According to author Joan Druett a hen frigate “ traditionally, was any ship with the captain’s wife on board.” In fact, Joan wrote a wonderful book on the subject titled, reasonably enough, . The book came out in 1998, but for years before that I’d known about these sailor-wives, and had always been on the lookout for artifacts from their voyages.
They wrote letters aboard ship, of course, and did needlework, drawing, painting, and many of the other “feminine arts” to while the long days away. They annotated bibles and saved leaves and flowers from exotic locations, but the most evocative traces they left behind are diaries and journals. Joan relies on some of these for her book, but they are not common. Only a small percentage of captains sailed with their wives, and a still smaller percentage of these ladies kept journals – or at least journals that survived. Extended writings by women aboard their husband’s sailing ships are therefore rare, and I have always kept a weather eye out for them. They are one of the few kinds of items that I can be sure of selling!
Imagine my delight, then, at recently acquiring such a journal – kept not just by a merchant captain’s wife, but by a whaling captain’s wife. And not just a whaling captain’s wife, but a pregnant wife, who gave birth to a baby girl in a South American whaling port.
Manuscript. WHALING JOURNALS KEPT ABOARD THE CORNELIA OCTOBER 1871 – APRIL 1874; NAPOLEON JULY 1874 – SEPT 1875; NAPOLEON 1878 – 1882. One folio and three quarto journals; approximately 350 pages of manuscript entries. The Cornelia was a 263 ton bark commanded by Leroy Lewis. She departed New Bedford October 10 1871, and was condemned and sold at auction at Paita in 1873. According to Starbuck she sent home 278 barrels of sperm oil and 498 humpback. A journal of this voyage was kept by Charles Turner, one of Cornelia’s officers. He makes entries every few days, usually highlighting significant action such as storms, ships sighted, events on board, and raising and killing whales. These whales are marked with three distinct kinds of whale stamps – flukes, sperm and blackfish. They cruised the coast of South America, until December 1873 when the ship developed a leak. It increased alarmingly from 3500 to 12,200 strokes as they made for Paita, where they arrived February 10, 1874. The oil was sent home and the ship, fittings, and cargo were sold at auction, a process which Turner documents in some detail.
He was back in New Bedford by April 21 and, on July 13 he set out on another voyage, this time on the Napoleon, a 277 ton bark which cruised the Atlantic, Australian, and New Zealand grounds until 1878. As before, his accounts are regular but not daily, with good descriptions and whale stamps. The journal continues until September 21 1875. They put into Honolulu, eight men deserted, and Turner became captain of the Napoleon. The journal stops here but contains some remarkable tallies at the end – Whales taken by the Cornelia, oil shipped home (depicted in whale stamps), Cornelia accounts, sperm oil stowed, humpback oil stowed, letters sent home from bark Napoleon, and oil sold.
On August 1 1878 Turner commenced another cruise to the Pacific as captain of the Napoleon. This time, however, the journal was kept by his wife. Her entries are more frequent and tend to be longer, so her account fills 160 pages of one of the quarto books, and is continued through another 67 pages of the folio book. Her accounts differ from her husband’s in that they contain more personal and social information. For example, in April 1880, while ashore at Tulcahuano, she meets the famous trans-Atlantic dory sailers, Captain and Mrs. Crapo who, apparently, are minor celebrities even there. However, she does not slight whaling activities. Whaling operations are described from her perspective, and marked in many cases with whale stamps. On May 19 1881, while in port again at Tulcahuano she “was taken with labor pains had them quite severe all through yesterday & last night & at 8:35 this AM the baby was born & we are getting along nicely. Babies name Clementine Frances Turner.” This journal ends June 24 1882, as they approach New Bedford. This is followed by four pages of entries from St. Helena where, in 1885, her husband had left her and daughter “Clemie.” On the morning of July 4, “Baby was born 4 o’clock we named him Charles R. Turner weighed 9 pounds.”
A remarkable record. Journals of women aboard “hen frigates” are scarce. Journals of lady whalers are even more rare and desirable.
Meanwhile, back on dry land, in the 21st century, the girls at put on a feast for some of their most loyal supporters, as a part of their ongoing show, FEAST. It was snowing and blowy, but somehow that made the event perfect. Mulled wine, beef stew, and good company.
We have many Rare Chicken Breeds for sale in Ceylon Minnesota,
including Sussex Chickens, Welsummer Chickens, Turken Chickens and more.
Be sure to check out the Bargain Specials, as you can combine different
egg layers in smaller amounts and buy as an assortment. Ceylon
Minnesota also has poultry equipment for sale, game chickens for sale in
Ceylon Minnesota, bantams for sale, ducks for sale, geese for sale,
turkeys for sale, guinea for sale, peafowl for sale, pheasant for sale,
chukar partridge for sale, bobwhite for sale, many different breeds of
baby chicks for sale in Ceylon MN.
Thumbing through a baby chickens for sale in Ceylon Minnesota
catalog is a yearly traditions in many houses. My kids and I eagerly await
the Murray McMurray Hatchery catalog. We love looking at all the cool and
different chicken breeds available. Catalogs are free so head on over to
their site and request one if you are interested.
