Whaling ship President: Attacked by Natives!
There are conflicting reports of this incident. Some reports identify a different whaling ship (not from Westport). So please do […]
Whaling Disasters
Whaling Disasters
Champion: Lost!
The British Barque Raja Bassa picked up the boat of the American whaling barque Champion [of Westport], with Capt. Gifford […]
Whaling Disasters
Janet: The Crew Member’s Account
THE STORY OF A SURVIVOR In the winter of 1849, the northeastern coast of America was visited by one of […]
Whaling Disasters
Janet: The Captain’s Account
THE MERCURY NEW BEDFORD, OCT 17-18,1849 Dreadful Suffering At Sea- We have received a letter from Capt. Hosmer, later master […]
Whaling Disasters
Cannibalism? A Difference of Opinion.
Westport’s most gruesome catastrophe befell the crew of the Janet in 1849. While chasing a whale, the master and several […]
Whaling Disasters
Dreadful Suffering at Sea! Westport’s Whaling Catastrophes
Westport suffered its share of disasters. The peak of the whaling industry in the 1850’s was matched by the peak in shipwrecks and other disasters. . . .
People, Whaling Masters
Edward S. Davoll: A Westport Whaling Master
“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. . . .
People, Westport Point, Whaling folks
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 […]
Mills, Nineteenth Century
The Beginnings of the Westport Cotton Manufacturing Company
Bruce White Most accounts of cotton manufacturing in New England describe a progression from the small rural water-powered cotton-spinning operations, […]