Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Tropic (Ship) Papers

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

The Ship Tropic was built during the years 1850 and 1851 by Trufant, Drummond and Company of Bath, Maine, for five investors: John Thornton (1808-1893), William James Rotch (1819-1893), William Rodman Rotch (1788-1860), Edmund Taber (1819-1911), and Captain Eben Ryder Smith (n.d.). The Rotches, Thornton, and Taber were business associates with investments in several vessels, including whalers. Smith served as master of the vessel for all but two voyages. The Tropic primarily engaged in foreign trade sailing from either New York or Boston, but was always considered of New Bedford. Destinations included ports such as London, Dunkirk, Havre, St. Petersburg, Sydney, Manila, Hong Kong, Calcutta, and Havana. The cargo varied with the destination, but the ship often carried hemp, sugar, salt, flour, cigars, and coal. In 1862, she was sold due to the impact the Civil War had on American vessels in foreign waters.

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Scope and Content Note

Papers in this collection document the business activities of the Ship Tropic of New Bedford during the years 1850 to 1862. They consist solely ship's papers for eight voyages with John Russell Thornton acting as the managing agent. These papers include correspondence between the master and the agent as well as with other commercial agents; crew accounts, including crew lists for five voyages; charter parties; consular and customs records; bills of landing and exchange; freight lists; and bills and receipts.

Papers for the first voyage include financial accounts and specifications with Trufant, Drummond and Company of Bath, Maine, concerning the construction of the vessel (1850-1851) and memoranda of outfits for the vessel. Papers for the third voyage (1852-1853) contain accounts; records of a marine protest for damage to the vessel due to the collision with a British vessel, the Glammis Castle, which later sunk off the coast of Bahia, Brazil, as a result of the crash; and papers relating to a breach-of-contract suit brought by passengers in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. For the sixth voyage, Captain Eben Smith's correspondence indicates that he had his son aboard with him until they reached Havana, and that Smith wanted to remain at home for a while after the voyage. The master of the next voyage was John Loring, who had previously served under Smith. Eben Smith did not serve as master for that voyage or for the June-November 1854 voyage, for which Benjamin Smith served as master.

Papers for the final voyage (1860-1862) include accounts and a marine protest for damage to the vessel due to a storm on a passage from Sydney to Manila. Also the correspondence reveals Eben Smith's concerns regarding the impact of the Civil War on the availability of cargo for American ships in foreign ports. The vessel was sold after this voyage.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to Collections

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 106, [sub-group, series, sub-series, folder/volume as appropriate], [item]

Copyright Notice

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 United States Code 552a) governs the use of materials that document private individuals, groups, and corporations.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a reproduction if the document does not infringe the privacy rights of an individual, group, or corporation. These specified conditions of authorized use include:

If the researcher later uses a copy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," the researcher is personally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement and agrees to indemnify the New Bedford Whaling Museum from any legal action as a result of the error. Permission to obtain a photographic, xerographic, digital, or other copy of a document does not indicate permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, sell, distribute, or prepare derivative works from the document without permission from the copyright holder and from any private individual, group, or corporation shown or otherwise recorded.

Permission to publish, exhibit, perform, reproduce, prepare derivative works from, sell, or otherwise distribute the item must be obtained separately in writing from the holder of the original copyright (or if the creator is dead, from his/her heirs) as well as from any individual(s), groups, or corporations whose name, image, recorded words, or private information (e.g. employment information) may be reproduced in the source material. The holder of the original copyright is not necessarily the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The New Bedford Whaling Museum is not legally liable for copyright, privacy, or publicity infringement when materials are wrongfully used after being provided to researchers for "fair use."

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if fulfillment of the order is judged in violation of copyright or federal or state privacy law. This institution also places restrictions on the use of cameras, photocopiers, and scanners in the research room.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

The papers in this collection were donated to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by Mr. And Mrs. Peter Bullard on 30 December 1987.

Processing Information

Processed by: Judith M. Downey, with assistance from Martha Richards, 25 March 1994

Encoded by: Kermit Dewey, 14 May 2012

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Description

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Subject Headings

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Vessel Names

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