Sarah Bishop (c. 1759 – c. 1809) was an affluent American woman who was forced to become a female pirate during 1778–1780.

Sarah Bishop (c. 1759 – c. 1809) was an affluent American woman who was forced to become a female pirate during 1778–1780.

She escaped from the ship, swam to shore, and lived in a cave as a hermit for about thirty years until she froze to death.

𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

Sarah Bishop was born around 1759 in Long Island, New York. She led a life of privilege as a member of an affluent and well-educated family. Her appearance was described as "a lady of considerable beauty." She was in poor health.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐲

During the American Revolutionary War, her family's house was burnt by a raiding party from a British privateer. She was captured by the raiding party in 1778 and carried back to their ship. She was given membership within the crew with duties attached to it. Some duties included steering the wheel, cooking and standing watch. Additionally, she participated in sexual activities with the crew.

Sarah Bishop became the wife of the captain, which put her off-limits to the crew. Eventually, the captain was killed in an engagement with an American privateer. Bishop took six months to make an escape plan, waiting for an opportune moment, and around 1780, she went overboard through the side of the ship and swam towards the shore at Stamford, Connecticut. Bishop travelled to the mountains near Ridgefield, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York, where she took residence in a rocky cleft.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭

Sarah Bishop was a legendary figure. Some sources say she lived between North Salem and South Salem in New York. According to Betty Roberts, the Town Historian of South Salem, ''she's a mystery and I guess that makes her a bit romantic." Other sources say she lived in the nearby area of West Mountain, Connecticut.

𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞

Described as mentally sound and deeply devoted to her faith, her few possessions included an old pewter basin and a gourd shell for cooking. She slept on a solid rock with scattered old rags, and when a reporter visited her in 1804, her cave had no signs of food or an active fire though she had a fireplace in the corner. She hadn't left the cave since the snowfall. Bishop claimed to consume very little meat, relying on berries, nuts, and roots gathered from the mountains during the summer. She kept a Bible with her and spent a substantial amount of time reading and meditating on it. She made a weekly journey from her cave to attend Sunday services at the South Salem Presbyterian Church, first changing into a neater attire at a local residence. Following the service, she would switch back into her worn rags and retreat to her cave.

The land around her cave was a treeless patch covered in grass, with peach trees and beans, cucumbers, potatoes, and grapevines which extended into the nearby woods. Next to the cave was a fountain with mountain water.

𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

According to an 1804 newspaper article, “her dress appeared little else but one confused and shapeless mass of rags, patched together without any order”. These clothes covered everything except her head, which exposed her rich long grey hair.

According to Theodore L. Van Noden, in his unpublished 1927 book of the history of South Salem, she arrived in Connecticut close to the American Revolution and was of medium height, fairly skinned, and elegantly charming. She wore the fashionable attire of the time and donned a petticoat and a short gown while carrying a bundle of garments that were both expensive and rarely seen in Salem. It was clear that she had once been attractive; her manners were refined, and her conversation revealed worldly knowledge. Yet, she remained silent about her past, providing no details about her previous residence.

According to Samuel Goodrich, in either January 1809, 1810, or 1811, "her form had become more bent, her limbs thinner and more wasted, her hair more blanched, and her eyes more colourless."

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲

Though most sources say that Sarah Bishop froze to death between 1808 and 1810, the date and circumstances of her death are contested.

In February 1809, Bishop visited a family in South Salem despite a severe snowstorm in the area. Despite their offer for her to stay the night, Sarah declined and headed towards her cave. Concern arose when she failed to return to town, prompting searchers to look for her. Her lifeless body was discovered partially up the mountain, covered in snow.

Another report says that she was found in the spring or summer standing upright, feet trapped in a frozen marsh, and yet another news article says that her lifeless body was discovered with feet trapped in the ground in September 1808. According to John Warner Barber, Bishop's death occurred in 1810 in Ridgefield. This is recorded in his book Connecticut Historical Collections, published in 1837.

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐯𝐞

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