Jose Gaspar and Other Pirates

RECORD  OF  GASPARILLA
FROM
OLIVER H. PARKER
TO
JOHN D. KING

( Copied Verbatim )

Gasparilla belonged to the Court of Spain.  Was an intelligent man, had access to crown money and jewels, fell out with the Spanish Court, stole a lot of their money, took one of their ships, buried his treasure on the coast of Spain.  He was connected with the Spanish Navy.  The Spanish Fleet  chased him so he came to Cuba and went into the Pirate business.  He had a brother in Cuba in the mercantile business to whom he used to take his stolen goods to be sold.

His principal rendezvous was in Charlotte Harbor.  Kettle Bay (now Lemon Bay ).  He first stopped in the mouth of the Manitee river, which is at the end of Tampa Bay.  He operated here for about forty years and captured a great amount of money.  He used to make his best hauls from ships carrying gold and silver from Mexico to Spain as he hated his own people more than ever.  He also made a big haul that was paid by the U.S.A. to the Dutch Bankers who bought the bonds paid to Napoleon on the Louisiana Purchase, $11,750,000.00 was the amount captured in the latter part of 1818.  He had spies out looking for this and his agents found it out by two women lobbyists.   Lafitte, the great pirate, posted Gasparilla of the payment.  The Dutch ship carrying the money ( said to have been the Peacock) is the one which Bell ( or Gallagher ) was on and Gasparilla gave him the privilege of joining them, which he did.

Gomez, his nephew, then cabin boy, was stolen from his people in Spain, was a Portuguese.

Old John Gomez was a brother - in - law of Gasparilla, having married Gasparilla’s sister, as also did Gomez’s brother.  Gomez was a Portuguese.  Old John died on Panther Key, Fla. In July 1900 at the age of 120, by drowning himself.  He had $800,000 buried which he guarded. ( He filled every well on Panther Key before he died ).  He operated with Gasparilla for a long while then Gasparilla fitted him out with a ship and eighteen men and he started out for himself.

On one of his voyages he captured a Spanish vessel out about sixty miles straight out from Boca Grande pass and in the night.  He killed all the men as he always hated the Spaniards.  It carried considerable treasure and a Spanish Princess who was taking ten Mexican girls back to Spain to put them in a convent to be educated.  This was in 1820 or 21.  These were taken to a rendezvous in a swamp off Turtle Bay.  The girls he scattered among his men telling them to use them.  The Princess he tried to get to marry him but she refused and fought him.  He told her he would kill her if she did not.  She told him do his worst and he cut her head off.  She wore a very large and fine necklace worth $100,000 which Gasparilla prized very much.  The Princess was buried in a hammock on the north end of a shell mound owned by Oliver H. Parker.  Mr. Parker and his brother Will found her grave and dug her up, finding her head lying to one side.  They dug her up in 1902.

During his time here there came a ship into the Bay one evening and stayed two days.  Gasparilla spied her and put his men to watching her.  He thought her a man-of war but saw the men carrying something ashore, they made several trips and on the third morning Gasparilla surrounded and captured her, but until he saw there were but twelve men on her.