1839 — Dec 15, winter gale, maritime losses coast/harbors of MA, esp. Gloucester –67-~90

-150-200. Celebrate Boston. “Schooner Catherine Nichols Shipwreck, 1839.”
— >200 Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. “The Great Storm of 1839 (1909 version).”
— 84-104 Blanchard tally of deaths reported for specific vessels below.
— ~67 Blanchard tally of deaths using 3 deaths for an unidentified total loss, rather than five.
— ~90 Howland. “Shipwrecks and Other Disasters.” Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 60 Snow. Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disasters of New England. 1976, p. 205.

Blanchard on fatality estimates used: We choose to rely on Howland who wrote soon afterwards (reports about 90 deaths), for our high range. Our own attempt to compile a listing of vessels lost by place and lives lost leads to a possible range of from 84 to 104. This listing, however, contains our own “guesstimates” of lives lost on vessels which the reporting did not specify a number, but rather “all lost.” We cite the Penobscot Maritime Museum note that a typical two masted schooner had a crew of five or more and larger schooners even more. We thus used five deaths as an estimated loss of live for vessels recording a total loss. It is possible, though, that some vessels may have had a smaller crew. It is also possible that the reporting of the loss of life on an unidentified schooner in one source, was actually an identified schooner in another source. This would lead to double-counting. Thus we are not comfortable using our own range of possible fatalities in the title line above. When we substituted 3 lives lost for five on schooners for which a death toll was not noted – only all lost – we derive the number 67, which we use as our low range.

We do not use the Celebrate Boston estimate of 150-200 lives lost in that it is acknowledged that this includes fatalities from “all storms” in the month of December, of which there were three. For the same reason we do not use Sheedy’s estimate of over 200 lives lost. Though he does not say so, we believe that he is reflecting a death toll for the month of December. (We should also note that we are skeptical that 200 lives were actually lost in the combination of December storms.)

We do not use Snow’s notes on sixty lives lost for the low range of an estimated death toll in that he records only two numbers – an estimated forty for Gloucester and twenty from one unidentified vessel at Pigeon Cove.

Summary of Locational Breakouts Below

Cape Cod: ( 17)
Essex ( 6)
Gloucester: (48-50)
Ipswich area ( 4)
Nahant ( 3)
Pigeon Cove (<4-20) Sandy Bay ( 4) Total 84-104 Breakout of Massachusetts Maritime Losses by Location and Vessel Cape Cod: ( 17) -- 2 Brig Carabasset, Cape Cod. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 6. -- ~12 Brig Rideout, off Provincetown. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, pp. 10-11. -- >3 Schooner Amethyst, Cape Cod. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 6.

Essex ( 6) (Coastal town between Ipswich to north and Gloucester to south.)
— 6 Unnamed schooner, Patch’s beach. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 9.

Gloucester: (48-50)
— ~50 Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 12.
— 50 Newburyport Herald, MA. “Effects of the Late Gale.” 12-20-1839, p. 1, col. 3.
— >50 Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. The Great Storm of 1839. 1909.
— 48 Blanchard tally from vessel breakouts below (which includes several “guesstimates”.)
— >40 Newburyport Herald. “Effects of the Late Gale.” 12-20-1839, p. 2, col. 3.
— 40 Snow. Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disasters of New England. 1976, p. 205.
— 20 Gloucester Telegraph, Dec 18, in: Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, p. 2.
— >20 Procter. Fishermen’s Memorial and Record Book. 1873, p. 115-116.
Breakout of Gloucester-area maritime losses by vessel:
— 3 Schooner Brilliant Sheedy. The Great Storm of 1839 (1909 Version).
— 2 Schooner Columbia Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 7.
— 4 Schooner Eliza & Betsey Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 338.
— 2 Schooner Favorite (10 saved ) Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 8.
— 1 Schooner Milo Sheedy. The Great Storm of 1839 (1909 Version).
— 2 Schooner Sally Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 8.
— >10 Two unidentified schooners at Fresh Water [Cove], Gloucester; “crews all perished…”
— >15 Three unidentified schooners sunk at State Fort, Gloucester, “crews all lost.”
— >5 Unidentified schooner at Steep Bank, Gloucester.
— >4 Unidentified topsail schooner from Mt. Desert; all lost but one.

