USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > History of shipbuilding on North river, Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with genealogies of the shipbuilders, and accounts of the industries upon its tributaries, 1640 to 1872 > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
102
BARSTOW'S YARD.
1817, a Baltimore packet, 96 tons, for Jonathan Smith, Nan- tucket ; and the ship "INDEPENDENCE," April, 1817, a whaler, of 311 tons, for George Swain, Nantucket.
The ship " Independence " was whaling in 1817, and in 1819, Capt. Swain, after filling this ship in the Pacific Ocean with 1388 barrels of sperm oil, 568 of whale oil, said that no ship could fill again with sperm oil. After whaling in the Pacific many years, she was lost, under Capt. Isaac Brayton, on Star- buck's Island, South Pacific Ocean, with 1800 barrels of sperm oil, in 1837. This was the last vessel built by this firm, Thomas, Jr., retiring this year.
In 1838, the Sch. "OUTESIE," 99 tons, of Scituate, was built in Hanover, just above Barstow's Yard, on the old Stock- bridge place, by Abner Stetson, Michael Ford, Jr., and Israel H. Sherman, of Scituate, and owned by them, James Jenkins, George M. Allen, of Scituate, Martin Curtis, and Horace Stet- son, of Hanover, and others. When Joshua Stetson was work- ing in the Navy Yard, the Commodore, who had a donkey that he was very fond of and often had in the yard, came along, and asked "Josh " what he thought of his donkey. "Well," said Josh, "if he had epaulettes on his shoulders, I think he would resemble our Commodore very much." Israel H. Sherman was born in the house on the "Old Oaken Bucket" place, on Pond street, in Scituate, and still lives about a mile below, on the same street. For thirty successive years he worked in the ship- yards. The " Outesie" was the last vessel built at this yard, and, as has been seen, she was built by ship-carpenters found earlier and later in other yards on North River.
and Col. John Elijah Karylow B. Barstow con- tinued the busi- ness, but not in the old yard. The demand was now for larger vessels for the whaling business of Nantucket and New Bedford, and for large merchant ships. Numbers of merchant vessels were built for the sons of John B. Barstow, in New York City. As the yard at the Tiro Oaks was too far up to build such large vessels, the new firm concluded to go a few rods farther down stream, and therefore secured the yard where Edward and Samuel Eells had been building a few ves-
103
SHIPS BUILT BY JOIIN B. AND ELIJAH BARSTOW.
sels, and occupied previously by Albert and Josiah Smith. Samuel Eells died in Hanover, March 17, 1863, aged eighty- two years.
The first occupant of this yard, of whom we have any knowl- edge, was Col. John Bailey, a distinguished officer in the Rev- olutionary War. He was Lieutenant Colonel of Col. Thomas' Regiment. He was with Col. Thomas at Roxbury, and had charge of the regiment when Col. Thomas was commissioned as general officer .* He probably built here previous to the Rev- olution. Joseph House was his master workman. Prior to this time, John B. Barstow had been the master carpenter of the firm. When the two brothers started in their new yard, it was on an equal footing, and both attended strictly to business. An amusing incident occurred at this yard about this time. It is related that one day an old ship-builder went to the Four Cor- ners for a jug of rum for the yard, (it was the custom in those days to serve grog to " all hands " at 11 A.M. and 4 P.M., ) and returning to the yard with the handle and part of the nose knocked off, said, " Well, boys, I met with a shipwreck on the way down." " Yes," said the one who had just taken the first serving, "and shipped a lot of water, too."
Four vessels lay on the stocks during the War of 1812, above Barstow's Yard. The first year the new firm occupied this yard, they built four vessels, which was the best year's work recorded on any yard in Hanover, Smith's excepted. The vessels were launched in April, May, July, and November, 1818. The first was the ship "STATES," 290 tons, Capt. David Swain, 2nd, owned by Zenas Coffin, of Nantucket. In 1820, she was whaling in the Pacific, and sold to New York after making two voyages whaling from Nantucket.
The second was the ship "PERU," of Nantucket, 257 tons, launched in May, 1818. In 1820, she was whaling in the Pa- cific, under the command of Capt. David Harris. About 1833, she was changed into a bark, and from then until 1864 was whaling on the South coast, and in the Pacific, when she was sold to Williams & Haven, of New London, Conn. Starbuck, in his "History of American Whale Fisheries," claims that the "Peru " was the first ship brought over the bar at Nantucket by the "Camels." "Bells were rung," he says, "and guns fired,
* See Brick Kiln Yard.
