Lot 221

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Description:

Nantucket Whaling and an African American Sailor during a Whaling Voyage in 1806, Fantastic!

This deposition concerns a whaling voyage from Nantucket and the pay that African American sailor Joel Gersham received on that voyage. From 1803 to 1805, Gersham was a crew member on the whaling ship Commerce, owned by John Coggeshall, with Obed Aldridge as the captain. This deposition of Albert Gardner may have been for a lawsuit between David Look and John Coggeshall.

[AFRICAN AMERICAN.] Albert Gardner, Manuscript Document, Copy of Deposition of Albert Gardner, November 14, 1806, Nantucket, Massachusetts. 1 p., 7.25" x 11.75". Expected folds; small edge tears; minor scattered stains.

Excerpts
"I Albert Gardner of Nantucket in the County of Nantucket & Commonwealth of Massachusetts, of Lawfull age to give evidence, Do testify & say, that Joel Gersham a black man shipped & performed a Voyage as a Sailor on board the Ship Commerce, Obed Aldridge as master, in the years Eighteen Hundred, One & three, and returned to Nantucket aforesaid, and John Coggeshall of New Bedford in the County of Bristol received said Joel's Voyage & settled the same with the owners of said ship, – further your deponant saith not.
Nantucket Novr 14, 1806 Signed by Albert Gardner.
"

"Question by John Hancock atty to David Look – how many hands did Mr Coggeshall agree to put on board the ship, or how many did he put on board.
"Answer by Deponant – as near as I recollect it was Eight."

"Question, what Voyage did the Ship go, & where did she go.
"Answer – A whaling around Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean."

"Question – what part of his lay belonged to him the said Joel
"Answer – As near as I recollect, he was to have one quarter of his Voyage.
"Question – what was the amount of his quarter.
"Answer – Forty Six Dollars, Eighty Cents
"Question – what was Capt Obed Aldridges bill against the said Joel
"Answer – Fifty One Dollars, Twenty five Cents
"Question – Was Capt Aldridge's bill paid out of his Voyage.
"Answer – yes it was
"Question by D. Look's Atty – Do you know what made Capt Aldridge's bill against said Joel
"Answer – It was for supplies, Clothing & other articles, during the Voyage."

Historical Background
Whaling from Nantucket began early in the 1700s. Whalers harpooned whales to draw them close to the boat, killed them, then dragged them to shore, where they boiled their blubber to create oil for illumination and machine lubrication. They soon discovered the superiority of the oil from the sperm whale over that of the more common right whale and began processing the whale blubber on the decks of their ship. The sperm whale also had a reserve of even higher-quality, cleaner-burning, and more valuable oil—spermaceti—near its head. By 1760, most whalers had moved from focusing on the depleted right whale population to hunting the faster and more aggressive sperm whales. By 1775, half of the whaling vessels in Massachusetts were based in Nantucket, and whalers were voyaging ever farther, from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America and into the Pacific Ocean.

British naval blockades during the War of 1812 brought whaling activity nearly to a halt, but by the end of the 1810s, the whaling industry rebounded with larger ships and longer voyages, often extending for several years. By the 1840s, Nantucket's shallow harbors were less convenient than the deeper ports of New Bedford, Massachusetts, where more ships began to dock. The discovery of oil in Pennsylvania in 1859 led to a steep decline in the demand for whale oil, and the last whaleship sailed from Nantucket in the 1860s.

Albert C. Gardner (1765-1838) was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Sophronia Nye Edwards, and they had at least one daughter. He was captain of the 1836-1840 voyage of the Nantucket whaleship Omega but died off the coast of Peru on February 10, 1838.

Obed Aldridge (d. 1804) was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Mary "Polly" Bunker (1769-1822) in July 1785, and they had at least three children. He was a ship's captain for several whaling voyages from Nantucket in the 1790s and early 1800s.

David Look (1766-1837) purchased a mill on Martha's Vineyard in 1809 that he converted to a woolen mill and kept running for more than thirty years. He married Hannah Nickerson in September 1814.

John Hancock (1774-1859) was the son of General Ebenezer Hancock (1741-1819) and the nephew of statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock (1737-1793). He married Elizabeth Scott (1779-1830), and they had eleven children.

John Coggeshall (1757-1830) was born in Newport, Rhode Island, and moved to Bedford, Massachusetts, in 1770. He enlisted in response to the Lexington Alarm and witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill. After serving eight months, he went home but enlisted again in 1776 and 1778. He served as a major in the Massachusetts militia during the War of 1812. He married Abigail Hayden (1760-1834), and they had at least seven children, including John Coggeshall Jr. (1776-1853). The younger Coggeshall married Elizabeth Brown (1780-1867) in 1799, and they had at least ten children. He was a merchant and shipowner in New Bedford and built the Coggeshall Counting House in 1832.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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