Hezekiah Frith, Sr. (1763–1848) was an 18th-century British ship owner with the reputation of a "gentleman privateer", who engaged in piracy during the 1790s. One of the richest men in
Bermuda
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during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, he built the Spithead House in
Warwick, Bermuda
Warwick Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named after Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1587-1658).
It is located in the central south of the island chain, occupying part of the main island to the southeast of the Great Soun ...
.
He was married three times, his daughters all marrying
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
ministers; his son
Hezekiah Frith, Jr. became a prominent religious figure. Brother and sister
Heather Nova
Heather Nova (born Heather Allison Frith, July 6, 1968) is a Bermuda, Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. , she has released eleven full-length albums, six EPs and twelve singles.
Biography
Heather Nova was born Heather Allison Frith on Berm ...
and
Mishka, two popular Bermudian singers and songwriters, are descendants of Frith.
Biography
Born in Bermuda, he was one of seven children born to
Captain William Frith and Sarah Lee. As a successful shipowner during the 1780s and 1790s, he became engaged in privateering and smuggling, from which he reportedly made his fortune. As was normal practise in Bermuda, he often mixed slaves and free men in his crews. In August 1796 he slipped into the French port of
Cap Français
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
at
San Domingo
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...
during the night and stole away a captured British transport ship.
His colourful piratical career may very likely be exaggerated. Participating in a number of privateering expeditions with the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, he is supposed to have hoarded treasure from at least two captured ships in the store he operated next to the Spithead House; he supposedly used the water tank at Spithead to smuggle captured goods and other valuable items before filing claim at the Customs House. Frith is also claimed to have rescued (or kidnapped) a Frenchwoman, whom he kept there as a
mistress
Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to:
Romance and relationships
* Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...
: both are said to haunt the house, according to local lore. The house would later be owned successively by dramatist
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
, Sir
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...
and
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
.
The Granaway home on
Harbor Road, which he had built for his daughter, was later bought by a family of free blacks descended from a slave named Caprice, who had originally been brought to Bermuda on a ship captured by Hezekiah Frith on one of his voyages.
Adele Tucker Adele Evelina Johnson Tucker MBE (8 August 1868 – 4 January 1971) was a Bermudian schoolteacher and trade unionist. She is best known as one of the founders of the Bermuda Union of Teachers, the first registered union on the island.
Tucker was b ...
, a well-known Bermudian educator and co-founder of
Bermuda Union of Teachers The Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) is a trade union representing education workers in Bermuda
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, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
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, grew up in the home.
References
Further reading
*Kennedy, Jean de Chantal. ''Biography of a Colonial Town, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1790–1897''. Hamilton: Bermuda Books, 1961.
*Kennedy, Jean de Chantal. ''Frith of Bermuda, Gentleman Privateer: a biography of Hezekiah Frith, 1763–1848''. Hamilton: Bermuda Books, 1964.
*Wilkinson, Henry Campbell. ''Bermuda from Sail to Steam: The History of the Island from 1784 to 1901''. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.
External links
WhoBegatWho.com – Hezekiah FrithRootsWeb: Frith-L Archives, Frith, Capt. Hezekiah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Nathaniel
1763 births
1848 deaths
British businesspeople
British privateers
Bermudian businesspeople
People from Warwick Parish
19th-century pirates