Typically hatcheries online offer both standard breeds
and bantams. Bantams are fun hardy little chickens, they lay tiny eggs
that kids especially love collecting. Bantams typically weigh less than 2
pounds when full grown. Just like ordering anything online there are pros
and cons to ordering baby chicks online. Pros of buying baby chicks in
Ceylon Minnesota * Big Selection - If you are wanting a large
variety of different chicken breeds and egg colors, you will find the best
selection at an online hatchery. * Both Bantams and full sized chickens
available * You get to choose what sex you want. If you want a mixture of
both male and female then choosing a "straight run" will save you money
and you will get a mixture of male and female chicks. You can also choose
all males or all females too. * Weekly specials. Hatcheries have sales on
chicks, you are likely to get a good deal if you are flexible with the
breeds you are wanting. Cons of buying baby chicks in Ceylon
Minnesota * Order early to get the best selection. Certain breeds sell
out fast, sometimes as early as 6 months in advance of shipping! If you
are wanting a certain breed it's best to order your chicks in the fall
before their orders sell out.
Quantity - you must order a certain number of chicks. Typically hatcheries
will require you buy a minimum of 25 chicks at a time. The number is
necessary for the chicks survival during shipping. All 25 chicks are put
in one small box without heat. They are crowded in the box and produce
enough body heat to arrive in good shape. * The wait - If you choose to
buy chicks from a feed store you will have them the same day but if you
choose to go with a hatchery you have to wait until they are ready to ship
and then wait for the chicks to arrive. Ordering baby chicks online in
Ceylon Minnesota is easy and has always been a very pleasant
experience of me. It can be a little frustrating waiting for the chicks
but it's so worth the wait. When the post office calls and you hear all
those little "cheeps" or "chirps" in the background you'll know the wait
was worth it! How to Care for your new baby chickens in Ceylon,
Minnesota Baby chicks are quite
cute and also
tough to resist,
however it's best to prepare for their
arrival prior to you get them. Prepare first
by collecting not only the
appropriate products, yet
likewise the appropriate
knowledge to care for
them. Raising baby chicks is reasonably
simple, you just need
to give them with the following: A
clean and also warm
environment Lots of food and water Focus and also
love Habitat Your habitat can be a straightforward box, aquarium,
feline provider, or guinea
pig cage. Line it with old towels as well as
blankets (with no loose
strings!) to begin, and after a
couple of weeks make use of straw over newspaper.
Keep in mind: Avoid utilizing only
paper or various other sandal
surface areas-- or your chicks legs could expand
misshapen. You additionally need
something to provide food and also
water in, such as a chicken feeder and also water
dish from the feed shop, or a pickle jar
cover for food and a pet dog bird water dispenser from a pet shop. Also, as the chicks get
older you could present a perch
right into the habitat to get them
educated on perching. Heat To
keep your chicks heat you have to
supply them with a heat source.
This can be as basic as a 100 watt
light bulb in a reflective clamp style lamp from an equipment store, or an infrared reptile warmth
bulb likewise work effectively (my
referral). Chicks need this
warmth 24/7 until their downy fluff is
changed with feathers (which can use
up to two months). The recently
hatched need a temperature
in between 90 and 100 degrees,
and each week this can
be lowered by
approximately 5 levels or
so. The heat source should get on merely one side of the cage
to permit chicks a variety of
temperature levels. The chicks are your finest
thermometer- if they are hiding in the
opposite corner of your heat
lamp, you should
decrease the temperature. If
they are surrounding each various other under the
heat (not merely cuddling),
you need to put some heat.
Home cleaning
Sanitation is essential as
well as it maintains your chicks healthy. Make certain to change
the bed linen
often and also
always supply clean
food and also water Food as well as water.
Chicks expand very fast
which calls for lots of tidy
food and also water. Give
enough whatsoever times and also inspect
frequently to
stop thirsty as well as
starving chicks. Chick food is various than adult chicken food, and it is available in both medicated and
also non-medicated varieties. Feed chick food for the
first 2 months, then
switch over to a grower food (~ 17 %
healthy protein) for one more 2 months,
and then to a somewhat
lower healthy protein feed or a layer feed
(if you have layers). Dirt Some chicks want
to get a running start on taking
dirt baths, while others won't take
up that activity until they are
older. If you have the area in your chick
enclosure, present a tray of sand or
dirt for them to bathe in.
Attention and love There are a couple of advantages to hanging
out with your chicks. First off, they will certainly more than likely bond with you as well as
not run away as grownups. Second, if you
examine your chicks daily and also
see their habits, you can
capture disease or other troubles previously. Watch out for hissing, limping, or
other undesirable
indications. Be sure to
likewise look at
their poop, as diarrhea could cause matted plumes and blocked cloaca.
Last but not least, it is necessary to keep an eye out for social issues, such as the
littlest chick obtaining picked
on. Empty nest disorder So your
chicks are currently completely feathery
and also its time for them to leave the
safety of your house
and relocate outside right into a
coop. Check out our
part on chicken coops to learn more
regarding coops and
appropriate coop habitats.