This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Whaling owner's flags displayed on the "Charles W. Morgan" - Part 6 (U.S.)

Last modified: 2020-01-11 by rob raeside
Keywords: whalers | charles w morgan |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



See also:



Flags on "Charles W. Morgan"

The restored "Charles W. Morgan" was enshrined on 21 July 1926. For the ongoing season, a different flag was hoisted every day at the mainmast of the ship, as described by press reports published in "The New Bedford Standard".
Ivan Sache, 31 January 2019

21 July - Dedication
21 July - Henry S. Hutchinson
24 July - Henry H. Crapo
25 July - Edward R. Hathaway
26 July - Clark W. Holcomb
27 July - J. and W. R. Wing
28 July - John Duff
29 July - Andrew G. Pierce
30 July - James Henry Howland
31 July - William A. Robinson Jr.
1 August - Rotch
2 August - Swift and Allen
3 August - James Henry Howland
4 August - Captain George Fred Tilton
5 August - John Avery Parker
6 August - George Howland
7 August - Jonathan Bourne Jr.
8 August - Abraham H. Howland
9 August - Harry Neyland
10 August - Jireh Perry
11 August - J. B. Wood
12 August - David R. Greene
13 August - Henry Taber
14 August - Lemuel Kollock
15 August - Abraham Barker
16 August - Rodney French
17 August - J. Dunbar / Henry F. Thomas
18 August - William Gifford
19 August - Benjamin Cummmings
20 August - T. and A. R. Nye
21 August - Edmund Wood
22 August - Isaac Howland, Jr.
23 August - J.D. Thompson
26 August - Charles H. Tucker & Co.
27 August - B. B. Howard
28 August - Edward W. Howland
29 August - Gideon Allen
30 August - Pope and Morgan
31 August - Nathan Church
1 September - Captain John A. Cook
2 September - I. H. Bartlett
3 September - Thomas Wilcox
4-5? September - Charles S. Ashley
6 September - William Watkins
7 September - West and Paine
8 September - Isaac B. Richmond
9 September - Gibbs and Jenney
10 September - Atkins Adams
11 September - Ezekiel Sawin
12 September - Philips and Ashley
13 September - William O. Brownell
14 September - Frederick Parker
15 September - Richmond and Wood
16 September - William R. Rodman
17 September - Andrew Robeson
18 September - Ship "Globe"
19 September - Philip Anthony
20 September - Asa Swift
21 September - O. and G. O. Crocker
22 September - Lemuel C. Tripp
23 September - T. and A. R. Nye
24 September - Alexander Gibbs
25 September - Captain James F. Avery
26 September - Sheffield Reeve
27 September - Lemuel Tripp
28 September - Warren Delano
29 September - Jabez Delano Jr.
30 September - Fish and Huttlestone
1 October - Zenas L. Adams
2 October - W.G. Blackler
3 October - Dexter Jenney
4 October - Furman Read Whitwell
5 October - Andrew Hicks
6 October - Reuben Fish
7 October - Zeno Kelley
8 October - Seth A. Mitchell
9 October - Lorenzo Peirce
10 October - Charles Hitch and Son
11 October - Kelley and Swift
12 October - William Wilcox
13 October - James H. Slocum
14 October - O. & E. W. Seabury
15 October - Oliver Ricketson
16 October - Azel Howard
17 October - Chapman and Bonney
18 October - F. and G. R. Taber
19 October - Wood and Nye
20 October - Tucker and Cummings
21 October - Cook and Snow
22 October - Lawrence Grinnell
23 October - Charles Almy
24 October - Allen Lucas
25 October - Abraham Ashley 2d
26 October - Weston Howland
27 October - Russell Maxfield
28 October - William Potter 2d
29 October - David B Kempton
30 October - Cornell and Penniman
31 October - John Arnold Macomber
Joseph Little

16 October - Azel Howard

[Azel Howard] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"The code number 3134, wig-wagged to signal flags, used to announce the old New Bedford that one of Azel Howard's ships was coming into the harbor. When the ship drew nearer, the Howard house flag could be distinguished, white and red, with a big black "H" in the white square. [...)"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/28/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


17 October - Chapman and Bonney

[Chapman and Bonney] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"The initials "CB" on the flag [...] stand for Chapman and Bonney, New Bedford shipping agents under whose ensign the ship "Lewis" and the bark "Union" sailed in 1855. The right half of the flag was red; the border and letters were blue, on a white ground."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/28/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


18 October - F. and G. R. Taber

[F. and G. R. Taber] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"A big red "T", turned endwise, on a white ground, furnished a distinctive pattern for the house flag of F. and G. R. Taber, New Bedford agents in 1853 for the ship "Rambler" and barks "Laetitia" and "Aiton". [...]
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/

