767 
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 State Street Trust Company, 
 Boston 
 
 Some Merchants and Sea Captains 
 of Old Boston
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 COMMODORE BYRON MCCANDLESS

 
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 SOME 
 
 MERCHANTS A>D SEA CAPTAINS 
 
 OF 
 
 OLD BOSTON 
 
 BEING 
 A COLLECTIOX OF SKETCHES OF 
 
 XO TABLE MEX AXn JIERCAXTILE HOUSES 
 
 PROMIXEXT DURIXG THE EARLT HALF 
 
 OF THE NINETEENTH CENTCRX 
 
 IN THE 
 
 COMMERCE AND SHIPPING 
 
 OF BOSTON 
 
 PRISTED FOR THE 
 
 ^tatr ^trrrt arust (rmti;jang 
 
 BOSTON. MASS.
 
 C"opvRK;in. igi8 
 
 ItV THE 
 STATE SIRKF. r TRUST COMPANY 
 
 Tlie headpiece above the article on Russell Sturgis is drawn from 
 
 the picture of "India Wharf in 1857" through the courtesy of 
 
 F. B. C. Bradlee, Esq. 
 
 (Compiled, arranged and printed by direction of 
 
 If'a/ton /Advertising y Printing Co. 
 
 Boston, Mass.
 
 767 
 FOREWORD 
 
 /4 1" the beginning of the last century and well towards its fifties 
 
 / % lumbering, fishing, ship-building and whaling were the principal 
 / % industries of New England. On most of the harbours, upon 
 many of the navigable rivers and creeks, could be heard the 
 sound of the caulker's maul at work on vessels large and small, 
 schooners, sloops, barks, and clippers in all stages of construction. 
 Few there are who thought these days would ever return, but time 
 often plays strange tricks. Those who travel between New York and 
 Boston, or between Boston and Portland or beyond, can see from the 
 car windows ships on the ways at many a small town that has hereto- 
 fore been asleep for years, but that now bustles with the activities of 
 ship-building. Often five or six ships side by side may be seen, — ships 
 of a different build from those of the older days, but capable of again 
 carrying the names of New England merchants. New England cap- 
 tains, and New England towns into the harbours of the world as did 
 the clippers of almost a century ago. To-day from the Atlantic to the 
 Pacific ships are being launched at a greater rate than ever before in 
 the history of this country. 
 
 It is because of this renaissance in maritime affairs that the State 
 Street Trust Company this year has prepared another pamphlet which 
 smacks of the sea. This brochure contains a short account of the 
 lives of some of Boston's merchants and captains who did so much to 
 build up the commercial interests of Boston and New England, and 
 who helped to make the Eastern States a synonym for daring business 
 enterprise and skilful seamanship. 
 
 There are many other merchants and captains of Boston who ought 
 to be included in this pamphlet, but it has been impossible to do so 
 owing to the limited space, and also because of the fact that the 
 compilers were unable to find sufficient information concerning many 
 of them. In next year's brochure the State Street Trust Company 
 hopes to include other Boston merchants and captains, with stories 
 or anecdotes concerning their lives, and would therefore very much 
 appreciate it if any one having any diaries, information, or stories in 
 regard to members of their families, would be so kind as to confer with 
 the officers of the Company. 
 
 It hopes that an insight into the old days may prove interesting, 
 and will carry the reader back to the time when the shores of Boston 
 were alive with ships just arrived or about to sail; when the " counting- 
 houses " — for they were never called offices — covered the wharves; 
 when shipping held the centre of interest on State Street and Commer- 
 cial Street; and when at almost any hour of the day could be seen on 
 Telegraph Hill, at Hull, from the cupola on Central Wharf, and from 
 
 1023978
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 the cupola on the Old State House the signals announcing a new 
 arrival in the harbour. 
 
 The Company also hopes that ihesc stories and deeds of our an- 
 cestors will prove an inspiration to the youths of to-day to choose the 
 sea as their calling, and to help man the large fleet of merchant vessels 
 that the Government will own after the war, and which all loyal 
 Amrricatis, even those living in the inland States, nozv knozv should be 
 kef^t under our flag for the future tveljare and protection of our country. 
 England's large merchant marine helped to prevent her from starving, 
 and also made it possible for the United States to turn the tide of battle 
 by assisting in carrying abroad two-thirds of the American Army up to 
 August 15, 1918. Americans must therefore realize the value of the 
 merchant marine to this country in peace and in war, and should see 
 that Congress passes laws that will enable our ships to live on the seas 
 on a basis comparing favorably with those of other countries. 
 
 To the following persons who have rendered much valuable assist- 
 ance in compiling this pamphlet the State Street Trust Company de- 
 sires to extend its thanks: Captain Arthur H. Clark, Otto Fleischner 
 and other officers of the Boston Public Library; Charles F. Read of 
 the Bostonian Society; Robert B. Smith of the Marine Museum; 
 Francis R. Allen, Edwin F. Atkins, Louis Bacon, W. P. Barker, 
 Charles A. Barry, T. Dennie Boardman, Robert A. Boit, F. B. C. 
 Bradlee, John K. Burgess, George E. Cabot, Samuel Cabot, 
 Samuel W. Comstock, Horace S. Crowell, Henry W. Cunningham. 
 Frederic Cunningham, Mrs. E. A. Dolliver, Captain Oscar G. Eaton. 
 William C. Endicott, Chester Guild, William F. Halsall, Alpheus H. 
 Hardy, Arthur Sherburne Hardy, Charles A. Hardy, Miss Susan W. 
 Hardy, Augustus Hemenway, Augustus Hemenway, Jr., Paul K. 
 Hisada, Osborne Howes, Prof. T. Makino, Prof. Mizusaki, Lester H. 
 Monks, H. S. O. Nichols, J. W. T. Nichols, Russell Sturgis Paine, Mrs. 
 Charles E. Perkins, William F. Searle, J. H. Shapleigh, F. W. Sprague, 
 Morgan H. Stafford, John H. Sturgis, C. H. Taylor, Jr., T. C. Thacher, 
 Barclay Tilton, R. E. Townsend, Herman A. Train, Mrs. Franklin M. 
 Train, Captain N. B. Washburn, Dr. F. S. Watson, Thomas Weston, 
 William G. Wheildon, T. T. Whitney, T. T. Whitney, Jr. 
 
 ALLAN FORBES, 
 
 President State Street Trust Company. 
 
 Janu.\ry 1, 1919.
 
 THE OLD CLIPPER DAYS 
 
 JULIAN S. CUTLER 
 
 The old Clipper days were jolly, when we sailed the Seven 
 
 Seas, 
 And the house-flags of our merchant ships were whipped by 
 
 every breeze; 
 It was good-by to your mother and the pretty girls on shore, 
 For we're off around the howling Horn, bound down to 
 
 Singapore. 
 
 We romped the rushing trade-winds, and we raced the big 
 
 monsoon; 
 We carried reeling royals from Manila to Rangoon; 
 We were chased by Aialay pirates from Natura to Penang, 
 And we drove her scuppers under to outsail the cut-throat 
 
 gang. 
 
 We went rolling in "The Doldrums" till the tar oozed from 
 
 our seams; 
 We went pushing through the ice-pack till the pressure 
 
 cracked our beams; 
 And old Mother Carey's chickens wheeled around us o'er the 
 
 brine. 
 While we entertained Old Neptune when he hailed up on the 
 
 line. 
 
 Those were days to be remembered, when our good ship 
 
 sailed away, 
 From the old home port behind us, to Calcutta or Bombay; 
 When we sold the Heathen nations rum and opium in rolls, 
 And the Missionaries went along to save their sinful souls. 
 
 It was "Bundle out, my bullies, and we'll give the sheets a 
 
 pull"; 
 It was "Ease her off a little, till the topsails stand rap full"; 
 It was "Scrub the decks, my Jackies, and we'll take the sun 
 
 at noon"; 
 It was "Sou'-sou'-west-half-south, my boy, beneath the 
 
 Southern moon." 
 
 We raced across to Africa with "dicker" in the hold; 
 
 We traded beads and calico for ivory and gold; 
 
 We raised the Northern Dipper as we sunk the Southern 
 
 Cross, 
 And when we figured up the run the owners felt no loss. 
 
 Then 'twas "Home again, my bullies," with our bows knee- 
 deep in foam, 
 
 To the mother that was waiting and the happy ones at home; 
 
 It was home from old Calcutta or Hong Kong or far Bombay, 
 
 To the land we loved to think of when our hearts were far 
 away.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS AND SEA 
 CAPTAINS OF OLD BOSTON 
 
 RUSSELL STURGIS 
 
 USSELL STURGIS'S grandfather, who bore the same 
 name, visited the Daniel Bacons on Cape Cod, and 
 while there he met and married Elizabeth, the daugh- 
 ter of Mrs. James Perkins. Mrs. Perkins was the 
 daughter of Thomas Handasyd Peck, who left some 
 interesting letters concerning the lives of the Boston- 
 ians of the early days. Of her it is related that during the Revolu- 
 tionary War there was much sickness among the English troops in 
 Boston and the English general was advised to get assistance from 
 Mrs. Perkins, who was known to be very capable. She replied, as was 
 quite natural at that time, that she would aid them " as sick men but 
 by no means as soldiers." After the war Mrs. Perkins and her son-in- 
 law returned from the Cape to Boston. 
 
 Russell Sturgis, the grandson and well-known Boston and Canton 
 merchant, was born in Boston in 1805, went to Harvard at the age of 
 twelve, and in 1828 made his first voyage abroad in the " Boston," 
 with only two fellow-passengers. He had settled down in this city 
 as a young lawyer and would probably have continued in this 
 profession had he not overheard John P. Cushing speak of the 
 unwillingness of a certain person to go to China. "I wish I had 
 that chance offered me," remarked Sturgis. In a few days the oppor- 
 tunity was given to him by Mr. Cushing and he sailed for Canton 
 in 1833. 
 
 Eventually Sturgis entered the firm of Russell & Sturgis of Manila 
 and Russell, Sturgis & Co. of Canton, and in 1840 the latter house 
 consolidated with Russell & Co., Mr. Warren Delano being taken in as 
 a member of the firm. Two years later Russell Sturgis became a part- 
 ner. The East had a great fascination ior him, and in fact for all 
 the men who went out there from Boston. The life there was new and 
 
 1
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 interesting to them, and they assumed great responsibilities; they 
 lived a life of great freedom, although they were not allowed to go 
 outside the " Factory " reservation. Besides being called " foreign 
 devils " they were also described as " a ghostly tribe of barbarians," 
 as " uncouth beings with fiery hair," as " a strange people who came 
 to the Flowery Kingdom from regions of mist and storm where the 
 sun never shines," even as " wild, untamed men whose words are 
 rough, and whose language is confused." During the opium war, Rus- 
 sell Sturgis's son, Julian Sturgis, who wrote a short memoir of his father, 
 describes how each member of Russell & Co. had to do some of the 
 housework. Lots were drawn and the duty of cook fell to Capt. R. B. 
 Forbes, who was soon deposed from his position by Warren Delano 
 for presenting to his fellow-captives a dish of ham and eggs which was 
 mistaken for some sort of leather. John C. Green, who was the 
 head of Russell & Co., tried his hand at boiled rice, which resembled a 
 mass of glue, so the story goes. A. A. Low, father of Seth Low, was 
 ordered to set the table after having produced some boiled eggs that 
 resembled grape-shot. To kill time they played whist, and hunted 
 rats with a terrier, which latter fact led the Chinese to believe that 
 the "Fan-Kwae" were holding a continuous feast. Julian Sturgis 
 also mentions the Canton Regatta Club, which was founded in 1837, 
 thereby causing a protest to be Issued by three of the Co-Hongs, who 
 believed that great danger would arise from its formation. The 
 protest reads as follows: — 
 
 "On the river boats are mysteriously abundant; everywhere they conpre- 
 gate in vast numbers; like a stream they advance and retire unceasingly. 
 Thus the chances of contact are many; so are accidents even to the breaking 
 of one another's boats, to the injury of men's bodies, while more serious con- 
 sequences might ensue! 
 
