Historian links Jones Beach namesake to 17th-century pirate crew

James Bailey, a retired corrections officer from Rhode Island, says new research connects Thomas Jones, the namesake of Jones Beach, to the crew of English pirate Captain Henry Every. Bailey spent five years studying colonial records after previously uncovering coins linked to Every. His latest work argues that Jones served as a getaway driver for the pirate group following a major heist in the Red Sea.

The target of the 1695 raid was the Ganj-i-Sawai, a royal Indian treasure ship. Historical accounts describe the crew’s violent treatment of the ship’s occupants, which triggered a global manhunt. While some pirates were executed, Many, including Every, vanished. Bailey’s documents suggest Jones helped the crew escape with tens of millions of dollars in modern currency value of gold and silver.

Jones was born around 1665 in Ireland and served in the English military before moving to the American colonies. He settled in Rhode Island before relocating to New York, where he became a wealthy landowner and whaling proprietor. His estate on Long Island’s south shore eventually became the state park that attracts millions of visitors annually.

Bailey notes that local history books often mentioned rumors about Jones’ past but lacked specific details. "You have millions of visitors and generations of New Yorkers going to this beach," Bailey said. "Nobody knew that he was actually a major player in arguably the biggest heist in the history of piracy."

After the raid, Jones reportedly returned briefly to Rhode Island. In 1696, his father-in-law, Thomas Townsend, gifted him a large tract of land on Long Island. Property records show this land is now part of the barrier beach area. Bailey believes the move allowed Jones to restart his life away from the heavy pirate presence in New England.

Colonial Governor Richard Coote investigated piracy in New York in 1698. Coote wrote that a "barrel of money" traveled from the city to Long Island and arrived at Jones’ house. Coote described Jones as "formerly a pirate." Jones testified that he had no knowledge of the barrel’s contents, according to the depositions cited by Bailey.

Meagan Schulman, a doctoral candidate at Fordham University, explained that the line between privateers and pirates was often blurred. Privateers held government authorization to raid enemy ships during wartime. When conflicts ended, those who continued raiding were branded pirates. "The reality was that privateers were pirates, just sponsored by a certain government or patron," Schulman said.

Richard Blakemore, a maritime history professor at the University of Reading, noted that the findings are compelling but not conclusive. He pointed out that Thomas Jones was a common name in the colonial era. Kevin McDonald, a history professor at Loyola Marymount University, added that such connections show how piracy generated wealth for prominent Northeastern families.

After Jones died in 1713, rumors about his fortune persisted. His mansion was reported to be haunted, and grave robbers frequently dug up his burial site searching for treasure. A 1906 family history dismissed these tales as "slander" and "improbable fictions." Bailey hopes to publish his full findings to clarify this part of Long Island’s history.