- At the beginning of the New Bedford whaling industry in 1770, the descendants of several Sherman ancestors were involved as owners and Captains of the WREN, the first New Bedford whaling vessel built specially for whaling.
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| -Near the end of the whaling industry in 1887, ANNIE ELMA SHERMAN acquired a 1/32 share of the ill-fated Kathleen, which was sunk by a whale in 1902. |
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Note the distinctive single mast, extreme bowsprit, square topsails and square stern.
|
The descendants of several Sherman ancestors were involved as owners
and Captains of the first New Bedford whaling vessel built for whaling. |
He was one of a nine man committee appointed by the Dartmouth town-meeting held July 18, 1774 to prepare a report expressing the towns response to the several late unconstitutional acts of the British Parliament.1 among several items, the committee "Resolved, That we will not purchase any goods manufactured in Great Britain and Ireland which shall be imported from thence after this day; and that we will not purchase any foreign teas whatever. Also at this meeting a Committee of Correspondence was chosen to act with other committees in America. Also, a resolve was passed advancing " the town's proportion of the money to pay the committee of Congress." In 1779 William Davis was co-owner with Isreal Stoddars and Edward Pope of the privateer Prudence, an eight man boat with one swivel gun.
The captains of the WREN, discussed below in order of service, were at time of Commissioning: 1- Stephen Davis and 2- Caleb Tripp. The Wren was later commanded by 3- William Tillinghast, 4- Fortunatus Shearman, 5- Jonathan Soule, 6- Daniel Tripp and 7- William Smith ref #DR
_____________________________________________________________________
1-
Owner/Captain Stephen Davis of Dartmouth was master and part owner
of the WREN and took the necessary oath on Sept. 4, 1770 at the Newport
Custom House
/Capt. Stephen
Davis b: 1738, Thomas
DAVIS b: 1696,
William Davis
b: 1670, ? relation to:William
Davis
\Reliance
SOULE
B:1745, John
Soule b: 1707, Nathan
SOULE b: 1677, GEORGE
SOULE II b: 1625, GEORGE
SOULE Pilgrim b: 1590
/ William
Davis, owner b: ABT 1740 or
William
Davis b: 1721 (1)
/
PHILIP TABER b:1604
\ Margaret TABER b:1740,
Jonathan TABER b:1712 Phillip
TABOR b: 1676 Philip
TABER b: Abt 1644
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2-Owner/Captain
Caleb TRIPP
Owner /Capt Caleb
TRIPP (1)b:
1714,
EBENEZER TRIPP b:1675, JOSEPH
TRIPP b:1644, JOHN
(1) TRIPP (2) b:1611,
JOHN TRIPP b: 1586
This Caleb would have been 56 yrs old in 1770.
or doubtfull:
\Owner/Capt:Caleb
TRIPP(1)
b: 1729-31, Peleg TRIPP II b:abt1704, Peleg TRIPP b:1642, JOHN TRIPP, The Founder
b:1610
This Caleb would have been 41 yrs old in 1770.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3- Captain
William TILLINGHAST, (grandson of JOSEPH TILLINGHAST and FREELOVE STAFFORD) connection; SHERMAN ancestors
Capt. William
TILLINGHAST, b:
1770
\Nicholas TILLINGHAST b:1726,
/PARDON
TILLINGHAST b:1622
\JOSEPH TILLINGHAST b:1677
\ LYDIA
MASTERS TABER b: 1642,
>
PHILIP TABER b:1604
/ Margaret TABER b:1740, Jonathan TABERb:1712, Phillip
TABOR b: 1676 Philip
TABER b: Abt 1644
\William
Davis, Owner b: ABT 1740 or
William
Davis b: 1721 (1) ? relation to:
/Owner/Capt.
Stephen
Davis
b: 1738, Thomas
DAVIS b: 1696,
William Davis
b: 1670
\ Reliance
SOULE
B:1745, John
Soule b: 1707, Nathan
SOULE b: 1677, GEORGE
SOULE II b: 1625, GEORGE
SOULE Pilgrim b: 1590
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4- Captain
Fortunatus Sherman b:1728, the oldest
of 11 children, was notably a descendant of John
HOWLAND Pilgrim through his mother JEDIDAH HAWES and of HENRY SHERMAN through
his father
About Capt. Shearman, from log of the sloop Betsy, August 23, 1761, #DR p. 63, |
Capt. Shearman was involved in whaling at least as early as 1761 when the whaling sloop Betsy "spoke" the vessel of Capt. Shearman and "rafted blubber". During the active sailing life of Capt. Fortunatus Sherman, his home was at Dartmouth and Glouster, MA. He was appointed to the Dartmouth Committee of Safety on Jan.7, 1775 to collect taxes, food and clothing for the Continental Army and impose fines or jail sentences for those who failed to support the Patriot cause.(#BMG) It is reported that during the Revolutionary War when the British entered Dartmouth, the first home they burned was his. He later moved to Cambridge, New York and was on the Commitee of Convention for Cambridge District in 1782. He died there in 1803. |
/Jabez Sherman, Lt., Philip Sherman, Samuel Sherman, Henry Sherman* *not decended from: <= JOHN SHERMAN
/Capt. Fortunatus Sherman
(2)
b:1728
7 children \Jedidha
HAWES
<=
John
HOWLAND Pilgrim (2),
HENRY
HOWLAND
\Mercy WARREN b: 1656,
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 |
| Capt. Henry Delano (1754-1812) |
/Jabez
Sherman, Lt., Philip Sherman, Samuel Sherman, Henry Sherman* *not decended from: <= JOHN SHERMAN
/Capt. Fortunatus Sherman (2) b:1728
7 children
\Jedidah HAWES <= John HOWLAND Pilgrim (2), HENRY HOWLAND
/ Lt. Jonathan DELANO b: 1648, /Phillip De LA NOYE b: 1602
/ Jabez DELANO b: 1682
\ Sarah DELANO b: 1734
\Mercy WARREN b: 1656, Nathaniel WARREN, <= / RICHARD WARREN Pilgrim
\Mary
DELANO, John
De LA NOYE b: 1644/
/Capt.Thomas DELANO 1704
Capt. Thomas DELANO 1729-1799
Capt.
Henry DELANO 1754-1818
Capt.
Thomas DELANO 1758
Capt. Abishai DELANO 1762
/ Jonathan
RUSSELL, b: 1646, John
RUSSELL b: abt 1607, Ralph
RUSSELL b: 1592,
/Bathsheba
RUSSELL (1), William
RUSSEL b: 1691
/JOHN COOKE
6 children
/
SARAH COOKE
<
=JONATHAN
SISSONb:1656
/ LYDIA
HATHAWAY b:1662/3
/Lydia SISSON b:1714,
Richard SISSON b:1681/2,
\ ARTHUR
HATHAWAY II b: abt 1620
\Capt.
Jonathan SOULE II,Dr.
b:1740\ \JAMES SISSON b: 1656
\Jonathan
SOULE b:1710, WILLIAM SOULE b:bef 1671\
\GEORGE SOULE II b:abt 1639
<<= SARAH SOULE,
> GEORGE
SOULE Pilgrim b: 1590
__________________________________________________________________________________
6-Captain Daniel TRIPP
/Nathaniel
SOULE b: abt 1637
/Jacob
SOULE b. abt 1687
/Elizabeth
Soule b:1712
/ Robert GIFFORD
Capt. Daniel
Tripp b. 1741
\
Rebecca
GIFFORD b. Abt 1689 ?
\Owner
/Capt Caleb TRIPP b:1714
\
Sarah WING
\
EBENEZER TRIPP b:1675,
JOSEPH
TRIPP b:1644, JOHN
(1) TRIPP (2) b:1611,
JOHN TRIPP b: 1586
or <=
> PHILLIP TABER II
b:1644/6 /
/Lydia
TABER b:1673
/SARAH WARREN
/Rebecca MOSHERb:1695 Joseph
MOSHER will:1743
\ MARY COOKE
Capt. Daniel TRIPP
II b:1724, (2)
\JOHN COOKE
\Daniel
Trip b:1691, Joseph
Tripp b: 1643, John
Tripp b: 1609, John
Tripp Sr. b: 1584
2- or maybe:
/Elizabeth SOULE b:1712,
Jacob SOULE b. abt 1687 1
\Owner /Capt Caleb
TRIPP (1)b:
1714,
EBENEZER TRIPPb:1675, JOSEPH
TRIPP b:1644, JOHN
(1) TRIPP (2) b:1611,
JOHN TRIPP b: 1586
This Caleb would have been 56 yrs old in 1770.
2-
or doubtfull:
/Mary
EVERITT b: 1733
Daniel
TRIPP b:
\Owner/Capt:Caleb
TRIPP(1)
b: 1729-31, Peleg TRIPP II b:abt1704, Peleg TRIPP b:1642, JOHN TRIPP,The Founder
b:1610
This Caleb would have been 41 yrs old in 1770.
\ Anne SISSON b: 1647/48, RICHARD SISSON b:1608______________________________________________________________________________________________
7- Captain William Smith ?because of his association with Tripp and Soule families or William Smith because of his age. He was last known Captain of the WREN.
__________________________________________________________________________
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Both sloop models by Mark Sutherland show distinctive extreme bowsprit and yardarms for single square topsail. |
 Sloop
Katy/Providence, Mid 1760's through 1774. Sloop Katy was built
by John Brown, in Providence, RI as a cargo vessel, armed for privateering.
Although big and beamy for a sloop, she carried enough sail to make her
both fast and agile. Note the distinctive square stern, extreme bowsprit
and single square topsail |
The Continental Sloop Providence is a 110' foot replica of a Revolutionary
War Sloop. Today's Providence was built in the Bicentennial Year of 1976
to honor a vessel that played a key role in the fight for American Independence.
