A Yankee trader in Yap
Crayton Philo Holcomb
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9074622 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Francis X Hezel (Xavier School, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-19 |
| Publication date | 1975-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Pacific History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3344 • E-ISSN: 1469-9605 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00223347508572262 |
| OpenAlex | W2050009333 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 4 |
IN MAY 1867 CRAYTON PHILO HOLCOMB, A MIDDLE-AGED WHALING CAPTAIN with many a sea voyage behind him, took leave of his relatives in Granby, Connecticut, for the last time to follow his star. 'There is a fortune or utter disappointment ahead and I do not often give up before I make a trial', he wrote to his mother in words that have a familiar ring.1 Holcomb was on the verge of making an overland journey across the continent that would eventually bring him to far more remote frontiers than post-bellum California. At the time he had no way of knowing just how elusive the 'fortune* would prove to be, nor could he anticipate the major role he would play in the commercial development of Yap, an island in the Western Carolines on which no permanent trading station had yet been established. Born on 24 January 1830, Holcomb appears to have begun his vagabond existence at the age of seven when he first went away to live. It was not long before young Crayton's eyes were set seaward, like those of many another New England youth of the day. At the age of 20 he left the family farm to sign on a whaler, the Braganza, which sailed from New Bedford on 10 September 1850 for a two-year cruise in the Pacific.2 Holcomb must have found the sea more to his liking than the pastures of Connecticut, for within six months of the Braganza's return in 1854 he shipped aboard another whaler, Chandler Price, as first mate, later becoming master of the vessel upon the death of Captain Curn. His first voyage aboard the Chandler Price (1854-57) was followed by another (1857-62) during which he retained command of the ship.8 He must have put to sea again almost immediately after the completion of his second voyage on the Chandler Price, for in 1864 we find him writing to his family from aboard an unnamed whaler at port in Honolulu of the hard luck that seems to have dogged him for the rest of his life. He com
Ancient history · Art history · Disappointment · Sign (mathematics) · Yankee · American Environmental and Regional History · American History and Culture · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · History · Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.09 |
| Citation span | 1992 - 2008 (17) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |