The
Muse
Newsletter of the Slater Memorial Museum
Summer 2012
19th Century Maritime Norwich:
Whaling, the War of 1812, the Civil War
and Civil Seafaring
by Vivian F. Zoë
In addition to ship building related to the military, Norwich
harbor was critical to the Connecticut whaling industry.
According to historian Robert Owen Decker of Central
Connecticut State University (CCSU), Connecticut had
five periods of whaling. He asserts that the first involved
Natives of the pre-contact era which ended when the
Europeans arrived in the 1630s. Indians engaged in
whaling near the shore using canoes and harpoons of wood
and bone. The tribe shared the meat and used the bone for
tools and ornament.
The second period from the 1630s to 1712 again featured
onshore whaling. At that time whales in large numbers
entered Long Island Sound and remained from November
to April. Both the Indians and Europeans hunted this way
until in the early eighteenth century when few whales
entered the Sound.
Decker continues to explain that from 1712 to 1761,
sloops of sixty to eighty tons could hunt the whale at sea,
replacing the small open boats. During this era of whaling
in Connecticut, the process of capture was fraught with
danger, followed by hauling, cutting and boiling to
extract oil. During the fourth period, 1761-1776, vessels
carried equipment for extracting oil enabling them to
remain at sea for long periods, often years.
The American Revolution brought whaling activities
to a halt but in the fifth period, 1784-1914, whaling
vessels grew until they averaged up to 300 tons in the
years from 1840 to 1914. The height of Connecticut
whaling was in the 1840s when it ranked third among
New England industries after textiles and armaments.
Eleven Connecticut ports sent out 358 vessels on 1,315
voyages from 1718 to 1913. Whale products were critical
to life, providing oil for lubrication and illumination,
fueling home lamps, streetlights, locomotive headlights
and lighthouse lamps. Whalebone, in great demand,
was heated to be shaped for many products including
stiffening for garments.
Challenges to capturing whales included difficulty in
penetrating tough blubber, getting close enough to the
whale to “harpoon” it effectively and killing with a hand
lance while alongside a fighting whale, especially in
rough weather. These problems were compounded when
whaling in ice fields; getting close to a whale through the
ice to harpoon and lance it was a hazardous operation.
Once the whale was harpooned it would often dive below
(Continued on page 3)
A Message from the Director
In spite of the majority of our re-installation work complete, it’s been a whirlwind at
the Slater this Spring and the summer promises to slow no further.
Once again, a bevy of young interns have temporarily joined our ranks and will be
on board for the next few months assisting with what is arguably the most ambitious
migration of the Slater’s permanent holdings in storage ever. These holdings reflect
the museum’s 124 years of active and often catholic collecting of fine and decorative
art, ethnographic material and household and industrial objects. Included are
furnishings, paintings, works on paper and sculpture. The team will be examining
every object, ensuring that it is catalogued accurately and recorded in the electronic
database, is coupled with at least one image there and its condition carefully assessed.
It will then find a new home in the museum’s state-of-the-art storage facility in the
basement of the new Atrium or be placed in temporary, off-site storage.
Knowing and understanding our collection will make future permanent and temporary exhibitions more likely and
comprehensive. Participating in the project provides college interns, some of whom are NFA alumni, tangible, handson experience in real museum work, their chosen discipline of study. Both the museum and these young scholars are
fortunate to have found one-another. Our faithful members can look forward to our reporting on uncovered treasures
long obscured in poor or cramped storage conditions … stay tuned!
UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS, PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Thursday, July 12
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Nicholas Scalise and the Connecticut
experience Opening Reception. Exhibition on view June 25
through August 12. Please see page 10 for complete details.
Saturday, Sept. 8
4:00 to 7:00 pm
Connecticut women artists Opening Reception. Exhibition
on view September 1 through September 30. Please visit our website,
www.slatermuseum.org, for more details.
The Muse is published up to four times yearly for the members of The Friends of the Slater Memorial Museum. The museum is located
at 108 Crescent Street, Norwich, CT 06360. It is part of The Norwich Free Academy, 305 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. Museum
main telephone number: (860) 887-2506. Visit us on the web at www.slatermuseum.org.
Museum Director – Vivian F. Zoë
Newsletter editor – Geoff Serra
Contributing authors: Vivian Zoë, Leigh Thomas
Photographers: Leigh Thomas, Vivian Zoë, Barry Wilson
The president of the Friends of the Slater Memorial Museum: Patricia Flahive
The Norwich Free Academy Board of Trustees:
Steven L. Bokoff ’72,
Jeremy D. Booty ‘74
Glenn T. Carberry
Richard DesRoches *
Lee-Ann Gomes ‘82, Treasurer
Thomas M. Griffin ‘70, Secretary
Thomas Hammond ‘75
Theodore N. Phillips ’74 Vice Chair
Robert A. Staley ’68
David A. Whitehead ’78, Chair
Sarette Williams ‘78
*Museum collections committee
The Norwich Free Academy does not discriminate in its educational programs, services or employment on the basis of race, religion,
gender, national origin, color, handicapping condition, age, marital status or sexual orientation. This is in accordance with Title VI,
Title VII, Title IX and other civil rights or discrimination issues; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991.
