April '06 - Edward Lowe

Edward 'Ned' Lowe was a notorious pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy. Edward was born in Westminster, London, England. He led of life of pick pocketing and thievery. As he grew tired of that he left his home and head to Boston. He had married a woman who was named Eliza Marble. They had a son and a daughter. The son died when he was an infant, while the daughter lived but the Eliza died in labor. Edward at first made an honest working as a rigger. He joined a gang of men on a sloop in May of 1722. They planned to steal a shipment of logs for resale in Boston. Following a failed mutiny, Lowe and his gang were forced to leave the boat, the next day Lowe had lead his gang to commandeer a small sloop which then he officially turned into a pirate.

Lowes flagship was an 80-ton schooner named The Fancy. Edward had first used the same flag as Edward Teach, but later Lowe changed to his own flag called the Green Trumpeter. The flag was made of green silk and had a yellow man blowing a trumpet on it. Lowe was very notorious as a bounty was placed on his head. He was very brutal and sadistic. He cut off victim's lips, cooked them, and forced the victim to eat them. Edward had one failed torture session which led to a crew member accidentally cutting Lowe in the mouth. Lowe had teamed up with a pirate captain named Charles Harris. As they terrorized the Azores the pressure from authorities increased. Following a land battle, Lowe fled in the Fancy and left Harris and his ship behind.

There are two conflicting stories on Edward Lowes death. It is believed that his boat was sunk during a storm and he was last sighted July 1723 near the Canaries and Guinea. The other states that Lowe was sent in the ocean by his own crew. He was then rescued by a French ship who then hung him in 1724 after learning his identity.