| Notes |
- Benjamin was a seaman whose name appears on the whaling crew lists at New Bedford Public Library. The information that he was lost at sea came from a descendant, Mrs. Vira Dodge of West Greenwich, and was transcribed in James N. Arnold's "Family Notes" Volume R, an unpublished manuscript located at the Knight Library in Providence, RI (now at Providence Public Library, main branch)
Whaling crew records at New Bedford provide information on some of the whaling voyages he went on. For instance, on 6 May 1820 he departed from New Bedford on the brig Juno, bound for the coast of Africa. The crew's master was Simeon Long, Jr. The roster says Benjamin was age 17, 5'7" tall, fair-skinned, had brown hair, and resided in Tiverton, RI.
On 21 April 1827 he left on the brig Parthian for a whaling voyage, "bound for the the Western Islands and elsewhere in the Atlantic Ocean." They returned on 7 June 1828. The crew's master was John J. (or T.) Parker. Benjamin was age 23, had a fair complexion and brown hair, and was 5' 8 1/2" in height. His residence was still Tiverton. Also on the crew list was Eseck Manchester, age 22, also from Tiverton.
A brig was a large seagoing vessel with two masts and square sails. They usually carried three boats, and were smaller than a ship or bark, which carried four or five whaleboats. The brig Juno was originally registered at New Bedford on 9 May 1818, and was re-registered a number of times after that, such as on 6 May 1820. The owners were: John A, Parker, merchant; Joseph Spooner, New Bedford; and Nathan Church, Fairhaven. As already noted above, the master for this voyage was Simeon Long, Jr.
The brig Parthian was built at Dartmouth, MA, in 1820, and was first registered on 19 April 1821. The vessel measured 119 35/95 tons, length 66 ft. 10 in., breadth 20 ft. 8 in., depth 10 ft. 1 in. When it was re-registered on 21 April 1827, the master was John J. Parker and the owners were Abraham Barker and James Russell of New Bedford.
From the records I have found, it looks as if the Parthinan went on ten voyages, beginning in 1821, then in 1834 the register was lost in a mutiny.
Although the family has passed down the information that Benjamin died at sea, we don't know the circumstances of his death -- whether from sickness, from the many dangers of whaling, or whatever.
Benjamin was not the only one of our family members on the Remington side to be a whaler. His brothers David and Abner also made voyages, possibly his brother John, and possibly his son John. There are numerous other Remingtons listed in New Bedford records as whalers, who may have been among his close or extended family.
(The information in the following two paragraphs is from "The Bounty of the Beast: Why Whales Were Hunted" on the web site of the New Bedford Free Library)
"Although many men died chasing whales, very few profited handsomely. Why, then, did they pursue these great creatures of the sea to the brink of extinction? The answer lies in the whale's enormous economic value. In 'Men and Whales,' Richard Ellis writes that, until the beginning of the twentieth century, whaling was considered an admirable occupation. '. . . it is only through the lens of hindsight that the whaleman's job becomes malicious or cruel . . . Oil was needed for light and lubrication; baleen was needed for skirt hoops and corset stays. That whales had to die to provide these things is a fact of seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century life . . . ' "
Whale oil provided fuel for lighting, slow-burning and with no offensive odor. The oil was also used for clock making; lubricating many types of machinery; manufacturing of soaps, varnish, and paint; and producing special smokeless, odorless candles. The wax from sperm whales was also used in making face and hand creams and skin lotions. The baleen from whales was used in buggy whips, carriage springs, corset stays, fishing poles, hoops for women's skirts, umbrella ribs, and other such applications for which plastic or steel would now be used. A dark waxy substance called ambergris was used in cosmetics, wines, and as a headache remedy.
Many beautifully carved objects of both a practical and decorative use were made from whale bone. Examples of these works of art are on display at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, a location maintained by the National Park Service.
When whaling ships returned to port, the profits were divided up among the ship's owners and the crew. Ordinary seamen were paid last and received the smallest percentage of the profits. Depending on the success of their voyage, their take-home pay could range from several hundred dollars to about ten dollars. Of course, they might also be taking home some beautiful objects they had carved from whalebone during the long hours, days, and months on the sea.
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Abt 1804 - Abt 1838 (~ 34 years)
