USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Salem vessels and their voyages; a history of the "Astrea", "Mindoro", "Sooloo", "Panay", "Dragon", "Highlander", "Shirley", and "Formosa", with some account of their masters, and other reminiscences of Salem shipmasters > Part 9
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BY GEORGE GRANVILLE PUTNAM
real estate in Salem and West Manchaster, making his home for several years in the latter town.
CAPTAIN JOHN MULLIN.
Captain John Mullin was born in Salem, June 19, 1825, and he graduated from the old Salem English High School as a member of the eleventh class. Upon leaving school he learned the rope-making trade, working in the rope-walk of the late J. Vincent Browne on Briggs Street, Salem. He was at one time its foreman. On reaching his majority, he went to sea, making his first voyage in the brig Russell, Captain Richard Savory, to South America.
Hc next sailed in the barque William Schroeder, Capt. Henry Upton; brig Margaretta, Capt. Daniel M. Mar- shall; brig Adne, Captain Leach, all on South American voyages ; brig Elizabeth Felton, Capt. E. Augustus Upton, to Para ; barque Chusan, to the southwest coast of Africa; barque Merlin and the ship Josiah Quincy, commanded by Capt. Edward Weston, on voyages to the East Indies; barque Robert Patten, Captain Paine, to Australia and the East Indies, and the ship Black Prince to California, being mate of the last seven vessels.
In 1863, he was mate of the ship Shirley, commanded. by Capt. Nathaniel Brown, who was afterwards Mayor of Salem. Captain Brown left the ship in San Francisco, and Captain Mullin took charge of her. The vessel was owned by Benjamin W. Stone & Brothers of Salem, and Captain Mullin remained in their employ several years. In 1867, while Captain Mullin was in the Shirley at Hong Kong, Capt. Nathaniel J. Kinsman of the ship Sumatra, started for Manila on business, as before stated in these sketches, and nothing was ever heard of the vessel again. Captain Mullin took charge of the firm's ships at Hong Kong, assuming command of the Sumatra.
Captain Mullin remained in command of the Sumatra until 1876, when he became master of the new and elegant ship Paul Revere, and made in her a voyage from Boston to San Francisco, the Chincha Islands and Europe, and
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New York. He was part owner and retained his interest in her up to the time of his death. He made voyage after voyage in the ship, putting the Paul Revere on record as making some of the very fastest passages ever made by a sailing vessel; and in one instance actually beating a steamer in a three days' run, which was thus described in the Yokohama, Japan, papers, at the time:
"An exciting ocean race took place between the regular mail steamer, commanded by Captain Swain, and the American ship Paul Revere, Capt. John Mullin, on the passage from Hiogo to Yokohama. The steamer left Hiogo on Tuesday, December 12 (1883), at 6.30 P. M., and the Paul Revere sailed an hour and a half later, with a strong breeze and in ballast trim. At 3 o'clock the next morning, Captain Mullin overhauled and passed the steamer, and in the middle of the forenoon had left her so far astern that not even her smoke was visible. Un- fortunately for the ship, the wind moderated, and soon the steamer began to show herself and to recover her lost ground rapidly. Early in the afternoon the Paul Revere was second in the race, but the wind was freshening, and at once she stretched away for her competitor, which she quickly passed and left astern for the last time. The ship split her maintopsail, but a new one was quickly bent, although more time was lost. Captain Mullin arrived bere (Yokohama) at 4 A. M. on Thursday, and Captain Swain came in six hours later-a difference of seven and one-half hours in favor of the ship. The Paul Revere's passage of 32 hours is the quickest ever made between these ports."
In all truth may it be said that Capt. John Mullin was a thorough sailor, a skillful shipmaster and factor and merchant. He was an honor to his profession, and wher- ever he went he was always cordially welcomed. He was deputy master of the Salem Marine Society at the time of his death, having joined the society November 2, 1874.
J. Clark Mullin is his son; Miss Alice P. Mullin and Mrs. Winchester Smith, his daughters, and Mrs. Thomas H. West, Jr., a granddaughter. He died in Salem, Sep- tember 28, 1902.
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CAPT. WILLIAM B. BATES.
CAPT. NATHANIEL BROWN.
:
CAPT. NATHANIEL J. KINSMAN.
CAPT. JOHN MULLIN.
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BY GEORGE GRANVILLE PUTNAM
CAPTAIN NATHANIEL J. KINSMAN.