The Sloop Providence is available for member and public
sails from Providence Piers, 200 Allens Avenue, Providence, RI. |
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A full account of WHALING,
PAST AND PRESENT by A. HYATT VERRILL, 1916
___________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES: Look for 1770 Newport Custom House records of the WREN and her captains:
Admiralty Court Records and Maritime Records
Also later date 1770 of: Towle, Dorothy S. Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Rhode Island: 1716-1752. Washington, DC: American Historical Association Committee on Legal History, 1939. Rhode Island Vice-Admiralty Court. at mass hist soc The Vice-Admiralty court system in the colonies was created by the English government. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island constituted one district; so that the Rhode Island vice-admiralty court was a branch of the Boston court, held by a deputy appointed by the judge in Boston
ABIGAIL: MHS Online Catalog
Check:Notes on the Rhode Island Admiralty, 1727-1790 Frederick Bernays Wiener Harvard Law Review, Vol. 46, No. 1 (Nov., 1932), pp. 44-90
Check:Public
Records Office in London
New Bedford, MA. (508)991-6275
Custom House records
for the port of Providence, Rhode Island Historical Society Library, 121
Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906
Phone: (401) 273-8107 1 vol. (1716-1782)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
son of ADAM MOTT was among 58 Dartmouth men on"a muster-roll of the
company under the command of Capt. Thomas Kempton, in Col. Danielson's regiment,
to the lst of August, 1775:" headquartered in Roxbury in response to the British
troops occupation of Boston.
end WREN
Bark
Kathleen: A New Bedford Bark Rig Whaler, ANNIE
ELMA SHERMAN part owner
Built in 1847 in Philadelphia, Displacement: 205.51 tons, Length: 104 ft, Beam
25.2 ft, Draft 12.5 ft.
Converted
to a whaler in 1855, Managed by the largest shareholders, Joseph
& William R. WING. & Co.
| Bark Kathleen
at Sea A bark rig sailing vessel has three masts, of which the mainmast and the foremast are square-rigged while the aft mizzenmast is fore-and-aft-rigged.
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The Kathleen was sunk by a Whale in 1902 when cruising in
the Atlantic to the east of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies. A whale
had been speared but the iron point came out and the wounded creature turned
and hurled itself at the bark. The blow tore away several feet of planking,
smashed the timbers, and the vessel filled so rapidly that the crew, as well
as the captain's wife, who was on board, were obliged to take to the boats immediately.
Fortunately for them land was not far distant, and although the boats separated
all arrived safely without the loss of a life, one boat reaching Dominica, another
Barbados and a third being picked up by a passing ship. Had their vessel been
sunk in mid-ocean their fate might have been far more terrible than that of
the survivors of the Essex. (THE
REAL STORY OF THE WHALER, WHALING, PAST AND PRESENT BY A. HYATT VERRILL,
ILLUSTRATED, D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK LONDON, 1916 .
 |
Bark Kathleen (deck view) “Ready for Sea” William
H. Tripp (1880-1959, American) PREPARATIONS:
The crew readies the bark Kathleen for a whaling voyage around 1890. The
racial composition of the crew, with many Africans and African Americans
on board, was typical of the era. Photo is on
public display at New Bedford Whaling
Museum. 5 x 7 inch glass negative, William
H. Tripp Collection T-532 |
 |
J.&W.R. Wing & Co.was the ships operator and largest shareholder during all 50 years of Kathleen’s working as a whaler. During this time the ownership shares of J.&W.R. Wing & Co. increased from 15/64 to 16/32. Several private investors and captains owned fractional shares varying between 6/32 and 1/64 for various lengths of time. In 1887, Five years after her marriage and four years after the birth of her first child, FRANK MORTON SHERMAN Jr. , ANNIE ELMA SHERMAN acquired a 1/32 share of the Kathleen which she held till 1899. ANNIE SHERMAN acquired several whale ship logs and whaling artifacts that were passed down to her descendants. Many were donated to the New Bedford Whaling Museum and some are still owned by family members. |
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Catalog #:1988.6.193: Bark Kathleen in New Bedford with men on wharf images “Courtesy of the New
Bedford Whaling Museum” |
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Catalog #: 1995.9.1596: Bark Kathleen with men aboard. Old Dartmouth Historical Society / New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill | New Bedford, MA 02740-6398 Tel. (508) 997-0046 Fax: (508) 997-0018 | Library Fax: (508) 994-4350
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Joseph Wing
was born and raised in Russell’s Mills, Dartmouth and moved to New Bedford in
1833, finding employment as a 13-year-old clerk in a dry goods business. In 1949, Joseph and his brother William started their own
clothing business supplying whalers. The Wings began to invest in whale ships
in 1849, and in 1852, became managing owners and agents of their first vessel. During the Civil War, the Wings increased their fleet, purchasing
the managing share of the Charles W. Morgan in 1863, and buying other whalers,
until they managed 16 vessels in 1866. By 1870, they controlled the largest
fleet of American whaling ships. Their
outfitting business remained profitable until about the time of Joseph Wing's
death in 1895. Their whaling business even outlived his two brothers, William
R. (who died in 1909) and John (who died in 1915). It wasn't until 1916 that
the firm dissolved its whaling interests. During the 64 years of its existence,
J. & W.R. Wing had managed 234 whaling voyages, making this simple outfitting
firm one of the leaders in American whaling history.
Relationship of Annie Elma Sherman to Joseph & William Ricketson Wing:
