Ship Gentoo Logbook of Captain Leander Freeman, Ca 1861-1866

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Jun 9, 2017 - Jun 10, 2017

Set Reminder 2017-06-09 10:00:00 2017-06-10 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American History, Featuring the Property of N. Flayderman & Co. https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/american-history-featuring-the-property-of-n-flayderman-co-2392
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• Lot Description

  Bound captain's log, 356pp, identified on the cover to Captain L. Freeman, Ship Gentoo, containing entries from three voyages taken from December 1861 until October 1865, accompanied by CDV and cabinet card of Freeman.

  Leander Freeman came from a long line of seafaring stock. His father, Edmund Freeman, was a ship captain who died at sea in 1823. Two of his brothers also followed the profession. Freeman took control of the Gentoo in July 1854. Less than four years earlier, a ship by the same name wrecked off the coast of South Africa. Many of the surviving women on board became women of ill-repute. As a result, the word "gentoo" became a slang word for prostitute in Cape Town (Elizabeth Van Heyningen, University of Western Cape, No. 22 (November 1995), "Gentoo--A Case of Mistaken Identity?", p. 73). Freeman, however, did not lead the ship to disaster and attempted to keep a well-run vessel.

  From December 1861 until October 1865, he kept detailed notes in his personal log about the position of the ship, the weather conditions, and other events. Occasionally, he penned personal notes about his life on land and the family he left behind. Near the beginning of his journal, he wrote, This is the 6th anniversary of the birth of my beloved son, Charlie. God bless him; I hope he is well as his proud father as this moment, but God forbid that the circumstances of his life should force him in to the rough and tumble way of living that his father has known, and is still experiencing. Here he is 23 days from Boston and only seen the sun four times since leaving the port (December 1861). His son, Charlie, was from his second marriage to Elizabeth Ham. He had two other daughters by his first marriage with his great love, Hannah Snow. She tragically died of typhoid fever ten years into their marriage in 1843. Despite her death, he still celebrated their wedding anniversary and had his crew fire the cannon in celebration.

  Freeman attempted to be as timely as possible with his shipments from Boston, Liverpool, Valparaiso, and other areas in the Caribbean and South America. Weather and unruly crews sometimes disrupted his plans. On his way to Valparaiso, he wrote, This is a tedious passage. Having made seven voyages in the “Gentoo,” my average passages to the equator have been only 26 days, whereas I am now 46 days out and lay(?) have becumbered(?); very annoying (Monday, March 31, 1862, Liverpool to Valparaiso).  The voyage continued to crawl on at a slow pace. He went so far to say that it was killing him and acted upon his very vitals like a slow poison (April 13, 1862 from Liverpool for Valparaiso). Restless, the crew became unruly and once they landed in Carrizal Bajo. They attempted to drink away their frustrations, which resulted in punishments. Freeman wrote:

  James Dole, seaman, came on board, little the worse for liquor, and soon asked permission to go on shore again which was refused him upon which he threatened to go on shore, at all events and threw a plank over the bows and was preparing to do the same with the wash-deck tub, when he was ordered off, placed in rooms and lodged in the sail room to be kept out of further mischief at 6 pm send the boat on shore for the remaining livery men, one of which come on board, too having been placed in caliboose(?) for bad conduct and two others refused to come on board (Sunday, June 29, 1862, in the cove of Carrizal Bajo).

  They remained there for several days as their punishment, but escaped before they served their time. Freeman explained, John Dryton, seaman, stole the boat and deserted the ship; found the boat carefully tied to the wharf, the men I shall not look for, congratulating myself for having got rid of all the rowdies of the ship, discharged this day (Carrizal Bay, July 2, 1862).

  Freeman left the port without the deserters and did not attempt to send out any bounty for their capture. He sailed on to complete his voyage and return home to his family. Before he returned home, however, another soldier deserted the crew. Short staffed, he attempted to send out a reward for the wayward sailor’s capture, but it is not certain whether or not he returned.

  The remainder of the book includes typical inscriptions regarding the weather, direction of the wind, and position of the boat. It also includes the exact coordinates of the ship and the dates. A CDV showing Freeman as a young man inscribed to his daughter, with verso imprint of W. Atkinson, Liverpool, and a cabinet card of the aged sailor credited to photographers Dames and Butler of San Francisco accompany the logbook. 

  
  
  Provenance: Property of N. Flayderman & Co.

  Condition

  Some separation of the binding and wear on the cover, also some separation of the pages as well as toning and some brittleness. The handwriting is very clear and legible. 
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