104
SHIPS BUILT BY JOIIN B. AND ELIJAHI BARSTOW.
and a great concourse of citizens greeted her arrival." The " Camels " were practically a floating dock, with which vessels were taken over the bar at Nantucket. The "Peru" was trans- ferred about 1839-42. On Dec. 2, 1866, while the "Peru " was at Honolulu, H. I., the third mate, Charles N. Marsh, died. March 2, 1872, while whaling in the Atlantic, a boat's crew were lost by capsizing. In 1874, she was sold to John McCul- lough, of New Bedford, and in 1877 was still whaling in the Atlantic, under Capt. Jasper M. Ears. In 1883, she was broken up at New Bedford, being then in her sixty-sixth year.
The third vessel was the Sch. " BANKER," launched July, 1818, 75 tons, David Elliott, Provincetown, owner; and the fourth, which was launched in November, 1818, was the ship "CLAY," 299 tons, of Boston, John B. and Elijah Barstow, master carpenters. She was built for a merchantman, com- manded by Benj. Hichens, and owned by Hon. William Gray, of Boston, ancestor of William Gray Brooks, Esq., formerly of Hanover.
William Gray, who had quite a number of ships built on North River, was probably the largest ship-owner ever in this country. He was born in 1750, died in 1825. At one time he is said to have owned sixty square-rigged vessels. He was first President of the State Bank, and Lieutenant Governor when Elbridge Gerry was Governor .* From 1819 to 1833, the Barstows built one or two vessels each year. The ship " WASHINGTON," launched 1819, whaler, 309 tons, was owned by Reuben Swain and Zenas Coffin, Nantucket. Capt. Thomas Barstow Donnell, a cousin of Elijah Barstow, went in her the first voyage. He left her for the grocery business in New York, and was prostrated with small pox, which obliged him to give up, and he settled in Hanover, where his widow still resides. He died March 8, 1865, aged sixty-one years. His descendants are : 1. Ruth, married, and living in the West. 2. Nancy, deceased. 3. Jennie, now widow of Henry Pratt. 4. Reuben. The ship " Washington," in 1819, was whaling in the Pacific, under Capt. Reuben Swain, 2nd ; and in 1825, lost her first mate, David Starbuck. She was condemned at Oahu, Hawaiian Island, in 1849, being then thirty years old.
In June, 1820, they launched the ship " SPERMO," whaler,
* Drake's Landmarks of Boston, p. 20.
105
SHIPS BUILT BY JOIIN B. AND ELIJAHI BARSTOW.
296 tons, Capt. James Bunker ; Aaron Mitchell, Nantucket, owner. She was whaling in the Pacific in 1820. Sold in 1823 by Aaron Mitchell, and, while in the merchant service, she foundered at sea, and all hands lost, coming from Liverpool to New York, in 1825. The next vessel built at this yard was the ship " CONSTITUTION," 325 tons, launched in March, 1821. The same year she was in the Pacific, whaling. She was owned by Zenas Coffin, Nantucket ; Capt. David Swain, 2nd, master. 1826, Capt. Isaac Chase, who was then master of her, it is re- ported would not go around Cape Horn, but went to the "Banks," and returned, accusing his crew of mutiny. From 1830 to 1856, she was owned by C. G. and II. Coffin, of Nan- tucket, and used whaling in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In 1847, Mr. Prince, her third mate, died at sea. She was whaling until 1856, when she was condemned at Nantucket, then thirty-five years old.
In September of the same year, 1821, they built the ship "OENO," Capt. G. B. Worth, owned by Aaron Mitchell, of Nantuket, 328 tons, used in the Pacific, whaling. In April, 1825, the ship "Oeno," then under Capt. Samuel Riddell, and on her second voyage, struck a reef near Turtle Island, one of the Fejee Group, and speedily showed signs of breaking up. The crew, twenty-one in number, took to the boats, and landed upon the island, lured thither by the friendly motions of the natives ; but when ashore about two weeks, a tribe from a larger island visited the one upon which they were, and, finding them unarmed, massacred all but one, William S. Cary, a Nan- tucket boy, who escaped after several years' imprisonment among them, during which time he was taken care of by a chief's wife. He came home, and lived many years. In 1822, the firm built two vessels. The first was launched in July, the ship "LYDIA," 329 tons, Capt. Allen, owned by Z. Coffin. of Nantucket, and in 1825 she came back from her first voyage of three years in the Pacific, whaling, with 2318 barrels of sperm oil. She returned to the Pacific, and, when under Capt. Edw. C. Joy, was burned at sea, off Paita, Peru, Jan. 31, 1833 ; supposed to have been fired by one of her crew. The second, the brig " TRENT," launched in September, 1822, 249 tons, was commanded and owned, first by John Barstow, then Edw. Barstow, Nathaniel Barstow, and Mr. Foster, who died in New Orleans, of yellow fever. She was run into and sunk in the Mississippi River ; afterward raised, and commanded by
106
SHIP'S BUILT BY JOHN B. AND ELIJAH BARSTOW.
Capt. Freeman Foster. One of her crew, Henry J. Hitchcock, died Nov. 10, 1826, at New Orleans, of yellow fever, after an illness of only five days, in the twenty-third year of his age. He was first mate of the brig "Trent," when commanded by Capt. Edw. Barstow. It is said that he was very much afraid of the fever, and was taken down with it just as the vessel was ready to sail. Capt. Barstow delayed sailing for a few days, hoping he might recover. He was son of Dr. Gad Hitchcock, of Hanson.
The ship "GOREE," launched September, 1823, 336 tons, was built for John Barstow, New York, and finally sold to Stockholm, Sweden. In July, 1824, they launched the ship "SELMA," 266 tons. She was a cotton ship, built for the Mobile trade, and sold to Thomas Longfield, New York. She was bought from New York, 1833, by A. H. Seabury & Bro., of New Bedford, and sent to the Pacific, whaling, under Capt. Jonathan Nye. Here she was until Sept. 9, 1841, at which date she was burned at sea; then under the command of Capt. Luce, and owned by G. O. Crocker & Co., of New Bedford. They launched the Sch. " MENTOR " in May, 1825, a Balti- more packet, 98 tons, Jonathan Smith, Nantucket, owner. Cap- sized in a squall off the Bahamas in 1831, and two men lost; the others saved by a Kennebec vessel. This was the last schooner he owned. There was built at this yard, in 1825, ship " JOIIN & ELIZABETH," 295 tons, of New York ; John B. and Elijah Barstow, master carpenters. This vessel was launched in July, and sold to Capt. John Barstow, at New York. She was named after Col. John B. Barstow, and his wife Elizabeth. The ship "John & Elizabeth," which had been sold for a whaler, arrived in New London, from the South At- lantic, whaling, in 1838, with 200 barrels of sperm oil and 2300 of whale oil. From 1840 to 1858, she was very success- ful, whaling, in the Indian Ocean and off the Northwest coast. In 1858, she belonged to Williams & Haven, of New London, Conn., and was condemned and broken up in her thirty-fourth year, in the port of Honolulu, H. I., in September, 1858, at which time she sent home 38 barrels of sperm oil, 1770 of whale, and 12,000 pounds of whalebone.
In 1827, the ship "HANOVER," 329 tons, of New York, was built at this yard, John B. and Elijah Barstow, master car- penters She was owned by John and Edw. Barstow, of New York, and commanded by Capt. Benjamin and Capt. Nathaniel
107
SHIPS BUILT BY JOHN B. AND ELIJAH BARSTOW.