Two of Henry Taber's cousins, Francis Taber (1803-1887) and George Russell Taber (1821-1913), and Francis' son, Robert Holloway Taber (1834-1914), were coal dealers, merchants, and also served as agents to several whaling vessels at New Bedford in the 1850s and 1860s.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss15
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


19 October - Wood and Nye

[Wood and Nye] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Wood and Nye, New Bedford shipping agents in 1855, used a flag gay with broad diagonals of blue, white and red, to distinguish the ships "Alfred Gibbs", "Illinois", "Two Brothers", and "Mount Wollaston".[...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


20 October - Tucker and Cummings

[Tucker and Cummings] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Three stripes, red, white and red, with a blue moon overlapping them was the unique house flag used by Tucker and Cummings, shipping agents of old New Bedford.[...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


21 October - Cook and Snow

[Cook and Snow] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Cook and Snow was a name well known in the heyday of New Bedford shipping. The flag of this firm [...] in 1855 flew over the barks "Active", "Helen Snow", "Ohio", "Stella" and "Huntress". It was red with two white diamonds through the center, bearing the initials "C" and "S"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/29/

Loum Snow was born in Acushnet, Massachusetts, in 1840. After receiving his education at local schools, he entered business with Thomas Cook (1801-ca. 1891) under the name of Cook & Snow, merchant tailors and dry goods merchants active at New Bedford. The firm also acted as agent for such whaling vessels as the "Huntress" (Bark) and "Ohio" (Bark). By 1859, Snow had left the firm of Cook & Snow to become a whaling agent on his own. His son, Loum Snow (1840-1916), became a partner in the whaling agent firm of Loum Snow & Son about 1867. After the elder Snow's death in 1871, Loum Snow continued the firm under the name under Loum Snow & Son until 1903, taking his brother, Robert Snow (1854-ca. 1906) as a partner from 1881-1891, and employing his son, Loum Snow Jr. (b. 1865), as clerk and bookkeeper. Vessels for which the firm acted as agent include the whaling barks "Norman", "President", and "Seneca".
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss70
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


22 October - Lawrence Grinnell

[Lawrence Grinnell] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Lawrence Grinnell, grandfather of Lawrence Grinnell of New Bedford and South Dartmouth, was one of the shipping magnates of old New Bedford. With his sperm oil and candle manufactory, he combined the agency of the whaleships "Euphrates", "Persis", "Emma", "Joshua", "Bragdon", "and "Waverly", as well as a large insurance business. The Grinnell house flag [...] was red, white and blue, the dark portion near the staff being divided into an upper half of red and a lower half of blue."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/

Cornelius Grinnell, Jr. (1786-1830) was born in New Bedford. During his lifetime he was a partner in a New York commission business before moving back to New Bedford to purchase and run a farm dedicated to raising fine merino sheep. For three years he was the New Bedford and Dartmouth representative to the Legislature.
His eldest son Lawrence (1811-1893) was born in New Bedford. He worked in the counting room of Fish and Grinnell in New York for three years before returning to New Bedford and acted as an agent for several ships. During this time he was also active in the manufacturing and selling of sperm oil and candles. In 1843 his embarked on a fifty year career path in life and fire insurance through the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss150
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


23 October - Charles Almy

[Charles Almy] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"A modest little white "A" on a big red swallowtail pennant distinguished the vessels of Charles Almy, New Bedford shipping agent. [...] The Almy flag was flown in 1853 by the ship "Mary Wilder" and the bark "Sea Flower"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/

In the 1850's, George Bourne formed an auction enterprise with a neighbor Charles Almy. Their business flourished as they began to deal in whaling stocks and real estate.
http://www.nbpreservationsociety.org/AcushnetHeights_print.pdf - Acushnet Heights
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


24 October - Allen Lucas

[Allen Lucas] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"[...] The flag of Allen Lucas, New Bedford shipping agent in 1855, for barks "Globe" and "Orray Tafft" [...] The Lucas colors, red, white, and blue, were carried out by having the ground of the flag red and the letter "L", blue on a white circle."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


25 October - Abraham Ashley 2d

[Abraham Ashley 2d] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Abraham Ashley 2d was one of the old New Bedford shipping agents [...] His house flag [...] bears a white "A" on a red triangle, whereas the closely similar flag of Charles H. Ashley, one of the "Morgan" donors, carries a black "A"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/30/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


26 October - Weston Howland

[Weston Howland] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"The "Dominga", the "Dartmouth, and the "Manuel Ortez" were whaling barks for which Weston Howland of New Bedford was agent in 1855. Each carried a white flag bordered and lettered in blue with the name of the vessel [...]"
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/

Weston Howland (1815-ca. 1901), a prominent New Bedford merchant and businessman, resided in Fairhaven.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss65 - New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


