Martha's Vineyard Museum
A Finding Aid to the Douglas Bowring Research Papers, circa 1987-1992
Table of Contents
Descriptive Summary
| Repository | Martha's Vineyard Museum,
Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA 02539 (508)627-4441 |
|---|---|
| Call Number | RU 430 |
| Creator | Bowring, Douglas Bonner, 1919-2001 |
| Title | Douglas Bowring research papers |
| Date | circa 1987-1992 |
| Extent | 1/2 box |
| Language | The materials are in English. |
| Abstract | The Douglas Bowring research papers consist of inventories and descriptions of whaling logbooks in the collections of the Dukes County Historical Society in the late 1980s. |
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions.
Use and Reproduction Restrictions
Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to the library's staff. Reproduction fees may apply.
Preferred Citation
Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 430, Douglas Bowring Research Papers.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Douglas B. Bowring in 1992. In 1992 Bowring sent the results of his research to the Dukes County Historical Society's periodical editor, Arthur R. Railton. The materials were later found in the Gale Huntington Research Library.
Publication Information
Martha's Vineyard Museum
Gale Huntington Research Library59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Insley Julier January 2013. Machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick April 2014.
Processing of this collection and creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, and West Tisbury through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act. Machine-encoding of the finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Related Materials
Related Materials
See also, the Martha's Vineyard Museum's Whaling Logbook Collection.
Index Terms
Corporate Name(s)
- Hecla (Bark)
Genre(s)
- Ships' logs
Geographic Name(s)
- Edgartown (Mass.)
- New Bedford (Mass.)
- San Francisco (Calif.)
Subject(s)
- Whaling--Massachusetts--Martha's Vineyard
- Whaling masters
- Whaling ships
Biography/Historical Note
Douglas (Tom) Bonner Bowring was born on Staten Island, New York, 10 August 1919, to Charles Warren Bowring and Amy Bonner Bowring. He graduated from St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island, Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs (1941), and Harvard Law School (1948). He served in the Air Force during World War II. After law school Bowring joined the New York City firm, Haight, Deming, Gardner, Poor & Havens, retiring as a partner in 1973. In 1975 he moved to Edgartown, Massachusetts where he was a member of the Edgartown Yacht Club, Edgartown Golf Club, Edgartown Reading Room and Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church. Douglas Bonner Bowring died in Atlanta, Georgia in 2001.
Scope and Content of Collection
Around 1987, Douglas Bowring undertook a personal research project to catalog the whaling logbooks of the Dukes County Historical Society (D.C.H.S.), predecessor to the Martha's Vineyard Museum. His research papers include logbook inventories indexed by vessel, rig, hailing (or home) port and master. He also recorded the master's town or city of residence, the start and end dates of a particular voyage and the whaling grounds the vessel visited. Bowring created item records for many of the logbooks he examined and filed them consecutively by logbook number. Some gaps in the item records exist however, and the descriptions for book numbers 1-31 appear to be missing. Bowring became particularly interested in a log of the Hecla (Bark), and his notes include typed excerpts of her voyage and information on her wreck.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically.
Collection Contents
| Box | Folder | |||
Correspondence, circa 1987 | 1 | 1 | ||
Inventories, circa 1987 | 1 | 2 | ||
Research Notes on Bark Hecla and Other Logs, circa 1987, undated | 1 | 3 | ||
Whaling Logs, Columbus to Midas, circa 1987 | 1 | 4 | ||
Whaling Logs, Rosario to Young Eagle, circa 1987 | 1 | 5 | ||
Whaling Logs, D.C.H.S. (Numbers 32-67), circa 1987 | 1 | 6 | ||
Whaling Logs, D.C.H.S. (Numbers 68-107), circa 1987 | 1 | 7 | ||
Whaling Logs, D.C.H.S. (Unnumbered), circa 1987 | 1 | 8 | ||