Barstow respectively. Also, they built, in 1827, ship " AMER- ICAN," 283 tons, JJohn B. and Elijah Barstow, master carpen- ters, for whaling, and launched in August. She was owned by Samuel Hunting, of Sag Harbor. The ship " American," in 1827, was off Patagonia, whaling, under Capt. Geo. Post ; afterward she was in the South Seas ; 1829, under Capt. Wm. A. Jones, off Brazil ; 1840-43, under command of Capt. Cooper, off' New Zealand and Crozette Island. About 1843, she was changed into a bark, and in June, 1846, while whaling, under the command of Capt. Wm. Pierson, off the Northwest coast, the captain and three men were lost, by a whale running over their boat. The " American" was condemned at St. Thomas in August, 1848. Whether the "Neptune " was built at this yard or not, it has been impossible to prove, but it is more than likely she was. The bark " NEPTUNE," 338 tons, two decks, sixteen feet draft, copper and iron, oak and cedar, one hundred and six feet long, twenty-seven feet broad, was built in Han- over, 1828 ; owned in 1865 by Garrels & Meyer, Halifax, Capt. Banker. In 1828, the Barstows built a vessel for Zenas Coffin, of Nantucket, which was to be named the " Risiny Sun." She was launched in June, and when she arrived in Nantucket, Zenas Coffin was lying dead. His son Henry, who later owned the vessel, named it after his father : the ship "ZENAS COF- FIN," 338 tons, 17 feet draft, double-decked, oak, cop- per and iron fastened. She was whaling in the Pacific in 1828, and in her first voyage, of three years, she got 2732 barrels of sperm oil, then under Capt. Joy. In 1857, her owners, C. G. & H. Coffin, of Nantucket, sold her to New York, at which time she sent home fifteen thousand dollars' worth of bone and oil. In 1861 she was again owned by H. Coffin, and in 1863 by Starbuck & Co., Nantucket. There are two accounts of her ending, - one, that she was used up whaling off So. America ; the other, which I believe to be correct, that she was sunk off Charleston, to obstruct the blockade runners ; was afterwards raised, and, in 1874, owned by Garrels & Mayer, at Halifax, N. S., then sixty-six years old. There was launched at this yard, in May, 1829, the Sch. " SARAH & BETSEY," 85 tons, of Hanover, John B. Barstow, owner ; John B. & Elijah Bar- stow, master carpenters. This is one of the few, if not the only vessel, that hailed from Hanover as its home port. With Col. Barstow for its owner, and named after two of Hanover's young ladies, it ought certainly to have had a successful career, and it may have had. What finally became of it no one seems
108
SHIPS BUILT BY JOHN B. AND ELIJAH BARSTOW.
to know. The "Sarah & Betsey" was named after Col. Bar- stow's two oldest daughters, - Sarah, the mother of John B. Bates, of Hanover Four Corners, and Betsey, who died un- married.
In June of the same year, 1829, they launched the ship "COLUMBIA," a whaler, 285 tons, Luther D. Cook, Sag Harbor, owner. She was used whaling off the coast of Brazil and New Zealand and in the South seas, 1829 to 1845, when she was changed into a brig. The last voyage she made as a ship she got 250 bbls. of sperm oil, 2250 bbls. of whale oil and 28000 lbs. of bone. She was in the Pacific and South Atlantic until 1862, when, in her 34th year, she was sold by her owner, John Budd of Sag Harbor, N. Y. Barstows launched the ship "PHENIX," in May, 1830, a whaler of 314 tons, built for
Luther D. Cook of Sag Harbor. Capt. Elijah Barstow, then a young man, was struck accidentally by the end of a hawser, when aboard of her, while she was lying in Boston, which broke his arm. The "Phenix" was whaling in the Atlantic from 1831 until 1840, when Capt. Topping left the ship and came home sick. Capt. Briggs then took her whaling off New Zealand and in the Indian Ocean, until 1849, when she was sold to Boston. They launched in May, 1831, ship "MARYS," 329 tons, of New Bedford. She was built for a merchantman, and owned by Capt. Thomas Barstow, Charles Russell and others. It was probably she who was lost on the Island of Juan Fernandez in 1833. There was launched in Oct., 1831, the ship " WARSAW," 331 tons, John B., and Elijah Barstow, M. C. She was built for a cotton ship, and owned by C. & J. Barstow of New York. The last ship built while Col. John B. Barstow was in the firm was in the year 1832, the ship " CHARLES & HENRY," 337 tons. She was whaling in the Pacific from 1832 until June, 1845, when she was lost on Cordo. After the above vessel was finished, Dea. Elijah Barstow bought out his brother's interest and took in his son Elijah, Jr., who put in what he was able toward buying out his uncle, and together, father and son built until 1841. Col. John B. Barstow died in Hanover, Aug. 6, 1854, aged 90 years.
Elijah Barstow JR. the age of 84, in apparently perfect health, working on his farm, (the old Barstow homestead in Norwell), ten and
is now living at
Elijah Barstow
109
CAPT. ELIJAH BARSTOW.