 HOUQUA, MOUQUA, PwANKEIQUA." 
 
 " More better no go," warned Houqua, In his pigeon English. 
 
 In 1844 Russell Sturgis retired from business and came home to 
 Boston to join his children, who had been sent there to school, their 
 mother having died in Manila in 1837. Sturgis then married again, 
 his wife being Julia A. Bolt, a sister of Robert A. Bolt's mother. 
 He found the scale of living in that day more expensive than he had 
 expected and therefore decided to return with his family to the East. 
 He was to sail on the " Canada " from Boston to London, where he 
 was to connect with a ship that was to take him eastward. The 
 expressman who brought In the family luggage from Jamaica Plain 
 was delayed by an open drawbridge and failed to get to the wharf until 
 after the vessel had sailed. Sturgis and his family decided not to sail 
 without the luggage and had to wait over for the next boat. It is said 
 that when he found the delay occurred through no fault of the express- 
 man, he treated the expressman so kindly that the man was so surprised 
 and overcome that he Immediately burst into tears. The steamer on 
 which they finally crossed did not arrive in London in time to catch the
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 boat sailing eastward, therefore Sturgis and his family had to remain a 
 number of weeks in London before making connections. During this 
 time he was asked by Mr. Bates, the senior member of Baring Bros. 
 & Co., to become a partner in the firm, which position he accepted, 
 finally becoming head of the house. It was jokingly said in the 
 family that if it had not been for the dilatory expressman Mr. Sturgis 
 would never have become head of the firm of Baring Bros. & Co. 
 He never returned to this country, dying in England in 1887. 
 
 Mr. Sturgis's genial, hearty, and kindly personality is well remem- 
 bered by many Bostonians whom he warmly welcomed and sumptu- 
 ously entertained at his town house in Carlton House Terrace and at 
 his country place, first at Walton-on-Thames and later at Leatherhead. 
 His American guests were often astonished at his up-to-date informa- 
 tion, and accurate memory of births, marriages, and deaths among his 
 acquaintances in Boston, as he always showed a genuine and constant 
 interest in all his friends in this country. He was one of the generous 
 contributors to the Boston Art Museum when its new building was 
 built in Copley Square by his son John H. Sturgis. 
 
 COLONEL THOMAS HANDASYD PERKINS, T^ 
 
 Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, Jr., son of Colonel Perkins, 
 described in last year's pamphlet, was invariably known as " Short- 
 arm Tom " because his right arm was a trifle shorter than his left, 
 a defect, however, which didn't prevent his " landing " it in the right 
 place when occasion demanded. While he was in London there 
 was no one skilful enough to box with him and so his friends 
 recommended that he go to a curious old African sparrer, named 
 Richmond, who had such long arms that he could button his 
 breeches at the knee without stooping at all. During the first lesson 
 Colonel Perkins was at first hit very hard, but later retaliated by 
 fighting the African backwards until he was knocked into the window 
 and would have gone completely through had not his antagonist and 
 his friends pulled him back by the ankles. After he had extricated 
 a few pieces of glass from his arms, he said with great respect for 
 his amateur sparring partner: "Golly, Massa Major, how you do 
 hit wid dat right of yours ! Why, I radder be kicked by old 
 Massa's black mule dan hab you hit me again like dat. No, by 
 golly, I don't want any mo' of dat hitten here." It is interesting to 
 record that Richmond was born at Richmond on Staten Island. He 
 became a body-servant to General Earl Percy when the English took 
 possession of Long Island during the Revolution, and later accompa- 
 nied his master to England, where he served him for a number of years. 
 He then took up prize-fighting and soon became a champion. 
 
 Another example of the Colonel's strength and agility was shown 
 when he and the well-known actor James Wallack were leaving the 
 Federal Street Theatre in Boston. A man very much under the 
 influence of liquor rushed at them with a knife, whereupon Colonel Per-
 
 SOMK MERCIIAN rS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 kins parried the blow and felled the assailant to the ground, but himself 
 received a bad wound. It was later discovered that the attacker 
 was none other than Junius Brutus Booth, the actor, who doubtless 
 was jealous over the success of Wallack, and who had intended his 
 blow for his rival instead of for Colonel Perkins. 
 
 When Colonel Perkins first went to China he was very young, and 
 very homesick, and was much disappointed not to be received more 
 cordially by John Perkins Cushing, the head of the firm of J. & T. H. 
 Perkins, who happened to be very much occupied when he arrived. 
 Young Perkins presented a letter of introduction from Mrs. Forbes, 
 a sister of his father, which was met with a curt " There's your desk." 
 Nothing was said for a long time, young Perkins in the mean time 
 spending his time making lamp-lighters, when suddenly Mr. Cushing 
 
 looked over at him and said, " Is your Aunt as fat as she used 
 
 to be?" "Ten times fatter" was the reply, and the conversation 
 again ended. This may have been the same aunt who asked one of 
 the younger members of the family to put a pillow in the small of 
 her back. The reply came, " You haven't any small to your back. 
 Aunty." A friendship between Mr. Cushing and his young apprentice 
 quickly began, and the two became lifelong friends. 
 
 Not many days after their first meeting Mr. Cushing asked the 
 new arrival if he would take an armed boat and go up to Houqua's 
 and get from him a hundred thousand dollars. Perkins got ready 
 for the expedition and then waited around for further instructions, 
 thinking he would need a letter of introduction to the comprador. 
 Mr. Cushing said that this was very unnecessary, as all the business 
 with Houqua was by word of mouth. The Chinaman promptly 
 appeared when he knew an American had arrived to see him, and 
 invited him ashore, saying in his pigeon English, " Hi ya, my welly 
 glad sabe that son my olo flen, Mr. Perkins, my welly much chin chin 
 you, askee come ashore, come ashore; as for dollar, can hab, yes, 
 can hab leckly." While the money was being counted out, Houqua 
 invited young Perkins to lunch with him and to attend an old Chinese 
 play which Houqua said had been going on for several weeks. 
 Finally the play was over, Houqua amusingly remarking that "the 
 tide would not wait even for Confucius " and therefore the play must 
 come to an end for the day. The dollars were taken back safely 
 to Canton. 
 
 Colonel Perkins spent a good many years of his life in London, 
 where he made many warm friends. He also acquired the reputation 
 of being one of the best-dressed men of his day and of having the 
 handsomest leg in London. Wliile there he served on the staff of 
 General Devereux for over two years. On one occasion the question 
 of wearing knee-breeches or trousers was discussed, and those present 
 decided to ask Major Perkins what his decision would be. His 
 answer was that all men who had bad legs might come in trousers, 
 and, as General Devereux expressed it, " trousers were very scarce 
 that season at Almack's." 
 
 On another occasion a marquis had driven six horses through the
 
 SOME M ERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 streets of London and had been fined, as this was against the municipal 
 regulations. Major Perkins declared that the offender hadn't known 
 how to do it, and he promptly made bets with all the people in the 
 room that he could drive his six-in-hand about the Park without 
 being fined. The next morning the same party of men scrambled 
 into their seats in the drag and the six-in-hand started on its way 
 about London. In a short time a " bobby " ordered them to stop, 
 remarking that it was contrary to the law to drive six horses about 
 the streets of London. " I am aware of that," answered Colonel 
 Perkins. " Then I must summon you," replied the officer. " I am 
 Colonel Thomas H. Perkins of Park Lane," was the reply, " and I 
 am not breaking that regulation. If you will take the trouble to 
 inspect my off-wheeler you will perceive that he is a mule and I know 
 of no regulation which prevents a gentleman from driving five horses 
 and a mule to his drag if he pleases." None on the drag had noticed 
 the mule, and when they did see it there was a shout of laughter 
 from every one, with the exclamation, " You have won, Tom," and 
 the " bobby " remarked, " Damned Yankee trick that," as Colonel 
 Perkins touched up his horses and started for home. 
 
 General Devereux praised Colonel Perkins very highly while he 
 was his staff officer. One day a number of men were having a 
 discussion and the Marquis of Hertford said he knew a certain thing 
 was so. Some one else asked him how he knew this, and he replied, 
 " Because Tom Perkins told me so." Again the questioner rather 
 carelessly asked who Tom Perkins was and why he should always 
 be quoted. The questioner again was admonished by the Marquis, 
 who replied that Tom Perkins was a young man whom he ad- 
 mired and respected; that he admired any man who could knock 
 Richmond through a window, and respected a young man who when 
 he came to hunt with them not only brought nags enough to horse 
 himself but had spare mounts for some of his own impecunious 
 relatives. He further stated that he had seen the questioner riding 
 some of Tom's horses himself. There was a shout from all those 
 in the room, and the questioner declared that he was sorry he had 
 spoken. 
 
 When Colonel Perkins returned to America he purchased a house 
 at Nahant which was owned at one time by General Charles J. Paine, 
 the famous yachtsman. Perkins was always fond of the water and 
 was an excellent hand in steering a small boat. Captain Dumaresq 
 came back from Baltimore and described a very beautiful schooner 
 which Perkins bought, and made a match with her against the 
 " Sylph," which was to be sailed by John Perkins Cushing and 
 Capt. R. B. Forbes. The race was to a buoy off the outer light in 
 Boston Harbour, it being agreed that the first boat around should 
 drive a boat-hook into the buoy and the next boat should take it out. 
 The Perkins-Dumaresq yacht, which was called the " Dream," 
 rounded the buoy first, and the Colonel drove his boat-hook into it 
 and succeeded in first reaching home. The boat-hook never was 
 brought back, and for years afterwards, when Colonel Perkins met
 
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 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 Captain Forbes on Temple Place or on the Common he used to yell: 
 "Ben, ahoy! Where is my boat-hook?" 
 
 Colonel Perkins was born in his father's house on Pearl Street 
 and later attended school at Exeter Academy, where the master 
 declared he was a very rare fellow because he had "a watch, a fowling 
 piece and a Lexicon," a rare combination at that time. 
 
 He married Miss Jane Francis Dumaresq and they lived in Boston, 
 first on Chauncy Street and then at 1 Winthrop Place. He became 
 a partner in the firm of J. & T. H. Perkins, and was so successful 
 that in 1834 he built a house of his own at 1 Joy Street, where he 
 passed many years. To their house came many of the important 
 people of this time, — Harrison Gray Otis, Judge Story, Samuel 
 Appleton, Thomas L. Winthrop, Daniel Webster, Nathaniel Amory, 
 Nlajor Joseph Russell, Mr. and Mrs. Everett, Augustus Thorndike. 
 Francis Codman, Charles Hammond, J. P. Cushing, Thomas and 
 Lothrop Motley, Louis Stackpole, Henry Cabot, Col. T. G. Carey, 
 W\ H. Gardiner, and others. His father's house in Temple Place 
 was the rendezvous of all the important people of the day. Mention 
 is often made of the wonderful Thanksgiving dinners there, which 
 were attended by four generations, those present often numbering 
 over sixty, and occupying two rooms for the dinner-table. Upon 
 these occasions it was always customary after dinner for the youngest 
 child to walk down the entire length of the table, and it is recorded 
 that the last one to achieve this feat was a great-grand-daughter, 
 now Mrs. F. C. Shattuck, who was then about five years old. 
 
 When Colonel Perkins realized that he was about to die he said 
 to a friend of his: " I am about as good as Gus Thorndike, Jim Otis, 
 or Charlie Hammond, and almost as good as Frank Codman. I 
 shall go where they go, and that is where I wish to go." In a few 
 weeks this fine gentleman died, in the year 1850. 
 
 THCKFRMAN TOWN^FND k CO 
 
 The white flag with two letter T's and a blue border, flown by 
 Tuckerman, Townsend & Co., was known in many ports of the world, 
 but chiefly in Palermo, Singapore, Penang, Calcutta, and other Eastern 
 ports. The head of this house was Gustavus Tuckerman, Jr., who 
 was born in England in the year 1824. It had been intended that he 
 should go to Harvard College as his elder brother John Francis 
 Tuckerman had done, but owing to a change of plans he went into 
 the office of Curtis and Greenough. He was sent by this firm in 
 1847 to Palermo, Sicily, as its representative to attend to the purchase 
 and shipment of the cargoes, sending, as he deemed most profitable, 
 cream of tartar, shellac, wine, fruit, licorice, paste, linseed, etc., etc., 
 to Boston. He represented the firm a second time in 1849, passing 
 another year at Palermo, and his letters of introduction at both times 
 brought him in contact with many interesting people. 
 
 On his return he was made a partner in the firm of Curtis & Greenough 
 
 8
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 and in 1851 married Emily Goddard Lamb, a daughter of Thomas 
 Lamb, president of the New England National Bank of Boston. 
 Alfred Greenough died about this time, and Tuckerman formed a 
 partnership with Thomas D. Townsend, who was also in the firm of 
 Curtis & Greenough, under the firm name of Tuckerman, Townsend & 
 Co. In 1852 Tuckerman sailed for India to represent the new firm. 
 
 The most reliable captain sailing for this house was Captain Mea- 
 com, who has been described by Mr. Tuckerman as one of the old- 
 fashioned sort who would take good care of his vessel and be honest 
 for his owners. He was the oldest trader who called at Calcutta and 
 was privileged to wear a pennant on holidays and was called '' Com- 
 modore," both old customs of that port. 
 
 During Tuckerman's second trip to India, in 1859, the firm of 
 Tuckerman, Townsend & Co. lost a great deal of money owing to 
 adverse business conditions which virtually ruined the old India trade. 
 On his return he decided to dissolve the firm rather than to continue 
 on borrowed capital which was offered him at that time. He there- 
 fore brought his family to New York City and accepted the position 
 of treasurer of the Hazard Powder Company. His heart was ever 
 true to the old business, however, and he always loved to remember 
 the old days in the India trade, and the ships and captains of the 
 square-riggers that his firm had owned and chartered. 
 
 Joseph Tuckerman, a cousin of Gustavus Tuckerman, was in 
 business with Josiah Bradlee, and gave up this position to act as super- 
 cargo of the " Cowper," owned by Russell & Co. Some years later 
 he brought back a shipload of Eastern merchandise to New York, 
 arriving during the panic of 1837. As he approached his home his 
 father opened the window and greeted him with these cheerful words: 
 "Joseph, we are all ruined, you're ruined." It was true; they were 
 bankrupt, as the goods brought no bids. Tuckerman was not dis- 
 couraged by this adverse fortune, but set out to make his living in 
 some other line. One day he was riding on the Camden-Amboy 
 Railroad, the train being drawn by the famous English locomotive 
 "Johnnie Bull," which was imported from England a few years before. 
 He at once realized the value of iron for the railroads, entered the iron 
 business, and recouped his lost fortune. 
 
 CAPTAIN BURKE AND HIS GALLANT RESCUE 
 
 Captain Edmund Burke of the "Azor " was the most popular of all 
 the Fayal captains and usually made very fast voyages owing to the 
 fact that he always trimmed the sails to take advantage of every pufi" 
 of air. His mate, a man named Davis, was an excellent navigator, 
 although with but little education. He was not at all ashamed of the 
 fact that he was a self-made man, and often said jokingly that he had 
 only three days of school in his life: " The first day school didn't keep; 
 the second day the teacher was sick; and the third day I played 
 hookev." 
 
 9
 
 From a photograph 
 
 Kindness of Frederic Cunningham
 
 SOME MERCHANTS ayid SEA CAPTAINS of OLD B OSTON 
 
 One of the men in Captain Burke's crew sailed with him for eleven 
 years, and every one, both passengers and crew, was very fond of him. 
 Once when it became necessary to cut away the masts on one of the 
 voyages into New Bedford four Portuguese sailors in the crew, who 
 had been on the ship for over four years, were so filled with grief at 
 being forced to raise a hand against the ship they loved so much that 
 they wept bitterly all the while they were hacking at the masts with 
 their axes. 
 
 On his first voyage in the "Azor" in 1855 the following were among 
 the passengers bound to Fayal: Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Dabney, Olivia 
 Dabney, C. P. Webster, E. W. Pomeroy, Edith Dabney, and F. Kinni- 
 cutt, Jr. The Dabney family was associated with Fayal for many 
 years and thought little of making a trip there. The following words 
 are taken from an old log of the "Azor." 
 
 "Sweet Barque, it is of thee, 
 From all bilge-water free, 
 
 Of thee I sing; 
 Barque of the noble prow, 
 So clean from top to toe, 
 Long mayest thou to and fro 
 
 The Dabneys bring." 
 
 While on the way from Fayal to Boston in 1865, Captain Burke 
 encountered tremendous gales, and when nine hundred miles from 
 Boston fell in with the ship " Gratitude," which was in such a leaky 
 condition that all of her passengers had to be transferred to the 
 "Azor," which had been rechristened " Fredonia." Three hun- 
 dred and twenty people were transferred with great difficulty, which 
 increased the " Fredonia's " list from fifteen to a total of three hun- 
 dred and thirty-five persons, and to provide quarters for them all it 
 was found necessary to throw overboard thousands of boxes of 
 oranges. More severe weather was encountered and the thermometer 
 dropped to zero, necessitating the constant hammering of the rigging 
 by the sailors to keep it clear of ice. Several times the vessel was 
 blown to sea as she was about to enter Boston Harbour, and as 
 their food consisted chiefly of oranges, which had now been almost 
 all consumed, the consequences might have been disastrous. 
 Finally port was safely made, and Mayor Lincoln and many of the 
 good citizens of Boston took prompt steps to relieve the sufferings 
 of the unfortunate passengers. The cargo which was thrown over- 
 board from the " Fredonia " was insured, but by getting rid of it 
 before the people from the " Gratitude " came aboard, the insurance 
 was forfeited. Generous Bostonians again came to the rescue, realiz- 
 ing that the captain could not have acted otherwise, and raised the 
 amount of the loss by popular subscription. 
 
 Some months later Captain Burke sailed to Lisbon, and on arriving 
 at that port the officials informed him that there was a quarantine 
 against arrivals from certain ports in the United States, as smallpox
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAL\S of OLD BOSTON 
 
 had broken out there. The Americans were much amused when they 
 were furtlicr informed that ail ships sailing from America were exempt 
 from quarantine, except those from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago 
 and Cincinnati. 
 
 On one of these rough voyages to Fayal one of the passengers, 
 undoubtedly a poor sailor, as will be observed by the reader, composed 
 the following verses, which may prove amusing: — 
 
 A PSALM OF THE SEA 
 
 A. C. SICKFELLOW 
 
 Tell me not in cheerful numbers 
 
 Life at sea's a pleasant dream, 
 For all round me seasick grumblers 
 
 Anything but pleasant seem. 
 
 Life is hateful — life's disgusting, 
 
 When in torture past control, 
 To bounding billows you're entrusting 
 
 Your scarce-swallowed breakfast roll. 
 
 Short the voyage, the bark swift sailing. 
 
 No ill wind nor storm betides; 
 Yet, still obtrudes the thought prevailing, 
 
 'Twas not meant for my insides. 
 
 In future, friends, nor doctor either, 
 
 Trust when urging change of air; 
 Firmly tell them that you'd rather 
 
 Stay at home and tear your hair, 
 
 Than to ride with ocean demons 
 
 In a plight that nothing cures; 
 With the vessel on her beam ends, 
 
 And you, hapless wight, on yours. 
 
 Rolling on the broad Atlantic, 
 
 Reeling feet from stem to stern; 
 Every one with efforts frantic 
 
 Striving head from heels to learn. 
 
 You lose your meals — don't lose your temper. 
 
 Cheerful let your dinner go; 
 All know, who've suffered this distemper, 
 
 You've "that within which passcth show." 
 
 Let us, then, while onward gliding, 
 
 As for land we long and wait. 
 Still from port to starboard sliding. 
 
 Learn to grin and bear our fate. 
 
 12
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 Not for comfort in our sorrow, 
 Nor for brandy, now we call; 
 
 All we ask is that each morrow 
 Bring us nearer to Fayal. 
 
 BY s. B. s. 
 
 {From Passenger 5 Log of the "Jzor" in possession of Mrs. Clara D. Benton, of 
 Michigan, daughter of Captain Burke.) 
 
 AUGUSTUS HEMENWAY & CO. 
 
 Augustus Hemenway was one of the most influential merchants 
 of Boston. He was born in Salem in 1805, and like many boys of 
 that period he was obliged to go to work when he was very young. 
 His first position was as clerk in a small dry-goods store in Charles- 
 town, and later he was employed by Benjamin Bangs & Co., going 
 out as supercargo in their vessels. When he was fifteen years old, it 
 is recorded, he was earning $60 a year and his board. With the Bangs 
 firm he began trading for himself in a small way with the seacoast 
 r.owns in Maine, then he branched out to the West Indies, and by 
 1836 he was in business for himself under the firm name of A. Hemen- 
 way & Co. He owned eight large ships, which he built for his own 
 business, under his own orders, and which plied to and from Val- 
 paraiso, where he had his own warehouse and stores. The names of 
 these vessels were " City of Valparaiso," " City of Santiago," " Inde- 
 pendence," " Magellan," " San Carlos," "Prospero," " Sunbeam," and 
 ' Quintero." He also owned the entire cargoes which consisted of what- 
 ever American products he considered would be salable on the west 
 coast of South America, — soap, candles, kerosene, refined sugar, boots, 
 shoes, etc.; lathes, shovels, picks, and other tools and machines, woollen 
 and cotton cloth; sewing-machines, organs, pianos, furniture, and other 
 manufactures. For the homeward voyages the ships were loaded 
 with copper ore, nitrate of soda, wool, hides, goatskins, etc. As all 
 the cargo belonged to him, he never had to advertise for freight. 
 
 One of his captains said that when his crew was taken on board 
 in Boston, one of them was very drunk and noisy, whereupon the 
 mate told him to stop his noise and go below. The man made some 
 insulting reply, whereupon the mate seized a belaying pin, struck 
 him a heavy blow on the head which brought the blood over his face, 
 and knocked him senseless to the deck. A lady passenger, who saw 
 it, was horrified at the sight, and hastened to the cabin. A few days 
 ater, when the ship had sailed, this lady came on deck and observ- 
 ing the man who had been belabored, at the wheel, steering 
 the ship, exclaimed, "Oh, my good man, how is your head.''" The 
 nan glanced at the compass and replied absent-mindedly to the puzzled 
 ady, " East-north-east-half-east, Madam." 
 
 Another captain brought home from Valparaiso a French ship- 
 master whose vessel had been sold. He had with his baggage a 
 quantity of fine French brandy. On the last day of the discharge 
 
 13
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 of the cargo the Frenchman invited the custom-house officer on board 
 to take a glass of this brandy, which the officer said was the finest 
 he had ever tasted. The Frenchman asked if he would consider it 
 a good thing to have in the house, and asked for a memorandum of 
 his residence. Soon after that a man came from the cabin with a 
 half-dozen bottles in a basket and started for the shore. Of course, 
 the officer could not see goods taken ashore until the duty was paid, 
 so he looked the other way. When he went home that night he was 
 surprised and disappointed at not finding the brandy there and dis- 
 covered a few days later that the address given to the man with the 
 basket was that of one of the Frenchman's friends, and not his own 
 address. The custom-house official could not say anything about the 
 incident without showing his neglect of duty in allowing the brandy 
 to be landed. 
 
