KIDD, Captain William
A Scotchman by birth, he went into seafaring as a profession. In 1694 he was residing in New York City, a man of family; he was one of the original proprietors of the lots into which the Damen farm was divided, and owned the property on which he resided in what is now Liberty Street. His family then consisted of his wife (formerly the widow of William Cox, a merchant), and a daughter. He was captain of the brigantine Antegia, a regular packet sailing between London and New York, and was regarded as a courageous, efficient and honest officer who had the confidence of the traders between London and New York. He had received a reward from the New York Council in 1691 for his services to the Colonies. In 1696 he was placed in command of the Adventure, of thirty guns, to destroy piracy, but being unsuccessful in the primary object of his appointment he sought to retrieve his fortune by capturing merchantmen and became one of the most noted of pirates. In 1699 he returned to New York, was arrested and sent to England, where he was tried for piracy but convicted of the murder of William Moore, one of his seamen, and hanged.
