Interesting discoveries about Stede Bonnet

[Daniel]

The story of Stede Bonnet's end will be familiar to many of you. To recap the accepted Charles Johnson story: Bonnet's Royal James is hiding in the Cape Fear River when William Rhett brings two sloops up from Charleston: the Henry (captain Masters) and the Sea Nymph (captain Fayrer Hall). Battle breaks out on 9/27/1718, all three sloops run aground, the Sea Nymph out of range, the Henry wtihin pistol shot and badly exposed. Henry and Royal James then pound each other for five hours, until the tide lifts Henry free, leaving Royal James stuck, and soon after the pirates surrender.

The court records I have received shed a new light on things. Hall, captain of the Sea Nymph that barely got scratched in the fighting, sued Richard Tookerman in early 1719. Tookerman, himself a pirate who consorted once with Bartholomew Roberts, is believed to have assisted Stede Bonnet in his abortive escape attempt in October 1718. The two slaves who were helping Bonnet when he was recaptured both belonged to Tookerman, and I am informed that Tookerman was jailed on suspicion of helping Bonnet. What I have never seen before is this: Fayrer Hall says that Tookerman owned the Sea Nymph. Hall was suing Tookerman for his unpaid wages as theSea Nymph's captain.

Hall asked for the kingly total of 581 pounds, an amount that would have sufficed to buy two average town lots in Charleston and most of a third. The court, presided over by the same Nicholas Trott who hanged Bonnet and his crew, finally granted Hall the much more reasonable sum of 83 pounds for his service as captain.

It gets more interesting. In 1720, Fayrer Hall sued William Rhett himself for slander. What had Rhett said? He had publicly accused Hall himself of being a pirate! Hall moaned that this imputation of piracy had destroyed his "hitherto untainted" reputation (in reality, Hall had been convicted of assault and battery for invading a neighbor's home and beating him up only months before the Cape Fear battle). Hall won a default judgment when Rhett, for reasons unknown, failed to show up for court. But apparently, the court never did get around to awarding Hall any damages.

These three facts: 1) Tookerman, probable friend and helper of Bonnet, owned the Sea Nymph, 2) Hall expected Tookerman to pay him money vastly in excess of what one would normally expect, or the court would grant, and 3) Rhett, witness to Hall's conduct at Cape Fear, accused Hall of being a pirate, would support a hypothesis that 4) Hall's failure to get into the fighting at Cape Fear may not have been accidental as previously supposed, but deliberate, acting on orders from Tookerman and motivated by the anticipation of a large money bribe from Tookerman that never materialized.

Conclusive? No. But interesting.

[Coastie04]

Definitely fun to speculate about that.

Coastie

[Captain Jim]

Now, ye see? No one can write movies better than that. Why,oh, why can't anyone just wite the Blackbeard/Bonnet/assorted aquaintances story the way it happened?

[JoshuaRed]

I agree. In the right hands it could play out better than the best of Sopranos or Deadwood, which is saying a lot.

[Patrick Hand]

I was thinking that for my Pyrate personna, I'd be one of Stede Bonnet's crew, right about the time Blackbeard kinda takes things over..... I wanted somethig to tie my personna with known history......

But the fun part is that there is soooooo much that we don't know.....

I just never did that "bit" because it might get embarrising to run into someone that knew more about Stede Bonnet than I did at the time..... OH welll.........

So this just make it more fun/interesting..............

[Rumba Rue]

Thank you for the information!

[Daniel]

Thank you for the comments.

I am transcribing some of the court documents and may post them here later if anyone wants to see them. Unfortunately, the transcriptions may not be very complete; a lot of this 300-year-old handwriting is pretty darn tough to read!

[Cut-throat]

It was a great read. Thanks mate. It definately gets the wheels turning.

[kass]

Daniel, if there's a way for you to scan or photograph the documents, my husband is well-practiced in reading old handwriting. He's "decoded" a number of 300-year old documents for the local historical society. So if you need a second set of eyes, let us know!

[Silver Steele]

I am transcribing some of the court documents and may post them here later if anyone wants to see them.

Daniel, why don't you ask another stupid quoestion?

Yes, please! Or email them to me! If you have scanned copies, also send along and I will see if I can help you with the transcription!

[Daniel]

OK, I hoped to do some of this a while ago, but fatherhood and two jobs have interfered. Here's Fayrer Hall's petition. Sections I can't read are indicated by an ellipsis (". . ."). The photocopy is clear at the beginning, then gets progressively harder to read near the bottom.

Filed this 25 us January 1718.