2
(Continued from page 1)
the ice and pull
the whaleboat
into the ice
and destroy it.
Harpoons were
regularly bent
in the process
of attempting to
pull the whale
near the boat
or vice-versa.
A blacksmith
engaged
on
board
was
needed
to
straighten
them.
Many
whalelines
had to be cut
to prevent loss
of a whaleboat
and men; this
resulted in lost
equipment and
a lost whale. Whaling ships’ logs of the time show icons
of a full whale when one was successfully caught and half
when it was caught but escaped or was cut loose. The log
of second mate James G. Sinclair on The Waverly, kept
1859-61 shows whale images scattered throughout. The
book is currently on display at the Slater Museum.
lancing. These had an internal time fuse usually ignited
by powder in the gun. The projectile could be fired over a
distance rather than lancing near the boat. After the bomb
lance was buried in the whale, the time fuse burned down
and exploded the bomb. The typical time for the fuse was
approximately seven to ten seconds. The shoulder gun’s
major problem was still the excessive recoil, which was
known to break men’s collarbones and to cause the gun to
fly off the side of the boat.
In 1846 Oliver Allen of New London received a U.S.
Patent for a gun-fired bomb lance and in 1848 another
for a harpoon fired from the same gun. The gun itself was
not patented because its features were common to many
muzzle-loaded percussion shoulder guns at that time. The
gun employed a percussion cap to ignite the black powder
charge and it became the industry standard. In the first half
of 1852 advertisements for this gun in the Whalemen’s
Shipping List, and Merchants’ Transcript, a weekly
newspaper for the whaling industry in New Bedford, were
headed: Allen’s Whaling Gun and Patent Bomb Lance,
With the improvements recently made by C.C. Brand.
About 1849, Oliver Allen sold his business to Christopher
C. Brand of Norwich who changed the stock from
hollow brass to the iron skeleton seen on display in the
Slater Museum. Since then the gun has been known as
the Brand Whaling gun. It was made in three sizes to
accommodate various bomb lances. Christopher Crandall
Brand’s Whaling Gun Factory was at 282 Franklin Street,
which became a laundry and now is home to a design firm.
Around the world, people may not have heard of Norwich.
But in places with a strong whaling tradition, like Japan,
Iberia and Scandinavia, they will know the name C. C.
Brand.
To minimize the risks of whaling, early attempts employed
poison to eliminate the need for lancing, and to kill the
whale quickly before it would be lost. Explosive harpoons
were also tried without much success. In 1731 swivel guns
mounted in the bow of the whaleboat were introduced to
fire a harpoon into the whale at a greater distance. As early
as 1810, to reduce or eliminate excessive recoil against
the whaleboat, shoulder guns were assayed with much
smaller harpoons. Conversely, as late as 1856, shooting
whales was seen as dishonorable to the whaling tradition
and as dangerous, for different reasons, as hand-throwing
harpoons.
The whale guns shared many common features, so more
than one could be used to fire a harpoon or bomb lance.
However the one most commonly used was the one
invented by Christopher Crandall Brand. In 1846 the first
successful muzzle-loaded shoulder gun was introduced for
whaling. Lighter than swivel guns, and not mounted to
the whaleboat, these heavy shoulder guns fired a harpoon
over a slightly longer distance than a hand-darted iron
with positive effect. In addition to the shoulder gun
harpoons, bomb lances were developed to replace hand
Advance cash for whaling voyages were limited, requiring
several people to invest in unison to spread the risk. A single
investor could purchase into several voyages at a time and
Image courtesy of Mystic Seaport
3
crew members received a share of the value of the cargo
only after all bills were paid. Agents were at the center
of the whaling industry, selling shares while retaining a
controlling interest. Agents recruited crews, hired captains,
acquired insurance, arranged for supplies and solved
problems during the voyages. The agents disposed of the
cargoes and took a commission. In addition, agents might
also own industries using whale oil products which made
them wealthy and politically powerful, controlling banks
and businesses.
According to Decker at CCSU, whaling captains were the
kings of the seas. The success or failure of each voyage
depended upon them. Each captain not only received a
share of the profits, but could own a share of the venture.
Captains had to possess judgment, seamanship, “fisherman
sense,” navigational ability, and the leadership strengths to
handle men.
Thomas Davis Winship by William
Sidney Mount, ca. 1820
The three areas important in Connecticut whaling
were eastern Connecticut, the Connecticut River, and
southwestern Connecticut. Whaling involved the resources
of large geographic areas, far beyond the immediate port
area, with seamen and investors recruited from many
towns. Farmers provided food supplies sent to vessels in
the ports by wagon and later, train. Varied industries were
active in producing clothing, tools, ironwork, sails, rope
and ships. The leading area of Connecticut whaling was
eastern Connecticut, according to Decker.
Captain
Joseph
and
his
son,
Joseph, sailed to
South
America,
but in a storm were
drowned. Joseph
Jr. was eleven
years old. Other
family connections
included Captain
Theophilus Yale
who died at sea
off the coast of
Valparaiso Dec. 30,
1819 and George
Winship who died
at sea, falling from
a mast at the age of
twenty-two.
Thomas Davis Winship began his career at eleven in
1806 as a seaman on the Brig Dove commanded by his
grandfather. Frances Caulkins, in her History of Norwich,
recounts of an earlier voyage: “The schooner Commerce,
commanded by Samuel Freeman, bound to Martinico,
was taken by the privateer L’Esperance, within an hour’s
sail of her port, and a prize-master with four men put on
board. Capt. Freeman with … his crew were left with
them. Watching his opportunity, he rose upon his captors,
and after an obstinate resistance, in which one man was
killed and others wounded, succeeded in retaking the
vessel. Capt. Freeman in the conflict received three severe
flesh wounds from a cutlass. Unfortunately the privateer
discovered that the Commerce was altering her course, and
gave chase, compelling the captain at last to run the vessel
ashore, among the breakers on the east side of Dominique,
where she went to pieces.”
A typical Captain in Decker’s model was Thomas Davis
Winship, born October 9, 1795 in Norwich. His mother
was the daughter of Captain Samuel Freeman, also a
Norwich native. His father was Thomas Winship of New
York City. Captain Joseph Winship of Norwich, a relation
of Thomas, was the owner and captain of a trading vessel
which traveled between New London and the West Indies
in the 1740’s to mid 1760’s. It was in October 1765 that
Captain Freeman commanded the Brig Dove in 1809
bound for Surinam with a crew mostly from Norwich
and most likely including young Thomas Davis Winship.
Other destinations included Trinidad, Demerary (or Dutch
Guyana) and the French Colony of St. Bartholomew.
Horses and cattle were repeatedly needed in the Barbadoes
because their lives were short from their heavy work in the
oppressively hot cane fields. Storms, pirates, and sickness
took tolls on the seamen. Often ships went down without a
trace and families never heard word of the vessel or crew.
Thomas Davis Winship received his Seamen’s Protection
Certificate at age fifteen at the Customs House in New
London on June 5, 1809 just prior to shipping out with
Captain Freeman. He was described as 5’7” tall with a
4
(Continued on page 6)
Friends of Slater Museum
Current Members as of June, 2012
Please note: We have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list.
If we inadvertently omitted your name, we apologize. Please let us know by calling 860-425-5563.
LIFE
Dr. Sultan Ahamed
Nina Barclay
Rubin Bokoff
Robert Allyn Brand
Valerie K. Foran Carter
Mr. & Mrs. Leo Christmas
Mr. & Mrs. Charles M.
Gilman
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Gualtieri
Mr. & Mrs. Wally Lamb
Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon Levine
Mr. Edwin O. Lomerson III
Stanley M. Lucas
Mr. & Mrs. David H.
Meiklem
Harriet M. Cutler
Jonathan S. Rickard
Jean Stencel
Celine Sullivan
Harry Swatsburg
Sheila K. Tabakoff
Elizabeth A. Theve
Dr. Patricia C. Thevenet
Dr. & Mrs. Anthony
Tramontozzi
BENEFACTOR
Sheri Slater
SUSTAINOR
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Rak
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L.
Cummings
Shirley M. Sontheimer
PATRON
Mr. & Mrs. William J. Abell
Allyn Morgan Brand
Sandra Ann Bosko
Barbara Castagnaro
Dr. & Mrs. Robert Crootof
Mr. & Mrs. David Cruthers
David F. Belding
Mr. & Mrs. Richard
DesRoches
Dr. & Mrs. Wayne F.
Diederich
Mr. & Mrs. Laurent T.
Genard, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Denison N. Gibbs
Katherine & Richard Haffey
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Lahan
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Liverant
Lorna & Michael J. Gallagher
Mr. & Mrs. Bob Reed
Jack & Marcia Fix
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew
Isenburg
Carol Curland
Walter Pierson & Sheila
McPharlin
Evelyn & John Putman
Mr. & Mrs. Martin Shapiro
Mr. & Mrs. Gurdon Slosberg
Richard G. Treadway
George P. Ververis, Jr.
Margaret S. Wilson
CONTRIBUTOR
Barbara Wojtkiewicz
Mr. & Mrs. John Baldwin
Dr. & Mrs. Tom P. Bell
Geri-Anne Benning
Dr. & Mrs. Michael Betten
Douglass Bjorn
Cora Lee Boulware
Greg Brown
Mr. & Mrs. Paul Brulotte
Olive J. Buddington
Dr. & Mrs. Larry Coletti
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Driscoll
Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Duevel
Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm
Edgar Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Erickson
Mary P. Fuller
Teresa Geer
Dr. & Mrs. Leonard Greene
Richard C. Hamar
Lloyd Hinchey
John Roy
Joseph & Noreen Selinger, Jr.
Dr. Morris E. Katz
Ruth Becker Kirsch
Melody & Donald Leary
George B. Lee Jr.
Deborah J. Lee
5
5
Mildred P. Lescoe
Michael D. Greene
Michael E. Minzy
Mary Miskiewicz
Mr. & Mrs. William B. White
Mr. & Mrs. William Dolliver
Mr. & Mrs. Geoffrey Serra
Jeffrey R. Godley
John Carter
John Frazer
Muriel B. Jacobson
Nick Spellman
Frank T. Novack
Reverend & Mrs. John E.
Post
John M. Rogers Jr.
Elizabeth D. Sager
Mr. & Mrs. James Sawyer
Lottie B. Scott
Anne Sharpe
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Spak
Ted & Katherine Parker
Joseph R. Wolter
FAMILY
Sophia Brubaker
Dr. & Mrs. S. Pearce
Browning III
Mr. & Mrs. William
Champagne
Linda Healy & Al Bouchard
William Hosley
Dr. M.E. & Dr. Joan Kadish
Nancy Podurgiel
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Adams
Alana & Robert Wassung, Jr.
Ed & Connie Arnott
Jack & Ann Arnott
Priscilla & David Baillie
Beryl Barnes
Eric Beit
Atty. & Mrs. Ralph Bergman
Bill & Ingrid Treiss
Mr. & Mrs. Wil Blanchette
The Blinderman Family
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Bokoff
Armand & Gloria Bouley
Mr. & Mrs. Tucker Braddock
Mr. & Mrs. Allyn Brown, III
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Brown
Mr. & Mrs. Alton P. Button
Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Camp
Joanna Case & Les Olin
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Chojnacki
James Clark
Daniel S. Dahlstrom
David & Gayle Ann Rust
Cristina Dominijanni
Gerard Doudera
Mr. & Mrs. James J.
Dutton Jr.
Edmund Rubacha
Dr. & Mrs. David G. Fenton
Pat & John Flahive
Priscilla & Kathryn Forschler
Gordon L. Kyle & Caroleen
Frey
Cyrus D. Gilman & Kristine
A. Olsen
Jean & Evan Gilman
Richard Herrick
Jay Weitlauf
Attny. & Mrs. Michael E.
Jewell
Jill Coulter & Carl Gross
Jon Smedley
Mr. & Mrs. Norman
Jordan, Jr.
Joseph Strazzo
Stanley Kaplan & Berni
Grecki
Kristina & James Quarto
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Lathrop
Leonard J. Archambault
Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Timothy
Love
Dr. & Mrs. Douglas S. Lee
Mr. & Mrs. John Paul Mereen
The Methot Family
Mr. & Mrs. Edward J.
Donovan
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Popinchalk
Mr. & Mrs. Richard R.
Clairwood
Mr. & Mrs. Steven Slosberg
Bruce Dasinger
Vincent Edwards
Patricia Krodel
Nicholas Brand
Dr. & Mrs. David E. Oakley
Dr. & Mrs. Michael T.
Phillips
FAMILY (Cont.)
Bob & Gail Rehm
Dr. & Mrs. J. David Sawyer
Mr. & Mrs. Jerome
Silverstein
Robert & Betty Slater
Denis & Sandra Soucy
Karen & Andrew Stockton
Christine Strick & Kenneth
Mahler
Barbara Sumner
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Turnquist
Liz Van & John Pratt
Mr & Mrs. Jeffrey A.
Vasington
Mr. & Mrs. Rachna Walia
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Welch
Bertrand Bell & Marianna
Wilcox
Mr. & Mrs. Burriss G Wilson
Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Wolfman
INDIVIDUAL
John Baiet
Duncan Bailey
Barbara Rossitto
William E. Bartol
Serena G. Bates
Mara G. Beckwith
Bethany Cinque
Hazel Judy Brown
Jean Brown
Frank. Buckley
Jeffrey Buebendorf
Kathy Burley
Lois Burnham
Brad Burns
Colette Butterick
Alderwoman Jacqueline
Caron
Catherine S. Pearson
Brian Cofone
Michael Colonese
Barbara Cordell
Caroline A. Couture
Judyth Crystal
Diane Holtzworth
Patricia L. Arpin Dean
Sadie Davidson DeVore
Diane Stone
Donna K. Bowles
Dr. Harold A. Soloff
Ellen Durand
Geraldine Exley
Elaine R.Finn
Joanne Forson
Susan Frankenbach
Alderman Larry Goldman
Nancy L. Gordon
Sandra Grillo
Mary-Anne Hall
Astrid T. Hanzalek
Ellen Henson
Jean M. LaFreniere
Joan Malone
Judy Hayne
Bernadette M. Kalinowski
Merrill Park Keeley
Carol H. Kelleher
Mayor Benjamin Lathrop
Kathleen Lavallee
Joy S. Leary
Nancy B. MacBride
James R. Marshall III
Dr. Thomas J. Masterson
Michael Shortell
Jessie Michalowski
Brian Mignault
Margaret Francis
Catherine Monahan
Benjamin Shires
Brian W. Korsu
Julian P. Metzger
Mitchell Mishkin
Elizabeth Hundt Scott
Deborah A. Griffith
Diana Rogers
Kathleen Stauffer
Laurie Chapman
Laurie J. Herring-Silvestre
Lee Ann Gomes
Margot Johnstone
Patricia Miller
Sherry Marlowe
Suzanne Wierzbinski
Gary Palmer
Elizabeth Pite
Manisha Prakash
Kenneth Przybysz
Katherine B. Richardson
Joseph Ruffo
Virginia Salzer
Mrs. Lawrence Sarni
Susan C. Schermerhorn
Bett Schissler
Katherine E. Schmitt
Gary R. Schnip
Patricia Shippee
Robert Staley
Sean Sullivan
Susan Friedland
Thomas M. Foley, Jr.
Tony Morascini
Matt Turpin
Veronica Triplett
Charlie Whitty
Garnet Wrigley
SENIOR
Carol A. Adams
Margaret M. Aldrich
Dr. Donald Amaro
Kathleen D. Amatangelo
Karen L. Anderson
Valerie Andrews
Albert Angelbeck
Kathleen Arnold
Lindsay Aromin
Barbara Verdick
Carole J. Barnard
Bernard B. Bartick
Roger Beers
Genevieve Bergendahl
Elaine Berman
Mary Ann Biziewski
Jane Blanshard
Angelo Brocchi
Barbara Brown
Julie C. Buehler
Kenneth Bujnowski
Foster Caddell
Helen M. Champe
Raymond I. Champy
Carol A. Cieslukowski
Thomas E. Clements Jr.
James Coleman
Elizabeth D. Colson
Carol B. Connor
Dr. Thomas J. Cook
Patricia Corbett
Wanda Cornell
David A Corsini
Roger Crossgrove
Alice E. Cubanski
Albina Z. Czapski
Marguerite & James Daigle
Maurica D’Aquila
Sara G. Dembrow
Hannah Desio
Janice DiBattista
H. Jane Dibble
Nancy Fleury DiTullio
Kathleen D. Dixon
Frances J. Donnelly
Nancy E. Dubin
6 W. Wayne Endriss
Frank Falcone
Mr. & Mrs. John Fells
6
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene H. Frank
Anita Friedland
Jack Friedstein
Lester Frye
Garrett F. Kirwan
Diana Gill
Rhoda L. Gorfain
Dr. Albert Gosselin
Richard J. Grayeck
Nancie B. Greenman
Albert Gualtieri
Donald G. Gunn
Ruth DaVega Gunn
Mrs. Leo M. Gwiazdowski
Helen C. Gwiazdowski
Sara Haroun
Luciana Heineman
Catherine Hill
Florence L. Hill
Margie Hnatiuk
Joan T. Hoyle
Olive D. Isakson
Dr. Norman Israelite
Careen Jennings
Christine Karpinski
Gwendoline B. Kay
D. William Kelleher
Dorothy Bosch Keller
Elizabeth H. Kelly
Leon Kouyoumjian
Assunta Kozel
Charles L. Kroll
V. Jane Leger
Agnes B. Lotring
Agnes Luby
Erna Luering
Janet MacKay
Alexandra Malone
Mrs. Katherine Mann
J. Roger Marien
Emily Markiewicz
Maureen C. Martin
Helen M. McGuire
Darlene G. McNaughton
Augusta N McPadden
Patricia Mereen
John Merrill
Eleanor J. Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Mohr
Nancy L. Neiman-Hoffman
Allene Nelson
Irene Nichols
Diane A. Norman
Mr. & Mrs. Charles F. Noyes
Frances Ogulnick
Sara O’Hearn
Sarah B. Palmer
(Continued on page 7)
SENIOR (Cont.)
