Saturday, March 28, 2009

General Doublett?









This past week I sent an inquiry on the Mediterranean Passport to the National Archives, Pittsfield. It was forwarded to Mr. Horace Waters, an Archivist Technician at the Northeast Regional office. Mr. Waters magnified the document in PhotoShop and stated that the vessel appears to be the schooner "Genl (General) Doublett", or perhaps "Genl Donblatt". The master's name looks like "...bridge". This gives strength to my thought that the master and commander may be Stephen Trowbridge.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Stephen Trowbridge of Milford?

Today I found on Google book search, a book called Thirty-Six Voyages Various Parts of the World made between the years 1799 and 1841 by George Coggeshall. The title page is below.



The entry that contained information about Stephen Trowbridge
was in Chapter Four "Voyage in the Schooner Thomas with Captain Henry Turner from Milford, Connecticut to Berbice and the West India Islands and back again to Milford in the years 1802 and 1803" as seen below.



The entry concerning Stephen Trowbridge is:





This would fall within the time frame if Trowbridge was Captain in 1860, it would not be surprising that he was a seaman on board a schooner in 1802 to 1803.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Stephen Trowbridge


I spoke today with Kelly Drake of Mystic Seaport's Museum of America and the Sea, concerning the Mediterranean Passport. I was hoping to be able to use the numerical entry on the document, shown on the left, in order to identify the ship's name and commander. Both are listed on the Passport, but difficult to read. Kelly informed me that the number indicated where the passport was issued, rather than being an index number- so the number will not be of help. I said the name of the master and commander appeared to be "Stephen Trowbridge." Kelley said there was research being done on a Trowbridge who had a ship called "The Gem." A number of Trowbridges were listed in the Museum's digital "Ship Register- search for the Ship Master" Index. None of them however had the first name of Stephen. Kelly's knowledge about a Trowbridge as a ship master prompted me to look further. On http://www.immigrantships.net The Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild website, (the group transcribes ship manifests for genealogical purposes) I found a "Stephen Trowbridge" listed as master of a schooner called Horatio, 1827. Could this be the Stephen Trowbridge listed on the Mediterranean Passport?

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

In Search of an Index!

March 18, 2009

I looked on Wikipedia and found further information about Mediterranean Passports:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_pass

This led me to a National Archives 2005 newsletter that had featured a Mediterranean Passport listed in a footnote of the article.

I have e-mailed the Eastern office of the National Archives to see if they know if these documents were indexed. I am hoping they were, and that an index exists. I cannot read the name of the schooner or that of the master of the ship on the document. An index with this information may give us a clue as to why this document "landed" in the library!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mediterranean Passport!

