The Pirate Edward Jordan – Part 1
Edward Jordan was the first person to be tried and executed for piracy on Canadian soil. That fact has made him something of a legend, with many imagining him cruising the Atlantic and plundering vessels before being captured. The truth is far less romantic, but still an intriguing story from Canadian history. Part 1 of 2.
Notes
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/
See the recreation of Edward Jordan’s grisly gibbet on the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Google Maps Tour.
Sources
Anonymous. An Interesting Trial of Edward Jordan, and Margaret His Wife, who were tried at Halifax, N.S. Nov. 15th, 1809, for the Horrid Crime of Piracy and Murder, committed on board the Schooner Three Sisters, Captain John Stairs, on their passage from Perce, to Halifax, with a particular account of the execution of said Jordan. Boston, MA: No. 75, State Street, 1809.
Conlin, Dan. Pirates of the Atlantic: Robbery, murder and mayhem off the Canadian East Coast. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Formac Publishing Company Limited, 2009.
Fairbanks, C.R., Cochran, A. W. Report of the Trial of Edward Jordan, and Margaret Jordan His Wife, for Piracy & Murder, at Halifax on the 15th Day of November, 1809, together with Edward Jordan’s Dying Confession: to which is added The Trial of John Kelly, for Piracy and Murder, on the 8th Day of December, 1809. Compiled from Official Documents and Notes of the Trials. Halifax, Nova Scotia: James Bagnall, 1810.
Osgood, James R. The Maritime Provinces: A Handbook for Travellers : a Guide to the Chief Cities, Coasts, and Islands of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and to Their Scenery Amd [sic] Historic Attractions, with the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence to Quebec and Montreal, Also Newfoundland and the Labrador Coast. Boston, MA: James R. Osgood and Company. 1884.
Atkin, Allison “Edward Jordan: A Fate Worse Than Death.” Deathsplanation Blog. August 2, 2013. Accessed December 4, 2018.
Editor, “Other People’s Pirates – 13 of History’s Forgotten Sea Dogs.” Military History Now. July 17, 2013. MilitaryHistoryNow.com. Accessed January 14, 2019.
Raddall, Thomas. Halifax, Warden of the North. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus, 1993.
“Proclamation.” The Evening Post. New York, NY, October 31, 1809. Page 2.