Richard Tookerman Gent was attached to answer Fayrer Hall marr. of a plea of Trespass on the Case and wherefore the said Fayrer Hall by Richard Allein his Attorny Complains that whereas the aforesaid Richard Tookerman this Fifth Day of December Anno Dei One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighteen at Charles Town in Berkley County and within the Jurisdiction of this Court was indebted to the said Fayrer Hall the sum of Five Hundred and Eighty One pounds Nine Shilling curr. Mony being for Wages due and owing to the said Fayrer Hall as late Ma.S or Comander of the Sloop Sea Nymph belonging to the said Richard Tookerman for his Service on board the Same and for Sundry Expenses of him the said Fayrer Hall . . . the said Service and Employment of him the said Richard Tookerman and for works and Labor by the said Fayrer Hall at the Special Instance and request of the said Richard Tookerman before that time don and performed and also for monyes at the like Special Instance and request of the said Richard Tookerman by the said Fayrer Hall for him the said Richard Tookerman before that time laid out and Expended the particulars of all which are . . . in the amount hereunto Arranged and of which the said Richard Tookerman the Day year and Place abovesaid had no . . . . And being so indebted the said Richard Tookerman in consideration thereof afterwards to witt day, year and place abovesaid did assume upon himself and to the said Fayrer Hall did then and there faithfully promise that he the said Richard Tookerman the aforesaid sum of Five Hundred Eighty One pounds Nine Shillings to the said Fayrer Hall wheresoever he should be the sum so required would well and truly pay and . . . but nevertheless the aforesaid Richard Tookerman his Promise and Assumption aforesaid in . . . regarding but . . . and fraudulently intending the said Fayrer Hall in this behalf to deceive and defraud the aforesaid Sum of Five Hundred and Eighty One Pounds Nine Shillings or any portion thereof to the said Fayrer Hall hath not paid at the . . . the aforesaid Richard Tookerman forwards . . . the Fifth Day of December aforesaid hath been often requested but the sum to pay hath . . . refuse wherefore the said Fayrer Hall . . . hath damage to the value of three hundred pounds and therefore he brings his suit.

[signature illegible, possibly Richard Allein.]

[Daniel]

The previous document, for all its legalese, was fairly simple: Fayrer Hall was suing Richard Tookerman for his wages as master of the Sea Nymph.

Below is the judgment in Hall's favor. This is what we would today call a default judgment; Tookerman didn't answer the petition, so Trott pretty well automatically finds in Hall's favor. But Trott won't award any money without a jury trial, so a jury will be summoned to hear the evidence for Hall's damages.

Oddly, though the document is handwritten, it is clearly a form, written out in advance with the names of Hall, Tookerman, and Allein written in the blank spots left for them, in a different hand from the rest of the document.

February Court 1718

Judgment signed the 3d. of March 1718/9*

And now at this Day to witt the Second Tuesday of this instant February to which Day the aforesaid Richard Tookerman had lom as to answer and Plead to the Declaration aforesaid before Nicholas Trott Esq. came the aforesaid Fayrer Hall by Richard Allein his Atturny aforesaid and Demand that the aforesaid Richard Tookerman to his Declaration aforesaid may answer and the aforesaid Richard Tookerman Tho Solemnly Exacted not appearing nor Saying any thing in Barr or preclusion of the Action aforesaid of the aforesaid Fayrer Hall by which the aforesaid Fayrer Hall remain against him undefended by Reason whereof the said Fayrer Hall ought to Recover against the said Richard Tookerman his Damages aforesaid which he has Sustained on Account of the Premises But  because it is Unknown to the Court what Damages the said Fayrer Hall has Sustained in this Behalf Therefore it is Commanded the Marshal of the said Court of Common Pleas that he Summons Thirty Men drawn by Ballot according to the Directions of an Act of General Assembly of this Province in that Case made and Provided personally to be and Appear before Nicholas Trott Esq. Chief Justice aforesaid on the Second Tuesday in May next to enquire what Damage he has Sustained in the said Action and to make a Due and true Return thereof at the said Court . . .  The same day is Given to the aforesaid Richard Tookerman thereat.

Recorded in the Book of the records No. 8, p. 181.

*Under the English Julian-based calendar then in use, the New Year officially fell on March 25th, even though the modern custom of starting the year on January 1st was becoming popular. Thus dates between January 1st and March 24th would sometimes be written with two numbers, the lower, Julian number and the higher, modern number. By our reckoning, this would be the court of February 1719 and the judgment would be signed in March of 1719.

