William T. Shorey | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 15, 1919 | (aged 59)
Occupation | Ship Captain |
Spouse | Julia Ann Shelton |
Children | Zenobia Pearl Shorey, Victoria Grace Shorey, William T. Shorey Jr |
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]
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]
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 sailing vessels engaged in whaling in Alaska." [10]
William T. Shorey | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | April 15, 1919 | (aged 59)
Occupation | Ship Captain |
Spouse | Julia Ann Shelton |
Children | Zenobia Pearl Shorey, Victoria Grace Shorey, William T. Shorey Jr |
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]
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]
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 sailing vessels engaged in whaling in Alaska." [10]