Ipswich vicinity: ( 4)
— 4 Schooner Deposit (from Belfast, ME) Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 357.

Nahant (off Lynn) ( 3)
— 3 Schooner Catherine Nichols, Nahant. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 9.

Pigeon Cove ( 4-20)
— >4 Schooner Walrus, Pigeon Cove. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 20 Schooner at Pigeon Cove Snow. Marine Mysteries…New England. 1976, 205.

Plum Island, Newburyport, MA
— ? Ship Pocahontas, Plum Island, MA Wikipedia. “List of shipwrecks in December 1839.”
[See footnote – Wikipedia is incorrect on the dating – actually lost in Dec 22-23 gale.]

Sandy Bay (off Pigeon Cove and Rockport) — 4 (probably same listing as Pigeon Cove)
— 4 Unnamed schooner. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 9.

Individual Vessels (lives lost): (68)
— >3 Schooner Amethyst, Cape Cod. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 6.
— 3 Schooner Brilliant, Gloucester. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 3 “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, 2.
— 2 Brig Carabasset, Cape Cod. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 6.
— 2 “ “ Provincetownhistoryproject.org.
— 3 Sch. Catherine Nichols, Nahant. Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, 2.
— 3 “ “ “ Celebrate Boston. “Schooner Catherine Nichols Shipwreck, 1839.”
— 3 “ “ “ Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 9.
— 3 “ “ “ Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 336.
— 2 Schooner Columbia, Gloucester. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 336.
— 2 “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, 2.
— 4 Schooner Deposit, Ipswich vic. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 357.
— 4 “ “ Sheedy. The Great Storm of 1839 (1909 Version).
— 4 Sch. Eliza & Betsey, Gloucester. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 338.
— 2 “ “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, 2.
— 2 Schooner Favorite, Gloucester. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 2 “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, p2.
— 1 Schooner Milo, Gloucester vic. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 1 “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, 2.
— >3 Ship Pocahontas, Plum Island, MA New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. [Inaccurate]
— ~12 Brig Rideout, off Cape Cod. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, pp. 10-11.
–10-12 “ Provincetownhistoryproject.org. Boxell Scrapbooks
— 2 Schooner Sally, Gloucester. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— 2 “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, p2.
— >4 Schooner Walrus, Pigeon Cove. Howland. Steamboat Disasters… 1843, p. 339.
— >4 “ “ “ Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, p2.
— 20 Unnamed schooner at Pigeon Cove Snow. Marine Mysteries…New England. 1976, 205.
— 6 Unnamed sch., Essex, Patch’s beach. Sheedy. The Great Storm of 1839. 1909.
— >4 Unidentified topsail schooner from Mt. Desert; all lost but one.
— 4 Unnamed schooner at Sandy Bay. Howe. Awful Calamities. 1840, p. 9.
— >9 Three unidentified schooners sunk at State Fort, Gloucester, “crews all lost.”
— >2 Unidentified schooner at Steep Bank, Gloucester.

Narrative Information

Celebrate Boston: “On December 14, 1839, the first of three successive storms struck Massachusetts Bay, and violently churned up the sea for two days. About 50 vessels were destroyed at Gloucester alone. Between 150 and 200 sailors were killed by these storms during the month of December, 1839.

“The Atlantic hurricane season ends in early December, but the first storm that struck the coast was not unlike a hurricane. Ships moored at wharves were severely damaged by the surge, with chimneys blown down onshore by severe wind gusts. It snowed throughout the storm, but the total accumulation is unknown. The following describes the destruction of a schooner at Nahant (edited):

“The Schooner Catherine Nichols, based in Charlestown, and heading there from Philadelphia with a load of coal, was wrecked on Nahant on Sunday December 15, 1839 at 4 pm. Captain Woodward first made Egg Rock, through the thick and almost impenetrable atmosphere. Having learned his position, he navigated into Reed Cove, on the southwest side of Nahant. At this time the wind was so light, and blowing from such a direction, that all the crew might easily have escaped in the boat, but hope, so deceitful to hundreds during this gale, convinced them to remain on board. The wind was at that time favorable, and they were sheltered by the high hills of the bluff from the violence of the storm.

