Posted 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 […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone
[Newspaper article on Andrew Hicks from WHS] Every whaling voyage was a financial gamble. For the owner of a whaling vessel it could lead to financial ruin or fabulous riches. A select group of Westporters possessed the business acumen and good judgment to weather the fluctuations of the whale oil market over a long period […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone
John Avery Parker personifies the risky entrepreneurial spirit of the late 1700’s. He came to the Head of Westport in the 1790’s, opening a store and building ships. Yet as his business seemed to be failing and it was feared he would become a burden, the selectmen ordered him to leave. Parker moved to New […]
Continue ReadingPosted on April 24, 2008 by Greg Stone
“My men, you must be well aware that the object of this voyage is to get a cargo of oil,” wrote Captain Edward S. Davoll to the officers and crew of his whaling vessel. . . .
Continue ReadingPosted on April 24, 2008 by Greg Stone
Abbie Maria Dexter Hicks went whaling in 1873. We know this because she kept a diary from June 23, 1873 to September 13, 1874 in a tiny book that measures only 5” by 3” in the collection of the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Her husband was Captain Edward E. Hicks. Two months after their marriage […]
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