HomeMy WebLinkAboutFamous Whaler and Inventor who resided at Peconic 1
Famous Whaler and Inventor who Resided at Peconic®
Newspaper clippings ,in the Southold Library are filled with heroic
adventures of local men who went to sea from the North Fork in pursuit
of the whale on long voyages to all parts of the world.
Many of these newspaper articles were by Harry D.Sleight who wrote
extensively about Greenport and Sag Harbor whaling. Some of his factual
information reads like an adventure novel. Prominent in his writings
were stories about Captain Thomas W.Royce who maintained a residence
in Peconic for many years.
The first mention of Captain Royce was that he made twc --voyages in the
ship 'Crescent' 34.0 tons, in 184.1, with cargo worth $56,000.
Captain T.Royce had command of the 275 ton- bark"Superior" from 184.7to 184.9.
His was the first whaleship to sail through the Bering Straits. Sailing
the 'Superior' to the ice barrier he struck his first whale at midnight
(at a season when the sun shone brightly at that hour) and filled her
with 1800 barrels of oil in 38 days. The mate of the "Superior" Captain
Jim Eldridge of Greenport told at home of huge Arctic whales that were so
large that the men were afraid to'go on' them and that those that were
killed were taken with lances especially lengthened so that a thrust
could penetrate to kill. Capt. Royce opened up the rich Arctic grounds
for the whalemen and 4e also was among the first Americans to take
whales off the coast of Kampchatka Peninsula and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Sold to a New Bedford owner the bark 'Superior' met a sad fate about 1860 .
Her new Captain, Richard D.Wood put into Treasury Island in the Solomons
, for water and vegetables. One hundred fifty natives rushed the ship
',and twentysix seamen were killed in cold blood. The schooner'ariel'
-- commanded by Captain McNair touched there in November of the same year.
They learned that the 'Superior' had been taken and burned. Six of the
crew were still prisoners. Capt.McNair seized a relative of .the chief and
exchanged hime for a crewman. He later ransomed two more of the crew
but failed to release the others. <
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But to return to the voyages of Captain Royce, - spurred by the Gold Rush
in 1849 the 'Sheffield' of Cold Spring Harbor, New York went to California
with general -cargo and then .fitted out there for whaling. Captain Royce
in command, took her to the Arctic and filled her in two seasons with
5000 barrels 'of oil and brought her home in 1854. Later the same 'Sheffield'
ran ashore at Rocky Point, Long Island and broke her back. She was burned
on the beach for her copper and iron.
Just after this Thomas Royce went to Greenport where he was given
command of the bark 'N.H.Safford' of 174 tons. He was gone several years
and made a broken voyage to Spitzenberg. Whilg on this trip he' went into
Liverpool and had a bomb lance made after a model he had invented
which subsecquently burst at sea shattering his hand. According to
the newspaper account the hand was scienticly and successfully amputated
at sea by the mate Roger Bishop of' westhampton. Later the• bomb harpoons
were manufactured at Birmingham,' England.
On this trip Captain Royce made the acquaintence of and married his
second wife at L'Orient,. France. She resided some time at Peconic.
Being an accomplished musician, she taught the piano locally. Tiring
evidently of waiting for her husband to return from the sea, she
surprised the little community some five or six yea.rs, later, by eloping
with a more favored if not more handsome man.
Thomas W.Royce sailed the brig 'Parana' to the Straits of Lutka, clearing
' June 1856, returning September 1857 with a 028 ,000 catch for
Captain Edward Smith, the owner. The 'Parana' was the salvaged brig
'Michael' also called the , 'Highland Mary' . The first trip they killed
43,000 penguins at the Falkland Islands yielding a high quality oil.
The second voyage of the 'Parana' under Royce returned 1859 with a
full ship,
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After this his whaling ventures were unfortunate. He tried whaling
in the Gulf of Georgia in British Columbia in a steamer but was
unsuccesful.
After trying ether enterprises he at last died of want and exposure
at Mazatlan, Mexico.
A commentator of the 70s opines 9iWhich goes to show that energy,
pluck and ambition are not the sole elements of success" .
Lawrence T®Waitz
Southold Town Historian.