Amateur historian James Bailey reported that colonial-era documents link Thomas Jones, the namesake of New York's Jones Beach, to a 1695 heist led by English pirate Capt. Henry Every. Bailey, who previously discovered ancient coins connected to Every, stated that depositions and property records suggest Jones served as a "wheelman" to help the pirate crew evade authorities after they seized gold and silver valued at tens of millions of dollars from the Indian ship Ganj-i-Sawai.
The raid on the Ganj-i-Sawai in the Red Sea prompted what is considered the first worldwide manhunt. While some crew members were captured and executed, Every and others disappeared, with many believed to have settled in the American colonies. Jones, a former major in the English military and a privateer, eventually became a prominent landowner and businessman on Long Island, where he established a whaling operation.
Bailey's research includes a 1698 report by New York colonial governor Richard Coote, who described Jones as "formerly a pirate" during an investigation into a "barrel of money" sent to Jones' house. Jones testified at the time that he had no knowledge of the barrel. Academic experts not involved in the research, including Richard Blakemore of the University of Reading, noted that while the findings are compelling, the name Thomas Jones was common during that period, making definitive identification difficult.
Historians state that the scale of the 1695 heist involved tens of millions of dollars in modern value, a sum that allowed participants to establish large estates and business operations. Specifically, Jones acquired thousands of acres on Long Island's south shore after the raid, land that would later become public parkland and residential areas. A person living in or visiting these areas today is interacting with a geographic legacy that, according to these records, may have been financed by the spoils of the Ganj-i-Sawai raid.
The research examines the colonial-era relationship between government-sponsored privateering and illegal piracy. It indicates that the transition from military service to piracy was a common economic path in early British colonies, blurring the lines between outcasts and the social elite. Bailey is currently seeking to have his full research published, which would allow for further peer review by the historical community. No specific dates for publication or further formal investigations by state park authorities were reported.