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Captain Philip Dumaresq of Boston was always known by his host of friends as “The Prince of Sea-Captains,” and was so popular while in port that no other vessel could be loaded or unloaded until his ship had been taken care of.
He was one of the best-known American captains in the China trade, and all shipping firms were eager to get him to sail their vessels.
Born at Swan Island on the Kennebec River in the year 1804, he was the only son of James S. Dumaresq, his mother being the beautiful Miss Rebecca Gardiner of Gardiner, Me.
Captain Dumaresq tells the story of his childhood days, when at the age of six he decided he wanted to learn to swim. He asked a native boy who was only twelve years old to teach him, as his parents had forbidden him to go neat the river until he could swim.
As a bribe for the lessons, he gave his friend his most valuable possession, a picture-book of ships,
from which he parted with great sorrow. He quickly achieved his object, but when he told his parents what he had done, he was much surprised at being severely punished for his disobedience.
Swan Island lacked facilities for education, therefore at the age of twelve his father sent him to his kinsman, Robert Hallowell Gardiner, of Gardiner, Me., which was sixteen miles up the river. At the age of fifteen he entered a shipbuilding yard where he readily mastered the important details and built a few toy boats.
Unlike most American boys, however, who used to go to sea in their youth, Dumaresq had no special longing for a life on the ocean, but his physician advised him on account of his delicate health to choose the sea as his calling, and, as usually happened in many such cases, he very soon became robust.
At the early age of sixteen he went before the mast, and made such rapid progress that he commanded a vessel when he was about twenty-two years of age.
Dumaresq began his career by keeping the log of the “Samuel Russell,” so-called after the founder of the house of Russell & Co. It was his duty to keep the log, and his entries for the voyage were most amusing, as he always added many exclamation-marks whenever he had to make references to reefing or taking-in sail, his commander evidently being too careful to please him. One day he entered in the log: “Under single and double-reefed topsails,” and then followed sixteen exclamation-marks showing his disgust at such action. Again later on appeared, “Let out reefs and made sail; consequently made a good run !!!!
A few days later the log read, “Fresh breezes, thick weather, double-reefed topsails !!!“
The records of the ships Captain Dumaresq later commanded show that he wasn’t prone to take in any unnecessary reefs.
His worst experience was being chased for three days by pirates.
Upon noticing them he at once got ready all his guns, the “Quaker” ones as well as the real ones, and then ordered below all of his men but two so that his pursuers could not form any idea of the size of the crew, thereby hoping to frighten them through ignorance of the defence he would be able to put up.
On this voyage he had one passenger, Mrs. Joseph Coolidge, mother of the present Thomas Jefferson Coolidge of Boston, to whom he told the danger they were in.
She retired to the cabin, where she remained two days without any lights.
At the end of the second day it seemed hopeless to hold out any longer, and so Captain Dumaresq explained to her the very grave danger and asked her to decide whether they should all be taken or whether he should blow up the ship.
She decided upon the latter course and the whole crew calmly awaited the result of the race for life.
For a few hours more the pirates followed very closely, but finally decided to abandon the chase.
Dumaresq could not say enough in praise of Mrs. Coolidge’s bravery.
He first commanded the “Antelope” on her first voyage to China. The ship was built for Captain R. B. Forbes by Samuel Hall in East Boston. He also commanded the “Akbar” owned by J. M.
Forbes & Co., the “Bald Eagle” and the “Romance of the Seas,” both owned by George B. Upton, and the very successful “Surprise.”
He had practically retired from the sea when his wife and daughter died most unexpectedly.
A number of his friends then decided they would build the “Florence,” and would get him to superintend her while she was being built in order to take his mind off the tragedy that had just befallen him.
Captain Dumaresq took the “Florence” to sea, having also a financial interest in her.
His vessels were to him almost like members of his family, and he looked upon them with the greatest pride; in his last voyage in the “Florence” he described her while anchored opposite his window in the office of Russell & Co. in Hong Kong, writing that “she has been all painted and to my mind is the best-looking vessel in port, and I also suspect I am not the only one who thinks so.”
His last voyage was made in the “Florence” when he took her to Japan in 1856, she being the first American vessel that had ever entered the port of Nagasaki.
A rather amusing incident happened in connection with his wedding at Trinity Church, Boston, to Miss Margaretta DeBlois. Captain R. B. Forbes was to be best man and had arranged for them to pass their honeymoon on board ship on a voyage to China. The bride and bridegroom were to go direct from the church to the vessel
in Boston Harbour. When the time came for the ceremony, however, Captain Forbes, hearing that there was trouble on board ship, was obliged to hurry down to the wharf and so was unable to act as best man for his friend. He straightened out the difficulty, however, and got everything shipshape before the bridal pair arrived.
A story is told of Captain Dumaresq’s father, who was very fond of duck-shooting; whenever he brought down a bird, he used to dive into the water for it, and bring it in like a retriever, no matter how cold the water was. His friends used to tell him he would surely get drowned if he persisted in doing this, and curiously enough he was drowned in this way.
During the long winters the Dumaresqs took many sleigh-rides up and down the Kennebec Valley, and some of their friends and neighbors upon whom they often called were Mr. Farwell of Vassalboro, Dr. James Tupper of Richmond, near Swan Island, Judge Bowman, and Robert Hallowell at Hallowell, General Dearborn at Gardiner, and Hon. Benjamin Vaughan, who owned a fine estate at Hallowell overlooking the Kennebec River, which is still in the family.
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Source:
Other Merchants and Sea Captains of Old Boston, State Street Trust
Company, Boston, Mass., 1919
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