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Captain Josephus Dawes Collection Donated Spring 2007
The items belonged to their ancestor, Captain Josephus Dawes of Duxbury, who lived in the attractive Cape Cod house with a Mansard roof on the corner of Tremont and Elm Streets. Living so close to Kingston, Captain Dawes must have felt a pull in that direction. He spent much of his career working for Kingston’s most prominent merchant, Joseph Holmes, mastering several large vessels that traveled to ports around the world. The collection consists of nine items, the centerpiece of which is a beautiful oil portrait of the Bark Annie W. Weston, of which Dawes was master. The portrait was done in 1869 and is signed by artist William Yorke of Liverpool. There were two William Yorkes, father and son, who were marine artists in Liverpool at the time. It is not clear which produced this painting, however it may have been the elder, William G. Yorke, as the younger was just beginning his career at this time. The elder William Yorke later moved to New York were he earned notoriety for his beautiful paintings of famous American yachts and other vessels. Also part of the collection are two photographs of Captain Dawes and his wife, Sally Freeman Dawes. The archival material consists of nine extraordinary log and account books dating from the 1840s to the 1870s. Each of the books is filled with excellent information, but the ship’s expense book for the Barks Fruiterer, Valetta and Annie W. Weston is particularly interesting. Account books detailing a ship’s expenses are more rare than logs. We don’t often think of the complexities a captain encountered when entering a foreign port in dealing with translators, customs officers, port officials, pilots, and others. However, this was one of the most important aspects of a master mariner’s duties. The account book provides some interesting insights on such matters. The archival material becomes part of our growing collection that will be cared for by a professional archivist in our new facility at the Wright Building. Again, our thanks to donors for their generosity. # |
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The
Society has received another exciting donation of archival material, this time
all the way from Virginia. We would like to thank Mr. Robert Alden Dawes, Jr.
and his daughter Sally Dawes Greenberg for donating this wonderful collection.