Table of Contents

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Separations List

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Marian Smith Collection

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Biographical Note

Marian Shaw Smith was a native of Dartmouth, MA; the daughter of a lighthouse keeper (Charles C. Smith), she was born on April 4, 1866 at the Dumpling Rock Lighthouse, off the coast of South Dartmouth. Marian also had a sister, Annie Allen (née Smith), who was 5 years older than Marian. Their mother, Sarah, died when Marian was 6; Charles died in 1904. Marian graduated as valedictorian of New Bedford High school in 1885, and began working at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, MA. On December 26, 1889, Marian married her first cousin once removed, captain Horace P. Smith, who was 13 years her senior. Horace was already a veteran whaler at this time; he had been travelling around the world to harvest both oil and baleen from whales since the age of 15. Horace spent most of his time at sea, leaving the couple little time in each other’s company.

Beginning in 1895, Marian began joining her husband on his whaling voyages, and ended up joining more whaling voyages than any other captain’s wife from the United States. On her voyages, she sent many letters to her family and loved ones, vibrantly recounting her experiences; between voyages, Marian occasionally gave lectures and talks about her adventures overseas. Her first voyage, from March to November 1895, was on the steam Bark Narwhal. The Narwhal (steam Bark) set sail from San Francisco and landed in Unalaska (which Marian spells “Ounalaska”), one of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, before setting sail for whales in the Bering Sea. Next, she joined three voyages on the Bark California, that lasted from December 1898 to November 1901, with little time between voyages. The California (Bark) also set sail from San Francisco, and voyaged in the North Pacific, stopping at islands such as Guam and visiting Hakodate, Japan, where Marian met consulate King and his family. During her third voyage on the California, she began taking pictures; her photographs were used to make postcards, for which she received no credit. Marian’s fifth and sixth voyages were aboard the Bark Josephine, lasting from 1903-1905, and 1905-1907. The Josephine (Bark) set sail from New Bedford for the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, and stopped at Tristan da Cunha islands in the south Pacific Ocean, and the Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean.

Marian’s final voyages were aboard the Schooner A. M. Nicholson, the first ship that the Smiths bought on their own. The A. M. Nicholson (Schooner) also travelled from New Bedford to the Crozet Islands, but its first voyage was too late in the year, and took no whales in the Indian Ocean. After this ill-fated voyage, Marian wrote few letters, if any; no letters survive from this period. Her final voyages, in 1912 and 1913, were cut short by ill health. In 1913, her health began to deteriorate rapidly, possibly due to a metastasizing breast cancer. In June of 1913, when it became clear that Marian was not getting better, a push was made to find Horace, who had just set sail in the A. M. Nicholson (Schooner). A New Bedford-based captain set sail to catch up with the Schooner A. M. Nicholson, and alert Horace of his wife’s ill health. Horace made it back to Dartmouth before Marian’s death, but he died first—shortly after his return, on June 26, 1913, he died of an apparent heart attack. Marian died less than a month after her husband, on July 23, 1913. The couple had no children.

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Scope and Content Note

The materials in this collection were originally compiled in the 1960s by Philip Purrington and Richard and Elizabeth Kugler of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, with the hopes of using them to write a book about the life of Marian Smith, tentatively titled The Whaling Letters of Mrs. Captain Smith. Marian’s letters were graciously donated by her niece, Annie Allen, the daughter of Marian’s sister, also named Annie Allen. The collection includes correspondence from Marian’s first 7 whaling voyages, on the steam Bark Narwhal, Bark California, Bark Josephine, and the first voyage of the Schooner A. M. Nicholson. Marian’s niece Annie included small notes with many of the letters, providing context or requests to the book writers; she also wrote lightly edited transcripts of some letters, usually to remove excess details or repeated information. Her notes and transcripts can be found throughout this collection. Marian wrote most of her letters to her father, Charles C. Smith, whom she referred to as “Pop,” and her sister, Annie Allen. Marian also wrote letters to her friends, including Elizabeth Fay of Northampton and her parents, and Marian’s cousin Agnes Roberts (sometimes referred to as “Boo”).

Also included in this collection are extensive research notes and genealogical materials which were originally compiled in preparation for writing the book. These materials include handwritten notes, photocopies, and copies of materials from other museums and archives. Of note are timelines of Marian’s and Horace’s voyages, copies of ship registries and crew lists, and several Smith family trees. Note that most of the materials in the research notes series are copies, not originals. Some of the copies include annotations.

Finally, this collection also includes several drafts of the manuscript that was meant to become the final published book. Included are two nearly-complete drafts, as well as various drafts of single chapters and pages, and many drafts of the introduction. Some of the drafts include hand-written editing notes; the authors of most of these notes are unknown, but some of them may have been written by Annie Allen, Marian’s niece, who was writing one version of the book’s introduction.

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 174, [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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Separations List

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were accessioned by the Museum on June 22, 2016 as part of accession 2016.29 after being on a long-term loan by Annie Allen since 1982 (formerly LB82.7).

Processing Information

Processed by: Allie Williams, 2019

Encoded by: Allie Williams, 26 April 2019

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Collection Inventory

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Subject Headings

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Vessel Names

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