Vessels: 19th Century Vessels in California
TRADE IN SPANISH CALIFORNIA: During Spanish rule of California (1769-1821), Russians were the only foreigners who were able to sell goods openly, and therefore Russians had great advantage. Americans and English smuggled goods along the entire coast of the Spanish possessions in America. California became Mexican in 1848 with Mexico's successful revolt against Spain.
OTTER HUNTING IN SPANISH CALIFORNIA: When the American O'Cain arrived in Kodiak in 1803 on Eclipse, he sold part of his goods to the Russian merchant, Alexander Baranov, and informed him that he had discovered a new island off the coast of California which abounded in sea otters. He was the first to suggest that Baranov supply him with baidarkas to use for hunting sea otter, and that they then divide the catch. Baranov was immediately favorable to this idea, and they reached an agreement. Because of the success of this first venture, Baranov turned his attention to the California coast. [Kyrill T. Khlebnikov's Reports, 1817-1832, p. 6]
- PHELPS, William Dane Solid Men of Boston in the Northwest
- unpublished manuscript in the Bancroft Library, Berkeley, 1870s.
- The manuscript describes the experiences of Boston ships on the Northwest Coast from 1787 to about 1812, but is principally an account of the Winship brothers and their ventures in the fur trade, 1803-1811. The authorship of this manuscript has been suggested by Miss Adele Ogden, from internal evidence and letter from Samuel Hooper to William D. Phelps, November 29, 1868, in the Phelps Collection, Widener Library, Harvard University.
HIDE AND TALLOW TRADE IN SPANISH CALIFORNIA: The California hide trade was based on the export of hide, horns and tallow during the early nineteenth century from around 1810. Rancheros and their vaqueros cared for free-ranging livestock along the California seaboard with the help of a Native American workforce. The cattle were not only the source of their food and many common supplies, but also their economy and livelihood. The hides of the cattle were taken to the shore and fat from the cattle was liquefied and separated, into tallow, collected in repositories crafted from hides known as botas. Both goods would be stockpiled near hub ports like San Diego and Monterey to await sale to international trading vessels. Constituting the most widely traded good, the California hides were often known as ‘“California banknotes”’ due to common use as a medium of exchange. Hides to be shipped were soaked in saltwater for 24 to 48 hours to soften them. They were then scraped to remove anything that might decompose and then stretched out to dry. If dried on a beach, they were beaten with sticks to remove sand particles. Increasing industrialization in the eastern U.S. created a growing leather goods market; the shoe factories of New England were major cattle hide consumers. Tallow, the fat of the steer, was also an important commodity. There were two kinds of tallow-the manteca, lying nearest the hide, was used for cooking; the sebo was used for candles and soap and was the type most often shipped abroad. The hide and tallow industry was in decline by the mid 1840s, a decline that was greatly accelerated by the discovery of gold in California in 1848.
Note:1807: “The discovery was made of a huge rock bearing the names of Samuel Chapman and others; below these was an American flag and the statement that Chapman had visited the island in 1807 and left the following year.” [Gordon, P. R. Filming the Sea Elephant in The Wide World Magazine 43:258 (485-491), October 1919]
| 19TH CENTURY VESSELS IN CALIFORNIA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEAR | NAME | VESSEL TYPE | MASTER | OWNER | VESSEL ACTIVITY | |
| 1800 | Betsy | American ship | Capt. Charles Winship (1776-1800) | obtained wood & water in San Diego | sea otter trade | |
| 1801-1805 | Lelia Byrd | brig | Capt. William Shaler | California sea otter trade | ||
| 1803-1809 | O'Cain | brig | Capt. Jonathan Winship (1780-1847) | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||
| 1806-1813; 1818 | Mercury | Capt. George W. Eayrs, Bostonian | Benjamin Lamb and others | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||
| 1806 | Juno | American vessel entered San Francisco | ||||
| 1806-07 | Tamana | schooner | Capt. John T. Hudson | William Shaler | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | |
| 1807 - | David Christy | wrecked at Isla Guadalupe | ||||
| 1807 - | Derby | Capt. Benjamin Smith | Boston | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||
| 1807 - | Peacock (19th century) | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||||
| 1808-09 | Pearl (19th century) | schooner | Capt. John Suter | California sea otter trade | ||
| 1809-1813 | Albatross | Capt. Nathan Winship (1778-1820) | owned by Winships | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||
| 1809-1813 | Amethyst | Capt. Thomas Meek | owned by Benjamin W. Lamb and others of Boston | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | ||
| 1809-1813 | Katherine | Capt. William Blanchard | California sea otter trade/Baranoff partner | |||
| 1815 | Ilmen | Capt. Vosdwit [Wosdwith (Bancroft); Wadsworth (Okun) | California sea otter trade/Baranoff sent | |||
| 1817-1821 | Kutuzov | ship | Capt. Dokhtorov; Hagemeister | Russian | Trade | |
| 1817-1824 | Buldakov | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1821 | Golovnin | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1822 | Volga | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1823 | Riurik | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1823-24 | Mentor | ship | Capt. George Newell | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1824 | Arab | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1824 | John Begg | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1824-1825 | Baikal | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1824-1825 | Kaikhta | brig | Russian | Trade | ||
