Last modified: 2020-01-11 by rob raeside
Keywords: whalers | charles w morgan |
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The restored "Charles W. Morgan" was enshrined on 21 July 1926. For the
ongoing season, a different flag was hoisted every day at the mainmast of the
ship, as described by press reports published in "The New Bedford Standard".
Ivan Sache, 31 January 2019
![[Azel Howard]](../images/u/us~cmaho.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"The code number 3134, wig-wagged to signal flags, used to announce the old
New Bedford that one of Azel Howard's ships was coming into the harbor. When the
ship drew nearer, the Howard house flag could be distinguished, white and red,
with a big black "H" in the white square. [...)"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/28/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Chapman and Bonney]](../images/u/us~cmc&b.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"The initials "CB" on the flag [...] stand for Chapman and Bonney, New
Bedford shipping agents under whose ensign the ship "Lewis" and the bark "Union"
sailed in 1855. The right half of the flag was red; the border and letters were
blue, on a white ground."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/28/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[F. and G. R. Taber]](../images/u/us~cmfta.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"A big red "T", turned endwise, on a white ground, furnished a distinctive
pattern for the house flag of F. and G. R. Taber, New Bedford agents in 1853 for
the ship "Rambler" and barks "Laetitia" and "Aiton". [...]
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/
Two of Henry
Taber's cousins, Francis Taber (1803-1887) and George Russell Taber (1821-1913),
and Francis' son, Robert Holloway Taber (1834-1914), were coal dealers,
merchants, and also served as agents to several whaling vessels at New Bedford
in the 1850s and 1860s.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss15
New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Wood and Nye]](../images/u/us~cmw&n.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Wood and Nye, New Bedford shipping agents in 1855, used a flag gay with
broad diagonals of blue, white and red, to distinguish the ships "Alfred Gibbs",
"Illinois", "Two Brothers", and "Mount Wollaston".[...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Tucker and Cummings]](../images/u/us~cmt&c.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Three stripes, red, white and red, with a blue moon overlapping them was the
unique house flag used by Tucker and Cummings, shipping agents of old New
Bedford.[...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Cook and Snow]](../images/u/us~cmc&s.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Cook and Snow was a name well known in the heyday of New Bedford shipping.
The flag of this firm [...] in 1855 flew over the barks "Active", "Helen Snow",
"Ohio", "Stella" and "Huntress". It was red with two white diamonds through the
center, bearing the initials "C" and "S"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/
Loum Snow was
born in Acushnet, Massachusetts, in 1840. After receiving his education at local
schools, he entered business with Thomas Cook (1801-ca. 1891) under the name of
Cook & Snow, merchant tailors and dry goods merchants active at New Bedford. The
firm also acted as agent for such whaling vessels as the "Huntress" (Bark) and
"Ohio" (Bark). By 1859, Snow had left the firm of Cook & Snow to become a
whaling agent on his own. His son, Loum Snow (1840-1916), became a partner in
the whaling agent firm of Loum Snow & Son about 1867. After the elder Snow's
death in 1871, Loum Snow continued the firm under the name under Loum Snow & Son
until 1903, taking his brother, Robert Snow (1854-ca. 1906) as a partner from
1881-1891, and employing his son, Loum Snow Jr. (b. 1865), as clerk and
bookkeeper. Vessels for which the firm acted as agent include the whaling barks
"Norman", "President", and "Seneca".
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss70
New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Lawrence Grinnell]](../images/u/us~cmlgr.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Lawrence Grinnell, grandfather of Lawrence Grinnell of New Bedford and South
Dartmouth, was one of the shipping magnates of old New Bedford. With his sperm
oil and candle manufactory, he combined the agency of the whaleships
"Euphrates", "Persis", "Emma", "Joshua", "Bragdon", "and "Waverly", as well as a
large insurance business. The Grinnell house flag [...] was red, white and blue,
the dark portion near the staff being divided into an upper half of red and a
lower half of blue."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
Cornelius
Grinnell, Jr. (1786-1830) was born in New Bedford. During his lifetime he was a
partner in a New York commission business before moving back to New Bedford to
purchase and run a farm dedicated to raising fine merino sheep. For three years
he was the New Bedford and Dartmouth representative to the Legislature.
His eldest son
Lawrence (1811-1893) was born in New Bedford. He worked in the counting room of
Fish and Grinnell in New York for three years before returning to New Bedford
and acted as an agent for several ships. During this time he was also active in
the manufacturing and selling of sperm oil and candles. In 1843 his embarked on
a fifty year career path in life and fire insurance through the Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss150
New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Charles Almy]](../images/u/us~cmcal.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"A modest little white "A" on a big red swallowtail pennant distinguished the
vessels of Charles Almy, New Bedford shipping agent. [...] The Almy flag was
flown in 1853 by the ship "Mary Wilder" and the bark "Sea Flower"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
In the 1850's,
George Bourne formed an auction enterprise with a neighbor Charles Almy. Their
business flourished as they began to deal in whaling stocks and real estate.
