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 ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

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 ...

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 ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , ma ...

, grew up in the home.

References

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

Biography

References

Further reading

External links