[Longarm]

Daniel, where did you find these documents if I might ask? Did they come from here in Charleston? There is a small document museum here that I pass just about every day and as of yet have not done the local tourist thing and gone in. I don't remember the name right off hand,I'll get back to you with name if you wish.

I have had the pleasure of meeting the great-great grandson of William Rhett. Apparently his family is still in the area. Unfortunately he was very ill at the time and could not remember alot of the family stories at the time. But we both agreed that if Bonnet had not tried to escape he might have got off and not been hanged. After all he was a gentleman and had impressed alot of the local gentry who were willing to back him, before his escape attempt and the breaking of his word. I only got to talk for alittle while and I have no idea where his now. It's too bad because it sounds like his family played a big part in Charleston and South Carolina history.

[Daniel]

Longarm, I got these by e-mail order from the South Carolina state archives (which are in Charleston, I think). The archives are catalogued on line, and I browsed and found the litigation involving Fayrer Hall, then ordered it for the article I was doing (now completed and submitted) on Stede Bonnet's last battle. These are copies from microfilm.

[Daniel]

And here's the part where Hall finally gets his money, albeit a heck of a lot less than he was asking for. Note that almost half the award is court costs: fair wages was just forty-four pounds and change.

I have no clue who the "aforesaid Edward" is or what is meant by "merger."

May Court, 1719

Judgment entered May 26, 1719.  John Walles, C.L. 6 2.

On which Day before Nicholas Trott Esq. & Chief Justice came on the aforesd Fayrer Hall by Richard Allein his Attorney afores. & the Marshal afores. having made the return of the Writt of January aforesaid and the Jurors thereby legally . . . to the . . . aforesaid to Inquire in afores. hearing found that this aforesd. Fayrer has Sustained Damages on account of the . . . before his Costs and Charges About his Suit in this behalf expended to Forty four pounds & Six[teen?] . . .  Therefore it is Considered that the afores. Fayrer do recover against the aforesaid Richard Tookerman his Damages So Found by the Jurors aforesaid and also Thirty [nine?] pounds and 5 shillings Five [pence?].for his Costs and charges about his Suit in this behalf expended to the said Fayrer have . . . at his request Adjudged which Damages do amount in the whole to Eighty Four pounds two shillings & Eleven pence and the aforesd. Edward in merger.

Recorded in the Book of the records No. 2, p. 182.

[Daniel]

Here's the petition where Fayrer Hall sues William Rhett for slandering him as a pirate. It's extremely lengthy, and inexplicably repetitive, so I've taken the liberty of bolding the section where Rhett lays his charges.

South Carolina

William Rhett Esq. [text is smudged] Fayrer Hall, Gentleman, a plea of trespass on the Case & whereupon the said Fayrer by Robert Hume his attorney with that whereas the said Fayrer a true faithfull honest and loyal Subject of our Sovereign Lord the King now is and a true faithfull honest and loyal Subject of our Sovereign Lord the King that now is and of our late Sovereign Lady Queen Anne and of our late Sovereign Lord King William and our late Sovereign Lady Queen Mary from the time of his nativity hath hitherto carried and behaved himself and of good name family behaviour and Conversation on well among his Neighbours and the rest of the faithfull Subjects of the aforesaid Sovereign Lord the King that now is and of the lates Sovereign King and Queens to whom the said Fayrer Hall was with hereon and with whom he kept Company by all the time aforesaid was Esteemed and reported and without any blott of falsity theft Piracy stealing deceipt cheating or any other fault or hurtfull Crime or any Suspition of any of these hitherto contained and . . . hath remained and continued by reason whereof the said Fayrer deservedly got and Obtained the great Credit love and benevolence of his Neighbours and others the faithfull Subjects of our said Sovereign Lord the King that now is and of the aforesaid late King and Queens Nevertheless the aforesaid William not being ignorant of the Premises but designing and Malitiously intending the said Fayrer unjustly to disturb and molest and the good name reputation Credit and fame of him the said Fayrer to distract blacken Spoile and totally destroy and to bring and induce him the said Fayrer into the ignominy hatred and contempt of all the faithfull subjects of our said Lord the King and also in loss of his life as a Pirate and forfeiture of all his goods and Chattells lands and tenements at Charles Town in Berkley County in South Carolina and within the Jurisdiction of this Court the fifteenth day of October Anno Dom one thousand seven hundred twenty having discourse with diverse honest and faithfull Subjects of our said Sovereign Lord the King of and concerning him the said Fayrer then and there in the presence and hearing of many faithfull and honest subjects of our said Lord the King openly and publickly asserted said and Published these false maligned and Scandalous words following [that the aforesaid William would prove the aforesaid Fayrer a Pirate and afterwards the aforesaid William the day Year and place aforesaid said and Published these false and Scandalous words following that he the said William could prove the said Fayrer to be a Pirate  by reason of . . . said over all relations and Publications of the Lugned [?] false and Scandalous words aforesaid the said Fayrer is not only brought into danger of being indicted of felony and Piracy but also hurt and damaged in his good name Credit and reputation and brought into great Scandall disgrace hatred and ignominy so that . . . faithfull and honest Subjects of our said Lord the King being familiar Neighbours and friends of the said Fayrer who before that time used to have commerce Company familiarity and dealings with the said Fayrer refuse to have any further and have withdrawn themselves from the Company of the said Fayrer  Wherefore herewith that he is the worse and hath Damages sustained to the Value of five thousand pounds current money and thereupon he brings his Suite.