Captain Nathaniel Joshua Kinsman, who commanded. the ships Australia and Sumatra, besides being an officer of other ships owned by Stone, Silsbees, Pickman & Allen, was one of the finest men and shipmasters that ever trod the quarter-deck. He was a member of the Salem Marine Society. In a "History of the Kinsman Family," com- piled by Lucy W. Stickney for Frederick Kinsman, and. published in 1876, the author furnishes the following interesting statistics :
"Nathaniel Joshua Kinsman was the son of Joshua :and Mary (Brown) Kinsman, and was born in Salem, September 1.4, 1831. He was a shipmaster from an carly age, like his father and grandfather before him, and of marked ability in his calling. He met with an untimely «end at the age of 36, having been lost at sea by the prob- able foundering of the Spanish steamer Malespina, by which he took passage from Hong Kong for Manila, in September, 1867, the vessel never having been heard from :afterward."
[NOTE .- Captain Kinsman was in command of the ·ship Sumatra, which, with other vessels owned by the firm, were lying at Hong Kong. He started for Manila to ob- tain a cargo for the United States. The steamer was lost, :as before stated. Capt. John Mullin, of the ship Shirley .of Salem, succeeded Captain Kinsman in command of the Sumatra .-- G. G. P.]
"Captain Kinsman's death was the fifth that occurred away from home, out of seven in the families of the "brothers Nathaniel and Joshua. Two, father and son, lie buried in the far East; two more, also father and son, found their graves in the ocean ; and one, a little daughter, died at sea on the passage from China; two only, mother :and daughter, died at home."
Of his grandfather, Nathaniel Kinsman, son of Na- thaniel, a shipmaster, and Deborah Kinsman, his wife, who was born in Salem, Feb. 6, 1778, the Salem Gazette of August 3, 1847, says: "Died at Macao, about May 1, 1847, Nathaniel Kinsman of this city. As a shipmaster
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he was distinguished for his nautical skill ; as a merchant, for his shrewdness, honor and mercantile talents. These qualifications marked him out as eminently qualified to- take the lead of a mercantile house in a foreign country, and the house of Wetmore & Co., of Canton, invited him. to become their partner. For a limited term he consented to leave his country and engage in this partnership. But. the disease with which he had previously been visited, again attacked him, and proved fatal. Like his brother, he has died in a foreign clime, and quickly followed his; little daughter, who died on her passage home. In his death, our city has sustained the loss of one of her most honorable, honest and amiable citizens, and his family an irreparable calamity." [The daughter's name was. Rebecca Reed Kinsman, and she died at sca, August 16, 1846, on board the barque Douglass, on the passage from China, in the eighth year of her age. The body was buried in Salem, September 2, 1846.]
Abbot Kinsman, son of the foregoing, died at Iloilo, Philippine Islands, July 4, 1864, in his 20th year. His. death and burial place were brought before the Salem public in October, 1900, in a singular manner, a Salem soldier on duty in the Philippines, writing home to a citizen of Salem as follows:
"While on duty in the cemetery here (Iloilo), when they were taking up the remains of soldiers, for removal to the United States, my attention was called to a small,. red brick mound, with a small white slab at the head, bearing this inscription :
ABBOT KINSMAN. Age 20 Years. DIED JULY 4, 1864. OF SALEM, U. S. OF A.
"Now Frank G. Carpenter, the great globe trotter and writer, was here last February, and he says that this place was little known to the outside world up to 30 years ago.
"Now, I feel positive that this was a Salem, Mass., boy, who has lain here the past 36 years, and who would be in.
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his 57th year if among the living. I think that among the sea captains of old Salem you will have no difficulty in learning something about him. If you want a picture of the grave, I will bring one home with me."
As the writer of the foregoing says, the identity of Abbot Kinsman, whose remains are buried in far-away Iloilo, was casily established.
Abbot was the son of Capt. Nathaniel Kinsman and Rebecca (Chase) Kinsman of Salem. He was born in Macao, China, Oct. 6, 1844, his father being then engaged in business there. He was sent to Salem to receive his education. On the completion of his school life, he sailed from New York in the ship Shirley of Salem, on Aug. 15, 1862, to gratify a desire, cherished from early boyhood, for a voyage with his cousin, the late Capt. Nathaniel Brown (who was afterwards mayor and city treasurer of Salem), and to revisit China, the land of his birth.
The ship was bound to San Francisco, and arrived there January 11, 1863. Thence she proceeded to Hong Kong, where she arrived March 15, and soon afterwards Abbot visited Macao, his birthplace and a spot of sacred interest to him, his father's grave. Contrary to expecta- tion, the Shirley, instead of loading for New York, re- turned to San Francisco. Here, Captain Brown resigned, and came home to Salem, his first officer, Capt. John Mullin, well known as the commander of the Shirley, ship Sumatra, and the famous clipper ship Paul Revere, taking charge of the ship. Abbot decided to remain by the Shirley, and to proceed with Captain Mullin to Hong Kong, in the hope of finding business.
