An amateur historian has uncovered documents that he believes link Thomas Jones, the namesake of New York’s popular Jones Beach, to the infamous pirate Captain Henry Every and his final, violent heist.

James Bailey, who previously gained attention for finding ancient coins linked to Every, has spent five years researching the 1695 raid of the Ganj-i-Sawai in the Red Sea. His latest findings suggest Jones, a prominent businessman and landowner in colonial New York, may have assisted Every and his crew in their escape.

Bailey’s research indicates that Jones was recruited to help the pirates evade authorities after they absconded with tens of millions of dollars in gold and silver. Depositions from Every's associates, cited by Bailey, suggest Jones acted as a "wheelman" for the pirates. Further documents reveal that New York's colonial governor investigated Jones years later, after Jones had established himself as a wealthy whaling operation owner on the Long Island barrier beach that now bears his name.

John Hanc, author of "Jones Beach: An Illustrated History," stated that Bailey's research sheds light on a portion of Jones' past that had been alluded to but not fully detailed in historical accounts. Jones, who served in the English military before becoming a landowner in New York, faced persistent rumors about the origins of his fortune.

While a family history published in 1906 dismissed such tales as "slander" and "improbable fictions," experts suggest a connection to piracy was not implausible. Meagan Schulman, a Fordham University doctoral candidate specializing in 17th-century piracy, explained that many privateers, authorized by the English crown to raid enemy ships during wartime, blurred the lines with piracy. "The reality was that privateers were pirates, just sponsored by a certain government or patron," Schulman noted.

According to Bailey's research, after assisting Every, Jones briefly returned to Rhode Island before settling on Long Island in 1696, a year after the Ganj-i-Sawai raid. Property records show he was gifted land by his father-in-law, Thomas Townsend. Bailey posits this move provided Jones with a fresh start as authorities continued to search for Every and his accomplices.

However, evidence of Jones' past continued to surface. In 1698, colonial Governor Richard Coote noted in a letter that a "barrel of money" had been traced to Jones' Long Island home. Jones, described by the governor as "formerly a pirate," denied any knowledge of the money.

While Bailey's findings are compelling, Richard Blakemore, a maritime history professor at the University of Reading, cautioned that they should not be considered conclusive, noting that "Thomas Jones" was a common name during that era.

Kevin McDonald, a history professor at Loyola Marymount University who has written about colonial-era piracy, suggested that such potential ties highlight how piracy provided significant wealth for many prominent families in the Northeast. Blakemore agreed, adding that this evidence challenges the popular image of pirates as social outcasts and indicates a deeper integration of piracy within the economic and social fabric of the early British colonies.