Legends and Lore - South Jersey is an area rich with history that contains legendary characters and amazing stories. This series of caches is designed for you to learn some of the legends and stories of the area that we have grown to love. Some of the stories are true, some are just stories. Some are creepy, some funny, all are interesting. We hope you take the time to read the story that goes with each cache. Enjoy!
Anne Bonny's father fled Ireland in shame after his affair with his maid, Anne's mother came to light. Always the wild child, when she got older she would frequent the coastal taverns in England where she learned quickly about life on the sea.
She was briefly married to James Bonny, who tried to steal her father's plantation and made numerous threats to Anne of turning her in to the authorities as a criminal. She feared her husband and fled.
She met a pirate named Caico Jack Rackham and they quickly became a formidable pair. Raiding ships and constantly scheming they racked up (and spent) much gold.
On one of their raids they met another female pirate by the name of Mary Read. Ann convinced Jack to spare her life and the three became a force to be reckoned with. They headed towards America where Mary set up a shop in Cape May and some very early money laundering was done. Eventually the British Colonial authorities got wise to them and set up a naval blockade and the three surrendered at sea.
They were taken back to England, where Calico Jack was hanged and the two female pirates were granted stays of execution. Read died a few weeks later from fever, and Bonny mysteriously disappeared.
It is believed that she used her father's influence to escape back to America where she lived under an alias in Ocean City.
In 1751 a woman by the name of Mary Pritchard passed away in Ocean City. Her personal possessions included family heirlooms and documents of the plantation owned by Anne Bonny's father. Though there is no direct evidence to prove Mary Pritchard was actually Anne Bonny, those who knew her claimed she was. If this is to be regarded, Anne Bonny would have been 64 years old when she died.
Also in her belongings were a series of numbers which I believe could lead to the location of a hidden treasure! So if your up to the challenge, solve the puzzle, and maybe you'll be the one to find the pirates booty!
451480.462
140250.812
