Paulsgrave Williams, “The Pirate’s Wife”, and The Golden Age of Piracy

Who was Newport pirate Paulsgrave Williams? The Newport Historical Society hosted author Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos to explore this question on Thursday October 12, 2023 when she presented the talk Paulsgrave Williams, “The Pirate’s Wife”, and The Golden Age of Piracy.
The Newport jeweler turned pirate, Paulsgrave Williams, had deep roots and family ties on Block Island. It is there, the young and impressionable Paulsgrave met the notorious pirate Captain William Kidd and his wife Sarah, who is the focus of The Pirate’s Wife. In 1715, Paulsgrave abandoned his life in Newport leaving his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children behind. He and his friend, Samuel Bellamy, turned pirate and were some of the most successful pirates of the Golden Age capturing over fifty ships and tons of stolen treasure.
Dr. Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos is a historian, journalist, and author of The Pirate Next Door: The Untold Story of Eighteenth Century Pirates’ Wives, Families and Communities. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post, Southern Living, Virginia Business and other outlets. The Pirate’s Wife is the companion book to Dr. Geanacopoulos’s first book The Pirate Next Door. She lives in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, with her husband, David.