While at Hong Kong, he obtained a situation there, and parting reluctantly from Captain Mullin and other friends on the Shirley, so long his home, he went to Manila and entered the employ of Russell & Sturgis, Dec. 22, 1863.
In February, 1864, he was transferred to the province town of Legaspi, on the castern coast of the island of Luzon, as an assistant to George H. Pierce, the agent of
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the house at that place. On June 14, 1864, he went on a business trip to Iloilo, in the Spanish brig Pilar, the captain being an estcemed friend. The vessel arrived there June 28. Asiatic cholera was prevalent there, and. 'Abbot was seized with the dread disease between 4 and 5 o'clock on the morning of July 4. He appeared to have gotten over the worst of the attack, but a relapse occurred, and he passed away at 3 o'clock that afternoon, having been unconscious from the noon hour.
He had all the assistance possible. He was buried the- same night, the funeral service being read by W. B. Lor- ing of Boston, American vice-consul at Iloilo.
Such is the sad but interesting story of the Salem boy who sleeps beneath the "small red brick mound" in the. Iloilo cemetery, to which the Salem soldier boy so touch- ingly alludes in his letter.
Our own beloved Essex County poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, immortalizes the young man in the following. poem :
KINSMAN. DIED AT THE ISLAND OF PANAY (PHILIPPINE GROUP) , AGED 19 YEARS.
Where ceaseless Spring her garland twines, As sweetly shall the loved one rest, As if beneath the whispering pines And maple shadows of the West.
Ye mourn, O hearts of home! for him, But, haply, mourn ye not alone ; For him shall far-off eyes be dim, And pity speak in tongues unknown.
There needs no graven line to give The story of his blameless youth; All hearts shall throb intuitive, And nature guess the simple truth.
The very meaning of his name Shall many a tender tribute win;
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The stranger own his sacred claim, And all the world shall be his kin.
And there, as here, on main and isle, The dews of holy peace shall fall, The same sweet heavens above him smile, And God's dear love be over all.
Capt. Joshua Kinsman, father of Capt. Nathaniel Joshua Kinsman of the ship Sumatra, before mentioned, was born in Salem, August 12, 1801. He died at sea, on board the ship Eliza Ann, August 3, 1841. He was much esteemed for his uprightness and the uniform kind- ness of his disposition. His associates and friends erected a granite monument to his memory in Harmony Grove cemetery, Salem. It is stated in Felt's Annals of Salem, under date of, March 15, 1833, that "The Royal Humane Society of London date their thanks, on vellum, to Capt. Joshua Kinsman, of the brig Gazelle, for rescuing from the wreck of the British schooner William and Elizabeth, October 31, her distressed company, and generously pro- viding for their wants." He was a member of the Salem Marine Society.
CAPTAIN. GEORGE Z. SILSBEE.
Captain George Z. Silsbee was born in Salem in Janu- ary, 1822, in the ancestral homestead, and he died in Beverly, Sept. 10, 1895. As a boy he had a strong love for the sea, and shipped on an East Indiaman engaged in the pepper trade. He remained in the India trade many years, and was master of the barque Borneo, the ship Malay, and other vessels on voyages to the far East. When that trade began to drop in Salem, he interested himself in other directions. He became a member of the old Salem mercantile firm of Stone, Silsbee & Pickman, later Silsbees, Pickman & Allen. When the Lake Supo- rior Iron Company was organized, he accepted the office of treasurer of the company, holding the office many years. He was also treasurer of the Middlesex Mills of Lowell, and president of the Newmarket Manufacturing Company,
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of Newmarket, N. H., a concern in which the Silsbee family had an interest from the start. Two years pre- vious to his death he retired from all active occupation, and lived mostly at his country home in Beverly.
CAPTAIN BRACKLEY R. PEABODY.
Captain Brackley R. Peabody died at his home, 4 Flint Street, Salem, Feb. 28, 1874, at the age of 75 years, after a lingering illness. He entered upon a seafaring life when a boy, followed it steadily for many consecutive years, and commanded vessels in the pepper trade and on other voyages. He served as an alderman of Salem. in 1858. He joined the Salem Marine Society, August 9, 1850. The late George L. Peabody was his son.
CAPTAIN DANIEL M. MARSHALL.
