Friends come through again. Who would have guessed.

Who would have guessed that 20 mile south of Ashland WI I would have a friend that owns a whale vertebra? The hole is where the spinal cord would pass.

The dollar bill is 6 inches long.

Whale photos from a friend of a friend in Alaska. Taken yesterday.

Whalers use to call the flukes (tail fins) "the hand of god". Many a whale boat and whaler were crushed and killed by flukes like these.


These photos had this note attached.

this morning at Mary's Flats (for those of you who know where/what this is) these whales surface directly in front of our boat...Not more that 50 feet from us...and then began their beautiful dance....in and out of the water...gosh it was so amazing.

"A Window Back: Photography in a Whaling Port" by Nicholas Whitman

A Window Back: Photography in a Whaling Port, by Nicholas Whitman
Spinner Publication Inc. 1994, page 51. ISBN 0932027-180

This photo of the Bark Tropic Bird was taken in 1876 on the New Bedford waterfront. Photographer unknown. This might be the only photo of the Bark Tropic Bird.

I was lucky when I decided to buy this book. I had no idea there was a photo of the Bark Tropic Bird in the book before it arrived earlier today.

Note: This is essentially the same photo I used in my April 20, 2009 post. It is however, I feel, a better version.

Eliza R. Cottle Tilton.

Eliza R. Cottle Tilton. According to family this is a wedding photo. The picture below is the wedding dress jacket seen in the photo. Eliza R. Cottle was born June 26, 1838. She married Owen H Tilton on July 31, 1859 in Chilmark MA. She died February 11, 1913.

Owen H. Tilton was born on February 16, 1836 in Chilmark MA. He died September 2, 1901.

The above photo was edited to clean up speckles, scratches and other aging marks.



A little mystery in these photos. I took two photos during our 2002 visit with the Tilton family. Both photos were taken with a digital camera (no negatives). Look closely at the two photos. Notice anything? To me it appears the buttons and the dark "stripe" are reversed.

Below are two additional photos.


The wedding photos as they are in the original frames.



This photo was digitally "flipped" by me to match the actual dress. My guess is that the original photo had a negative and it was reversed when the photo was printed.... or the old box cameras flipped the image. I'll have to do some more research about photographic technology in 1859. In either case I would guess this is what Eliza looked like on the day her photo was taken.

What is it?....... answer a Bodkin (see update below).

This is a photo I took in 2002 during a visit to the Tilton family on Martha's Vineyard.

First, this is not one of my better photos. It's blurry...sorry.

There are a dozen or so other photos that were taken the same day. I will post them over the next few weeks.

BUT.....the question of the day.... What is this object used for? Maybe it was just an easyimplement to craft while on a voyage? Did it have a use aboard the ship?

The object is being held by Owen H. Tilton's great great granddaughter Donna.
UPDATE 1:
Bev the "research wizard" provides this answer to the "What is it?" question.

" WHALERS ONLY MADE BODKINS FOR THEIR MOTHERS, WIVES, SWEETHEARTS, AND DAUGHTERS. WHALERS NEVER SOLD BODKINS, AS THIS WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO POTENTIAL COMPETITION FOR THE NANTUCKET WOMEN IN THE MAKING OF DOILIES."

Pictures and descriptions of bodkins can be seen here, here and here.

UPDATE 2:

This much smaller bodkin is from the other side of the family. The Lockhart-Blacks from London mid to late 1800's. It's rumored that one of the aunts was a "lace maker for the Queen". More on that later when I find the documentation.

A great find in the log. December 14, 1877

Logbook entry:

Friday Dec th/14 1877
Com- with light wind from S.E. with foggy weather
at 5 P.M. gamed [visited] the Charles W. Morgan 32 months
out 800 sperm. Capt Tincom [Tinkham] at 7. kept on the
Northern tack. Lat part light wind from S at 8 Am
Cleared up the Morgan in sight ship heading E
Lat 35-10 S Lon 21-42 W




This logbook entry is such a great find because the Bark Charles W. Morgan is the "Last Wooden Whaleship in the World" and can still be seen at the Mystic Seaport - The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic CT.






From the Mystic Seaport Research library we find these Voyage #10 records for the years 4/23/1875 - 5/17/1878 with Captain John M. Tinkham.

Voyage # 10 was unique in that Captain Tinkham's wife Clara Tinkham was aboard. She left the Morgan at St. Helena in November 1876. Mrs. Tinkham "suffered severe bouts of seasickness". Mrs. Tinkham took a steamer to England and then on to home. (see Leavitt below)

Charles W. Morgan video from the Mystic Seaport. YouTube short version.
Charles W. Morgan video from the Mystic Seaport. YouTube long version.

Some additional Mystic Seaport research resources:
Charles W. Morgan Whaling and Maritime History
Crew List for voyage #10.

Leavitt, John F., The Charles W. Morgan (Second Edition). Mystic CT., Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc., 1998, ISBN: 0-913372-10-2

Meet Owen Hillman Tilton.

A special thanks to living members of the Tilton family of Vineyard Haven MA and their ancestors for preserving these and other family photos and documents and for providing access to them for this project.
Email: Capt.O.H.Tilton's gr-gr-granddaughter. Donna.

Whaling Bark circa 1870.

A special thanks to Laura P. of the New Bedford Whaling Museum for this great piece of the Tropic Bird history. "the bark [Tropic Bird] was built in 1851 in Dartmouth, Mass., by John Mashow. The New Bedford Whaling Museum owns a certificate presented to John Mashow in recognition of his ability as a shipbuilder."

John Mashow, was a ship builder of African-American descent and was a partner in the firm of Matthews, Mashow & Co. (via Mystic Sea Port Museum)

This description accompanied the above drawing as seen on the Wetcanvas website.

Whalers were splendid examples of how self-sufficient sailing vessels could be. Though seldom weighing over 300 tons, they carried as many as 38 men on voyages lasting as long as four years. The distinguishing features of a whaler were the five boats slung over the side of the bulky hull, the sails smoky from the tryworks on deck, and the top-gallant crosstrees crow's-nest on fore and mainmast.

Map of New Bedford waterfront 1851. Including harbor soundings of 1844.

Note the Taber's Wharf in the photo. See the contract below...Note the address of agent Wm Lewis at No.4 Tabers Wharf.



Click on each photo to see a larger more detailed version.


Entire length of waterfront showing all wharfs.

Maps of the New Bedford MA waterfront from a map owned by this website owner. The New Bedford area is an insert in a larger map of Bristol County MA published in 1851.

Bark Tropic Bird. Built 1851 Dartmouth, Mass. 1885 condemned and sold Bermuda.

Source: Peabody Museum - Salem, Mass.



The Bark Tropic Bird was built in 1851 by Master Shipbuilder John Mashow. Click here or on the image for a larger version.


Above article from: Footsteps: African American History, Vol 1 Issue 3, May 1999 c1999-Page 47. John Mashow, Master Shipbuilder. Wiscat #-STWI-492841

Captain Owen H. Tilton.