Anne Bingham
Pierson, M.D.
Constance A. Pike
Rev. Dr. Wayne D.
Pokorny
Nancy Davis Pratviel
Elaine Prokesch
Louise M. Quarto
James H. Rankin
Pauline F. Reardon
Ilene Reiner
W. Wynn Riley
Edward J. Rogalski
Betty Rokowski
Charles F. Rossoll
Francesca A. Rudolph
Dan Lyman Russell
Martin Rutchik
Sally Sweezey
Leo P. Savoie
Shirlee H. Sheathelm
Paul E. Shelley
Matthew M. Sheridan
Alberta Sherman
Mary Jo Sisco
Michele Snitkin
Emil Soderberg
He also fought in the Battle of Fayal, the neutral Portuguese
port in the Azores, Sept. 26, 1814 when three British ships,
the Carnation, the Rotas and the Plantaganet transporting
troops to New Orleans, came upon the American ship.
Rather than succumbing to capture by the British, the crew
of the General Armstrong scuttled the ship and escaped
to safety, later sailing in a Portuguese brig for Amelia
Island.
Verna Jean Souter
Mariea Spencer
Poul Sterregaard
Marilyn R. Stillman
Wilma Sullivan
Ruth Sussler
Joseph L. Torchia
Alyce Trebra
Michelle Gill Tycz
Tekla Wirhun
Mr. John A. Wolkowski
Dr. Leonard Zuckerbraun
At the age of twenty, Thomas returned to the Brig Dove
out of New London and sailed to Cayenne on November
9, 1815. Six of the crew members were from Norwich
and were under the command of Walter Lester of Norwich.
The following year in November Thomas was described
on the New London Crew List as standing 5’11”, having
grown 4” in 6 years! He was a crew member on the Brig
Hope whose destination was Guadeloupe. The Captain
was George Gilbert of Norwich. On this ship there were
another six shipmates from Norwich, one of whom was
John Yale, age 25. It was his sister, Phila, who Thomas
married November 17, 1817 in Norwich. Their marriage
is recorded in the Norwich Vital Records. The Yales were
also a seafaring family.
STUDENT
Bushra F. Karim
Grace Cardin
Deidre Lucas
Donna R. Henderson
Eva Gunzel-Guerra
Ellen Gunther
John P. Kemp
Sean Kane
Tycho Sajkowicz
Blaney W Harris
Jack Montmeat
William J. Miller
Erika Lamb
Nicole R. Lombardo
In 1819 Thomas was first mate of the Brig Fame, a whaler.
On this voyage he “took” a whale off Gibralter which
entitled him to a certificate stating that he was now able to
“dance with daughters and wives of Nantucket men”. He
was, however, married and now the father of two children.
The letter is in the collection of the Slater Museum.
The years following 1820 until his untimely death in 1846
are largely undocumented with a few exceptions. From
1836 to 1841, we
find letters written to
now Captain Thomas
Davis Winship by
wholesale grocers
the Fitch Brothers
of
Marseilles.
Douglas,
William
and Asa Fitch Jr.,
all Norwich natives
(Bean Hill), founded
the shipping agency
Fitch Brothers &
Co. of Marseilles
and engaged in
mercantile business.
Douglas Fitch, Jr. by Jean AuCaulkins
claims
guste Renoir, ca. 1870. Subject
that “Nearly all the
is grandson of Douglas, one of
American
Vessels
the Fitch brothers of Norwich/
and
American
Marseille
(Continued from page 4)
light complexion as can be verified in the Slater Museum’s
portrait of him by Shepard Alonzo Mount, a New York
artist. Mount was one of three brothers, all Long Island
artists, including the better-known William Sidney Mount.
The following year Thomas’ name appears on the New
London Crew List as a seaman on the Brig Dove, destination
Liverpool, England. He departed Nov. 21, 1810 under the
command of Christopher Colver, of Norwich.
August 11, 1812 Thomas Davis Winship was captured
at sea while sailing on the Brig Gossamer by the British
ship HMS Emulous and imprisoned at Halifax, Nova
Scotia. He was released October 9, 1812, recaptured by
the Privateer Lewis and sent to Boston for exchange per
order of Admiral Sir J. B. Warren. According to Raymond
B. Case, donor of the Winship-related objects in the Slater
Museum, and great grandson of Thomas Davis Winship, he
was a privateer in the War of 1812 aboard the Brig General
Armstrong under the command of Samuel Chester Reid, a
Norwich native.
7
produce sent from ports in the union to Marseilles, were
consigned to the great firm. The United States government,
also, found it necessary to appoint this house the agents
of the Navy; and it had the supplying of all provisions,
making all the payments & etc., of the American squadron
stationed in the Mediterranean. This business gave Fitch
Brothers & Co., a large capital to operate upon, and
immense commissions every year. …” Captain Winship,
having known the Fitches through his Norwich relations,
most likely spent many years plying the waters for this
firm.
During Captain Winship’s seafaring career he sailed
around the “Horn”, (Cape Horn, South America), trading
with the natives of the South Pacific. Records of his
voyages during the years 1820-1840 have not been found,
but in 1846 Winship was acting as first mate on the ship
Superior, sailing from New York to Hull, England, under
the command of George Hoyt, a Norwich native, and most
likely known by Winship for many years. During a violent
storm Sept. 20th, on the return passage from Hull, Winship
was swept overboard. Everything on deck was washed
into the sea. The sad news was reported to Mrs. Winship in
a letter dated October, 1846 from Captain Hoyt and noted
in the New York Shipping & Commercial List Nov. 11,
1846. The ship proceeded to Yarmouth, Cape Cod, leaky
and damaged.
In November 1836 Captain Winship was given orders by
Raynor & Pond to collect passage money before leaving
the port from all the passengers on his brig, which was
at that time docked in Jacksonville, Florida. It was
during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the
newspapers kept the population anxious about safety
and economic conditions. Raynor & Pond demanded
payment in denominations no smaller than $5 and $10 for
passage rates of about $20 per person. With 21 passengers
charged, the brig was also loaded with timber, sailing to
Boston where all would be discharged. Captain Winship
was advised that his pilot, Capt. Wightman, was to take
no risks in getting to sea. Port pilots were, and still are,
enormously valuable and well-paid in shipping.
Captain Winship did not leave a will and Mrs. Winship
soon left her home at Bean Hill to live with her son,
Theophilus and daughter-in-law, Jerusha in the East Great
Plains area of Norwich, now along New London Tpke.
In the Yantic Cemetery is the Winship plot with a granite
obelisk commemorating Captain Winship’s tragedy at sea.
Winship’s wife, Phila Yale, died twenty-seven years later
and is buried in the family plot along with numerous other
family members.
The federal period brought prosperity to Norwich in great
part due to the shipping trades. Agricultural produce
and manufactured goods like textiles were shipped out
and molasses, sugar, salt, coffee, tea, cotton and the allimportant rum were brought in. In this way, both farms
and new “manufactures” benefited. Families also began
to enjoy goods from distant shores that brought refinement
to their homes like the Winships’ mahogany furniture and
European and Asian ceramics.
The Second Seminole War was taking place in Florida and
the Battle of Wahoo Swamp on November 26th 1836 may
have caused concern for the brig’s safety. A report of the
New York Courier in its Evening Journal of November 12,
1836, recounted that a month earlier, Captain Winship had
been a passenger on board the steamboat William Gibbons
when it was wrecked off the coast of North Carolina
near Body Island. After the passengers were successfully
landed some of the crew attempted to rescue the baggage
and cargo. The first mate, Joshua Andrews, was under
surveillance, coming under suspicion for stealing jewelry
and watches. Captain Winship collared him taking fistsfuls
of jewelry from his pockets and throwing them into the
sea. Finding evidence still on him, Captain Winship had
him arrested and acted as the principal witness in court in
North Carolina, sending the thief to prison.
It is likely that while Captain Winship owned the brig
Carrier during this lucrative time, he brought back
household items such as an English-made drop leaf table
made of San Domingo mahogany. The Case family used
the table from Spain in their dining room beginning in
1810 for five generations. He brought a tea set from Paris
and it was during this time that Captain Winship sat for the
portrait by his friend Shepard A. Mount.
Winship plot in the Yantic Cemetary. The inscription
reads, Capt. Thomas D. Winship, was lost at sea,
September 20, 1846, aged 50. God rules the sea
8
By
1816,
the
passenger
steam
boat Connecticut
was traveling back
and forth from New
York to Norwich
and a year later, it
was joined by the
Fulton operated by
the Norwich-New
York Line which
became known as
the Norwich Line.
These new power
boats significantly
shortened the trip
from New York to
Boston especially
when
combined
with train travel to
and from Norwich.
