Rewind history to put Ocracoke back in Carteret County!

Ocracoke used to be in Carteret County, N.C. No joke.

 In 1770, it was observed by a member of the North Carolina colonial assembly that “those lawless Outer Bankers on Occacock Island are not paying taxes anywhere.” 

To fix that oversight, “Occacock was annexed to Carteret precinct, which had been formed in 1722.” 

The arrangement lasted until 1845, when for some reason, the state General Assembly “transferred” Ocracoke to Hyde County.

(Geographically, that made absolutely no sense then…and even less now. That’s a story for another day, however.) 

Within Ocracoke Inlet, the kinship between the villages of Portsmouth and Ocracoke goes back for centuries. The communities once combined to serve as North Carolina’s premier Outer Banks seaport.

So much common heritage and culture developed; travel and commerce between the Ocracoke and Portsmouth was commonplace.

 

William Howard purchased “Ye Island of Ocreecock” in 1759 for £105. He became the first colonial owner of Ocracoke to make his home on the island. He may have been living there for a number of years, working as a ship’s pilot. (An early settlement was known as Pilot Town.)

Philip Howard, who is a descendant of William Howard, serves as Ocracoke’s resident historian. He has identified at least 25 different spellings for Ocracoke. 

Sources do not agree when William Howard was born or where, “but he went to sea as a young man,” Philip Howard said. 

“By early 1717, William Howard was associating with Capt. Benjamin Hornigold, an odious Bahamian pirate and mentor to Edward Teach…the notorious Blackbeard.”

 

“After obtaining command of the Queen Anne’s Revenge and making it his flagship, Blackbeard assigned William Howard as his quartermaster, the senior officer. Together, they attacked many a ship and plundered cargoes of untold value,” Philip Howard said. 

In May 1718, the Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground and sank in Beaufort Inlet. This event reportedly caused William Howard to toss in the towel, swear off piracy and sever his relations with Blackbeard. 

What was William Howard doing in the early fall of 1718 when he was spied frequenting taverns in coastal Virginia? When brought to the attention of Alexander Spotswood, Virginia’s colonial governor, he ordered that William Howard be “seized as a vagrant seaman having no lawful business in Virginia.” 

Spotswood felt certain Howard was “recruiting men for Blackbeard’s crew.” 

As it was, Blackbeard was killed in a bloody battle at sea off Ocracoke on Nov. 22, 1718. The attack by sailors of the Royal Navy was arranged and sponsored by Spotswood. 

Blackbeard

Howard was pronounced guilty of “Pyracy and Robbery on the High Seas.” He was sentenced to death by hanging. Only an “Act of Grace” pardon from England’s King George that arrived just hours before the scheduled execution saved the neck of William Howard. He was set free. 

It’s a great story, but there’s always been a shred of doubt whether William Howard who bought Ocracoke in 1759 and Blackbeard’s quartermaster named William Howard were “one and the same?” 

What happened to William Howard between 1718 and 1759? Where did he go? 

There is consensus that William Howard died in Ocracoke in 1794. If he was born in 1686, as some historians suggest, he would have been 108 when he died. 

Or, if William Howard was born in 1700, as others believe, he would have been a “teenage quartermaster,” while sailing with Blackbeard, and 94 when he died. 

We’re going to need an abacus to sort this out.