"You most certainly have a Mediterranean Passport, and are more than welcome to quote from/link to American Maritime Documents." The above is part of an e-mail I received yesterday from Kelly Drake of the Museum of America and the Sea at Mystic, Connecticut. Ms Drake went on to say "From the image you sent it is hard to read the vessel name but I'd guess it starts our with "Schr Gen'l..." which I'd interpret as "Schooner General" She also sent me a link to their Connecticut Ship Database which may help determine the name! Here is some further information on the Mediterranean Passport from the The Museum of America and the Sea's American Maritime Documents, 1176-1860 by Douglas L. Stein: The Mediterranean Passport, commonly called a ship's passport, was created after the United States concluded a treaty with Algiers in 1795. During the early years of independence, America was one of several nations paying tribute to the Barbary States in exchange for the ability to sail and conduct business in the Mediterranean area without interference. This treaty provided American-owned vessels with a "Passport" that would be recognized by Algeria and later by other Barbary States through similar treaties. These Passports were to be issued only to vessels that were completely owned by citizens of the United States, and were intended to serve as additional evidence of official nationality. In June 1796, a Federal law was passed which required the Secretary of State to prepare a form for the Passort and submit it to the President for approval. The result was a document modeled after a similar British form, called a Mediterranean Passport, which England had employed for the same purpose. The American version was a printed document, on vellum, that measured approximately 15" X 11." Centered in the upper half were two engravings, one below the other, (some early examples had a single large engraving of a lighthouse with a ship at anchor across the entire top quarter of the document). Signatures of the President of the United States, Secretary of State, and Customs Collector appear in the lower right-hand corner. The United States seal is in the lower left-hand corner. The most obvious similarity with the British passport was the presence of a scalloped line of indenture across the upper part of the document which was used as a method of authentication. After they were printed, the Passports were cut along the waved line and the top portion sent to the U.S. Consuls along the Barbary Coast. The Consuls subsequently provided copies to the corsairs, whose commanders were instructed to let all vessels proceed, who had passes that fit the scalloped tops. Every American vessel sailing in this area was to have a Mediterranean Passport as part of its papers. The penalty for sailing without one was $200.00. The master requested the document from the collector and paid a fee of ten dollars. A bond was also required to insure that the Passport was used in accordance with the conditions under which it was obtained, and was canceled when the document was forfeited. New Passports were not required for each succeeding foreign voyage, but it could not be transferred to another vessel, and it was to be returned to the port of original issue if the ship was wrecked or sold. Mediterranean Passports were received by the various customs districts pre-signed by the President and Secretary of State. The Collector could then insert the vessel's name and tonnage, master's name, number of crew members, and the number of guns mounted on the vessel, into the appropriate clanks and sign the document. It is interesting to note that I have found one Passport issued and dated nearly six months after the President whose signature appears on the document had left office. One might wonder just how efficiently these rather important forms were managed. Unused and outdated Passports were supposed to be returned to the Treasury Department, after first being canceled by cutting holes through the seals. Unlike the Mediterranean Passport, the Sea Letter does not appear to have had any formal establishment, but rather acquired validity through years of maritime use. The term "Sea Letter" has been used to describe any document issued by a government or monarch to one of its merchant fleet, which established proof of nationality and guaranteed protection for the vessel and her owners. However, it the Sea Letter use by the United States after 1789 that is of particular interest here.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Ship's Document-Possible Mediterranean Passport?

March 10, 2009

I have been trying to find out a bit more about the document mentioned in the previous post by researching the Mystic Seaport Library's website. The "Mediterranean Passport" is described as having been been printed on vellum with two engravings and a scalloped top.

This sounds like it may be a match and I am going to contact Mystic with a description of the document.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Ship's Document




March 9, 2009


This is a document which I take
at this time to be authentic, signed by President
James Monroe and then
Secretary of State, John
Quincy Adams.

The document
is beautifully
decorated
as seen in the
details
of the ship
and lighthouse at right.
The document commissions a ship's passage, however I have not yet been able to figure out
the name of the ship because of
the difficulty in the legibility of the writing.

The entire document, which was discovered or "rediscovered" in one of the rooms of the library, is show below. Though difficult to see, the signatures are at the bottom of the document.

It will be interesting to learn more about this example
of maritime history.


































































Wednesday, March 4, 2009



March 6, 2009



Hello. My name is Fawn Murphy. I'm a Reference Librarian here at the Hagaman Memorial Library in East Haven, Connecticut. My work also includes caring for the archival material at the library. This is quite a privilege as the area is rich in the history of the early colonists and Native Americans.

East Haven, was, for a long period, part of the New Haven Colony, settled in 1638. East Haven was incoporated in 1785.

The archival materials date from the 1700s to the present and are used for exhibitions, educational programs, scholarly and personal research, and include land deeds, town ledgers, maps, photographs and other materials.


There is a finding aid for some of the archival materials on the library's website:

http://hagamanlibraryeasthavenct.org/pdf/history/libsources-history.pdf

You may also go to our website: http://www.hagamanlibraryeasthavenct.org On the left, click on "hagaman history" and at the bottom of the history page under "Local History Library Resources," click on the "local history sources" link.

The work of archival preservation can sometimes seem overwhelming because of the numerous tasks involved, such as mending, deacidification, rehousing, photocopying to archival acid-free paper and more. However, I hope to be able to share with you some of the materials in these posts concerning the Hagaman archives.