The Norwich & New
York Transportation
Ella Norton from The Norton Girls Company
was
by Alexander Hamilton
founded by Henry
Emmons, ca. 1850
B. Norton, who had
arrived in Norwich from Branford a pauper. His company
made him fabulously wealthy. He became one of the
founders of NFA and is depicted in a portrait by Norwich
artist Alexander Hamilton Emmons on display in the Slater
Museum. One of his excursion boats plying Norwich
Harbor was the Ella, named for his youngest daughter,
who is depicted in the group portrait The Norton Girls
also by Emmons in the Museum’s collection. The Ella
was commissioned by the Slaters to bring well-wishers
from Norwich to New London for the launching and tour
of their Yacht Eleanor. The Ella was also deployed to
bring spectators from Norwich to Gales Ferry and served
as “bleachers” from which to observe the Yale/Harvard
regatta in 1865.
as well as steam yachts and paddle boats. The last of the
whaling brigs and schooners were still in Norwich Harbor
in the first decade of the 20th century. But the harbor was
full of excursion boats in summer that brought people out
of the sultry city to points along Long Island Sound. Sign
and banner maker and erstwhile artist Henry V. Edmond
illustrated and wrote a book in 1859 dedicated to his friend
and soon-to-be brother-in-law describing their star-crossed
Blue Fishing venture. In the tale, they use trolleys to get
down to the harbor in Norwich and then embark upon the
Norwich Line’s smaller steam ship Tiger Lily to get to
New London for open water fishing in a rented boat. The
book is on display in the museum.
By 1860 when Frances Manwaring Caulkins published
her History of Norwich, she described the Landing as
having lost “all of the sharp angles and projecting rocks,
the trickling streams and gullies”. But she doesn’t explain
how the rock cliffs and outcroppings were leveled, creating
a more gentle slope to the tidal harbor.
Still in the post-Civil War era Norwich Harbor was
swarming with boats and ships. Both the 1859 and 1909
anniversary celebrations (Bicentennial and QuarterMilleneum) included
“Watercades.”
These were
celebrations of the importance of water travel and industry
in Norwich, essentially parades of ships and boats. Prizes
were awarded for the best-decorated personal craft.
In addition to the spectacular personal yachts of people
like William A. Slater (The Sagamore & The Elenaor) and
Charles Osgood (The Narwhal), ever larger steam ships
out of Norwich sailed down the Thames River, then plied
Long Island Sound to New York. The steamship City of
Lowell was built at the same shipyard (Bath Iron Works
in Maine) the same year as Slater’s Eleanor and became
known as the “Greyhound of the Sound.” It was designed
by Archibald Cary Smith and the Slater Museum owns his
original side view technical ink drawing of the ship.
Norton’s passenger steamer The City of Norwich, before
its service for public transport, was conscripted as a
Navy Charter during the Civil War. The City of Norwich
was returned to civilian service after the war, only to be
destroyed, amid massive injury and loss of life in a tragic
accident in New York waters. Passenger and freight
steamers suffered calamities throughout the 19th and into
the 20th centuries in Norwich and New York ports. As was
the case in the 18th century, port entries and departures
were precarious, placing ships in imminent danger.
Norwich Harbor, in the first half of the 19th century, still
included square-rigged crafts of the previous Age of Sail
9
The City of Lowell was used between the Norwich, New
London and New York City from the time it was put in
service (July 2, 1894) and its decommissioning and
demise in 1935. It was a twin-screw steamer and for 4
years (1894-1898) flew the pennant showing it to be the
fastest vessel on the Sound. Collisions among ships and
with ground, rocks and docks were impossible to wholly
avoid and as motorized ship traffic in the sound increased,
so did hazards. On Nov. 4, 1904 the City of Lowell was
involved in a collision with the Wall Street Line ferry
Columbia resulting in the sinking of the Columbia. This
event spurred the shipping industry to launch its own
insurance industry. The City of Lowell was scrapped at
the end of WW II.
Nicholas Scalise
and the Connecticut Experience
On view June 25 through August 12
Opening Reception July 12 from 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Nicholas Peter Scalise (1932-2009) was born in Meriden and
resided in Meriden all of his life. A graduate of Meriden
High School, he received his art education at Horace C. Wilcox Technical School, Meriden and the Paier School of Art
in New Haven from which he graduated with honors. In a career that spanned over 50 years, Mr. Scalise became a nationally recognized artist, receiving over 200 awards in national
and regional exhibitions and over 30 solo exhibits. His work
can be found in public and private collections throughout the
United States and abroad.
Scalise was inducted into the Meriden Hall of Fame in 1987. He was able to profoundly capture and convey in his
work the humanity of its citizens and of daily life in the city. He showed its tremendous beauty as well as its urban
realities, creating a visual storybook of the City of Meriden. Mr. Scalise was a self-employed artist and instructor
at the former Famous Artist's School in Westport, CT. His painting excursions extended beyond Connecticut in national and international locations, from Cape Cod to New Mexico and from Europe and Israel to Canada and Central
America.
The opening reception is free and open to the public. All are welcome.
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED