In a pirate-worthy broadside on conventional history, a Raleigh, N.C., author claims that Blackbeard and many of his henchmen weren't rogue Englishmen, but sons of North Carolina landowners. Most historical accounts contend that the notorious pirate known as Edward Teach or Thatch was from Bristol, England. But Kevin P. Duffus said his review of archives and genealogical research indicates that Blackbeard was probably Edward Beard, son of a landowner in Bath in Beaufort County. "There's never going to be a smoking gun to determine who he really was," Duffus said of the pirate. "My version is a lot more plausible than what's been foisted upon us for nearly three centuries." The writer also claims that several of Blackbeard's crew members were not hanged as earlier accounts said and at least three returned to North Carolina to respectable - and wealthy - lives. With the help of genealogists, Duffus has found a descendant of one of Blackbeard's know...
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