 Mr. Hemenway's quiet manner of managing his affairs was appre- 
 ciated by every one. One day the stevedores' engine, at work on 
 the wharf, threw oflF a mass of soot which was blown into the office 
 windows, covering the desks and papers. Mr. Hemenway spoke to 
 the wharfinger about it, who must have been a punster, for he 
 replied, " I am very sorry; we are always trying to s^nt you," and 
 then proceeded with his work. 
 
 Besides his Valparaiso business Augustus Hemenway owned an 
 entire township in Maine, where he procured pine-trees, floating the 
 logs down to his own saw-mill at Machias. Here they were cut 
 into boards and loaded on his schooners for Cuba, where he owned 
 a large plantation and sugar-mill, in which he took a great interest. 
 One winter evening, while on his way from Sagua to the St. George 
 estate, Mr. Hemenway was captured by insurgents and held for 
 ransom. The manager of the estate, who was with him, was very 
 much terrified, but Mr. Hemenway showed no fear whatever and 
 passed a good part of the night sitting on a log, smoking cigars, and 
 endeavoring to beat down the exorbitant demands made for his 
 ransom, in which he was largely successful. At daybreak he sent his 
 manager, Mr. Bartlett, to the bank, in Sagua, for the necessary funds, 
 paid his ransom, then went quietly on his way. Absolute fearlessness 
 was one of his strongest characteristics. After this adventure, how- 
 ever, he made it a point to go by train from Sagua to the estate. 
 
 Mr. Hemenway was an industrious, quiet, and unassuming gentle- 
 man, and was a most successful merchant. He was so conscientious 
 about his business that he was seldom willing to leave details to others, 
 sometimes even superintending the loading of his vessels. He married 
 Mary Tileston, the daughter of Thomas Tileston of New York, who 
 was one of the foremost merchants of that city from 1820 until his 
 death in the late sixties. 
 
 There was another Hemenway in the family who was a noted 
 captain, and it was said of him that he was such a good pilot that 
 he could " take a ship to the White Mountains, gather a freight of 
 cool air and return on time with his eyes shut." 
 
 15
 
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 ■j rri nr']" r^ "HHi *^"' 
 
 ,J lil'j 'gim.'"'^ ■ ' JT-' 
 
 
 
 p*^ 
 
 
 -' * I*.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 From a painline rru'tied hy Barclay TlHon, E^q. 
 
 "DASHING \VA\E," OWNED BY STEPHEN TILTON & CO., ENTERING BOSTON 
 
 HARBOUR IN 1855 
 
 The Tilton firm has had offices in the same location, 10 Central Wharf, — now 10 Milk 
 Street, — since 1830. The ships of the firm used to dock opposite the counting-house. 
 
 STEPHEN TILTOX & CO., WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 THRILLING ADVENTURE OF TWO OF THE TILTON 
 FAMILY AGAINST INDIANS. 
 
 The firm of Stephen Tilton & Co. was composed of Stephen and his 
 two sons, Stephen, Jr., and Joseph B. Tilton, the latter the father of 
 Barclay Tilton, and their offices since 1830 have been at the same 
 location, formerly 10 Central Wharf, now 10 Milk Street. The old 
 sign over the door is still there, although no longer legible. The firm 
 had started business a few years before in Newburyport. The ships 
 of the firm used to dock right opposite the " counting-room," the 
 dock itself being situated where the present Chamber of Commerce 
 is. Central Wharf in the early days was the continuation of what is 
 now Milk Street, below India Street. The Tilton firm at first traded 
 with the W^est Indies and later with Calcutta, where some of the 
 cousins and uncles lived as agents, handling chiefly tobacco sent out 
 there from Virginia. The two best known of their ships were the 
 " Dashing Wave " and " Water Witch." When the " Dashing Wave " 
 was converted into a barge a shot from the Confederate cruiser " Ala- 
 bama " was found in her timbers. At present writing she is still used 
 as a barge. The logs of the firm's ships were found in the offices at 
 10 Central Wharf. 
 
 18
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 The grandfather and uncle of Stephen Tilton had a thrilling ex- 
 perience with some Penobscot Indians, which is most interesting, and 
 which has been described in "A Brief Narrative or Poem, giving an 
 account of the hostile Actions of Some Pagan Indians towards Lieu- 
 tenant Jacob Tilton, and his brother Daniel Tilton, both of the town 
 of Ipswich, as they were on board of a small vessel at the Eastward; 
 which happened in the summer-time, in the year 1722. With an ac- 
 count of the Valiant Exploits of the said Tiltons, and their victorious 
 Conquest over their insulting enemies." This narrative was discovered 
 stowed away in the Newburyport Town Hall. 
 
 The two Tilton brothers went off on a fishing voyage, and, to quote 
 the first few lines of this poem:- — 
 
 "Down at an eastward harbour call'd Fox Bay,* 
 They in a Schooner at an anchor lay. 
 It was upon the fourteenth day of June, 
 Six stout great Indians in the afternoon 
 In two Canoes on board said Schooner came, 
 With painted faces in a churlish frame." 
 
 The warriors ran down into the cabin and demanded to know the 
 reason why the white men retained one of their Indians as a hostage, 
 to which Lieutenant Tilton expostulated that 
 
 "Great while since we from Boston hither came 
 We poor fishermen are not to blame." 
 
 The Indians with considerable difficulty then managed to bind their 
 two captives, and danced around them, flourishing their long knives. 
 Presently two of their number rowed ashore to carry back the good 
 news of the capture, leaving on guard the other four, who felt so certain 
 that they had their prisoners secure, that they left them and began to 
 plunder the ship of all food and valuables on board. The following 
 lines plainly describe what ensued: — 
 
 "While they were plundering so busily, 
 He saw a splitting knife that was near by, 
 To which he goes and turns his back about 
 Eyeing them well, lest they should find him out: 
 And so he works said knife into his hand, 
 With which he cuts his line, but still doth stand. 
 Although two of said Indians him ey'd. 
 They did not know but he remained fast ty'd. 
 Two of said Indians were plundering, 
 Down the Forecastle while he did this tiling, 
 The other two so watchful and so sly, 
 And on him kept a constant Indian eye, 
 That he stands still waiting till he could find 
 A time when they did him not so^much mind; 
 
 * Fox Bay was undoubtedly North Haven. 
 
 19
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTO^ 
 
 But when for plunder they to searching goes, 
 Then his contrivance presently he shows: 
 He to his brother Jacob runs with speed, 
 And cuts his line; now both of them are freed. 
 The Indians now alarmed, hereby. 
 In Indian lanpuape, made a hideous cry: 
 Cryinp Chau hau, chau hau; for they espy'd. 
 That both these Englishmen were got unty'd; 
 Like roaring Lyons with an ax and knives 
 Made violent assaults to take their lives; 
 But God who had determined to save, 
 I'ndauntcd courage unto them He gave; 
 That they with such a manly confidence, 
 Altho' unarm'd stood in their own defence; 
 And tho' they had from these blood-thirsty hounds 
 Received many dismal stabs and wounds, 
 While in their skirmish blood was up and hot. 
 No more than Flea bites them they minded not, 
 Said Daniel still retained his splitting knife. 
 Who nimbly ply'd the same and fit for life; 
 With one hand fended off the Indian blows, 
 And with the other crossed the face and nose 
 Of Captain Sam, until his pagan head 
 Was chop'd and gash'd, and so much mangled; 
 Bits of his Indian scalp hung down in strings, 
 And blood run pouring thence as out of springs." 
 
 Jacob Tilton was able to hurl one of the wounded Indians overboard. 
 
 "Then Daniel presently took Captain Sam, 
 And brought his hand about his Indian Ham, 
 And to the vessel side he nimble goes. 
 And his black carcass in the water throws." 
 
 Jacob then threw the third over the side, the fourth deciding that 
 he would jump of his own accord. Two of the wounded men in the 
 water then climbed on board a canoe which was lying alongside the 
 vessel. The poem goes on to say: — 
 
 "Said Indians on board had left a gun. 
 Unto the same said Jacob Tilton run. 
 Catching it up to shoot them, it mist fire. 
 Which disappointed him of his desire. 
 He catching up a stout great setting Pole, 
 With all his might he struck them on the jcle. 
 Giving them many blows upon the head; 
 Over they turns, and sunk like any lead. 
 We think our Country now at Peace might rest, 
 If all our Indian foes were thus supprest. 
 Let God the glory of such conquest have, 
 Who can by few as well as many save. 
 Then having thus dispatch'd the savage crew. 
 They presently consulted what best to do. 
 
 20 

 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 Three more Canoes ladden to the brim 
 
 With Indians as deep as they could swim, 
 
 Came padling down with all their might and main 
 
 Hoping the valient Tiltons to retain. 
 
 Daniel, which was both nimble, stout and spry, 
 
 He fetch'd an ax, and running presently. 
 
 He cuts the cable; then they hoist their sail. 
 
 Leaving their Neighbors, that they might bewail 
 
 Over their Governor who in dispute, 
 
 Had term'd himself as great and good as Shute.* 
 
 After they had from foes escaped thus. 
 
 They sail'd and came into Alintinnicus" (now Matinicus). 
 
 Here their wounds were dressed by the English and then 
 
 "Their course for Ipswich town they next contrive, 
 Where in a few days their Vessel did arrive: 
 Through so much danger, misery and pain, 
 They are returned to their friends again. 
 Thus I have summed up this tragick scene. 
 As from their mouths it told to me has been." 
 
 * Shute was then Governor of Massachusetts. 
 
 1867. 
 
 FORT ^^ HILL 
 
 BOSTON, MASS. 
 
 1892. 
 
 |rjpmwMff.Tin:i».niye:i:2c 
 
 HIGH STREET BRIDGE, OVER OLIVER. 
 
 HIGH STREET, COR. OLIVER. 
 
 Then * anD * noW. 
 
 FORT HILL IN 1867 AND IN 1892 
 
 Kindness of J . Chany 
 
 The Sailors' Home and the waters of Boston Harbour can be seen in the background of 
 the picture on the left. 
 
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 SOME MERCHANTS a7id SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 ALPHEUS HARDY &: CO. 
 
 Alphcus Hardy and Ezra Baker in the early forties were successful 
 in the coastwise trade, so much so, in fact, that for the purpose of 
 extending their commerce they purchased the " Otho," a little brig 
 of 150 tons, to send to the Mediterranean, and although she was 
 very small the merchants of Boston looked with jealous eye upon 
 her. The " Otho " made a remarkable trip, and arrived in Boston 
 long before the rest of the fleet. At once her cargo was advertised 
 at auction, and buyers thronged the pier where old John Tyler was 
 reaping fancy prices, when in the midst of the sale one of Boston's 
 merchants drove up in a chaise and called out to the crowd: "Buy 
 easy, boys, buy easy! My bark is just signalled, and she will be 
 here before night." Perhaps the sale would have terminated more 
 successfully had the buyers known that this bark had not signalled, 
 and that a fortnight was to elapse before she appeared in port. In 
 spite of this misfortune which attended the disposition of the 
 " Otho's " first cargo under her new ownership, the firm of Hardy 
 and Baker prospered, and became a worthy predecessor of the later 
 firm of Alpheus Hardy & Co. The latter firm had the distinction 
 of owning many swift vessels. They also never sold a ship nor 
 changed a flag through fear of either foreign or domestic foe, and 
 perhaps as a reward they never lost a ship to the Confederates 
 during the Rebellion. Their ships included the " Conquest," 
 " Ocean Pearl," " Cowper," " Granite," " Wild Rover," and " Moun- 
 tain Wave," and their barks were the " Young Turk," " Kepler," 
 ''Cleber," "Wild Gazelle," "The Turk," "Bounding Billow," 
 "Daniel Webster," "Dorchester," and "Young Turk, 2nd." The 
 "Daniel Webster " owned by the Hardy firm was usually the 
 ship that brought the first cargo of fruit into the Boston market, a 
 coveted honor among the vessels of those days. She was later 
 owned by John S. Emery & Co. of Boston. 
 
 In a letter written by Alpheus Hardy at Gibraltar, November 20, 
 1845, he said: "I sailed from our good city, the Queen city of the 
 States. My leaving was under the most pleasing and happy cir- 
 cumstances, so far as conveyance and company were concerned, our 
 firm having prepared a new bark completely fitted for our comfort. 
 My pride was moved by going in my own vessel, and with a cargo 
 under my control. Poor human nature!" During this tour made 
 by Mr. Hardy to the Nile and the Holy Land, ships belonging to the 
 firm were frequently met with, and in them were sent home many 
 purchases, and mementos of travel. 
 
 It was the " Wild Rover " belonging to Alpheus Hardy & Co. 
 that in 1865 brought into the United States the first Japanese to come 
 to this country in search of learning, and it was Alpheus Hardy who be- 
 came the benefactor of and who educated Joseph Hardy Neesima, the 
 young immigrant, and who lived to see his protege serve Japan and 
 there found Doshisha University. Neesima's escape from Japan to China 
 
 24
 
 From a photograph Kindness oj Arthur Sherburne Hardy 
 
 JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA 
 
 He escaped from Japan and came to America on one of the 
 Hardy ships. He was then educated by Alpheus Hardy, who 
 always took a great interest in the young Japanese. Neesima 
 took Mr. Hardy's name for his middle name.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 was made in an American vessel of which William T, Savory of 
 Salem, Mass., was master. Captain Savory kindly consented to 
 aid the young Japanese, and, in order to secure his safety from the 
 custom-house officers, locked Neesima in the store-room of the cabin. 
 At Shanghai, Neesima was transferred to the Hardy ship " Wild 
 Rover," commanded by Captain Horace S. Taylor of Chatham, 
 Mass., and after a prolonged voyage of eight months the vessel 
 reached Cape Cod. When the young Japanese came on board he 
 could speak only a few words of English, and when he was asked his 
 name by the captain he replied that it was " Neesima Shimeta." 
 *' I think I had better call you Joe," rejoined the captain, and from 
 that time he was known by that name. Upon meeting Neesima in 
 Boston, Alpheus Hardy undertook the education of the young 
 foreigner who had risked his life to come here in search of knowledge. 
 He was placed in Phillips Academy at Andover, and afterwards was 
 sent to Amherst College, where he was graduated in 1870. He is 
 remembered as the Apostle to Japan. Up to Mr. Hardy's death 
 in 1887 his interest in Neesima's work was very great. Professor 
 T. Makino and Professor Mizusaki, who have been living in Boston 
 recently, were two of Neesima's pall-bearers when he died in 1890. 
 
 Alpheus H. Hardy succeeded his father as a member of the firm 
 of Alpheus Hardy & Co. The younger Mr. Hardy in 1853 — when 
 but thirteen years of age — crossed the Atlantic in the 320-ton bark 
 " Young Turk " belonging to his father and manned by a Chatham 
 crew. During this voyage young Hardy kept a diary in which he 
 recorded impressions of the sea and of places visited, his last entry, 
 November 9, 1853, giving a vivid picture of the lad's joy in seeing 
 Boston again. " On Long Wharf," he says, " I recognized father 
 among the crowd, and also the blacks (black horses) and mother's 
 face at the carriage window. I touched the wharf before the ship and 
 was soon out of the crowd and where in comparative seclusion, I might 
 be welcomed at home." 
 
 At the two hundredth anniversary of Chatham, Mass., in 1912, 
 Mr. Hardy recalled this early voyage. " In the years," said Mr. 
 Hardy, " when we still owned ships, so far as possible, we chose 
 Chatham or Cape men as masters. Among them was John Paine, 
 to whom was gladly paid a higher wage if he would take his wife 
 with him; David Nye Nickerson, Thomas Crowell, Thomas Sparrow, 
 Andrew Reynolds and others. . . . The choice was based upon 
 the confidence and belief in the character and ability of the men. 
 In connection with this, let me mention an incident which occurred 
 this morning. Captain Ephraim Smith told me that my father told 
 him when he had chartered him for a special voyage, ' I have not 
 chartered your vessel, but you.' It was not the ship, but the man 
 he wanted. I recall the unwillingness to let the now Rev. S. S. 
 Nickerson go to sea in command of the ' Heroine,' which he had 
 chartered, because of his extreme youthful appearance, until he 
 learned that he was a Chatham boy. That settled it, and he made 
 a successful voyage." 
 
 26
 
 "nie Best Cliaiice Yet, for 
 
 A Meeting will be tjeld in f"<S II ASSET, at the Office oC 
 
 H . J . 1 1 11 1 1 ft , 
 
 On SATIRDAV, Janimry 2Tt!«, at 91 ^ft'C'lork. ibv the |nn- 
 poKe of forming a Company, to be eaSb^l 3he " S^iith Nhore an*? 
 Calitbrnia Joint St«M>k Com|)any ;'' to be consfHtsed of SH> 
 Members, and eaeh Member paying S9»30^>. 
 
 COH ASSET, J.ANl.VRY «i, IS4J>. 
 
 Fropeller Fower Pressei, 142 ^^aahtngtoB St., Dotton. 
 
 Kindness of the Boston Marine Museum 
 
 From a broadside 
 
 NOTICE OF A MEETING HELD IN COHASSET IN 1849 TO FORM A COMPANY 
 TO SEEK GOLD DURING THE CALIFORNIA GOLD CRAZE 
 
 In this year 775 vessels cleared from Atlantic ports for San Francisco, Massachusetts 
 sending 224. 91,405 people arrived in the Golden City during the year 1849.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 OSBORX HOWF 
 
 Osborn Howes was born in Dennis, Mass., in 1806, the family 
 having settled on Cape Cod as early as 1635. His father, who was also 
 a well-known sea-captain, was captured by the English during the war 
 of 1812, but managed to escape, and succeeded in recapturing 
 his own vessel, bringing her and her crew back into Portland 
 Harbour. Nothing could be more interesting than the description 
 in Mr. Howes' autobiography of his early life on Cape Cod, which 
 pictures his mother spinning and weaving the clothing for the whole 
 household, while the son wound quills and attended to the farm. 
 
 In 1818 the Howes family put all their property on board a small 
 schooner and sailed to Boston, going to Dedham by stage-coach, 
 where they took up their residence, the younger Howes journeying 
 to the new home on top of a pile of furniture which was placed on 
 the ox-cart. The trip consumed all of the day and part of the night. 
 
 At an early age he was sent by his father, who sailed ships for 
 Edmund Baylies and Thomas B. Curtis, to Copenhagen under 
 Captain Burgess. The second voyage was as supercargo in the 
 " Cipher," which had been commanded by his father. Several years 
 later David Ellis asked him to take the bark " Hebe " to Brazil, 
 expressing this promotion by saying that he could not afford to pay 
 the salaries of both a captain and supercargo, and that he would 
 therefore have to act in both capacities. Howes, of course, was 
 overjoyed and, with an interest in the undertaking, sailed for Per- 
 nambuco. On his return he purchased the remaining interest in the 
 " Hebe " and made several successful voyages in her, one of them 
 being to Turkey, where he was hailed as the first American captain to 
 visit that country. He then took his brother-in-law into partnership, 
 forming the firm of Howes & Crowell, which continued in business 
 for thirty-four years. The "Josephine," " George Hallett," " Newton^" 
 and " Osborne Howes " also carried the flag of the firm. The business 
 of the house increased at the time of the gold craze in California, and 
 many vessels owned by them were employed in trade with California, 
 China, Australia, and Western Europe. During the latter years of 
 Captain Howes' life he was persuaded to manage the American 
 Steamboat Company and to invest in some of its stock. The enter- 
 prise proved unprofitable, and Mr. Howes had to give all his energy 
 at an advanced age to wind up the affairs of the Company, the strain 
 on his physique being very severe. 
 
 In 1874 he foresaw the wane of shipping investments and spent 
 the next few years of his life in selling his vessels. 
 
 When he died, an intimate friend of his said, " To have known him 
 was a great privilege; to have had personal acquaintance with him 
 was to believe forever in the men who made us a nation, and 
 consequently to have faith in its future." 
 
 For many years Howes and his family shared a house on Fort Hill 
 with Captain Ezra H. Baker. The family now spells the name Osborne. 
 
 29
 
 SOME MERCHANTS aiid SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 
 I 
 
 T 
 
 From a print 
 
 f "iv.ii^flfj i-ffw :»■ 
 
 •CAMI'XOCk' 
 
 Kindness nf Louis Bacon 
 
 This famous clipper was owned by Daniel C. Bacon and was built by Samuel Hall. She 
 was one of the fastest vessels ever built. Her figurehead of a Game Cock with outstretched 
 neck arkd head was known to many ports of the world. 
 
 CAPTAIN DANIEL C. BACON 
 
 The " Canton Packet" while in China, in 1820, was blown ashore by 
 a typhoon, which left her almost high and dry on the rice-fields. Daniel 
 Bacon had gone over as captain of the "Alert," and as soon as he 
 discovered the mishap he rushed over to assist in floating the American 
 vessel. He gave orders to one of the sailors to " bear a hand and 
 loose that topsail " and "to cut away the stops," and was surprised 
 to receive the answer that it couldn't be done, as he had no knife. 
 "A pretty sailor without a knife," said Captain Bacon, not realizing 
 at all that he was working with and talking to Robert Bennet Forbes, 
 who was soon to become his most intimate friend. In fact, the two 
 families have always maintained that in later life when either of 
 these well-known captains was taking a nap, each one gave instructions 
 to be waked only for his chum. 
 
 Captain Bacon was born in Barnstable, Cape Cod, the family hav- 
 ing moved there from England in 1639, and the property where they 
 resided still remains in the family, although the original house is not 
 now standing. At this earlv date the Cape-Codders used to refer 
 to "Goodman" and " Goodwife " instead of "Mr." and "Mrs." 
 When the first railroad was built on the Cape, the Bacons relate that 
 one of the women of the family had such an aversion to its being 
 laid that when she went out to drive she carried a large turkey-feather 
 
 30
 
 From a portrait 
 
 Kindness of Louis Bacon 
 
 CAPTAIN DANIEL C. BACON 
 
 One of the most famous of old sea captains, and builder of the 
 "Gamecock," for many years one of the fastest ships afloat.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 fan to hold in front of her eyes so that she couldn't see the trains 
 go by. 
 
 Life on the Cape was excellent training for the sea, and it wasn't 
 at all surprising that one of the later members of the family, Daniel 
 Bacon, should at an early age set out on the old family white horse 
 for Boston to seek his fortune as a sailor, hiring some one to ride his 
 horse back to Barnstable. He shipped before the mast, rising quickly 
 in rank until he became first mate under Captain William Sturgis, 
 and then captain of vessels owned by Ropes & Pickman and by 
 Theodore Lyman, both of whom were prominent merchants of this 
 city. Bacon sailed several times under Captain Sturgis, and when 
 the latter was married, the two brought their ditty-bags and sewed 
 together the carpet for the bride to stand upon. It is interesting 
 to record that, nearly a century later, a marriage took place between 
 two of their grandchildren. 
 
 Captain Bacon commanded the "Atahualpa," the " Vancouver," the 
 "Alert," and other ships, and later in life built the well-known " Game- 
 cock," one of the first of the California clippers, and other vessels 
 for his own use. For many years the " Gamecock " was the fastest 
 ship afloat, and it was probably this vessel that prompted the famous 
 challenge for a match race which was made to British shipbuilding in 
 1851 by the American Navigation Club, of which Bacon was president. 
 The " Gamecock " had a figurehead of a flying bird with outstretched 
 neck and head, ready for any contest. Captain Bacon besides being a 
 successful captain was also a good trader, which was just as important 
 in the early days of trading, when great judgment and secrecy had to 
 be used. The " Gamecock " is shown on page 30. 
 
 An amusing entry in Captain Bacon's log of the "Atahualpa " 
 reads, "All sail set that is of the least use to drive us along toward 
 the Yankee lasses." A later entry, which rather disclaims this fond- 
 ness for the fair sex, reads, " It is so fine and smooth that I should 
 like to have about forty or fifty pretty lasses on board for two or 
 three hours upon a tea-drinking party, if there is any pleasure in them, 
 but for my own part, I had rather be excused any time than to go 
 to one of them." 
 
 Long after Captain Bacon gave up the sea, Mrs. George Lyman, 
 daughter-in-law of Theodore Lyman, became very ill and was ordered 
 by her physician to go to Cuba. She refused to go unless Captain 
 Bacon sailed her down, and, being of an obliging disposition, he 
 donned his sea togs again and took her to Cuba, together with 
 her carriage and horses. Another time he was obliged to undergo a 
 severe operation, before the days of anaesthetics. Dr. Warren tied 
 him down and operated on his patient, who suffered terribly. When 
 it was over. Bacon said jokingly, " Dr. Warren, if I ever get you on 
 blue water, I'll give you hell!" 
 
 An interesting incident in his life was the lodging of the Siamese 
 twins in his woodshed, they having been brought to America as a 
 speculation by Captain Abel Coflin, one of Bacon's under-officers. 
 
 Daniel Bacon has been described as the " synonym of mercantile 
 
 32
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 enterprise, honor and integrity." Captain Forbes when told that he 
 had died of enlargement of the heart remarked that this was im- 
 possible, for his heart couldn't be any larger than it always had been. 
 
 The family lived at one time in Temple Place, later moving to 
 Jamaica Plain near the Pond. 
 
 A prized possession is a silver tray service given Captain Bacon 
 by the underwriters for saving the cargo of his vessel which went 
 ashore in a storm at Nantasket. Young Bacon hired an ox-team and 
 drove back and forth through the icy water until all the cargo was 
 safely on shore. 
 
 CXPTATN" l^ORFRT ?>F.N\^FT FOT^P^FS 
 
 "Commodore" Forbes, or "the seamen's friend," as he was often 
 called, went to sea at the age of thirteen, had been captured three 
 times by the British before he was nine years old while travelling 
 with his mother, and commanded the " Canton Packet " when he 
 was only twenty, thereby fulfilling the fondest dream of a boy of those 
 days. Throughout his career he always lived up to the advice given 
 to him by Captain William Sturgis: "Always go straight forward, 
 and if you meet the Devil cut him in two and go between the 
 pieces; if any one imposes on you, tell him to whistle against a North- 
 easter, and to bottle up moonshine." Captain Forbes, or " Black Ben/' 
 as he was also often called, was a merchant as well as a sailor, and was 
 a partner of Russell & Co. for some years. As was the case with so 
 many men of his day, when he or his mother needed any money it 
 was a question of another trip to China. The point of view at the 
 present time is in great contrast to the ideas expressed in his 
 memoirs, in which he wrote, "Looking back to 1824 when I was 
 content in the command of a little ship of 264 tons, on a salary of six 
 hundred dollars per annum, I conceded that I had arrived at the acme 
 of my hopes." " Commodore " Forbes built and sailed many ships. 
 When the well-known clipper " Paul Jones " was launched in Medford, 
 a number of Captain Forbes's friends were present to witness the 
 event. No wine was served for lunch, and when one of the guests 
 was asked by the " Commodore " how he liked the vessel, he replied, 
 " I think she is going to be a d — d dry ship." Another time when 
 sailing to China as a passenger in the " Mary Chilton " a Chinese 
 pilot hove In sight, remarking, " Missee Captain, you must take in that 
 stu'n sail, plenty lock (rock) here, stlong tide." The Captain then 
 asked how much the Chinaman wanted for taking the ship to Hong 
 Kong, to which he replied, " Ole Flen [friend] askee hundred dollah, 
 welly cheap!" "Commodore" Forbes, who knew every inch of the 
 China coast, approached at this point in the conversation and was 
 recognized by the pilot, who immediately changed his figures, exclaim- 
 ing, " Hi-yah, ole Foxe! Ten dollah can do, Missee Captain." Even 
 at this reduced price the pilot was unnecessary. 
 
 So fond was Captain Forbes of anything pertaining to the sea 
 
 33
 
 S OME MERCHANTS and SEA CA PTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 that he built port-holes around the upper part of his house on Milton 
 Hill to make his house on land seem more like his home on the sea. 
 He occupied a great deal of his time in making models of ships for the 
 boys of Boston and Milton; when a boy grew to a certain mark on 
 the wall of the workshop he was entitled to one of these miniature 
 sail-boats, and, as they were much prized, many a boy tried to tiptoe 
 to make himself tall enough to get the coveted boat. 
 
 " Commodore " Forbes led a life full of excitement and adventure. 
 He was interested in over seventy vessels; commanded the "James- 
 town," which took provisions to the Irish during the famine of 
 1847; hunted in Pau when over sixty-five years old; founded the 
 Sailors' Snug Harbour, in Quincy; superintended the building of gun- 
 boats for our Government during the war; and when the " Europa " 
 ran into and sank the "Charles Bartlett " in mid-ocean he jumped 
 into the sea and saved many lives, for which he received several 
 medals. 
 
 He once wrote to a friend that he expected him to jingle a marline- 
 spike on his monument at Forest Hills before many days. Through 
 some mistake this remark got into the newspaper and therefore the 
 " Commodore " was obliged to write again. " Dear old sinner," he 
 said, " since the report of my serious illness I have been obliged to 
 hire a police officer to stand at the front door and reply to the numer- 
 ous kind enquiries as to my condition. The Smiths and the Joneses, 
 undertakers, have been looking around expecting a job! My daughter 
 telegraphs for particulars and has prepared her kit to leave Iowa; 
 my servants have given warning, alleging they cannot be kept running 
 to the front door to answer the bell; I have been so worried that I 
 have been obliged to call in Dr. Watson; my credit at the banks has 
 suffered, and, worse than all, my creditors, the butcher, the baker, 
 and the grocer, have sent in their bills! I am still living and have 
 bought a six-shooter, so be on your guard." A short time before his 
 death, when a friend was calling upon him, he said, " I have gone 
 down to the docks, and I am waiting for the old ferryman to carry 
 me over." His dying wish was that the following words be placed 
 on his tombstone: "He tried to do his duty." 
 
 H. C. THACHER & CO. 
 
 The counting-rooms of H. C. Thacher & Co. were at 13 Central 
 Wharf before the days when Fort Hill had been dumped into the 
 sea to form a part of Atlantic Avenue. Many of the boys of Boston 
 used to prowl around this wharf and those near by, to see their 
 fathers' vessels from foreign ports discharge their cargoes. Another 
 interesting event was to see the Yarmouth and Cape Cod packets 
 tie up to their docks, which were directly opposite the office of the 
 Thachers. H. C. Thacher was born at Yarmouth on the Cape in 
 1829, at a time when most of the people of Cape Cod drew their 
 livelihood from the sea. At one time he used to tell his family that 
 
 35
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS oj OLD BOSTON 
 
 he knew over fifty sea-captains who lived along the main street of 
 Yarmouth within a distance of less than two miles. 
 
 He organized his firm in 1852 and for almost half a century he was 
 engaged in the Mediterranean trade. 
 
 There is not a Cape Cod family that has not had its sea tragedy 
 as well as its romance, and the Thacher family was no exception. 
 There were two brothers in Yarmouth, called Bartlett and Chandler 
 Thacher. Bartlett was only thirteen years old when he shipped as 
 cabin boy on H. C, Thacher's bark " Mimosa," which plied between 
 Boston and Smyrna and which was captained by a live Yankee 
 skipper named Hall. She was a clipper, and her captain used to 
 crowd on all the sail he could. Bartlett made his first trip to Smyrna 
 and returned safely to Cape Cod and was on the point of sailing on his 
 second trip to the same port. On the very day that he was to 
 leave, his younger brother. Chandler, who was only ten years old, 
 was drowned while playing at the Yarmouth wharf. Word was 
 immediately sent to Bartlett, who was already aboard his vessel at 
 East Boston, to give up sailing, but there was some delay in 
 delivering the message and the " Mimosa " had already put to sea. 
 She made a fast trip to Smyrna and with a large cargo on board 
 started as usual on her homeward voyage. This was her last trip, 
 as neither the vessel nor any of the crew were ever heard of again. The 
 two nephews, Thomas Chandler Thacher and Lewis Bartlett Thacher, 
 who are living in Boston to-day, were named after their uncles, who 
 died so tragically in their youth. 
 
 From a painting by Robert W . Salmon about 1840 
 
 Chimed by Henry W . Cunningham 
 
 BRIG "PICO" OF BOSTON 
 
 Lying in the harbour of Fayal, with Pico Mountain in the distance. The "Pico" was 
 owned by A. & C. Cunningham. 
 
 36
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 X - TV - f' 
 
 Within a few years could still be seen in one of the windows of the 
 office of A. & C. Cunningham, at 17 Rowe's Wharf, a round hole 
 through which the two brothers, Andrew and Charles, members of 
 this firm, used to place their old-fashioned spy-glass in order to watch 
 their ships as they set sail for foreign shores, or to sight them as 
 they came up the harbour to their berths. These two brothers were 
 well-known Boston merchants and ship-owners, and were partners 
 during most of the first half of the nineteenth century. The firm 
 was founded in 1822, just after Charles Cunningham returned from 
 Fayal, where he had married Roxa Dabney, the daughter of John 
 Bass Dabney, the ceremony having been performed by the father of 
 the bride in his capacity as consul. These two families, even up to 
 the present time, have always been closely related both in marriage 
 and business since the year 1783, when Charles's father, Andrew, 
 and John Bass Dabney married two of the many daughters of Joseph 
 Lewis of Dedham. 
 
 This house traded to a large extent with Sicily and Italy, bringing 
 home quantities of oranges and lemons, as well as macaroni and 
 sulphur. It is surprising that Boston got as good fruit as it did in 
 those days when one reads in the log books that some vessels took 
 thirty days to come from Gibraltar. The firm also imported hemp 
 from Russia, sending ships to Riga on the Baltic, and in the summer 
 season to the port of Archangel, on the White Sea; logwood, indigo, 
 and tortoise shell from Honduras; and from Fayal, through their rela- 
 tives, the Dabneys, wine, fruit, and whale oil, the latter commodity 
 being left at that port by Nantucket and New Bedford whalers. The 
 firm also traded with the West Indies, Central and South America, 
 and Cape Town, and during the later years imported teas from China. 
 
 Both partners were men of very methodical business methods and 
 were at their counting-room at seven o'clock in the morning, which 
 was the custom of the day; in fact, they were typical representatives 
 of the old-time merchants. The late Aaron Sargent, in a recent paper 
 read before the Boston Society, on the old merchants of Boston, 
 described Andrew and Charles as " dignified and severely polite." 
 After the " Beacon " was removed and Beacon Hill was dug down 
 to make room for the new State House, Mt. Vernon Street was laid out, 
 and here were the residences of both the Cunninghams, Andrew re- 
 siding at No. 25, behind the State House, and Charles at No. 48, near 
 Walnut Street. 
 
 Many fine vessels were owned or managed by these two merchants, 
 including among others the ships " Morea," "Adrian," "Helen"; the 
 barks "Francia," "Matilda," "Adelaide Metcalf," "Elizabeth Leavitt," 
 "Fame," and "Peru"; the brigs "Spartan," "Boston," " Swiftsure," 
 " Wave," and " Pico," the latter being shown in a cut on the opposite 
 page. 
 
 37
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 At the time of the death of Andrew Cunningham, in 1861, Captain 
 John Codman, who had sailed many voyages for him, wrote a letter 
 to a Boston paper, in which he paid warm tribute to his ability and 
 sterling character, relating also the following incident in his career. 
 Long before the days of cables, when much of the business in foreign 
 ports was transacted by the captains, John Codman was about to 
 set sail for China with a large cargo, and, as much money had recently 
 been lost by Boston merchants in importing tea, he was especially in- 
 structed not to invest in a pound for his return cargo. When the ship 
 arrived in China conditions had so changed that tea seemed like the 
 most promising purchase, and Captain Codman loaded his ship en- 
 tirely with that product. When he arrived in Boston his cargo of tea 
 showed a handsome profit, but Mr. Cunningham nevertheless called 
 the captain into his private office and severely reprimanded him for 
 disobeying orders. As he left the office, however, the old gentleman 
 remarked that the voyage had been a successful one and handed 
 Captain Codman, to his great surprise, an envelope containing a check 
 for $1,000. 
 
 Another one of the Cunningham captains was Jonathan Edwards 
 Scott, who was well known in Boston. It is related of him that on 
 one of his voyages to Boston he had lost both his anchors, and was 
 afraid that any towboat which he took to bring him in might claim 
 salvage, so he piled a lot of rubbish in the bows to hide the deficiency, 
 and when the towboat hailed him and asked if he wanted a 
 tow, he said he guessed not, adding that he thought he could sail up. 
 " Well," said the towboat captain, " I'm going up anyway, and 
 may as well take you up," and he named a very small sum. " All 
 right," said Captain Scott, and threw out his line. When nearing the 
 city the towboat hailed him to know where he wanted to anchor. 
 Captain Scott replied, " Put me right in at Rowe's Wharf," which was 
 done, and the captain thereupon paid his towage and took a receipt 
 in full. Upon leaving the ship the towboat captain saw she had no 
 anchors, and said, "Where are your anchors. Captain?" and when 
 Scott told him he had lost them the other exclaimed, " Good Lord, 
 Captain, if I had known that, I would not have towed you up for 
 less than $500." 
 
 In 1849 Charles Cunningham retired from business, and, as his 
 brother's two sons, James Henry and Charles West Cunningham, had 
 grown up and were ready to take a hand in the business, the younger 
 members of the family were admitted as partners, the firm name being 
 changed to A. Cunningham & Sons. At about the same time Charles 
 Cunningham's son, named Frederic, formed a partnership with his 
 cousin, Charles W. Dabney, Jr., under the name of Dabney & Cun- 
 ningham, with offices at 59 Commercial Wharf, taking over a part of the 
 business which the other firm had transacted with the Western Islands. 
 Their vessels included " Harbinger," " Pomona," "Grampus," " Me- 
 lita," " lo," " Mermaid," " Lotos," " Azor," " Fredonia," and " News- 
 boy." Still another firm was Cunningham Brothers, which was com- 
 
 40
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 posed of two nephews of Andrew and Charles Cunningham, John A. 
 and Loring Cunningham, brothers of the late Edward Cunningham, 
 who was an eminent merchant of China, and partner of Russell & Co. 
 Mr. Edward Cunningham's place was in Milton, and the children 
 thereabout were wont to wonder at the great Chinese dragons which 
 served as gateposts at the entrance to his driveway. They were 
 brought from China, were sunk on the way, but were recovered with 
 great difficulty and landed in this country. 
 
 From a painling 
 
 THE KING'S YACHT 
 
 Kindness of Chester Guild 
 
 This graceful yacht was called "Kamehameha HI.," after one of the rulers of Hawaii and 
 was fitted out by him as a man of war. She was sailed out to the Sandwich Islands by Cap- 
 tain Fisher A. Newell of Boston, and was captured by the French a few years later. She was 
 the pride of Hawaii, and was called "Kammey" by the islanders. The painting from which 
 this picture is taken was brought from Honolulu to Boston by Captain Richard Mitchell of 
 Nantucket, who landed at the Islands to ship home some whale oil. Captain Mitchell gave 
 the painting to his son-in-law, Seth A. Fowle, who had it hung in his office for many years. 
 It then descended to his cousin, Chester Guild, and it was through his kindness that it was 
 possible to obtain this photograph. The studding sails on the foretop and foretop gallant 
 yard are very unusual. Her Boston owners were Deming Jarvis, Benjamin Howard, and 
 John D. Lambree. 
 
 E. ATKIXS & CO. 
 
 Elisha Atkins started in the Cuban business for himself in 1835. In 
 1866, John W. Cummings, who had been his chief clerk for many 
 years, was taken into partnership, forming the firm of E. Atkins & Co. 
 
 The senior member, Mr. Atkins, was taken when a boy from Cape 
 Cod, where the family had lived since 1639, to Roxbury, where his 
 parents hoped there would be less chance of his being tempted to go 
 to sea. In spite of this precaution he entered the office of Dennis 
 
 41
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 Brigham on Rowe's Wharf, and went out as supercargo to Caracas 
 on one of his employer's vessels, a few years later going into the sugar 
 business for himself. 
 
 In 1837, during the panic brought on by the failure of the United 
 States Bank, his business was unprofitable. The following year the 
 firm of Atkins & Freeman was formed, William F. Freeman being 
 admitted as partner. The firm had offices on India Wharf, its neigh- 
 bors being Thomas Wigglesworth, W. F. Cunningham & Co., George 
 T. Lyman, Bullard & Lee, the Higginsons, R. B. Storer, W. Windsor 
 Fay, E. A. Homer, B. Burgess, JVIinot & Hooper, Boardman 8c Pope, 
 all well-known merchants of their day. To those offices the rich plant- 
 ers came, and then spent their money at Saratoga Springs, and along 
 the wharves could be seen cargoes from all parts of the globe. Here 
 also were the consulates of Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and Russia. 
 " Here," as described by William Howell Reed, who wrote the life 
 of Mr. Atkins, " were the quaint old offices with their ancient furni- 
 ture, the blazing open fires in winter, the pictured walls with ships 
 sailing in every ocean, the models of favorite vessels, the courth- 
 manners of the old merchant princes of that day, the counting-house 
 decorum, the quiet respectability, the aroma of the lofts above packed 
 with the merchandise of the East." 
 
 R. G. Shaw & Co. once joined Mr. Atkins in making up a cargo 
 on one of the earlier voyages, while Joshua Sears, one of the large 
 retail purchasers of sugar in Boston, assisted occasionally in times of 
 tight money. The first shipment to Cienfuegos was in 1843, at which 
 port Columbus landed on his first voyage. There was little going on 
 here at this time, Trinidad being the centre of business and society; 
 but gradually this port grew, owing to the large amount of business 
 transacted there by Mr. Atkins and Mr. Benjamin Burgess. In 
 these early days the mills were run by oxen and were called '' Bull 
 Mills." Mr. Atkins's letters home give a good idea of the life on the 
 plantations. One letter describes a night spent on top of some sugar- 
 boxes on board a very small vessel, while another one mentions his 
 disgust on seeing for the first time a very pretty Cuban girl light a 
 large cigar. 
 
 In 1849 Mr. Atkins again conducted business alone, Mr. Freeman 
 retiring. The business, however, continued to prosper, and his vessels 
 visited not only Cuba, but the Windward Islands, St. Thomas, Ja- 
 maica, Guatemala, and occasionally Rio Janeiro. Boston now became 
 a great sugar market. John S. Emery, ship owner and broker, 
 chartered over four hundred vessels to Mr. Atkins. It was at this 
 period (1866) that Mr. Cummings was admitted to partnership. 
 
 Some of the vessels owned were the well-known "Adelaide," " Chat- 
 ham," " Marine," " Tom Corwin," " W. B. Stetson," "Jacinta," "Clo- 
 tilda," and " Neptune," the latter being the favorite ship. A few of the 
 shipmasters in whom Mr. Atkins took a great interest were Captains 
 Burt, Bassford, Harding, and Beal. 
 
 Mr. Edwin F. Atkins, the son of the founder of the business, was 
 admitted to partnership in 1874, and is now the head of this well- 
 
 43
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 known house, conducting the business with his son, Robert W. Atkins, 
 who was taken into the firm in 1915, being the third generation in a 
 business of over eighty years' standing, as commission merchants, 
 planters, manufacturers, and refiners. 
 
 The Bay State Sugar Refinery of Boston, owned and operated by 
 E. Atkins & Co. for many years, entered the consolidation which com- 
 prised man\' of the sugar refineries of the United States, then known 
 as The Sugar Refineries Company, just before the death of Elisha 
 Atkins in 1888; and Edwin F. Atkins later became prominent in the 
 management of its successor, the American Sugar Refining Company. 
 
 Elisha Atkins was considered one of the most capable merchants 
 of his day. He was one of the builders of the Union Pacific Railroad 
 and active in its management up to the time of his death. He was also 
 connected with many enterprises, both in New England and through- 
 out the West. 
 
 ENOCH TRAIN 
 
 Enoch Train was so popular with his employees that when he 
 failed during one of the panics prior to the Civil War, one of his 
 Portuguese stevedores, taking his own bank book, placed it on his 
 employer's desk, saying, "Take it; I have made the money out of 
 your ships." This anecdote well illustrates the fine relations that 
 existed between himself and his employees, to whom he was always 
 kind and considerate. He was likewise the soul of honor and integrity, 
 and was generous and public-spirited in every worthy cause. Aaron 
 Sargent in his " Recollections of Boston Merchants " best describes his 
 popularity: "To receive a bow or a 'Good-morning' salute from 
 Enoch Train, as, tall and erect and with manly step, he walked down 
 State Street and along Commercial Street to his counting-room, was 
 something not to be despised by any one, whether a merchant or one 
 holding some other position in commercial Boston." He was also 
 foremost among the merchant ship-owners of his day, and at one 
 time owned the largest number of ships of any firm in Boston, 
 thirty or more of his vessels plying between this port and Liverpool. 
 Having been brought up in the hide and leather store of his uncle, 
 Samuel Train, his earliest ventures after he went into shipping on 
 his own account were in the Russian and South American trades, 
 importing principally hides. A few years later, in 1844, he estab- 
 lished the well-known Train line of packets to Liverpool, the first 
 ship built being the " Joshua Bates," named after the American part- 
 ner of Baring Brothers at that time. This vessel was built for him 
 at Newburyport by the celebrated ship-builder, Donald McKay. Mr. 
 Train was so much pleased with this first vessel and with the skill 
 of the builder that on the day she was launched he said to McKay, 
 "You must come to Boston; we need you, and if you want any 
 financial assistance in establishing a shipyard let me know the amount 
 and you shall have it." The rest is too well known to repeat. In 
 
 44
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 rapid succession were launched the "Anglo Saxon," "Anglo Ameri- 
 can," " Washington Irving," "' Ocean Monarch," " Parliament," " Star 
 of the Empire," "Chariot of Fame," " Staffordshire," " Cathedral," 
 and " John Eliot Thayer." The " Staffordshire " was lost at sea not far 
 from this coast and many passengers were lost. It is stated that there 
 were so few boats and panic-stricken people slung so desperately to 
 the gunwales of the rowboats that one of the officers was obliged to 
 chop off their fingers with a hatchet in order to save even a few of 
 the passengers. Another ship, the " Ocean Monarch," was burned 
 at sea with a loss of four hundred lives, and George Francis Train, 
 a representative of the firm, in an account of his life, describes the 
 pathetic scene he witnessed when the news was first announced in 
 Boston. It was customary for the captain of each inward-bound 
 \-essel as she approached her dock to shout from the rail the latest 
 news. On this occasion the " Persia " under Captain Judkins was 
 about to dock, and hundreds of people were waiting to hear tidings 
 of some friend or vessel. The captain shouted the sad fate of the 
 " Ocean Monarch " and within a few minutes the announcement 
 was made in the Merchants Exchange. The Train firm on another 
 occasion believed the " Gov. Davis," which ran on their Boston. 
 New Orleans, Liverpool triangular route, had also been burned at 
 sea, as word was received that " The ' Gov. Davis ' is burned up." 
 While those in the counting-house were grieving over their losses of 
 friends and cargo, another message was handed to them, changing 
 the message to " The ' Gov. Davis ' is bound up." The vessel was safe 
 in Boston Harbour and there was great rejoicing in the Train office. 
 Another ship belonging to the firm, called " Break of Day," came into 
 Boston Harbour on a winter's day without a spar standing. " The 
 Chariot of Fame " was Train's favorite vessel, her master being 
 Captain Knowles. She had a reading-room on her quarter-deck for 
 cabin passengers, a great luxury in those days. 
 