But they were doomed to sudden disappointment. Hardly had they anchored before the wind, as if bent on ruin, chopped around so as to make the cove unshielded. In thirty minutes, they parted their tether lines, drove by Baylie’s Point, and rushed furiously on the shore. By this time the generous citizens thronged the shore in hopes to save the crew of the doomed vessel. After first struck, the ship was spun around, and on the top of a huge wave was rolled up upon the rocky shore, and immediately one mast was snapped off.

When the surf subsided, several men would make a desperate effort to seize someone on board and run him on shore. Mr. Johnson is understood to have been principally instrumental in this heroic work. In this way, the captain and two of the crew were saved. Soon, the other mast was carried away, and as it fell another man crept forward and over the gunwale. He was seized on the return of the wave, but was found to have been wounded, probably by the falling of the mast. As they laid hold of him they heard him say, ‘Oh dear,’ and when he reached the shore he motioned them to lay him down, which they did, and he immediately died. His name was Whitton.

The mate stuck to the vessel to the last, feeling assured that he should escape, as he had passed through so many storms safely, but he was at his last instance of danger. He died amidst the roaring surf, and was found, stripped of every particle of clothing except his stock and stockings, jammed in among the rocks of that jagged shore.

When the last mast fell, a man was seen to crawl out upon it through the mad and foaming waves. Soon the mast broke loose from the schooner, and instead of washing on shore as the poor fellow had vainly hoped, it drifted seaward, and he was carried out of sight to be buried in the depths of Lynn Bay.

On Tuesday, the two bodies which had been recovered were taken to the first Methodist Church in Lynn; appropriate funeral services were performed, and the victims of the sea were committed to the bosom of the earth. The name of the man drifted to sea was John Lindsay of Philadelphia. The vessel went entirely to pieces.”

(Celebrate Boston. “Schooner Catherine Nichols Shipwreck, 1839.”)

Howe: “….Cape Cod, and Vicinity….Schooner Amethyst, of North Yarmouth, from St. Johns, Florida, sunk off Wellfleet, all lost.

“Brig Rideout, from Bath for Matanzas, was driven among the breakers on the Cape, capsized, and all hands were lost….

“Brig Carabasset, of Portland, bound from Havana for Boston, went ashore near the Highland light on Sunday evening, and vessel and cargo were lost, and seven out of nine of the crew were saved….

“Lynn and Marblehead. At Lynn, the schooner Catharine Nickols, Woodward, went ashore on Nahant, at about 4 P.M. The vessel was washed into a mere mass of splinters; three men were lost….

“Gloucester. The greatest destruction took place here; the gale was truly terrific, and the devastation unprecedented and terrible….Schooner Eliza and Betsey, of Mount Desert, sunk at her anchors; Joseph Gott, Alpheus Gott (picked up), Peter Gott and Joseph Gott, her crew, all lost….

“At Sandy Bay, a schooner struck a reef while entering the harbor, and went to pieces instantly. It is thought all on board were lost; her name was unknown; four bodies came ashore.

“Ipswich and Vicinity. At Ipswich, schooner Deposite, of Belfast, with lumber went ashore on Lakeman’s beach; four lost; two men and one woman saved. At Essex, a schooner went ashore on Patch’s beach; six persons lost, one saved.” (Howe. Awful Calamities: or, The Shipwrecks of December, 1839… Press of J. Howe, 1840, p. 6.)

Howland: “….The schooner Catherine Nichols, from Philadelphia for Boston, went ashore on Sunday [15th] at 4 o’clock, P.M., on the S.W. side of Nahant, and three of the crew were drowned, the captain and one man saved….

“Sch. Eliza & Betsey, of Mount Desert, — sunk at her anchors, crew lost, their names were Joseph Gott, Alphenus Gott, Peter Gott, and Joseph Gott….

“Sch. Columbia, of Bremen, Me., — total wreck, — two men drowned whose names were Wm. Wallace and William Hofses….

“Sch. Favorite, of Wiscasset, vessel and cargo lost, two were drowned, Mr. William Mann and Mrs. Sally Hilton.

“Sch. Sally, of Wiscasset – vessel and cargo lost – Capt. Drake and his brother were drowned….

“Sch. Walrus, of Bucksport – wrecked at Pigeon Cove, crew all perished; four of the bodies found.

“Sch. Brilliant, of Mount Desert – vessel and cargo lost, and the captain (Amos Eaton) and two of the crew drowned.

“Sch. Milo, of Bristol – vessel and cargo lost, and one man (Samuel Sprawl) drowned….”

(Howland. Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States. 1843, p. 336-339.)

Procter: “The most distressing event which ever occurred in our harbor was occasioned by the storm of Sunday, December 15th, 1839. From one of our citizens, who witnessed the fury of the storm and watched the doomed vessels as they dashed on the rocks, we glean the following particulars:

“Saturday, the day previous, was remarkably mild and clear for the season. This induced the masters of many of the Eastern vessels to leave port on their trip to New York, Boston, and further southward. Arriving off Cape Ann, the wind suddenly veered into the south-east, with every indication of a violent storm. Sixty-five of the vessels sought refuge in the harbor, where, in the course of the night and Sunday forenoon, they came to anchor. At noon, the wind blew fearfully, and in the afternoon increased to a terrific gale, with snow and rain, and one of the roughest seas running which had ever been seen on this coast. Its power was indeed terrible; and the fleet of coasters were watched from the shore by our people with the most intense anxiety, as they knew, if any of the vessels got adrift, there would be need of help to save lives.

“The prospect, however, was a cheerless one, as there was but little hope of the lives on board the vessels, if they once got into the terrible breakers of the lee shore. Along about three or four o’clock the vessels began to go adrift, and the scene was one never to be forgotten by the large crowd who had gathered on the beach. Many a silent, heartfelt prayer went up from that throng, in behalf of those whose lives were in such imminent danger, to aid which, human arms were almost powerless.

“Some of the vessels sunk at their anchors, and all hands perished. Others came upon the rocks, where, with the assistance of the strong arms of men who had baffled with the storms for years –the hardy fishermen and seamen of our town — most of the crews were rescued. All that afternoon the vessels continued to drift ashore. Many were saved from this calamity by cutting away their masts. Darkness came down over the scene, rendering it all the more dismal, the wind howling and the sea raging piteously all through the hours of the night.

“Twenty wrecks were strewn along the shore ere the night had come on, and the morning’s dawn was watched for by men who were determined to do all within their power toward saving the lives of those so terribly exposed. The gale abated somewhat during the night, and the faint streaks of light which glimmered on the eastern horizon that Monday morning revealed to sight thirty dismasted vessels riding at anchor in the harbor. The wind veered round to the north-east the next day, and as it moderated, Capt. “William Carter, with a volunteer crew of noble-hearted men, put off in the Custom House boat, and brought the men ashore. They were obliged to jump on board, as it was too rough for the gallant little craft to board the vessels. One of the vessels, just as her crew was taken off, drifted out of the harbor, and was never heard of afterwards. A most miraculous escape, indeed.

“Everything that sympathetic men and women could do was done for the comfort of the living and for the recovery of the bodies of the dead. The exact loss of life was never fully ascertained, but including those who perished on the wreck near Pigeon Cove, twenty lives were known to have been lost in this vicinity. Some of the bodies were taken away by friends, and the remainder were buried from the Unitarian Church on the following Sunday afternoon. All the other churches were closed, their pastors taking part in the funeral services…..

“The storm occurring at a season when the fishing fleet were hauled up, did not cause any loss of lives or property of our people, which was indeed a most fortunate circumstance….” (Procter. “The Severe Storm of 1839, Fishermen’s Memorial and Record Book. 1873, 115-116)

Sheedy: “There was recently discovered in a Provincetown garret a small, blue-covered pamphlet (from the press of J. Howe, No. 39 Merchants row, Boston, 1840), entitled “Shipwrecks of December, 1839”, which shows that the toll of ocean along the shores of Cape Cod and Massachusetts bay in the month named, 70 years ago was approximately equal to that of the awful “Portland” storm of November 27, 1898.

