March 14 - Women's History Month - Fearless Females

March 14   -   Newsmakers? Did you have a female ancestor who made the news? Why? Was she famous or notorious? Did she appear in the social column?

I hate to say it, but I haven’t really come across any news item concerning any of my female ancestors whatever side of the family they are on, nor any of the female ancestors of my partner Paul.

Buuuuuut, there might just be a female ancestor who could be one of mine, but at the moment I have not found a connection.  I came across her a  long time ago and made a few notes, just in case she turned out to be one of my ancestors.  Her name is Mary Read and she was a pirate!  Apparently a very famous one.  She was born towards the end of the 1600s and died before the mid-1700s, probably to do with her career as a pirate.  I have not been able to discover too much about her birth/baptism and parents so at this stage she is only a “could be related but need to check more” name for me to be aware of.

I think as a pirate she probably wouldn’t have been too nice a person, but how fascinating if I eventually find she is my ancestor and have a pirate in the family!  (Why does this make me think of Johnny Depp)? 

There is more information about Mary Read at the Wikipedia website.

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