Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Cory House – Photo by Jon Alden.] Three generations of the leading Westport Point merchant family, the Corys, made this house their home. Isaac Cory, Isaac Cory, Jr. and Alexander Hamilton Cory built ships, managed whaling and fishing voyages and served as general merchandisers of the area. They are best remembered for their ship, the […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Westport Point looking north from the collection of the WHS – Click for larger image.] Westport Point, offered one of the most protected harbors in the region and by 1855 it was home port to over 18 whaling vessels. It had gradually developed as a self-sufficient provisioning center for whaling voyages. Blacksmiths, coopers, ship carpenters, […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
“…I got baptized handsome in the following manner without ceremony. We raised whales and lowered away and the boat that I was in soon got fast and as soon as Tripp struck the whale he struck our boat and stove her and then by way of proving his regard for us beyond a doubt he […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
Young Albert was but a lad of 17 when he left Westport on the Mexico on April 12, 1844. He returned in August of 1845. (The image here was taken in 1863.) The youthful Albert’s early entries into his journal mention that he manned the mastheads and washed off the decks, ordinary duties of the […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Ambrotype of Albert Augustus Gifford, WHS] The handsome gentleman in 19th century attire pictured here is Albert Augustus Gifford. He is the man who kept the whaling journal while on the Bark President. The journal is now in the collection of Westport Historical Society. Albert was neither the captain nor the first mate on the […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Drawing of the Harbinger courtesy of the NBWM] This colorful drawing adorns the cover of a logbook of a voyage on the Harbinger. The same logbook records multiple desertions of the crew, a common occurrence, although not always to the extent shown here. Boredom, discomfort, cruelty and violence onboard or the temptations of paradise were […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Crew list for 1805 whaling voyage courtesy of NBWM] The first officially recorded whaling voyage from Westport Point is that of the sloop Union in 1775, Thomas Case master. This document lists the crew of the Union in 1805 making a 6 month voyage to the North Atlantic, Jonathan Mayhew master. One of the last […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone
Andrew Hicks became one of Westport’s most prominent and enduring entrepreneurs in the whaling industry, owning 9 vessels registered at Westport. He was born in Westport in 1799, the eldest son of Barney and Sarah Cook Hicks. In 1836 he fitted out his first vessel, the President and his success continued for the next 50 […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone
Thomas Mayhew was the principal owner of the Catherwood and Thomas Winslow in the 1840’s. Undoubtedly, the profits from these voyages funded the construction of this distinctive federal style house at 2018 Main Road, Westport Point, circa 1848. [Photograph courtesy Jon Alden]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Please note: Clicking on an image will result in a larger image in a separate window.] Account books kept by Henry Wilcox reveal the business side of the whaling industry. These pages show accounting for the Bark Theophilus Chase on her first voyage in 1842. Note the diversified ownership of this vessel, Henry Wilcox owning […]
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