Thomas
Pound and Thomas Hawkins were indicted by a grand jury for piracy. Among the
grand jurors was my 9th great-grandfather, John Capen.
Pound had
initially hired Hawkins to take him on a fishing vessel to Nantasket but soon
after they were under sail, revealed his true purpose of becoming a pirate and
invited Hawkins to join him in his venture. Hawkins agreed. They abandoned the
fishing vessel and confiscated a ketch, the “Mary.” Sailing into Casco Bay (Portland, Maine),
they sent a man ashore with a fictional tale that they had been attacked and
needed assistance. They stole the arms and clothing of the soldiers who came to
help them and also took a calf and three sheep. As they sailed for Cape Cod,
they “traded” ships for a larger sloop, the “Good Speed,” owned by David
Larkin. 
Pound taunted the governor of Boston and said that anyone who dared to
come after the pirates would die. Near the New Hampshire border they relieved
another ship of its cargo of flour, sugar, rum, and tobacco. Eventually a
Nor’easter forced the ship away and it sailed to Virginia. Hawkins and Pound
had a falling out and Hawkins attempted to escape on a Portuguese whaler but
the captain, Jacobus Loper, decided that turning Hawkins over to the
authorities in Boston was a better idea. Shortly thereafter, Pound and fourteen
other pirates were captured after a battle with authorities that left both
sides with casualties.
The pirates were found guilty of piracy and murder and
sentenced to be “hanged by the neck until they be dead.” At the last possible
moment, word came that Governor had postponed the hanging and eventually Pound
and Hawkins were exiled rather than executed.
Now for
the ironic twist, the “Rose,” carrying Pound and Hawkins into exile was
attacked by a French privateer armed with thirty guns. Hawkins would die from
his wounds after this battle near Cape Sable Island (off Nova Scotia). Pound faired much better and ended up a
country gentleman in England and died in 1703.
John Capen - on grand jury for Thomas Hawkins
James Capen & Hannah Lawrence
James Capen & Elizabeth Call
James Capen & Sarah Pinson
Thomas Capen & Mary Wyman
Thomas Capen & Mary Abbott
Timothy Capen & Sarah K. Abbott
Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott
Fanny May Capen & Edward Mellen Carter
Thomas Richard Carter - my grandfather
Edward Abbott Capen & Mary Jane Abbott were second cousins - Timothy Capen's sister, Deborah was Mary Jane's grandmother. Deborah married William Ackley - their daughter, Sarah Ackley married John Abbott and they were the parents of Mary Jane.
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