5  The masters

What of the men who captained the whaling vessels? Take for example John Scott DeBlois.

Figure 5.1: Captain John Scott DeBlois, husband of Henrietta (Tew) DeBlois. Master of the Ann Alexander, which along with two of its whaleboats was sunk by a sperm whale in 1851. (“Portrait of Captain John Scott DeBlois” circa 1870). Read more about DeBlois in Dirty Work, Clean Money: The Life of Whaling Ship Captain John Deblois and his Wife Henrietta by Ingrid Peters And Elizabeth Sulock.


5.1 John Scott DeBlois in the data set

John DeBlois shows up in the data set as third mate, then as master. Not included in the data set is his first voyage on the Ann Alexander as first mate 1845-1849 (Peters 2015). His first as master was on the ill-fated Ann Alexander voyage that set out in 1850. After leading a successful voyage on the Vigilant that returned in 1855 he led two voyages of the new ship Merlin. His wife Henrietta accompanied him on the first (Peters 2015). All were to the Pacific, and with the exception of the loss of the Ann Alexander, all were about three years in duration.

Voyages of John Scott DeBlois in the crew lists and voyages tables
voyage rank lay port ground return Product master voyage_id
bone1 sperm2 oil2
Isabella : 1841-1845 3rd Mate 1/40 Fairhaven, MA Pacific OK 1150 Netcher, George E. AV07161
Ann Alexander : 1850-1851 Master 1/17 New Bedford, MA Pacific Lost, sank, wrecked or missing 577 Deblois, John Scott AV01006
Vigilant : 1852-1855 Master 1/12 New Bedford, MA Pacific OK 12100 337 1060 Deblois, John Scott AV15161
Merlin : 1856-1859 Master New Bedford, MA Pacific OK 2036 31 Deblois, John Scott AV09617
Merlin : 1860-1863 Master New Bedford, MA Pacific OK 1461 30 Deblois, John Scott AV09618
1 Bone in pounds
2 Sperm oil and whale oil in barrels

Figure 5.2: Voyages of John Scott DeBlois in the data set


5.2 Age

Most whaling masters were in their thirties when starting a whaling voyage. I did not remove from the plot below 72 cases that likely are in error: masters younger than 20 or older than 70.

Figure 5.3: Age of master at start of voyage


After the mid-century peak, fewer young men became masters, leading to a rise in the median age.

Figure 5.4: Age of masters density plot - by decade


Half the masters made three or fewer voyages. Some probably made their money then moved on to other pursuits. Some lost their health or their lives. The other half returned to the sea again and again.

Figure 5.5: Voyages per master


5.3 Masters’ years at sea

Whaling became a way of life; half spent nearly a decade to more than 40 years at sea (total years at sea is estimated; see Section 11.1 Dealing with errors, duplicates, and omissions).

Figure 5.6: Masters’ time at sea (all voyages)


5.4 Fate

Some masters did not return home. Some were killed by whales, some by other causes; some who took ill likely died after leaving their vessel.

Figure 5.7: Masters’ unhappy fates