“Babson’s history of Gloucester refers somewhat briefly to the storm and its terrible effects in this harbor, and also of the solemn funeral of all whose bodies were recovered, but the pamphlet referred to tells in detail of the storm and the losses caused thereby in this vicinity.

“Few are alive today who witnessed the gale and saw the vessels dash to pieces on the rocks or drift out of the harbor, but one member of the crews which manned the life boats and assisted in the rescue of several crews is still alive and vigorous despite his advanced years. Capt. John Parker, who at the time was a young man not quite 21 years of age.

“According to the pamphlet the first gale began on the night of Saturday, December 14, about midnight, with a violent snow storm, which raged until Monday. About 2 p. m. Sunday, rain commenced, and the wind rose to a gale; at 11 p. m. a hurricane broke. Until 2 or 3 o’clock a. m. of Monday it continued. It blew hard all Monday and Monday night, but the most damage was done on Sunday night. A long list of vessels were wrecked or damaged.

“Alluding to the disasters at Gloucester the pamphlet says in part:

Such a scene of terrific and horrible ruin has not been witnessed in that harbor within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, a man 104 years of age, who has always lived there. More than 50 vessels were either driven ashore, dismasted, or carried to sea, and the loss of lives could not have fallen much short of 50.

Wreckage strewed the Beach, with here and there a mangled and naked body. In one instance that of a woman was found lashed to the windlass bitts of a Castin schooner…..

“The greatest destruction took place at Gloucester. Many craft sank at their anchors. Others dragged ashore, and others drifted to sea and foundered.

“The sch. [schooner] Eliza and Betsy of Mt. Desert sunk at her anchors; her crew perished.

“Just as the custom house boat boarded the Mary Francis of Belfast, her last cable parted, and she went to sea; the boat took off the crew and two passengers.

“The schooner Walrus of Bucksport was wrecked at Pigeon Cove; her crew perished.

“The schooner Brilliant of Mt. Desert was lost with three men.

“Schooners Milo of Bristol, Splendid of New Castle, Sally of Wiscasset were lost with loss of life.

“The schooner North Carolina of Calais, James Barter, Jr., for Newport, cut away masts and rode out the gale. Schooner Cooper’ s Fancy Bridges, of Mt. Desert, vessel sunk, crew saved. Schooner F. Severs, lost on Norman’s Woe. Sch. Eagle of Bowdoinham went to pieces; crew saved.

“At Sandy Bay, a schooner struck a reef while entering harbor and went to pieces instantly. Four bodies came ashore.

“At Ipswich, sch. Deposit of Belfast went ashore on Lakeman’s beach; four lost; two men and one woman saved. At Essex, a schooner went on Patch’s beach; six persons lost; one saved. Fifteen or 20 vessels were injured at Newburyport. The schooner Mary Frances drove out of Gloucester harbor, and went ashore Tuesday on Marshfield beach. The schooner Antioch of Ellsworth drive out of Gloucester, brought up on Nichols rock, Cohasset.” (Sheedy. Out of Gloucester. The Great Storm of 1839. 1909.)

Snow: “….Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote ‘The Wreck of the Hesperus’ as a result of the series of terrible hurricanes that swept New England within a two-week prior during the month of December 1839. The first two weeks of that December had been unusually mild, suggesting September or October weather, but at midnight on December 14 snow began to fall heavily, and the wind veered to the southeast. Boston became a temporary island because of an unusually high tide sweeping across what was then know as Boston Neck. Before the storm hit Gloucester, there were sixty schooners swinging at anchor in the harbor. During the hurricane seventeen were broken into kindling wood, three sank at their moorings, and twenty-one others were ushed ashore. When the gale went down, the remaining nineteen were at their moorings, but only one had her sticks or masts still in her. Forty lives were lost around Gloucester alone, but the worst disaster took place at Pigeon Cove, where twenty persons from one schooner were drowned. Not until 1898, when the steamer Portland was lost, was such a storm recorded.

“Of course, the next day the columns of Boston’s newspapers were crowded with tales of the storm. Since the Morning Post was Longfellow’s favorite, it was probably in its pages that he read the story of the gale. I quote from the December 17, 1839, issue:

The Gale – On Sunday morning, about 3 o’clock, a N.E. snow storm commenced, occasionally intermingled with heavy showers of rain….The height of the gale was between half past 3 and 4 o’clock on Sunday, but fortunately had subsided considerably about 6 p.m. and continued moderate nearly an hour, when it recommenced and veered to the Northward….At 11 p.m. on Sunday night, the gale was as high as at any period since its commencement and so continued until daylight when it somewhat abated. This second gust drove the schooner Hesperus, at anchor in the stream, from her moorings against the ship Wm. Badger, at the North Side of Rowe’s Wharf, which parted her lines, and both drove up the dock together.

“The Hesperus drove her jib boom across the street into the third floor of a building, and her bowsprit was soon carried completely away.

“In the same column of the Post that carried the account of the Hesperus and the Wm. Badger is the following news from Came Ann:

Disasters at Cape Ann – We have conversed with a gentleman who left Gloucester this morning, from whom we learn that the destruction of life and property in the vicinity has been very great. Our informant saw seventeen dead bodies lying on the beach. Among them was the body of a woman, found lashed to the windlass bits of a Castine schr. Two of this vessel were also lost.

“….Later, the Post carried a correction in the story of the woman washed ashore lashed to the wreck of a Castine schooner…the woman, Mrs. Sally Hilton, fifty-five years ole…had been lost from the schooner Favorite of Wiscasset…” (Snow, E. R. Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disasters of New England. NY: Dodd, Mead, 1976, pp. 202-207.)

Sources

Boston Morning Post. “Disasters,” 12-19-1839, p. 2. Accessed 10-16-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/boston-morning-post-dec-19-1839-p-2/

Celebrate Boston. “Schooner Catherine Nichols Shipwreck, 1839.” Accessed 10-16-2021 at: http://www.celebrateboston.com/disasters/shipwreck-catherine-nichols-1839.htm

Howe. Awful Calamities: or, The Shipwrecks of December, 1839… (Third Edition). Boston: Press of J. Howe, 1840. Accessed 10-15-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Awful_Calamities_Or_The_Shipwrecks_of_De/j2NTAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=

Howland, Southworth Allen. Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States (Revised and Improved). Worcester: Warren Lazell. 1843.

New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide. “History of Plum Island Light, Newburyport, Massachusetts. Accessed 10-16-2021 at: http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/plum-island-light-history.html

Newburyport Herald, MA. “Effects of the Late Gale.” 12-20-1839, p. 1, col. 3. Accessed 10-16-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/newburyport-herald-dec-20-1839-p-1/

Penobscot Marine Museum Education. Life At Sea. Accessed 10-17-2021 at: https://penobscotmarinemuseum.org/pbho-1/life-at-sea/crew

Procter, George H. Fishermen’s Memorial and Record Book. Gloucester: Procter Brothers, Publishers, 1873. Digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=5ohrOdsFoNkC

Provincetownhistoryproject.org. Scrapbooks of Althea Boxell. Accessed 10-16-2021 at: http://www.provincetownhistoryproject.org/PDF/dwd_001_008-009-scrapbooks-of-althea-boxell-1-19-1910-10-4-1988-book-8-page-9.pdf

Sheedy, R. “The Great Storm of 1839 (1909 version).” Downtosea.com. December 15, 1909. Accessed 10-15-2021 at: https://www.downtosea.com/1800-1850/grstorm2.htm

Snow, E. R. Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disasters of New England. NY: Dodd, Mead, 1976.

Wikipedia. “List of shipwrecks in December 1839.” 7-19-2021 last edit. Accessed 10-16-2021 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shipwrecks_in_December_1839