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CATALOGUE

OF

NANTUCKET WHALERS,

AND

THEIR

VOYAGES FROM 1815 TO 1870.

NANTUCKET:

HUSSEY & ROBINSON, PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS — MAIN STREET.
1876.

      In publishing our list of the old whalers and their voyages, it may be well, by way of introduction, to say something of the nature and history of a business, which, so far as Nantucket is concerned, has become entirely extinct, though still pursued to some extent from New Bedford, and, in a small way, from a few other ports.

      As far as the American whale-fishery has a history at all, the island of Nantucket must be regarded as, until quite recently, its headquarters, and the people of the island as its pioneers. For if they were not the first of the New England colonists to launch in pursuit of the whale, they were, at least, the only people who, as a community, made whaling a regular branch of industry, carrying a hundred other industries in its train, and extended their operations from small beginnings in boats from the beach, until the keels of their larger ships ploughed the waters of the most distant seas, and their skilled whalemen were called upon to command and officer hundreds of other large ships, sailing from both domestic and foreign ports. Since Nantucket has declined from the dignity of a great maritime port to be but a village in point of wealth and population, known chiefly as a pleasant place of summer resort, we can, by reading over this record of the past, recall the fame and exploits of a hardy generation of mariners, most of whom have passed on, though a few still remain to read it with the keenest interest. Younger readers can form but little idea of the adventurous lives led by their ancestors in the pursuit of a calling involving such perils and hardships, of which even other classes of mariners know little or nothing. For it may be truly said of the whaleman alone, that "he goes down to the sea in ships," while others skim over it from port to port. His home is for years together in midocean, and in a literai sense he "does business on the great waters."

      It is probable that the first white settlers of Nantucket began to hunt right whales in the immediate vicinity of the island at a much earlier period than 1690, the date usually assigned. There is sufficient evidence on record to show that the first whales must have been taken earlier than this time, although not sufficient to fix the exact date.

Down to the year 1760 whales were taken in considerable numbers from the shore. At that time there was a large fleet of sea-going craft employed in the business, for it was quite early in the century that the islanders began to fit out sloops and schooners for short voyages.

      At the breaking out of the Revolution in 1775 the Nantucket fleet amounted to one hundred and forty vessels, some of which were brigs of considerable size, cruising in both the North and South Atlantic Oceans; some of them extending their voyages to the coasts of Africa and Brazil. The war of course put an end to this industry while it continued, and nearly all the vessels were lost by capture. After the peace of 1783 business was again revived, larger vessels being employed and longer voyages undertaken; very high latitudes in the Atlantic were explored, and a few years later, in 1791, the ships of Nantucket first pursued whales in the Pacific, doubling the dreaded headland of Cape Horn. The pioneer ships in the Pacific were very successful, and many others soon followed.

      At the declaration of war with England, in 1812, most of our ships were at sea. A large portion of these fell into the hands of the enemy, whose cruisers were ready to waylay them. Several of them thus taken were almost in sight of home, with rich cargoes, and great losses were thus sustained; while those ships which arrived here in safety were laid up at the wharves, to await the advent of peace. With their chief industry thus paralyzed, the people suffered the greatest distress; but as soon as peace was proclaimed, they set to work again with all their old energy, as will be seen by the list of ships fitted out in the season of 1815, at which time our list begins. From that time, the fleet increased, both in the number and size of the ships, and for the next thirty years, whaling was prosecuted with vigor and with a fair degree of success. It will be seen by our records that so lately as 1841, nine new ships were built and added to the fleet, which then numbered nearly a hundred sail.

      But meanwhile other whaling ports were growing in importance: the city of New Bedford had already outstripped us in the number of its whalers, and New London and Sag Harbor were becoming formidable rivals. The ships from these latter ports, however, mostly visited the right whaling grounds, while those from Nantucket clung to their old faith, still hunting the sperm whales in the lower latitudes of the Pacific. The latter species were becoming scarce, and the voyages, now protracted to four years, were quite often unsuccessful. Indeed, this branch of the business was already being overdone, when the great fall in the price of oil proved a serious blow to those whose ships arrived home in 1842 and 1843. Though this fall in price was only temporary, it was from this date that the whale-fishery of Nantucket

began to decline, and other causes operating in succession, it went steadily downward until it became extinct. A great fire, in 1846, destroyed an immense amount of property, and the gold fever of 1849 called away many of our best men, in the prime of life, and diverted the enterprise of our people into new channels. Meanwhile, newly discovered whaling grounds in the North Pacific were yielding rich returns in the form of right whale oil and whalebone, and the ports of New Bedford aud New London were rapidly growing in importance and wealth. A part of our fleet still continued to be employed, though many ships had been sent to California, never to return, and a few of our merchants still continued to fit vessels, but mostly for sperm oil. Those ships were fitted at large expense; the voyages were very long, and, in a majority of instances, disastrous. Gradually even the most sanguine became discouraged, and it is curious to look over our record and observe how the list shortens to a few vessels, like a rear-guard, obstinately trying their luck again and yet again, only to be disappointed, and finally tapered down to the last forlorn bark, which sailed in 1870. It is hardly to be expected that such a list as this would be absolutely withont a single error; but we have taken some pains to collect information, and have reason to believe that it is very nearly correct. A list of the really old whalers of the days before the war of the Revolution would be intensely interesting, but we regret to say that no complete or connected list can be given to reach farther back than 1815, though many disjointed facts and items might be collected and published.

      We are under acknowledgments to William H. Macy, Esq., Capt. Edward G. Austin, Messrs. Alexander Starbuck, Josiah C. Gardner and others for books and information, which have tended to increase the correctness and interest of the work which we now present.

            NANTUCKET, Mass., March, 1876.

C A T A L O G U E.

[Transcriber's Note: In this transcription the catalogue is presented in tabular form. Notes apply to the preceding vessel. Oil is in barrels. The letters b,e,h,& w following the amount in the "Other Oil" column indicates the type of oil (b=blackfish, e=elephant oil, h=humpback, & w=whale oil).]