ago, while visiting Cape Cod, I took dozens of slides of gravestones with winged skulls to use as a basis for the Pirate Brethren's pirate flag. While a longshot, I'll dig through them and take a look. There is a chance those are common elements repeated on many gravestones from that era.

[tishsparrow]

oh my god. are you serious? a gravestone? he was real??? i wonder if there are any portraits of this captain...

but as my mom just pointed out, isnt it odd that no one saw this before?

[JoshuaRed]

Sparrow was not that uncommon of a name, and Jack or John was certainly run of the mill. There were probably many J. Sparrows in the western hemisphere.

Whoever first coined the name was probably just rummaging thru genealogy lists and the moniker struck a tone with them so they decided to use it.

[Captain Jim]

Aye Joshua, I agree. Still, it's all speculation till we hear from the writers o' this tale, namely: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert. 'Twould be interestin' ta know.

[Mission]

Didn't Ted and Terry say where the names come from in their VO on the DVD? It seems to me that they explained the whole animal thing (Sparrow, Swan and some other animal name they were going to use for Will before they decided there were too many animal references.)

I seriously doubt they went looking for gravestones in Cape Cod...this is most likely a coincidence. Skulls were a common feature on gravestones around that time. As the site itself says,

The gravestone displays a winged skull with an hourglass on top reminding us that time is running out. It is carved in the style of William Mumford or Nathaniel Emmes both of Boston.

(Mumford and Emmes being people who carved gravestones.)

[Duchess]

If you go to the page with headstone pictures and click the Cove Cemetery link at the bottom, you're taken to a full list of the other people burried there. At the top of the list is this whole Sparrow family, they mention Jonathan life and several wives. Neat.

[Jack2]

Ahoy Mates,

Has anyone done research on other parts of the country that might have a Captain J Sparrow?

Jack II