A record of more than half a century sailing the ocean blue, was that of the late Captain Daniel M. Marshall of Salem, who died in this city, April 8, 1901. He was born in Scarboro, Maine, January 3, 1809. His father owned a small piece of ground which he tilled. He was a carpenter by trade, but went fishing in summer and worked at shipbuilding in winter at Scarboro Landing. Business was good then, and it was not an unusual sight to see five or six vessels, ranging from 75 to 200 tons, the latter being quite large for those times. Captain Marshall's parents had four sons and three daughters. To the writer, several years ago, Captain Marshall told the following story :
Young Marsball received all the education he ever ob- tained in the schools of Scarboro, before he was fourteen years of age. He worked on the farm in summer, and went to school in winter. On leaving school he went to learn the cabinet-maker's trade, but he worked at it only a year, as his employer gave up business, and the lad ro- turned to carpentering.
He came to Salem in April, 1826, and was employed by the late Eben Dodge, who had the building of the wood- work on the western side of Derby wharf. He remained
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BY GEORGE GRANVILLE PUTNAM
with Mr. Dodge until fall, when he and five others boys resolved among themselves to go to sea. Two of the youngsters were William B. Bates and John Ford.
The ship Perseverance, owned by N. L. Rogers & Brothers, whose counting-room was on Derby wharf, was fitting away for Madagascar. She carried a crew of six boys, six men before the mast, cook, steward, two mates, clerk and captain. The boys were all lucky enough to secure a chance. Capt. William Bates was master, Joseph Ryder, mate, and Benjamin Wallis of Beverly, second mate. The clerk was an excellent young Salem man, whose name Captain Marshall did not recall after so many years.
The boys were in high spirits over their success, and it was a great day for them when, on December 20, 1826, the Perseverance sailed away for Majunga. She was to obtain for her homeward cargo. what was called jerked .. beef, and she carried from Salem 100 tons of salt, for the purpose of curing the meat. In the hold were also 10,000 bricks as ballast.
The passage to Majunga was made in 125 days, and when within 30 miles of the port the vessel grounded. The anchors were carried forward for the purpose of warping her off, part of the cargo was thrown overboard, and the lofty spars of the ship sent down. The crew succeeded in hauling her some distance before it was dis- covered that the water was shoaling. The reverse was then tried, and, after much hard work, the vessel was afloat.
On getting into deep water, the vessel began to leak like a sieve. Part of the crew kept the pumps going, while the remainder sent up the spars, bent the sails, and started the ship for Majunga. There, what little salt remained was discharged, and the ship at high water was run well up on the flats. At low water she was left high and dry, and hurriedly the men were preparing to caulk her .. Suddenly, the bottom gave way, and she settled well down on the beach. She was beyond repair, and her entire company of eighteen souls were without a ship. The Perseverance was an old pepper ship that had made
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one or two voyages to Sumatra, and her timbers had been eaten by the pepper. When her planks and timbers gave way, a large quantity of pepper floated out to sea.
After being at Majunga some time, the brig Laurel, owned by Robert Brookhouse, came into port, on her way home to Salem. On her, the two mates and all but six or seven of the crew of the Perseverance, obtained passage. Subsequently, another of Mr. Brookhouse's vessels, the brig Fawn, arrived, and young Marshall joined her in an eight months' voyage after beche-de-mer. The Fawn's mate and supercargo remained at Majunga to obtain a cargo of jerked beef for her, and have it ready when she returned. She then went down the Mozambique coast, and when she returned found everything ready, quickly loaded and sailed for Salem. Mr. Marshall came in her, and when he reached Salem he had not a dollar to his name, having a greater part of the time worked for his food only. Thus closed his first voyage of 16 months' duration. As he told the writer of it, he dryly remarked, "It is a wonder that I did not swallow the sheet anchor."
His second voyage was in the brig Amethyst, to Ma- ranham and Para, and he was absent six months. Capt. Benjamin Upton was master, and Capt. John Willis, mate. He next sailed in the brig General Warren, Capt. John D. Simonds of North Salem, master. The vessel went to St. Jago, obtained a cargo of molasses, and returned to Salem, completing the voyage in two months.
Five voyages between the United States and Europe followed. These voyages were from Salem, Boston, New · New York, New Orleans and Savannah. One of these was made in the famous brig Leander (whose history has been given in these articles), owned by Joseph Peabody. Capt. James S. Kimball was mate, and on the next voyage he was promoted to master, and Mr. Marshall was made second mate. On this voyage she went to Sumatra, ob- tained a cargo of pepper and coffee, and sailed for St. Helena, the island home of the great but deposed Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Captain Kimball received orders to proceed to Antwerp. She arrived there all right, dis-
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charged her cargo, and came home to Salem in ballast. After getting home, she loaded for Copenhagen with coffee and sugar. From Copenhagen she went to Gotten- burg for a cargo of iron, and came home to Salem. These three voyages were all he made in the Leander. He always liked the craft, and he delighted to speak of her. In his sitting-room was a picture of the brig under full sail, a daily reminder to him of the many hours he spent in her. "There she is," he said to the writer, as he pointed with pride to the picture, "and a mighty fine vessel she was, too."
