Captain William Kidd 

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Born: Scotland 1664

Died: Hung 1701 in London 

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Originally a privateer as most pirates start out as, Kidd was royally commissioned by the English to protect against enemy ships. However his crew grew restless and he embarked in attacking ships not on his "to-do" list. The peak of his piracy was his capture of the Quedagh Merchant ship from Armenia at the tip of Madasgascar. He voyaged with this ship through the Carribean, rumored to have significant goods on board such as gold, spices and other trade items. Kidd ditched this ship In Boston where he was finally captured and sent back to England, but sometime in between the Carribean and Boston, Kidd  docked off Cape Henlopen for ten days and traded items with settlers on his ship the Saint Antonio. Records indicated that atleast 2 residents of Lewistown were charged with aiding Kidd. A letter was sent to colonial authorities detailing Kidd's visit, noting that the pirates came ashore to "Whorekill" and were supplied by residents with whatever he wanted. Townspeople accused of boarding his ship were George Thompson, Peter Lewis, and William Orr.  It was reported that vast amounts of gold, calico, muslin and sugar were aboard the ship. Some of his crew mates managed to stay in Delaware, sharing tales of his piracy to the colonists of Lewistown. Edward Davis a crewman aboard the ship claimed Pirate James Kelly (Gilliam) had taken a chest ashore. Sent back to England, he pled for his life in exchange of revealing where his treasure was. No mercy was shown and his body was kept in a cage along the River Thames to warn other pirates of the consequences of angering the crown.