| 1825 | Sachem | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1823-1826 | Rover | schooner | Capt. John Rogers Cooper | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1827-28 | Heros | ship | Capt. Auguste Duhaut-Cilly | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1828 | Andes | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1828 | Courier | ship | Capt. Cunningham | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1828 | Franklin | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1828 | General Sucre | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1829-31 | Brookline | ship | Hide and tallow trade | |||
| 1829-31 | Louisa | bark | Capt. Wood | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1829-32-34 | Volunteer | bark | Capt. Carter | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1830 | Maria Ester | Capt. John Andrew Christian Holmes | Convicts dropped at Prisoners' Harbor, Santa Cruz Island | |||
| 1831 | Harriet | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1831-33-34-36-38-39-40-42-43-44 | Alert | ship | Capt. Frank Thompson; Capt. Penhallow; Capt. Phelps | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1831-32-33-37-38-39-40-41-42-43-44 | California | ship | Capt. Arthur | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1832 | Plant | brig | Hide and tallow trade (tender to California) | |||
| 1833 | Newcastle | brig | Hide and tallow trade | |||
| 1833 | Harriet Blanchard | schooner | Hide and tallow trade | |||
| 1833-34 | Loriot | brig | Capt. Gorham H. Nye | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1833-38-45 | Don Quixote | bark | Capt. Paty | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1833-36-43-45 | Bolivar Liberator; Oajaca after 1844 | brig | Capt. James Garney; Capt. Nye; Capt. John Dominis; Alpheus Basil Thompson | Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1834 | Roxana | brig | Hide and tallow trade (tender to California) | |||
| 1834-35 | Pilgrim | brig | Capt. Falcon | Hide and tallow trade; Allen Light (aka Black Steward) deserted | ||
| 1835 | Peor Es Nada | Capt. Charley Hubbard | Removed Native Americans from San Nicolas Island | |||
| 1836 | Lagoda | ship | Capt. Bradshaw | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1836 | Loriotte | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1836-37 | Kent | bark | Capt. Steele | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1836-37 | Venus | frigate | ||||
| 1837 | Rasselas | ship | Capt. Carter | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1837 | Sophia | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1837-1838 | Lama | California sea otter trade | ||||
| 1838-1845 | Don Quixote | bark | Capt. Paty | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1839-43-44 | Fama | ship | Capt. Cornelius Hoyer | Alpheus Basil Thompson | Hide and tallow trade | |
| 1840 | Alciope | ship | Capt. Clapp | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1840-41 | Monsoon | ship | Capt. Vincent | trade vessel | ||
| 1841 | Thomas Perkins | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1841-1842 | Fama | Alpheus Basil Thompson | ||||
| 1841-1842 | Naslednik Aleksandr | Russian ship | Furs [salt from Isla Carmen] | |||
| 1841-42-43-45-47-48 | Tasso | bark | Capt. Hastings; Capt. Elliot Libbey; Capt. Lindsey | Immigrant ship; Hide and tallow trade; California sea otter trade | ||
| 1842-43-44-46-47 | Barnstable | ship | Capt. Hatch; Capt. Hall | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1844 | Menakar | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1844-45 | Sterling | ship | Capt. VIncent | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1845 | Martha | Hide and tallow trade | ||||
| 1845 | Admittance | ship | Capt. Peterson | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1846 | Collingwood | [Nidever p. 70] | ||||
| 1846 | Congress | [Nidever p. 70] | ||||
| 1846 | Euphemia | Capt. Rossom | California sea otter trade | |||
| 1846 | Fama | ship | Capt. Nye | Alpheus Basil Thompson's ship; lost at Goleta | Hide and tallow trade | |
| 1846 | Savannag | [Nidever p. 70] | ||||
| 1846 | Vandalia | ship | Capt. Everett | Hide and tallow trade; a Boston ship | ||
| 1846-1847 | H.M.S. Herald | ship | Capt. Henry Kellett | British government | Expedition and exploration | |
| 1846-1847 | H.M.S. Pandora | ship | Lieut. James Wood | British government | Expedition and exploration | |
| 1847 | Loo Choo | ship | Capt. James B. Hatch | California sea otter trade | ||
| 1847-48 | Olga | bark | Capt. Bull | Hide and tallow trade | ||
| 1852 | Mary Helen | brig | Capt. Charles Scammon | California elephant seal trade | ||
| 1852 | Boston | brig | Capt. Charles Scammon | California elephant seal trade/whaling | ||
| 1852 | Marin | schooner tender | Capt. Charles Scammon | whaling | ||
| 1853 | Ocean Bird | bark | Capt. Charles Scammon | whaling | ||
| 1872 | Louisa | bark | whaling | |||
» Davis, William Heath. 1889. Sixty Years in California: A History of Events and Life in California. S.F.: A. J. Leary, (1889)
» Smythe, William Ellsworth. 1908. History of San Diego 1542-1908. The History Company, (1908)
» Ogden, Aldele. 1933 Russian Sea-Otter and Seal Hunting on the California Coast 1803-1841 in Fort Ross. California Outpost of Russian Alaska 1812-1841, Limestone Press: Fairbanks, 1991. Alaska History No. 39 (p. 35-59)
» Ellison, William Henry, ed. The Life and Adventures of George Nidever (1802-1883). Berkeley: UC Press, (1937)
» Ogden, Aldele. 1941 California Sea Otter Trade. Berkeley: UC Press, (1941)
» [KHLEBNIKOV, Kyrill T.] Kyrill T. Khlebnikov's Reports, 1817-1832. Translated with Introduction and Notes by Basil Dmytryshyn and E.A.P. Crownhart-Vaughan. Oregon Historical Society, (1967)
» HOWAY, F. W. A List of Trading Vessels in the Maritime Fur Trade, 1785-1825. Limestone Press:Kingston, Ontario (1973)
