Manuscripts
Logbook of a whaling voyage in the South Atlantic and the Southwest Indian Ocean, 1833-1835
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Logbook of whaling ship from New Bedford to the South Pacific
Manuscripts
Logbook kept by an unidentified person onboard the whaling ship Three Brothers of New Bedford, Massachusetts, captained by James M. Witherell (listed as James L. Witherell in logbook). The generally brief entries date from October 12, 1869 to August 18, 1873 and mention the ship's position, weather, prevailing winds, ships sighted, whales encountered, and some shipboard activity. A few entries mention anchoring and shoreleave but most do not give the location. Some entries appear to be in different hands, with one dated June 18, 1873 including a note regarding an officer's conduct signed by captain J.M. Witherell. Volume is bound and covered in cloth; the inside front cover has an advertising insert for C.R. Sherman & Co. Navigation Store, New Bedford.
mssHM 263
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Logbook of whaling ship Hillman of New Bedford :
Manuscripts
Typescript copy of a logbook kept by an unidentified person onboard the whaling ship Hillman of New Bedford, Massachusetts, captained by Christopher Cook. The generally brief entries from July 11, 1851 to March 17, 1854 mention the ship's position, weather, prevailing winds, ships sighted, whales encountered and results, and some shipboard activity. The Hillman travels across the Atlantic Ocean to the Azores then south to Cape Horn and to the Pacific Ocean. Destinations in the Pacific Ocean include the Galapagos Islands, Byron's Bay (presumably Byron Bay, Australia), the Sandwich Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk and the islands of Onekotan and Paramushir, and Talcahuano and Valparaiso on the coast of Chile. Entries occasionally mention supplies procured at ports and locals interacted with, but there are no detailed descriptions of shore visits. The typescript is bound; an additional unbound typescript copy is available.
mssHM 16764
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Mary J. Colson diary of a whaling voyage in South American waters
Manuscripts
Diary of Mary J. Colson, a ship captain's wife, chronicling a whaling voyage in the South Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Argentina and Uruguay from October 1877 to December 1880. Colson provides details on the weather, food, and other ships encountered, noting numerous social visits with other ship captains and sometimes their wives. She describes frequent whaling activities, noting whales sighted, chased, and killed, and the boiling of whales aboard ship with the amount of oil extracted often mentioned. Colson's entry of January 13, 1878, details the killing of a right whale that happened near the ship. She refers to several accidents, mishaps, and deaths during the voyage, and to an outbreak of scurvy. There are a few trips onshore--to Port Stanley, Falkland Islands and to Montevideo, Uruguay--but none are described in detail. Also mentioned are reports and letters from home received from other ships, and notable events such as birthdays and holidays. The journal ends on December 18, 1880. At the end of the volume is a two-page account of whales killed and amounts of oil extracted, dating from December 9, 1877 to January 26, 1881, a note about a steamship dated April 18, 1881, and notes and calculations. The journal is written in pencil and is in a bound volume with numerous blank pages; the back inside cover has four small ink prints depicting sperm whales. Also present are two cabinet card portraits: one presumably of Mary J. Colson dated October 1, 1879 and one presumably of Herbert D. and Mary J. Colson, undated. Both photographs were taken at Chute & Brooks studio, Montevideo, Uruguay. In addition, there is a souvenir album of illustrated scenes of Montevideo titled "Album de Montevideo publicado por la Libreria Alemana Buenos Aires" (9 x 13 cm) with captions in English, Spanish, French, and German. An annotated transcript of the diary is available (mssHM 26611 (FAC)), which was created by Joan Druett, author of Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820-1920 (2001), in 1991.
mssHM 26611
John T. Hudson logbook, 1807-1808
Manuscripts
This logbook, kept by John T. Hudson, includes accounts of journeys from the Sandwich [Hawaiian] Islands to Canton and Canton to Boston. The log is in two main sections. The first section comprises 9 pages and is headed: "Remarks on board ship Mercury. Wm. H. Davis, from Sandwich Islands towards Canton." The first entry is dated 15th October, 1806 [actually 1807]. It concludes November 29, 1807. Davis was the father of William Heath Davis, Jr. an early Californian and important San Diego pioneer. Entries mention the Hawaiian royal family, cargo including bananas and taro, and ports along the way. He mentions taking leave of his ship Tamana. The second section comprises 42 pages and is headed, "Ship O'Cain from Canton to Boston." The first entry is February 14, 1808 and concludes on June 15, 1808. His notes include lists and prices of skins purchased, lists of items such as sewing silks, India cotton, china and glassware, lace, liquors, tobacco, paper & ink, powder & shot, knives, axes, etc. Several shorter sections occur towards the end of the volume, including one headed: "The purchase of sea otter skins at San Blas." Much of the volume is blank. The very last pages of entries include only a few lines: "Don Luis Munoz de Gusman. Captain General of Chile." "Don Manuel Rodriguez, Comd. of the Port of St. Diego." and a list of several names including: Capt. James Rowen, William H. Davis, Samuel C. Blodget, Clifford, and Boyd. Several loose pages of writing containing notes and navigational calculations are laid in volume.
mssHM 83408
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Milo Calkin journal of a voyage on a whaling vessel and shipwreck in the South Pacific
Manuscripts
The journal begins with Calkin leaving Auburn, New York on September 24, 1833, for Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he signs on to the crew of the whaling ship Independence, captained by Isaac Brayton. Calkin provides descriptions of whaling, icebergs, other ships encountered, a burial at sea, storms, and weather. The journal chronicles the ship's journey around Cape Horn to Chile and Peru, including a visit ashore to Lima and its Bellavista and Callao areas with descriptions of a Catholic Church and damage from the 1746 earthquake; the Galapagos Islands; the Marquesas Islands and Nuku Hiva, where he describes the Indigenous people and details a fatal encounter of two shipmates with locals; and to the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii). Following the shipwreck of the Independence on Starbuck Island on December 13, 1835, Calkin describes taking shelter on the deserted island and then going to sea in smaller boats with crewmates, eventually landing in the Cook Islands--first on Manuae Atoll, also known as the Hervey Islands, then Aitutaki and Rarotonga. The journal contains descriptions of the islands, local inhabitants, flora, and Christian missionaries encountered. Calkin then travels to the Sandwich Islands in November 1836, where he lives until January 1842; there is little description of his life there. The journal also contains 13 watercolor sketches of whales and whaling, icebergs, birds, flora, an iguana on the Galapagos Islands, and buildings in the Sandwich Islands. Some of the journal appears to have been written retrospectively. Also present is a loose letter from U.D. Kellogg, Harpersfield, Ohio, to Kezia Calkin, Sandusky, Ohio, approximately 1835 (1 page).
mssHM 26539
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St. Andrew Oliver St. John logbook for HMS Centurion
Manuscripts
Midshipman St. Andrew Oliver St. John kept this logbook that describes the day-to-day activities, along with hand-drawn maps and technical diagrams, of Vice-Admiral Edward Seymour's HMS Centurion expedition to relieve the city of Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Uprising. The log details the ship's journey through Hong Kong, Taku, Weihai, and other locations as well as provides an eyewitness account of intense resistance from Chinese forces and Seymour's retreat to Tianjin. Many of the entries were reviewed and initialed by Vice-Admiral Seymour. The volume is accompanied by a list of commercial code signals and a page from a 1901 edition of The Navy and Army Illustrated which contains images of the Centurion crew and officers.
mssHM 84493