One of the most infamous executions that occurred on Ellis Island was that of Pirate Gibbs, who was responsible for a number of crimes that he himself confessed. Gibbs joined the U.S. Navy at 15 years old, but he was averse to the disciplined Navy life. He began a life of piracy in 1818 and worked with other pirates to steal from vessels and sell precious cargo. Apart from that, Pirate Gibbs also confessed to murder. "I cannot tell exactly how many lives I may have taken, but suppose the number to be about one hundred. The greater part of these were killed in action," he said, as reported by an article in The New York Times.
Upon his capture, Pirate Gibbs was charged with robbery, murder, and destroying a vessel, among other crimes. He was hanged on April 22, 1831, and his body was left on the gibbet for public display an hour after his death before it was taken down. According to History, the last hanging occurred in 1839. Ellis Island was then used as a munitions depot for years before it was opened as an immigration station in 1892. Today, Ellis Island is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and visitors can learn about its rich history at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum.
