Table of Contents

Historical Note

Scope and Content Note

Information for Researchers

Separations List

Administrative Information

Description

Subject Headings

Inventory of the Wood & Nye Records

In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library

Historical Note

Willard Nye, the son of Obed Butler Nye, was born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, in 1811. He moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where he served as an apprentice in the store and counting room of David R. Greene, merchant. By 1836, Nye had become a partner in the firm David R. Greene & Company, which included Dennis Wood (ca. 1805-1878). The independent merchant firm of Wood & Nye was established by 1850 and served as both merchant and whaling agent for vessels in which they owned the controlling interest, such as the Alfred Gibbs (Ship/Bark), Illinois (Ship), Mount Wollaston (Ship), and Two Brothers (Bark). Dennis Wood continued the business on his own for several years after Nye’s death in 1865.

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Scope and Content Note

Material in this collection consists of ships’ papers of three vessels in which Wood & Nye had a controlling interest from 1851-1874, namely the Alfred Gibbs (Ship/Bark), Mount Wollaston (Ship), and Two Brothers (Bark). Of particular note among these papers are letters to and from captains, crew members, and business associates as well as from parents or guardians of crew members of crew members who were minors, giving them permission to sail; agent/owner accounts, which contain information about the outfitting, overall expenses, and profits of individual whaling ventures; and crew papers, including United States and Chilean Shipping Papers, Seamen’s Protection Papers, discharge notices, agreements and other legal documents, orders of payment, and bills and receipts. Other ships’ papers in this collection consist of consular records, chiefly bills; customs records, including certificates of clearance and bills; promissory notes for insurance premiums; bills of exchange and lading; bills and receipts relating to costs of outfitting, repairing and recruiting vessels during the voyage, as well as wages paid to laborers on the vessels, such as caulkers; and memoranda concerning supplies and catches. These records have been arranged under the names of the vessel, first by voyage dates, then according to the types of documents which relate to each voyage.

The records of the Alfred Gibbs (Ship/Bark) and the Mount Wollaston (Ship) were part of the 1956 and 1976 accessions. The bulk of the material relating to the Two Brothers (Bark) along with one item pertaining to the Alfred Gibbs (Ship/Bark) was accessioned in 1992 under the accession number B92-14. Boxes 1-13 contain the first two accessions, while boxes 14-18 consist of the 1992 accession.

Arrangement of Collection

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Information for Researchers

Access to the Collection

Unrestricted. Consult librarian for an appointment.

Preferred Citation

New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library Mss 66 [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

The bulk of records for the Alfred Gibbs (Ship/Bark) were given to the Old Dartmouth Historical Society by Mrs. Charles Weston on April 9, 1976. Individual items for the same vessel were gifts of Helen H. Seabury on July 7, 1843 and of Charles R. Phillips, Sr., on April 30, 1965. The records of Mount Wollaston (Ship) were received from John M. Bullard before 1956, and the bulk of the records of Two Brothers (Bark) were a gift of Lyman Bullard in 1992.

Processing Information

Processed by: Barbara E. Austen, with assistance from Henry Kettell and Barbara Groves, ca. 1982; with later accessions B92-14 incorperated into the collection and processed by Mark Procknik, 2010

Encoded by: Mark Procknik, 3 June 2011

Funds for processing this collection were provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Description

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Subject Headings

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Vessel Names

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