http://www.nbpreservationsociety.org/AcushnetHeights_print.pdf - Acushnet
Heights
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Allen Lucas]](../images/u/us~cmalu.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"[...] The flag of Allen Lucas, New Bedford shipping agent in 1855, for barks
"Globe" and "Orray Tafft" [...] The Lucas colors, red, white, and blue, were
carried out by having the ground of the flag red and the letter "L", blue on a
white circle."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Abraham Ashley 2d]](../images/u/us~cmaas.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Abraham Ashley 2d was one of the old New Bedford shipping agents [...] His
house flag [...] bears a white "A" on a red triangle, whereas the closely
similar flag of Charles H. Ashley, one of the "Morgan" donors, carries a black
"A"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Weston Howland]](../images/u/us~cmdom.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"The "Dominga", the "Dartmouth, and the "Manuel Ortez" were whaling barks for
which Weston Howland of New Bedford was agent in 1855. Each carried a white flag
bordered and lettered in blue with the name of the vessel [...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/
Weston Howland
(1815-ca. 1901), a prominent New Bedford merchant and businessman, resided in
Fairhaven.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss65 - New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Russell Maxfield]](../images/u/us~cmrum.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"This red and white flag, with a white "M" for "Maxfield" in its center, was
flown in 1855 from the ship "Leonidas"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[William Potter 2d]](../images/u/us~cmwpo.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Proud possessors of a New Bedford signal block of 1869 - year that register
of shipping was published - will find a picture of the William Potter house flag
[...] It is a swallowtail pennant with a diamond on it."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/
The Potter
family, William Potter 2nd (1809-1892) included, were builders, owners, and
agents of a number of fishing schooners and whaling vessels that operated out of
both South Dartmouth and New Bedford.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss133 - New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[David B Kempton]](../images/u/us~cmdbk.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"It's not the flag of Denmark but the nearly forgotten house flag of David B.
Kempton [...] It nears a close resemblance to the Danish flag, in which,
however, the vertical white stripe is a trifle more to the left of the center.
The Kempton flag was flown in 1855 from the ships "Christopher Mitchell", "Kea",
"Waverly", and "Barnstable". [...]."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/
David Batchelder
Kempton was born in New Bedford in 1818. His parents died when he was a child
and was raised by his uncle, Ephraim Kempton. David first learned the trade of a
house carpenter from his uncle and operated his own business through the mid
1840's. In 1846, he began investing in whaling vessels, and by the early 1850's,
he was an agent for the industry. He continued as an active agent into the mid
1870's. In 1877, Kempton went on a grand tour of Europe for a year. Upon his
return to New Bedford, he resumed his business activities but his involvement in
the whaling industry had virtually ceased. He served on the board of directors
of several businesses, owned commercial rental property, built houses on
speculation, and served in city government, including many years on the Water
Board as well as serving two terms in state government as a member of the
Legislature.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss97 - New
Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[Cornell and Penniman]](../images/u/us~cmc&p.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Cornell and Penniman, shipping agents, designated their ships by a blue and
white flag like the interesting one illustrated above. [...] It is a lifetime
since this flag flew from a New Bedford ship."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/32/
Born in 1831 in
Eastham, Edward Penniman set sail for the first time at age 11. The voyage was
to the dangerous and unpredictable waters of the Grand Banks, a rich fishing
ground off the coast of Canada's Newfoundland. For the next several years,
Penniman would confine his maritime activities to local waters. However, whaling
with its high profits was an attractive, albeit risky, business for New
Englanders. Nantucket had a flourishing whaling industry as early as the late
1600s, but it was New Bedford with its deep water harbor and railway system that
would become New England's whaling capital. In 1852 at the age of 21, Penniman
would journey to New Bedford and sign on to his first whaling expedition. Later
when Penniman became a captain he would select New Bedford as his home port
setting sail seven times to hunt whale.
Captain Penniman became one of the
most successful whaling captains in New England. After his fourth voyage, he
returned home to Eastham to build a home for his family on 12 acres purchased
from his father. In 1884, at the age of 53, Penniman was able to retire
permanently to his grand home, where he would live until his death in 1913.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/pen.htm
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
![[John Arnold Macomber]](../images/u/us~cmjam.gif)
image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"The colors of J. A. Macomber, New Bedford shipping agent of the bygone days
when whaling was in its story are illustrated above. The Macomber house flag,
with its red tip and black disc on a white ground [...]
The ceremony of
halfing it down tonight will mark the closing of the season for the "Morgan" for
this year. The whaler will be open again to visitors, and flags will fly from it
again in May 1927."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/32/
Captain John
Arnold Macomber was born in New Bedford Oct. 11, 1918. At the early age of
seventeen, he took up a seafaring life, shipping on a whaling vessel. He
followed the whaling industry for a number of years, becoming a well-known
master mariner. He was captured by the Rebel ship "Shenandoah" during the Civil
War. off the Okhotsk Sea, with twenty-nine other ships, which were buried and
destroyed. Upon retiring from the whaling business, he embarked in the oil and
petroleum business, being extensively engaged with Edmund Taber in the oil
fields of Parkersburg, VA, and Parkers Landing, PA.
Representative Men and
Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts. Vol. III (1921). J. H. Beers & Co.
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019
"Honoring the past by reviving the house flags of New Bedford ship agents and
sea captains isn't exclusively with Colonel E. H. R. Green. Since the old flags
have begun flying over the "Morgan" at Round Hills, Mr. and Mrs. William W.
Howland, of Head of Westport, are hoisting on the flagpole in Mrs. Howland's
flower garden the colors of the whale ship "Marengo", which was commanded by
Mrs. Howland's father, Joseph Little. The "Marengo" was a French ship bought by
New Bedford whalers for Arctic fishing. Its flag, reproduced by the Howlands in
bright new bunting, is the French national flag, with a big "L" [unfortunately,
of unspecified color] for "Little" in the white central stripe".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/14/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019