John Paul Jones once lived in a house in the mid 1770's that originally belonged to his brother Willam Paul, a tailor. The house is still standing at 501 Caroline Street , corner of Lafayette Street and is now a coffee house.
"John killed a member of his crew, a mutineer, Blackton, with a sword in a dispute over wages.[2] Years later, in a letter to Benjamin Franklin describing this incident, he claimed it was in self-defense, but because he was not to be trialed in an Admiral's Court, he felt compelled to flee to Fredericksburg, Province of Virginia, leaving his fortune behind.
He went to Fredericksburg to arrange the affairs of his brother, who had died there without leaving any other family; and about this time, in addition to his original surname, he assumed the surname of Jones. ...
His prepossessions became even more in favor of America and were confirmed. From that period, as he afterwards expressed himself to Baron Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, that became "the country of his fond election." It wasn't long afterwards that John Paul 'Jones' joined the American navy to fight against Britain."
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In the early 1900's it was M.J. Gately Grocers. Flickr Photo |