27 October - Russell Maxfield

[Russell Maxfield] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"This red and white flag, with a white "M" for "Maxfield" in its center, was flown in 1855 from the ship "Leonidas"."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


28 October - William Potter 2d

[William Potter 2d] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Proud possessors of a New Bedford signal block of 1869 - year that register of shipping was published - will find a picture of the William Potter house flag [...] It is a swallowtail pennant with a diamond on it."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/

The Potter family, William Potter 2nd (1809-1892) included, were builders, owners, and agents of a number of fishing schooners and whaling vessels that operated out of both South Dartmouth and New Bedford.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss133 - New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


29 October - David B Kempton

[David B Kempton] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"It's not the flag of Denmark but the nearly forgotten house flag of David B. Kempton [...] It nears a close resemblance to the Danish flag, in which, however, the vertical white stripe is a trifle more to the left of the center. The Kempton flag was flown in 1855 from the ships "Christopher Mitchell", "Kea", "Waverly", and "Barnstable". [...]."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/31/

David Batchelder Kempton was born in New Bedford in 1818. His parents died when he was a child and was raised by his uncle, Ephraim Kempton. David first learned the trade of a house carpenter from his uncle and operated his own business through the mid 1840's. In 1846, he began investing in whaling vessels, and by the early 1850's, he was an agent for the industry. He continued as an active agent into the mid 1870's. In 1877, Kempton went on a grand tour of Europe for a year. Upon his return to New Bedford, he resumed his business activities but his involvement in the whaling industry had virtually ceased. He served on the board of directors of several businesses, owned commercial rental property, built houses on speculation, and served in city government, including many years on the Water Board as well as serving two terms in state government as a member of the Legislature.
https://www.whalingmuseum.org/explore/library/finding-aids/mss97 - New Bedford Whaling Museum
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


30 October - Cornell and Penniman

[Cornell and Penniman] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"Cornell and Penniman, shipping agents, designated their ships by a blue and white flag like the interesting one illustrated above. [...] It is a lifetime since this flag flew from a New Bedford ship."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/32/

Born in 1831 in Eastham, Edward Penniman set sail for the first time at age 11. The voyage was to the dangerous and unpredictable waters of the Grand Banks, a rich fishing ground off the coast of Canada's Newfoundland. For the next several years, Penniman would confine his maritime activities to local waters. However, whaling with its high profits was an attractive, albeit risky, business for New Englanders. Nantucket had a flourishing whaling industry as early as the late 1600s, but it was New Bedford with its deep water harbor and railway system that would become New England's whaling capital. In 1852 at the age of 21, Penniman would journey to New Bedford and sign on to his first whaling expedition. Later when Penniman became a captain he would select New Bedford as his home port setting sail seven times to hunt whale.
Captain Penniman became one of the most successful whaling captains in New England. After his fourth voyage, he returned home to Eastham to build a home for his family on 12 acres purchased from his father. In 1884, at the age of 53, Penniman was able to retire permanently to his grand home, where he would live until his death in 1913.
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/pen.htm
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


31 October - John Arnold Macomber

[John Arnold Macomber] image by Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019

"The colors of J. A. Macomber, New Bedford shipping agent of the bygone days when whaling was in its story are illustrated above. The Macomber house flag, with its red tip and black disc on a white ground [...]
The ceremony of halfing it down tonight will mark the closing of the season for the "Morgan" for this year. The whaler will be open again to visitors, and flags will fly from it again in May 1927."
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/32/

Captain John Arnold Macomber was born in New Bedford Oct. 11, 1918. At the early age of seventeen, he took up a seafaring life, shipping on a whaling vessel. He followed the whaling industry for a number of years, becoming a well-known master mariner. He was captured by the Rebel ship "Shenandoah" during the Civil War. off the Okhotsk Sea, with twenty-nine other ships, which were buried and destroyed. Upon retiring from the whaling business, he embarked in the oil and petroleum business, being extensively engaged with Edmund Taber in the oil fields of Parkersburg, VA, and Parkers Landing, PA.
Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts. Vol. III (1921). J. H. Beers & Co.
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019


Joseph Little

"Honoring the past by reviving the house flags of New Bedford ship agents and sea captains isn't exclusively with Colonel E. H. R. Green. Since the old flags have begun flying over the "Morgan" at Round Hills, Mr. and Mrs. William W. Howland, of Head of Westport, are hoisting on the flagpole in Mrs. Howland's flower garden the colors of the whale ship "Marengo", which was commanded by Mrs. Howland's father, Joseph Little. The "Marengo" was a French ship bought by New Bedford whalers for Arctic fishing. Its flag, reproduced by the Howlands in bright new bunting, is the French national flag, with a big "L" [unfortunately, of unspecified color] for "Little" in the white central stripe".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l030634/14/
Ivan Sache, 10 December 2019