A year or two ago, I wrote a short article about pirate graves near Mooresville. At the time, I had not personally seen the grave markers. Last week, I happened to pass by the cemetery where the graves were supposedly located, so I stopped to see if I could find the markers, and lo and behold, there they were. Now, no one can say with certainty that these are the graves of actual pirates, but it’s interesting, nonetheless. The graves are located at the Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery in the Mill Bridge Community, halfway between Mooresville and Salisbury.
There’s certainly no way of knowing for sure who the graves actually belong to, but folklore tells the story that four pirates, seeking a new life, settled in the Mill Bridge area sometime in the mid-1700s. At some point, their pasts were discovered, and they were brought to trial and executed. The church initially refused to allow them to be buried inside the walls of the cemetery. At that time, it was common for thieves and criminals not to be allowed burial in sacred ground. It’s possible that the church may have relented due to pressure from the families, especially if the pirates had lived normal lives, supposedly as farmers since arriving in the area, and it’s possible they could have lived there for many years before being discovered.
Another version says that the pirates had been captured by the British Navy, escaped, and made their way to Rowan County where they settled and were later discovered. Others say that these are more likely children’s graves that may have died due to disease, using skulls and crossbones as a warning to potential grave robbers not to dig up the graves. I personally find it odd, however, that parents would not mark a child’s grave with at least a name and date. That being said, the graves ARE very close together.
It is possible, but, while looking at the proximity of the markers, my first thought was that they may simply have dug a single big hole if they were, in fact, pirates and all killed at the same time. No one really knows. I like the idea of pirates myself, so that’s what I’m going to go with… In my version, I see an old straggly man drunk in the tavern bragging about his pirate past, the locals dragging him out to the street, and he outs the other three in an effort to save himself. (obviously it doesn’t work)
Oh yeah…
In my version, the ship they escaped from was named the Queen Anne’s Revenge…
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A year or two ago, I wrote a short article about pirate graves near Mooresville. At the time, I had not personally seen the grave markers. Last week, I happened to pass by the cemetery where the graves were supposedly located, so I stopped to see if I could find the markers, and lo and behold, there they were. Now, no one can say with certainty that these are the graves of actual pirates, but it’s interesting, nonetheless. The graves are located at the Thyatira Presbyterian Church Cemetery in the Mill Bridge Community, halfway between Mooresville and Salisbury.
There’s certainly no way of knowing for sure who the graves actually belong to, but folklore tells the story that four pirates, seeking a new life, settled in the Mill Bridge area sometime in the mid-1700s. At some point, their pasts were discovered, and they were brought to trial and executed. The church initially refused to allow them to be buried inside the walls of the cemetery. At that time, it was common for thieves and criminals not to be allowed burial in sacred ground. It’s possible that the church may have relented due to pressure from the families, especially if the pirates had lived normal lives, supposedly as farmers since arriving in the area, and it’s possible they could have lived there for many years before being discovered.
Another version says that the pirates had been captured by the British Navy, escaped, and made their way to Rowan County where they settled and were later discovered. Others say that these are more likely children’s graves that may have died due to disease, using skulls and crossbones as a warning to potential grave robbers not to dig up the graves. I personally find it odd, however, that parents would not mark a child’s grave with at least a name and date. That being said, the graves ARE very close together.
It is possible, but, while looking at the proximity of the markers, my first thought was that they may simply have dug a single big hole if they were, in fact, pirates and all killed at the same time. No one really knows. I like the idea of pirates myself, so that’s what I’m going to go with… In my version, I see an old straggly man drunk in the tavern bragging about his pirate past, the locals dragging him out to the street, and he outs the other three in an effort to save himself. (obviously it doesn’t work)
Oh yeah…
In my version, the ship they escaped from was named the Queen Anne’s Revenge…
