Account book (29 December 1863 – 6 July 1866) kept by Captain Paul Stevens of the Bark Catalpa recording the state of his financial dealings with the owners of the ship, including accounts for his salary, crews' wages and expenses; spending for provisions, ship chandlers, ship carpenters, charterers, pilotage, etc., during the ship's voyages back and forth between Shanghai, China and Nagasaki, Japan; probably originating in New York, NY.
Bark Catalpa Collection records the commercial voyages of the Bark Catalpa between 29 December 1863 – 6 July 1866 when it sailed back and forth between Shanghai, China and Nagasaki, Japan. The account book does not indicate what cargo the Catalpa may have carried.
During the mid-19th century the term bark (barque) referred to any sailing vessel having three (or more) masts, having fore-and-aft sails on the aftermost mast and square sails on all other masts. The Catalpa was a former whaling ship.
In 1875, the Bark Catalpa, was used in the daring rescue of a group of Irish Fenians imprisoned in Australia. During the 19th – 20th century, the term "Fenian" described members of Irish fraternal organizations, like the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) who opposed and organized to oppose British colonial rule in Ireland. The British frequently imprisoned convicted Fenians or exiled them to colonies such as Australia.
The Bark Catalpa Collection consists of an account book compiled by Captain Paul Stevens, recording his income, expenses, and financial obligations to the ship's owners. It records payments for wages, supplies, provisions, and services, such as pilotage, repairs, and debts. The entries indicate that the Catalpa sailed back and forth between Shanghai, China and Nagasaki, Japan during this voyage. The US Consul General in Shanghai placed his stamp on page 36; B. R. Sims signed as witness, for payments to John Bell as cook and cabin boy. The payment was also witnessed by "William Young" and an unknown person who signed in Chinese script. Persons with accounts listed are indexed on page 1.
Purchase (Special Manuscript Fund), Ten Pound Island Book Co., Gloucester, MA, 1/18/2007; Purchase receipt signed 1/15/2008.
Encoded by Mark Custer, February 13, 2008; Processed by Thomas Hall (intern), July 6, 2018; encoding revised by Jonathan Dembo, April 24, 2019.
Container List updated by Ashlyn Racine, July 2023
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
Chinese