Tell me, Escapists, who was your coolest ancestor? We all have someone interesting in our family tree. If you can't trace your family tree very far back, rest assured that you're certainly related to some ancient king with 400 children, if nothing else.
My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a pirate. Not just any software copier, he was one of the most feared French privateers of the 17th century - Baptiste.
Pierre Maisonnat, called Baptiste, so impressed the Acadian governor with his escape from the English that he was rewarded with his own ship and a license to commit piracy against English ships. He once captured 7 ships in one mission, then sailed into Boston Harbour to capture an 8th. He once got into a battle with an English ship near Boston and deliberately grounded his boat - making it impossible to sink. He sank the English ship, but it left his vessel too damaged to sail home. Baptiste got off the ship and walked back to French Canada.
Baptiste became a folk hero to the Acadians, as the English had been cutting off supplies for years - thanks to Baptiste, French shipping could resume, and he occasionally gave stolen English treasure to the poorest French. When he was captured in Boston, his governor threatened the English with invasion if they hanged him; the British decided to leave him alive.
Yes, my 8th great-grandfather was a pirate, Robin Hood, and all-around cool guy. He had 3 wives (though 1 didn't count, because he married her secretly while his other wife was in France). My line of ancestry comes, I believe, from his 3rd wife.
Now it's your turn to tell your ancestor's story.
My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather was a pirate. Not just any software copier, he was one of the most feared French privateers of the 17th century - Baptiste.
Pierre Maisonnat, called Baptiste, so impressed the Acadian governor with his escape from the English that he was rewarded with his own ship and a license to commit piracy against English ships. He once captured 7 ships in one mission, then sailed into Boston Harbour to capture an 8th. He once got into a battle with an English ship near Boston and deliberately grounded his boat - making it impossible to sink. He sank the English ship, but it left his vessel too damaged to sail home. Baptiste got off the ship and walked back to French Canada.
Baptiste became a folk hero to the Acadians, as the English had been cutting off supplies for years - thanks to Baptiste, French shipping could resume, and he occasionally gave stolen English treasure to the poorest French. When he was captured in Boston, his governor threatened the English with invasion if they hanged him; the British decided to leave him alive.
Yes, my 8th great-grandfather was a pirate, Robin Hood, and all-around cool guy. He had 3 wives (though 1 didn't count, because he married her secretly while his other wife was in France). My line of ancestry comes, I believe, from his 3rd wife.
Now it's your turn to tell your ancestor's story.
