Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Related Materials

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Delano Family Papers

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

Phillippe de Lannoy (also known as Phillip Delano), the progenitor of the Delano family, first arrived in Plymouth in the early 1620s. Many of his offspring would later become prominent mariners, whalers and shipbuilders, leading to commercial success and the family's rise into Massachusetts aristocracy. The family's close association with the greater New Bedford area began when Phillippe joined with 35 other colonists to purchase the Dartmouth Township from Massasoit. His share of land, about 800 acres, was the part of Dartmouth which is the Town of Fairhaven today.

Phillippe’s great-grandson, Captain Ephraim Delano (1733-1815), was a resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Cushman in 1760. Ephraim was one of the fourteen original investors in the “Twenty-Acre Purchase,” owning two lots along the waterfront which later developed into the village of Fairhaven. Ephraim died in 1815, having fathered 11 children: Thomas (1761), Jabez (1763), Hannah (1766), Allerton (1767), an unnamed son (1769), twins Ephraim (1771) and Elizabeth (1771), Deborah (1773), Sarah (1776), Warren (1779), and Temperance (1782).

Captain Warren Delano (1779-1866), the youngest son of Ephraim Delano, was a resident of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. He was a sea captain and ship owner. He married Deborah Church of Fairhaven in 1808. They had eight children, only one of whom married (Warren Delano 2nd.) Warren was an active whaling captain, serving as a merchant in the China Trade. After Deborah's death in 1827, he married Eliza Parker. In 1832, he built the Delano Homestead, which would stay in the Delano family until 1942. Warren Delano died in 1866.

His eldest son, Warren Delano 2nd, was the only child of Warren Delano to marry. He graduated from Fairhaven Academy and became a trader in the import business. Warren 2nd lived in Canton, China for several years before returning to Fairhaven as one of the great merchants of the clipper ship period. He married Catherine Robbins Lyman. He later moved to Newburgh, NY, establishing the Algonac, the New York Delano estate. Warren Delano 2nd died in 1898, leaving behind multiple children and grandchildren, most notable being his grandson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32th President of the United States.

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Scope and Content Note

The Delano Family Papers collection contains of correspondence, documents, accounts, legal documents, receipts, and other printed materials spanning almost a century concerning the lives and careers of Ephraim Delano, Warren Delano, and their descendants. The earliest item in the collection is a deed from 1755, while the most recent is a letter from 1872. The collection is arranged in four series: Ephraim Delano, Warren Delano and Warren Delano 2nd, ship accounts, and correspondence.

Materials of note in the papers of Ephraim Delano include accounts, legal documents, and correspondence. Accounts and bill of sale for the sloops Hannah and Mermaid are also found in this collection. Receipts are organized alphabetically by last name of the individual unless otherwise noted. Notable documents in this series include: a 1796 receipt concerning the balance due for the New Bedford Medley from John Spooner; a 1797 marine insurance receipt from the office of Joseph Ricketson to Thomas Delano for the sloop Union under master of voyage William Taber; and an 1802 letter of advice to his son, Warren. Legal documents include vessel charters, power of attorney, real estate appraisal, and his last will and deed. Located in the final folder of Ephraim’s papers are the following: a copy of the 1815 will (including envelope); a death notice from an unidentified newspaper; an 1847 trust deed referring to a house to be built for Thomas R. and Ephraim, Jr.; and letters from Warren 2nd to his sister Sarah and friend Oliver Prescott looking for the “simplest and easiest” solution for complications in their grandfather’s will and other family estates.

The bulk of papers belonging to Warren Delano and Warren Delano 2nd are receipts of various enterprises. Receipts are organized alphabetically by last name of the individual unless otherwise noted. There is a set of correspondence between Warren Delano 2nd and Joseph Clement Delano (Warren Delano's nephew) from Warren 2nd’s time in Canton, China (1834-1837). Also of note is an 1847 letter from the Boston Antislavery Office to Captain Warren Delano re William W. Brown, an ex-slave who was to visit Fairhaven and give a lecture.

Ship accounts contain three sub-series detailing the accounts of various ships owned in part by Warren Delano, including payment, repairs, outfitting, and shipbuilding contracts. Most detailed is the family venture of the bark Phillipe De la Noye, which traveled three whaling voyages between 1848 and 1860. Included is the 1860 bill of sale between Warren Delano and Warren Delano 2nd, in which Warren Delano sold his son one-fourth of the vessel. Masters T.M. Gardner and E. Clinton Terry are referenced in relation to the Phillipe De la Noye.

Other ships referenced in this part of the collection include:

Correspondence contains materials relating to the relatives and descendants of Ephraim and Warren Delano. Included are: correspondence between Jabez Delano, Jr., and Capt. Joseph Delano; the estate of Elisha Copeland (the brother-in-law of Warren Delano); deed of the Caleb Church property in south Fairhaven. The ancient deeds of the Caleb Church property are the oldest documents of the collection. Caleb Church was the maternal great-grandfather of Warren Delano 2nd. The “Church land” extended from the Acushnet River east to a creek; south to beyond the cart-path later designated Church Street. Caleb's wife was Mercy Pope, daughter of Lemuel (Nasketucket-Sconticut Neck land) who was first cousin to Elnathan whose farm was contiguous to Caleb's in the north. Caleb died in 1771, leaving children aged 3 to 19; his widow died in 1780. Except for the burial ground designated by Caleb and about 24’ sold to the railroad, his heirs retained their inherited land and built their own houses.

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 134, [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:

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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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Related Materials

Related Logbooks

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Materials in this collection were donated to the New Bedford Whaling Museum on 8 November 2014 by Sarah Burnell, Accession #2007.66.

Processing Information

Processed by: Michael P. Dyer, 2007

Encoded by: Emily Esten, 20 June 2014

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Description

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Subject Headings

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Vessel Names

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