twelve hours a day, and he walks to church and back every Sunday with a step much lighter and faster than many of the young men of to-day. "He was born in Scituate, Oct. 2. 1805, baptized by Rev. Joseph Barker, Sept. 20, 1806. He was the son of Dea. Elijah and Lucy (Eells) Barstow. Mr. Barstow worked on his father's farm until nearly seventeen years of age, attending, in the winter season, the private school at the Corners that was taught by Rev. Calvin Walcot, Mr. Parker, Marm Mann, (a somewhat noted female teacher), and Miss Mary Thomas. Here he received a thorough business educa- tion. The schoolroom and hall was over what is now Flavell's store. This was before the Academy was removed from the centre of the town. In 1822 he began to work in his father's ship yard and learned the art of shipbuilding. The first vessel he worked on was the 'Trent.' Mr. Barstow, like most boys who are brought up among ships, decided to make one of the crew of the ship 'Goree,' (built here in 1823, ) on her first voyage. She was commanded by John Barstow, of New York, and sailed to New Orleans for a cargo of cotton. Failing to get a freight at New Orleans, she sailed around to Savannah, where she loaded with cotton, which she safely landed at Providence, R. I. She was finally sold to parties in Stock- holm, Sweden. On the ship's arrival at Providence, Mr. Barstow returned to his father's ship yard, where he finished his trade. He worked with his father about ten years, when he married Caroline O., daughter of Henry Briggs, of Scituate, and went housekeeping in the old Stockbridge Mansion, that stood upon the spot now occupied by E. Q. Sylvester's resi- dence, near the North River Bridge. Here he lived two years or more, when he removed to East Boston, and built three vessels on his own account. Mr. Barstow, in consequence of losses and the burning of his workhouse, retired from the ship business in 1869, and has followed the pleasant occupation of a farmer for the past nineteen years, robust in health and as active as most men at sixty. Mr. Barstow comes of a long line of ship-builders and is of the sixth generation that have built in the same yards from North River Bridge to Sunset Hill. He remembers perfectly well the war of 1812, when so many of our ship-builders were ruined by the blockade established along our coast by the British, preventing the newly built vessels from leaving the River. From the bridge to Foster's yard there were four large ships on the stocks, and a sentry or guard was placed at every yard to give notice of any attempt on the
110
DEACON ELIJAH BARSTOW & SON.
part of the enemy to enter the river, as had been the case at Scituate Harbor, where the English man-of-war, 'Bulwark,' had destroyed the fleet of small vessels in that port. Mr. Barstow says, 'Every ship-builder that began business in Medford, East and South Boston, went either from Scituate, Hanover, or Pembroke, and it is well known that Hanover furnished the workmen that carried the business to Rochester, Mattapoisett and Buzzard Bay.' He had two children, Albert, who died in 1863, and Henry, who married and has two chil- dren .* From the time Dea. Elijah and his son commenced building in company, Elijah, Jr., became the master carpenter of the firm."
The first vessel they built was in 1833, ship "SEAMEW," 199 tons, for B, C. Clark, of Boston. Mr. Clark delivered lectures about this time, in " Academy Hall," Hanover, on "The Sea and Ship-building." Also, the same year, 1833, bark "TIBERIAS," 298 tons, for Sears & Davis, Boston. 1834. Bark "HARRIOT," 202 tons, for John L. Hooper, Marble- head. 1835. Sch. "SARAH WALES," 99 tons, for Capt. Geo. Manson, and others. Elijah Barstow, Jr., Samuel Tol- man, Michael Ford, and Elisha Bass, also had an interest in this vessel. They built, of oak and pine, the same year, 1835, Sch. "WILLIAM WILSON," 121 tons, Elijah Barstow, Jr., master carpenter. Built for Capt. Ezra H. Baker, of Dennis, who then did not have enough to pay for one-eighth of her, but who died leaving over $1,000,000. In 1859, she was owned by A. Gibbs, and sailing under Capt. Loud. In the spring of 1889, she was seen by Thomas B. Waterman at Fairhaven, then lying on her beam ends, having been used the past twenty years for whaling. The Barstows also built, in 1836, the bark "DANIEL WEBSTER," 264 tons, Charles Cole, of Boston, Thomas L. Manson, of Scituate, and others, owners at Boston ; Elijah Barstow, Jr., master carpenter. During the next three years they built two vessels a year. In 1837, Sch. "HOME," 136 tons, for Howes, brother of Ezra H. Baker, of Dennis, afterward of Boston. 1837. Sch. "PAULINE," 148 tons, for Charles Cole, of Boston, Geo. Manson, of Scituate, and others ; and in 1838, brig " WILLIAM M. ROGERS" (named after the Boston minister), 162 tons, for George Tay- lor, of Chatham ; Hardy & Baker, agents. Capt. C. B. Graves
See Briggs' Yard.
