Untitled - citizen hylbom blog

570 SOUTHEASTEEN MASSACHUSETTS
great-great-granddaughters of John and Hannah
(Timberlake) Woodman, John Woodman be-
ing the ancestor of this branch of the family.
The children of William Seabury, all born to
his first marriage, were as follows: Otis, born
Sept. 1, 1808, died June 2, 1880; Edward W.,
born Jan. 3, 1810, died Feb. 1, 1884; Louisa,
born Nov. 11, 1811, died Jan. 3, 1895 (she
married Benjamin Cushman) ; William H.,
bom Nov. 15, 1813, died Jan. 27, 1897; Julia
Ann, born May 19, 1815, died Jan. 12, 1892.
unmarried; Humphrey W. was born June 28,
1817; Charles P. was born Aug. 16, 1820;
Jason, born Nov. 2, 1832, was lost in the Arctic
ocean in 1853; Andrew Jackson, born May 19,
1836, died Sept. 22, 1836.
(VII) Hdmpheey W. Seabury, son of Capt.
William and Ehoda (Woodman) Seabury, was
born June 28, 1817, in Tiverton, R. I., spent
the greater part of his boyhood in Little Compton,
whither his family had removed, and in
his sixteenth year came with them to their
On June 15, 1841, the "Coral's" boats were
out after a one-hundred-barrel sperm whale
just south of the Galapagos islands. He proved
to be what the sailors term a "bad" whale—
one that fights with his jaws. He turned upon
the boats and literally chewed two of them in
pieces. One of the sailors was drowned, and
another, named Jethro S. Studley, was saved
from a similar fate by the plucky action of Mr.
Seabury, who, diving for him as he sank in
the depths, brought him to the surface by the
hair. Mr. Seabury said this was the only "jaw
fighter" he encountered in his experience, which
included the taking of 12,000 barrels of sperm
oil. On the third voyage, at the age of twentyfive,
Mr. Seabury attained the position which
he had aimed to get since his youth, and on
permanent home. New Bedford. Here, at this
period, the enterprise of the place was represented
around the busy wharves and seafaring
was the promising business, so there sprang up
in his mind a determination to make that his
calling and to become the commander of a
ship, an ambition later attained with credit to
himself and profit to the owners. After a short
experience on a coasting vessel to New York,
he first visited a foreign land when he went
to Holland on the bark with the good-omened
named "Hope," of which his father was captain.
This proved an auspicious opening to
his career on the ocean, though he began at
the bottom of the ladder as foremast hand and
accepted no unusual favors. His first whaling
voyage was commenced in his nineteenth year
on the "Corinthian," commanded by Capt.
Leonard Crowell. The ship sailed from New
Bedford Dec. 8, 1835, and arrived home Feb.
19, 1839. On this voyage young Seabury advanced
upward toward his cherished goal and
was promoted from the position of boat steerer
to that of third mate. His second voyage was
as first ofiicer of the "Coral," Capt. James H.
Sherman. The ship sailed June 16, 1839, and
arrived home June 11, 1843. The "Coral"
cruised on the coast of Peru and off the
Galapagos islands. Whales were sighted eightynine
times during the voyage and one or more
captured in fifty-eight
instances. The whole
number taken was 102. It was a most remarkable
catch, surpassed in but few cases in the
history of whale fishery. A thrilling incident
occurred during this Nov. 16, 1842, sailed as captain of the "Coral."
Thirty-nine sperm
voyage that well illustrates
the dangers to which whalemen are exposed.
and ten right whales were
captured on tliis voyage, and he rfeturned home
March 9, 1846. On Nov. 17, 1846, he sailed
for the Pacific ocean in the "Coral," captured
one hundred whales, and returned home June
11, 1850, with a cargo of 3,350 barrels of sperm
oil. The price current on arrival was $1.19
per gallon, and the value of the entire catch
was more than $136,000. This was one of the
notable voyages in the history of the whaling
industry from New Bedford. From 1850 to
1872 Captain Seabury was acting outside agent
with his older brother, Otis, during this time
making a trip in 1853 as commander of the
ship "Mechanics Own" to the Sandwich Islands
taking supplies to whaling vessels and bringing
back a cargo of oil and bone. He subsequently
made a merchant voyage to Pernambuco
and Rio de Janeiro in 1856 in the "Commerce,"
visited Paris in 1858, Havana in 1870
and Chili in 1871. His last whaling voyage
was a short one entered upon in May, 1860,
when he took command of the "Scotland,"
which had come in before time, and went to
the North Atlantic and returned Dec. 1, 1860,
with one hundred barrels of sperm oil.
Captain Seabury retired from sea service at
the period when the whale fishery had attained
its most profitable and successful prosecution,
the middle of the last century, and in 1872 he
retired permanently from active participation
in business, though to the date of his death he
found agreeable employment in the affairs of
the city and its institutions. He served the
city as alderman from the Fifth ward in 1870,
and also served as councilman and member of
the school committee. In all these positions
he rendered service with honor to himself and
with substantial benefit to the city. The New
Bedford Mercury in an editorial notice of his