William T. Shorey (July 13, 1859 – April 15, 1919) was a late 19th-century American whaling ship captain known to his crew as the Black Ahab.[1] He was born in Barbados July 13, 1859. He was of African descent through Barbados.[2] Spent his life at sea. He became the only black captain operating on the west coast of the United States in the late-1880s and 1890s.[3] The John and Winthrop was the only whaling ship in the world to be manned entirely by an African-American crew.
William T. Shorey (July 13, 1859 – April 15, 1919) was a late 19th-century American whaling ship captain known to his crew as the Black Ahab.[1] He was born in Barbados July 13, 1859. He was of African descent through Barbados.[2] Spent his life at sea. He became the only Black captain operating on the west coast of the United States in the late-1880s and 1890s.[3] The John and Winthrop was the only whaling ship in the world to be manned entirely by an African-American crew.[4]
William T. Shorey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 13, 1859 |
| Died | April 15, 1919 (aged 59) |
| Occupation | Ship Captain |
| Spouse | Julia Ann Shelton |
| Children | Zenobia Pearl Shorey, Victoria Grace Shorey, William T. Shorey Jr |
Early life
Shorey was born in 1859 on the Caribbean Island of Barbados. His father was Scottish and planted sugar and his mother was creole, or West Indian.[5] Even though slavery had ended on the island, there were limited opportunities for "men of color". Shorey was attracted to sea-life and adventure, and seized the opportunity to leave the island on board a ship bound for Boston. Through his relationship with the Captain on charge of the ship, he learned how to sail and navigate ocean waters. He began work as on a whaler sometime in the 1870s.[5]
Career
He obtained his certification in 1885.[6] His whaling voyages were based out of San Francisco on the whaling ships Emma F. Herriman, Alexander, Andrew Hicks, Gay Head II, and John and Winthrop.[2] Shorey was often a captain of a multi-racial crew.[7] Shorey retired from whaling in 1908 and lived in Oakland, where he became a civic leader, until his death from the Spanish flu pandemic in 1919.[2][8] He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California.[9] In his obituary, he was remembered as someone "who for thirty years was In charge of mailing vessels engaged In whaling in Alaska."[10]
References
- ^ Katz, William Loren (1987). The Black West. Seattle: Open Hand Publishing, Inc.
- ^ a b c "African American History". San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. National Park Service. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ "Shorey, William Thomas (1859-1919)". BlackPast.org. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ Newell, Gordon R., ed. (1966). H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: Superior Pub. Co. LCCN 66025424.
- ^ a b Tompkins, E. Berkeley (1972). ""Black Ahab: William T. Shorey, Whaling Master."". California Historical Quarterly. 51 (1): 75–84. doi:10.2307/25157362. JSTOR 25157362 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Captain William T. Shorey". calisphere. University of California. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ Farr, James (Spring 1983). "A Slow Boat to Nowhere: The Multi-racial Crews of the American Whaling Industry". The Journal of Negro History. 68 (2): 159–170. doi:10.2307/2717719. JSTOR 2717719. S2CID 149593602.
- ^ "A Captain's captain, William T. Shorey". African American Registry. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ Cohn, Abby (January 5, 2001). "They're 6 Feet Under, But Pioneers Draw Crowds to Oakland". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ "William T. Shorey Death, 1919". Oakland Tribune. 1919-04-15. p. 3. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
External links
Media related to William T. Shorey at Wikimedia Commons
