My Great Great Great Grandfather - Blackbeard the Pirate

Blackbeard's Pirate FlagImage via Wikipedia

Susie just reminded me that one of my Mom's claims to fame is that she was descended from a pirate - not just any pirate, but Blackbeard the famous pirate. I really can't tell you how she arrived at this conclusion, but I can tell you that Blackbeard did spend a lot of time in Eastern North Carolina where my mother was born. Blackbeard appeared to be friends with the then governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden. Mom was born in a town called Edenton which was named after the governor. Conceivably Mamma could have had a great-great grandmother who was the consort of Edward Teach which was Blackbeard's real name. I don't know...

Mamma, Mac and I visited her hometown after she got sick. It was a good trip, just us three driving from little town to little town talking about the past. We found some people who were named "Everest", which was her mom's maiden name and actually visited one family that said that they remembered Mamma's family. They left North Carolina a long long time ago. Mamma was about five or six years old when they moved and that would have been around 1916. They moved to the swamps of South Carolina where my grandfather held several jobs over the years. He was a trapper, a trestle watcher and a farm hand supervisor.

In 1919, the whole family became ill with the "Spanish Flu" and as a result, Mamma's dad and her little sister died. That's when Mamma and her brothers and sisters had to go to an orphanage in Franklin Springs Georgia. They lived there for several years until their mom remarried. Her new husband was named "Dad Walton" and he welcomed George, Geneva and Mamma into his home. Later, her other siblings, Pearl, Edna, Enza and Bill were born.