 Donald McKay also built for Mr. Train the " Flying Cloud," 
 " Empress of the Seas," " Plymouth Rock," which was half-owned 
 by George B. Upton, and the " Lightning." Some of Train's captains 
 were Caldwell, Thayer, Murdock, Brown, Richardson, Howard, and 
 Knowles. 
 
 In 1855 the Boston & European Steamship Company was incor- 
 porated, with Enoch Train, George B. Upton, Donald McKay, An- 
 drew T. Hall, and James M. Beebe as sponsors, " for the purpose of 
 navigating the ocean by steam." The plan was to build a splendid 
 line of steamers, rivalling in every respect the well-known Collins 
 line of New York, the English port to be Milford Haven in Wales. 
 The remarks made by Enoch Train at that time are especially inter- 
 esting to look back upon, as they show his ideas in regard to the 
 steamship which was then just beginning to replace the sailing-ship. 
 It had been expected that Train would oppose the suggested company, 
 as being antagonistic to his own, but instead he was so broad-minded 
 that he lent it the strength of his right arm, as he expressed it. 
 
 45
 
 
 ustn AID inuriioi piciets. 
 
 Snilinjr from Boston SomiBInnthly, and from Liverpool every W.wk 
 
 i ...liograpl: from an nrigimil 
 
 Kindness of Stephen G. Train 
 
 TRAIN & CO.'S POSTER 
 
 Showing the "StafTordsliirc" belonging to this line, also the flap of the firm, list of ships owned and 
 map showing distances from Boston. This poster is rare.
 
 .\'0 Dh-UNKAJID HIT ALL EXTFJi 77/ A' KINGDOM OF GOD 
 
 m 
 
 L THE usDEKiiGNED, am pledged, and Jiuve covenanted with my Shipmates 
 iiud other seaineii, wmprising tlie 
 
 jailors' Jomc Cempcraiicc ^oticti), 
 
 To abiindon, and pei'siiade others to abandon tlie use of Ardent Sfjkits. 
 
 May God give me strengtii to keep thiis pledge inviolate, 
 l^eceived of tlie Rev. Eli.iau Kelluog. Chaplain Sailor.-;' Home, Boirton. 
 
 \m^^^ '^fk^g^'^ '^-i^^Mk 
 
 Kindness oj J . Chany 
 
 PLEDGE OF THE SAILORS' HOME TEMPERANCE SOCIETY 
 
 Showing the Sailors' Home, and men on the wharf destroying barrels of rum. The remark, "You've 
 given me many a broken head, and now I'll give you one," is amusing.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS oj OLD BOSTON 
 
 " There is a vast difference," he said, " between steam and sailing 
 vessels." and steam would not interfere with his regular business, the 
 transportation of coarse and weighty commodities, and passengers 
 who could not afford the luxury of steam passage. A large committee 
 was appointed, but the panic of 1857 put a stop to all plans. 
 
 Frederic \V. Thayer, a partner at one time of Mr. Train, estab- 
 lished an office in Liverpool. Later he and Mr. George Warren 
 formed a partnership under the name of Thayer & Warren, succeed- 
 ing to the business of Enoch Train & Co. At a still later date the 
 name was changed again to the well-known firm of Warren & Co. 
 This latter firm still flies the Train private signal, a red ground with 
 a white diamond, and was one of the first houses to appreciate the 
 commercial importance of iron screw steamers. 
 
 Enoch Train at first had his counting-house at 37 Lewis Wharf, 
 and later, about 1852, he bought Constitution Wharf for the use of 
 his ships, moving his private office to State Street. 
 
 The two cuts as the frontispiece of this pamphlet show in the 
 first picture an Irishman in straitened circumstances carefulU' ex- 
 amining one of Enoch Train & Co.'s shipping announcements of a 
 sailing to Boston; the second one depicts the same individual about 
 to return from Boston on the same line to the " Old Country," 
 having become prosperous in the Ignited States. 
 
 1 
 
 Frnm a painting in the Nantucket Library 
 
 THE "SAMUEL RUSSELL" 
 
 Named after the founder of the house of Russell & Co., the largest of the American firms 
 in China. The "Samuel Russell" was built in 1846 for .'\. A. Low & Co., was commanded for 
 many years by Captain N. B. Palmer, and was lost off the Cape of Good Hope. She was one 
 of the fastest clippers of her day. 
 
 48
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN SHIPS OF BENJAMIN C. CLARK i CO. 
 
 CAPTAIN ARTHUR H. CLARK 
 
 Captain Arthur H. Clark quotes Thomas Appleton as saying that no 
 Boston family was quite complete that could not claim at least one 
 retired sea-captain! and if one examines the names of Boston cap- 
 tains, one finds that this statement has much truth in it. Captain 
 Clark had many friends in the same trade, and a list made by him 
 furnishes further proof that Appleton was right in his assertion. 
 Robert Adams, of the " Rocket " and " Golden Fleece," was a son 
 of the Rev. Nehemiah Adams; John Boote succeeded Captain 
 William C. Rogers in the " Witchcraft "; Robert Almy was captain of 
 the " Nor' Wester "; Henry Sargent, of the '' Rockland," " Phantom," 
 and " Emily C. Starr," was an elder brother of Daniel and Frank 
 Sargent and Mrs. Goodwin Whitney and Airs. William Appleton of 
 New York; Captain Gannett, of the ship "Benares," was a younger 
 brother of the Rev. Dr. Gannett; Frank Haskell, who commanded the 
 " Norseman," was an elder brother of Thomas and Frederick Haskell; 
 Captain Frank Dale, who sailed the " Fleetwood," was a brother of 
 Dr. Dale, and uncle of Eben Dale and Mary Dale, who married 
 Colonel Charles TurnbuU; Putnam Upton, of the "Dragoon," was a 
 son of George B. Upton, the well-known ship-merchant; James Dwight, 
 of the " Cutwater " and " James Freeman Clarke," was a cousin of 
 Howard and Wilder Dwight; and Montgomery Parker, captain of the 
 ships " Judge Shaw " and " Lord Lyndhurst," was a son of Richard G. 
 Parker. All of these names and many more were, according to Cap- 
 tain Clark, the pride of Boston, and will go down on the records of 
 the maritime history of the city. 
 
 49
 
 From a photograph Courtesy of Captain Arthur H. Clark 
 
 CAPTAIN ARTHUR H. CLARK 
 
 A splendid seaman, good business man and excellent 
 writer of maritime history. He is one of the last of 
 the captains of the old school. His residence is in 
 Brooklyn, N.Y., and he is the New York representa- 
 tive of Lloyd's.
 
 SOME MERCHANTS a7id SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 Captain Clark, who is now Lloyd's representative in New York, 
 has an extraordinary record as a Boston shipmaster. His first sailing 
 experience was with small model yachts on the Frog Pond, which was 
 opposite his father's house. No. 36 Beacon Street, and later he 
 learned to navigate his father's yacht off Nahant. After leaving the 
 Latin School he determined to adopt the sea as his calling, and 
 shipped before the mast on the clipper " Black Prince " around the 
 Horn to San Francisco, Manila, Foochow, and other distant ports. 
 When this ship returned, two and one-half years later, he had been 
 advanced to the position of third mate. He then became second 
 officer of the famous "Northern Light," returning to the "Black 
 Prince " as chief mate. In a short time he rose to be chief mate of the 
 ship "J. C. Humphreys," then master of the "Agnes," and the 
 " Verena," in the China trade. His next adventure was to command 
 the yacht "Alice," only forty-eight feet long, on a voyage from Boston 
 to England, one of his companions being Mr. Charles Longfellow, 
 son of the poet. Up to this time this was the smallest yacht to cross 
 the Atlantic and the first American yacht to sail from America direct 
 to England. Upon his return to Boston, Captain Clark was appointed 
 by J. M. Forbes & Co. to take the steamship "A. J. Ingersoll " to 
 China. He subsequently commanded the " Manchu," " Suwo Nada," 
 and " Venus " in the China Seas, and received a service of silver from 
 American and British underwriters for his wonderful feat in bringing 
 the " Suwo Nada," owned by Augustine Heard & Co., into Hong Kong 
 in such a sinking condition that she sank in the graving dock 
 before the gates could be closed, having struck an uncharted rock 
 on the Chinese coast. Captain Clark subsequently commanded the 
 American Mail S.S. " Indiana," between Philadelphia and Liverpool, 
 and retired from the sea in 1877, but made one more ocean voyage in 
 1894-1895 when he brought the steam yacht " Sylvia," owned by Com- 
 modore Edward M. Brown of the New York Yacht Club, from Queens- 
 town to New York during the months of December and January. 
 This yacht was 138 tons gross. The "Alice" and "Sylvia" are the 
 two smallest sailing and steam yachts respectively that have crossed 
 the Atlantic under the burgee of the New York Yacht Club. Both 
 made the passage in nineteen days. 
 
 Captain Clark is a very familiar figure of the down-town shipping 
 community of New York, and is one of the last of that fine type of 
 gentleman sea-captains of the old school. He is not only a splendid 
 seaman, but also a business man of sound judgment, and a writer of 
 maritime history of first importance. He is the son of Hon. B. C. 
 Clark, who was the founder of the firm of Benjamin C. Clark & Co. 
 of Boston. This well-known house from 1830 to 1848 owned a number 
 of clipper brigs and topsail schooners which were engaged in the West 
 India coffee trade and the Mediterranean fruit and wine trade, 
 some of these vessels being the " Sea Eagle," " Water Witch," 
 " Silenus," " Red Rover," and " Sea Mew." Benjamin C. Clark built 
 and owned the schooner yacht "Mermaid," which was then — 1832 — 
 the first decked yacht owned in Boston, and a few years later he 
 
 52
 
 SOME MERCHANTS and SEA CAPTAINS of OLD BOSTON 
 
 built the " Raven," which won the cup in the first regatta sailed in 
 Massachusetts Bay, at Nahant, on July 19, 1845. 
 
 Oh, again to hear the Lascars' rousing "chanty" in the morn, 
 When we broke away the anchor to sail home around the Horn! 
 Oh, to see the white sails pulling, feel the lift beneath the keel, 
 With the trade-wind's push behind her and the roll that made her reel! 
 
 The old Clipper days are over, and the white-winged fleets no more, 
 With their snowy sails unfolded, fly along the ocean floor; 
 Where their house-flags used to flutter in the ocean winds unfurled, 
 Now the kettle-bellied cargo tubs go reeling around the world. 
 
 But 'twas jolly while it lasted, and the sailor was a man; 
 And it's good-by to the Lascar and the tar with face of tan; 
 And it's good-by mother, once for all, and good-by girls on shore; 
 And it's good-by brave old Clipper-ship that sails the seas no more! 
 
 {From Boston Transcript.) 
 
 53
 
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