Hume.  Juor.

I swear, pleading style in the early 18th century must have been to write everything as one long run-on sentence. I suppose that makes it harder for the judge to interrupt you if you're reading the blasted thing in open court.

[Coastie04]

Do you mind posting the article you wrote? Or emailing me if you'd prefer? I'd love to read it, as I'm sure everyone who's been following this post would. It definitely sounds like some new info coming to light for the vast majority of us.

Coastie

[Daniel]

I thank you for the interest Coastie, but I had better not go posting the article as yet, as the history magazines I'm dealing with have websites and may want to buy first world electronic rights. As for e-mailing, let me consider for a little while.

Honestly, my article has very little new in it. Other than the stuff I've posted here, which is cool but basically tangential to Bonnet's last battle (I only have one paragraph on Fayrer Hall in the finished article), my article's only original contributions to world scholarship are the tonnage of the Sea Nymph (50 tons, assuming the Sea Nymph later bought by Woodes Rogers is the same one that fought in the battle), and disentangling some of Bonnet's motives for returning to piracy. Ignatius Pell, Bonnet's boatswain, made it clear that up to the very day of the battle of Cape Fear River Bonnet still intended to go privateering in the Caribbean as soon as hurricane season ended, and thus his piracy was clearly intended simply to tide him and his crew over the summer after Blackbeard left them so unexpectedly short of provisions and ready cash.

I also contribute a little to dispelling the notion, once popular, that Rhett was a novice at naval warfare, but that job has largely already been done by Lindley Butler.

[Daniel]

Rhett's job as a South Carolina official could be dangerous; according to this petition, he got shot while doing it.

South Carolina

Filed ye Octob. the 22d . . .

Robert Daniell of Berkley County Esq.was attached to answer William Rhett of Charles Town in the county aforesaid Esq. and Surveyor & Comptroller of His Majesties sufforms [sic] in the said Province in a Plea  Therefore the said Robert Daniell of Charles Town aforesaid in the province aforesaid and in the Jurisdiction of this Court with Force & Arms & on him the said William Rhett (being then & there in the due & faithfull [execution?] of his Office aforesaid) an Assault did make & to him the said William Rhett with a sertain Gunn loaded with a Slugg or Bullett a Wound of the depth of . . . Inches under his left-pap did give & impose (of which said Wound so given as aforesaid the said William Rhett doth now languish & of his life it is greatly despaired) and other Enormities to him did do to the great damage of him the said William & against the peace of our Sovereign Lord the King that now is &c.  And wherefore the said William by Benjamin Whitaker his Attorney complains that the aforesd. Robert Daniell of Charles Town aforesd. in the province & County aforesd.  & within the Jurisdiction aforesaid on the fourth day of July in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred & Sixteen with Force & Arms and upon him the sd. William (being then & there in the due & faithfull [execution?] of his Office aforesd.) an Assault did make & to him the sd. William with a sertain Gunn loaded with a sertain Slugg or Bullett a Wound of the Depth of four Inches under his left pap did give & impose (of which sd. wound so given as aforesd. the said William Rhett did, hitherto hath, & now doth languish so that of his life it is greatly dispaired) & other Enormities to him the said William did then and there bring to the great damage of him the said William & against the peace of our said Sovereign Lord the King that now is  Wherefore he says he is the worse & hath Damages to the value of ffive thousand pounds Currant mony And therefore brings his Suite &c.

Whitaker & Lush

I'm not sure what happened to this case. A warrant was issued for Daniell, the alleged shooter, to be arrested and brought to trial. Daniell defended the case through a lawyer named William Blakeney. Then the record ends. At a wild guess, some settlement was reached and Rhett dropped the case.