Hezekiah Frith
Encyclopedia
Hezekiah Frith, Sr. 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
during the late 18th and early 19th century, he built the Spithead House in Warwick, Bermuda.
He was married three times, his daughters all marrying Presbyterian ministers; his son Hezekiah Frith, Jr. became a prominent religious figure. Heather Nova
, a popular Bermudian singer and songwriter with Lillith Fair, is a descendent of Frith.
at San Domingo 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
, 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
: both are said to haunt the house, according to local lore. The house would later be owned successively by dramatist Eugene O'Neill
, Sir Noel Coward
and Charlie Chaplin
.
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, a well-known Bermudian educator and co-founder of Bermuda Union of Teachers, grew up in the home.
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
during the late 18th and early 19th century, he built the Spithead House in Warwick, Bermuda.
He was married three times, his daughters all marrying Presbyterian ministers; his son Hezekiah Frith, Jr. became a prominent religious figure. Heather Nova
Heather Nova
Heather Nova, is a Bermudian singer-songwriter and poet. She has released eight full-length albums and has found lasting success in Germany where two of her albums South and Storm have made their way into the Top-5 of German official album chart.-Biography:Heather Nova was born in Bermuda...
, a popular Bermudian singer and songwriter with Lillith Fair, is a descendent 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 90s, he became engaged in privateering and smuggling, from which he reportedly made his fortune. He often mixed slaves and free men in his crews. In August 1796 he slipped into the French port of Cap FrançaisCap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
at San Domingo 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
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, 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 (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
: both are said to haunt the house, according to local lore. The house would later be owned successively by dramatist Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
, Sir Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward 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 chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
and Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
.
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, a well-known Bermudian educator and co-founder of Bermuda Union of Teachers, grew up in the home.
Further reading
- Kennedy, Jean de Chantal. Biography of a Colonial Town, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1790-1897. Hamilton: Bermuda Books, 1961.
- Kennedy, Jean de Chantal. Frith of Bermuda, Gentleman Privateer: a biography of Hezekiah Frith, 1763-1848. Hamilton: Bermuda Books, 1964.
- Wilkinson, Henry Campbell. Bermuda from Sail to Steam: The History of the Island from 1784 to 1901. London: Oxford University Press, 1973.