111
DEACON ELIJAH BARSTOW & SON.
went in her one voyage to Philadelphia in 1846. In 1838, they built the Sch. " ALLEN,"127 tons, for George Allen, Seit- uate, and Charles Cole,and others, Boston. She was afterward rigged as a hermaphrodite brig. She was commanded by Capt. John Manson, of Scituate Harbor. He went in her to the West Indies, South America, Rio-de-Janeiro, and one voyage from San Domingo to Boston, with coffee. When, at the end of this voyage, he made fast to the wharf in Boston, he met with the worst shipwreck he ever had in his life. This was in 1839. The " Allen" was lying at Fort Hill Wharf, in a heavy gale of wind, when she broke adrift, and collided with another vessel lying at Liverpool Wharf. A third vessel came outside of this, and beat herself to pieces, and sank. The " Allen " rode the gale very well, and so crowded the inner vessel that she could not sink. It was a terrible storm, and a great many lives and vessels were lost along the coast. The "Allen " needed a great deal of repairing, and was afterward sold. Prior to 1830 few vessels went to Provincetown or the Cape, but from about that date Cape Cod was a large market for vessels built on North River. In 1839, they built the brig " WILDES P. WALKER," 188 tons, of Providence, Frost & Gurney, for the West India trade, Elijah Barstow, Jr., master carpenter ; and the same year, 1839, the brig " OCEAN," 165 tons, of Boston, for T. Eldridge, Chatham ; Elijah Barstow, Jr., master carpen- ter. She was used as a Boston and Baltimore packet until 1851, when she was added to the Sandwich whaling fleet. In 1856, her rig was changed to a bark. In 1864, she was sold to Sag Harbor, and lost in 1867. In 1840, the bark " IMOGENE," 179 tons, was built here, Elijah Barstow, master carpenter. This vessel was owned, in 1846, by Wm. G. and Abiel S. Lewis, of Boston, and used whaling in the Atlantic. They built in 1841, brig " SALINAS," 162 tons, for Nathl. Hamblin, Charles Cole, and others; owned in 1876 (then thirty-five years old), by Cartwright & Harrison, at the Barbadoes.
In 1841, Capt. Elijah, Jr., gave up business in Hanover, temporarily, and went to East Boston, where he built, during the same year, the bark " Sparton," 196 tons, for Province- town, and the ship " Columbia," 329 tons, for Charles and Henry Coffin, Nantucket, which was condemned at Upola, 1861, and in 1842 a vessel, which he named after his sons, the bark " Albert Henry," 200 tons, commanded by his brother, Capt. Andrew Barstow. June 22, 1842, his father died, and he re-
112
" ROANOKE."
turned to the old family homestead at Norwell, resuming busi- ness at his father's yard at Hanover in 1844.
During Capt. Barstow's absence in East Boston, there was built at this yard, in 1842, the Sch. "ROANOKE," 99 tons, for Elijah Jenkins, Jr., and Seth Webb, of Scituate Harbor. She was built by a company, including Barker Turner and Joseph S. Bates. In 1849, this vessel was bought by Cunningham & Cobb, of Boston, for a company that had formed for the pur- pose of going to California, mining. The members of this company came from many widely separated New England towns ; and some were surprised, in looking over the shipping list, to find the names of relatives and friends who had, like themselves, caught the California gold fever, and decided to become pioneers. This was the ease with William B. Josselyn, of Pembroke, now sixty-five years of age. One Saturday, while at home on his father's farm, he picked up a Boston Jour- nal, and found the advertisement of a company that were fitting out a vessel to go to California. The Monday following found him in Boston, looking over the several vessels that were fitting out. He had been to sea before, and saw that most of the ves- sels were old, and dangerous to sail in. He finally came to one on which was a man who told him if he had not signed to go in that vessel, he would go in one lying at the next wharf, pointing to a little topsail schooner. Mr. Josselyn examined her, was pleased, and went immediately to the office of Cun- ningham & Cobb, where he looked over the papers and found the names of his cousin and several friends. He raised the money and signed the articles, then went to Reed's, on Dock Square, and bought a handsome gun for $14. It was imitation stub twist, ornamented German silver mounting, and rosewood stock. Each of the company took a gun, and the vessel was loaded with provisions, pipes of liquor, mining machinery of every kind, etc. The vessel cost, all fitted out, $7,500. They paid in $300 apiece, and then being $1,200 short, that amount was borrowed from the more wealthy members of the company at 6% interest, with the privilege of paying at will. They styled themselves the Boston Marine Mining Co., and bound themselves together for two years. Freeman M. Josselyn re- members accompanying them down the harbor as far as Fort Independence, on a pleasant summer morning, forty years ago. Among the many vessels which left Boston during the Califor- nia excitement, none created a greater interest than that of the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.