Captain Marshall next sailed as second mate in the brig Dawn, a vessel owned by Putnam I. Farnham, and commanded by Captain Purbeck, who was the father of the late William A. Purbeck, a merchant tailor in Salem many years. The voyage was to Antwerp, with a cargo of hides, and return to Salem. After this voyage he joined as mate the ship Israel, owned by Edward Bangs & Brother, of Boston, commanded by Captain Boss. This was his first voyage as mate, the vessel going to Valpa- raiso, where she discharged. She then proceeded down the coast, obtained a cargo of copper ore, and sailed for Swansea, Wales. From Swansea she returned to Boston in ballast. The firm owned several ships, and Mr. Mar- shall was urged to go as mate again, with the promise of a command soon after the voyage was ended. He declined the offer and came home to Salem.
His next three or four voyages were between Salem, Boston and South America, with Capt. George Savory. Through the influence of Captain Savory, and with his own ability to commend him, he was made master of the barque Dawn, owned by a Boston firm. She was a fine, large vessel, and, being his first command, naturally enough he was proud of her. He sailed from Boston for Rio Grande, carrying out $80,000 in doubloons to pur- chase the cargo of wool and hides. He returned direct to Boston, and had made a very successful voyage for his owners.
He next commanded the barque Beris, owned by B. &
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H. P. Upton of Salem, on a voyage between Salem and Rio Grande. Several other voyages followed in quick succession, between Salem and South America. On one, in the brig Mermaid, Mr. James Manning, who will be remembered as a former marine reporter for the Salem Register and other papers, and later as a mail clerk in the Salem post office, was a passenger on the outward passage to Rio Grande. The Mermaid, Captain Marshall said, was a pretty little full-rigged brig, painted white. Captain Marshall's last voyage was in the barque Bolivia, owned by Rideout & Roberts of Salem and Boston, be- tween Boston and Africa. He then relinquished the sea and settled quietly down in Salem.
An incident worthy of mention in his seafaring life was one that happened while on a voyage from Southamp- ton, Eng., to Montevideo. It was during England's war with Russia, and sailors were very hard to get. The Eng- lish navy shipped the best men and left only the rough and very poorest clement. It was from this last class that he was obliged to take his crew. The vessel stopped at Cadiz to get a lot of wine. The first night out from that port, the crew were violent and noisy, and the mato sided with them. The captain was left, with the excep- tion of a boy and a sick second mate, to manage the vessel alone. The crew broke open the cargo and drank a quan- tity of the wine and spilled lots more. They were ready for murder or anything else that came in their way. The captain determined to keep them in their own quarters, and, putting a pistol in each pocket, he resolved to shoot the first man who would dare to come aft.
He kept the vessel off for Cape Verde Islands, and after much loss of sleep, reached Port Praya aud sailed in under the guns of the United States frigate Constitution, and notified the authorities. Commodore Mayo sent a cutter alongside, and the mate and three sailors, the ringleaders of the mutiny, were put in irons, and new men given Captain Marshall from the Constitution. Commodore Mayo punished the offenders by keeping them in irons, . after reprimanding them severely, in which he informed
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VILT
SHIP " PERSEVERANCE "
Wheatland, Silver & Forrester, owners ; Richard Wheatland, master, 1794. Wrecked on Cape Cod in 1805, From a water-color in the Peabody Museum.
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BY GEORGE GRANVILLE PUTNAM
them that, had he been in Captain Marshall's place, he would have shot every one of them.
After retiring from the sea, Captain Marshall became a member of the night police force of Salem, served six- teen months, and then resigned.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM B. BATES.
In the sketch of Capt. Daniel M. Marshall, it was stated that one of the boys who shipped on the ship Perseverance, December 20, 1826, was William B. Bates. The lad was born in Salem, September 16, 1809, and was the son of Captain William and Mrs. Sarah (Forbes) Bates. He was educated in the Salem public schools, and left the East School, Master Gerrish, to go to sea in the ship ?... Perseverance, commanded by his father. The ship, as before stated, was condemned at Madagascar. His father died at Majunga, Madagascar, May 3, 1834, while in command of the brig Lady Sarah. A son, Daniel, died on board the brig Quill, Captain Swasey, on the homeward passage from Majunga for Salem, July 7, 1834. In later years, the son William B. Bates, when master, brought his father's remains from Majunga to Salem for burial.
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