Martha's Vineyard Museum

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Biography/Historical Note

Scope and Content of Collection

Administrative Information

Related Materials

Index Terms

Collection Contents

Bills and Receipts

Additional Bills, Receipts and Consular Records

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 461
Creator	Soule, George H.
Title	George H. Soule and ship St. George records
Date	1866-1869
Extent	1 1/2 box (0.252 cubic feet)
Language	The materials are in English.
Abstract	The collection contains financial records from the whaling vessel St. George (Ship) out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, George H. Soule, master, on a whaling voyage, October 29, 1865-September 10, 1869, to the North Pacific.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use and Reproduction Restrictions

Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to museum staff. Reproduction fees may apply.

Acquisition Information

Series I. Bills and receipts, 1866-1868, gift of Mrs. Henry B. Brainerd, from the Estate of Marshall Shephard. The date of accession and accession number are unknown, however the materials were acquired after Shepard's death in 1954. Mrs. Brainerd was the sister of Marshall Shephard (collector), founder and longtime curator of the Dukes County Historical Society. The immediate source of acquisition and date of accession for materials in Series II. Additional Bills, Receipts and Consular Records, 1866-1869, are unknown.

Bibliography

Lund, Judith N., Elizabeth A. Josephson, Randall R. Reeves and Tim D. Smith. "American Offshore Whaling Voyages: a database." Published 2012. http://www.nmdl.org.

Starbuck, Alexander. History of the American Whale Fishery, from its Earliest Inception to the Year 1876. 2 vols. New York: Argosy-Antiquarian, 1964.

Publication Information

Martha's Vineyard Museum

Gale Huntington Research Library
59 School Street
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539
(508)627-4441

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Insley Julier in December 2013. Machine-encoded by Nathaniel Janick April 2014.

 Creation of this finding aid was sponsored by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Related Materials

Related Materials

The Providence Public Library, Nicholson Whaling Collection contains a journal and a logbook of the 1865-1869, voyage of the ship St. George, George H. Soule, master. See also, Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 207 Whaling and the Vineyard, for an account of the April 12, 1869 mutiny, signed by the captain and officers of the Northern Light (Bark).

Biography/Historical Note

George H. Soule, a mariner and whale man, shipped out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, as a third mate on the China (Ship), 1843-1845, and later as first mate aboard the Arab (Ship), 1845-1849. When he returned, he was promoted to the rank of captain and given command of the ship Milo. Soule commanded four whaling voyages on vessels owned or managed by Edward Coffin Jones, including Milo (Ship), 1849- 1851, Milo (Ship), 1851-1855, Milo (Ship), 1855-1859 and Lapwing (Ship), 1860-1864. On October 29, 1865, George H. Soule embarked upon his fifth and final recorded whaling voyage as master of the ship St. George bound for the North Pacific.

During the 1865-1869, voyage, the St. George was outfitted several times in the Hawaiian Islands and also visited the Japanese port city of Yokohama (1868) and the Bay of Islands in New Zealand (1869). According to testimony of the captain and officers of the vessel Northern Light as well as the logbook of the St. George, there was a mutiny on board on April 12, 1869. Captain Soule put several members of the crew in irons until they were put on shore at the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The St. George, owner/agent, Taber, Read & Co., returned to port in New Bedford, Massachusetts on September 10, 1869.

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection contains financial and consular records, 1866-1869, from the whaling vessel St. George (Ship), out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, George H. Soule, master, on a whaling voyage to the North Pacific, October 29, 1865-September 10, 1869. The vessel was outfitted several times in the Hawaiian Islands and the bulk of the collection consists of bills and receipts, 1866-1868, from ship chandlers and general commission merchants, auctioneers, hardware stores, boarding houses, marine hospitals, doctors and other business enterprises, for provisions, gear and services. Supplies purchased included; potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, corn, green peas, pumpkins, water, beef, mutton, milk, yeast, pie fruit, plums, honey, sugar, oranges, nails, screws, hooks, tacks, wood, charcoal, sail canvas, almanacs, chains, anchors, sheathing boards, blankets, tin ware and reading material. Other expenses incurred in port included fees for the arrest, detention or release of seamen, towboats, pilotage, postage, customs house bills and consular services. The collection is divided into two series. Although the scope and content of both series are nearly identical, the materials have been kept physically and intellectually distinct due to their diverse provenance.

Arrangement

Series I: Bills and Receipts, 1866-1868

Series II: Additional Bills, Receipts and Consular Records, 1866-1869