Whaling folks Archives - Westport Historical Society

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Greg Stone

Photos of Whaling Masters on Westport Vessels

These photographs are a sample of the imposing characters who served as master on whaling voyages out of Westport. . . .

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone

The Howland Brothers: Coopers

[House at 2043 Main Road] The Howland brothers owned three cooper shops where they made oil casks. One resident recalls how they performed an exceptional feat by replacing one stave in a barrel that remained filled with oil. “They’d roll it so the rotted stave was on top and somehow hold the barrel together with […]

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone

The Dead Letters

[Letter to Mr. Henry Gifford on board the Bark Theophilus Chase, courtesy NBWM] In addition to being a prominent ship owner and whaling merchant, Alexander H. Cory also served as postmaster for Westport Point 1840 – 1897. Among the Cory Family Papers at the New Bedford Whaling Museum is a fascinating collection of letters sent […]

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone

A Westport Man Goes Whaling – and writes many letters home

“…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 […]

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone

Voyage of the Mexico and What Happened at Home

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 […]

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Greg Stone

Albert Gifford – The President Arrives in Westport

[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 […]

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Greg Stone

Down to the Sea in Ships – A film Inspired by a Westport Whaling Master

“Down to the Sea in Ships” was a unique and highly popular film about whaling. Made in the 1920’s, it included many local people who had been directly involved in the whaling industry. The author of the script, John L. E. Pell, had been inspired by his visits to Westport Point in 1890’s. “We stayed […]

Posted on April 24, 2008 by Greg Stone

A Westport Woman goes Whaling

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 […]