William F. Sturgis
Encyclopedia
William F. Sturgis was a Boston
merchant in the China trade
and the Maritime Fur Trade
.
, to Hannah Mills and William E. Sturgis, a ship master and lineal descendant from Edward Sturgis of Yarmouth, Massachusetts
, the first Sturgis in America (arrived 1630). His namesake now adorns the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, MA and the Sturgis Charter Public School, an IB For all 9-12 school in Hyannis, MA.
In 1796, he joined the counting house
of his uncle Russell Sturgis
(1750–1826), and less than two years later became connected with James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins
's maritime fur trade
between the Pacific Northwest
coast and China.
Upon his father's death in 1797, he went to sea to support the family as assistant trader on the Eliza, then as chief mate of the Ulysses. He then served under Captain Charles Derby on the Caroline until Derby died and Sturgis took command. In 1804 the Caroline sailed from the Columbia River
to Kaigahnee, just south of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
, acquiring some 2,500 sea otter skins that netted $73,034.
In 1809, his ship the Atahualpa, owned by Theodore Lyman
, was attacked by Chinese pirates while moored at Macau
Roads. Sturgis managed to get the ship underway and fought off the pirates using four small cannon he had brought on board against the wishes of the ship's owner. Using these, they managed to fight long enough to sail within range of the protective guns of the harbor, and the pirates were captured, their commander Apootsae later being tortured to death by the Mandarin authorities. Sturgis had been prepared to blow up the ship if the pirates caught them in order to save the crew and passengers from being tortured. Lyman reportedly chastised Sturgis for having violated his instructions by bringing the cannon on the voyage.
In 1810, he returned to Boston and married Elizabeth M. Davis, with whom he had one son and five daughters. One daughter, Ellen Sturgis Hooper
, was a Transcendentalist
poet and was the mother of Marian Hooper Adams
. Sturgis formed a trading partnership with John Bryant as Bryant, Sturgis & Co.. From 1810 to 1850 more than half of the trade carried on between the Pacific Northwest coast and China was under their direction, including substantial parts of the California
hide trade
.
Sturgis was a longtime member of the Massachusetts House and Senate, a member and sometime president of the Boston Marine Society
, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society
. He donated his childhood house to be the Barnstable public library, now called the Sturgis Library, and his papers are collected there in the Sturgis Library Archives.
One of his descendants donated the Tanglewood
estate to the Boston Symphony Orchestra
.
, MA for William F. Weld & Co
. She sailed from Cardiff to Iloilo
with a cargo of coal. On Sept. 19, 1863, she was off the coast of Guimaras
. She struck the Magicienne Bank, then sank on Ottorg Bank.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
merchant in the China trade
China trade
China trade may refer to* History of trade of the People's Republic of China * Economy of the People's Republic of China* Economic history of China * Economic history of modern China...
and the Maritime Fur Trade
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
.
Biography
Sturgis was born in Barnstable, MassachusettsBarnstable, Massachusetts
Barnstable is a city, referred to as the Town of Barnstable, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the county seat of Barnstable County. Barnstable is the largest community, both in land area and population, on Cape Cod. The town contains seven villages within its boundaries...
, to Hannah Mills and William E. Sturgis, a ship master and lineal descendant from Edward Sturgis of Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Yarmouth is a New England town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 24,807 at the 2000 census....
, the first Sturgis in America (arrived 1630). His namesake now adorns the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, MA and the Sturgis Charter Public School, an IB For all 9-12 school in Hyannis, MA.
In 1796, he joined the counting house
Counting house
A counting house, or compting house, literally is the building, room, office or suite in which a business firm carries on operations, particularly accounting. By a synecdoche, it has come to mean the accounting operations of a firm, however housed...
of his uncle Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis
Russell Sturgis was an American architect and art criticof the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870.-Early life and marriage:...
(1750–1826), and less than two years later became connected with James and Thomas Handasyd Perkins
Thomas Handasyd Perkins
Colonel Thomas Handasyd Perkins, or T. H. Perkins was a wealthy Boston merchant and an archetypical Boston Brahmin. Starting with bequests from his grandfather and father-in-law, he amassed a huge fortune...
's maritime fur trade
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
between the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
coast and China.
Upon his father's death in 1797, he went to sea to support the family as assistant trader on the Eliza, then as chief mate of the Ulysses. He then served under Captain Charles Derby on the Caroline until Derby died and Sturgis took command. In 1804 the Caroline sailed from the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
to Kaigahnee, just south of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
Prince of Wales Island is one of the islands of the Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle. It is the fourth-largest island in the United States and the 97th-largest island in the world....
, acquiring some 2,500 sea otter skins that netted $73,034.
In 1809, his ship the Atahualpa, owned by Theodore Lyman
Theodore Lyman (disambiguation)
Theodore Lyman was an American physicistTheodore Lyman is also the name of:* Theodore Lyman , American brigadier general, philanthropist, politician, and author...
, was attacked by Chinese pirates while moored at Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
Roads. Sturgis managed to get the ship underway and fought off the pirates using four small cannon he had brought on board against the wishes of the ship's owner. Using these, they managed to fight long enough to sail within range of the protective guns of the harbor, and the pirates were captured, their commander Apootsae later being tortured to death by the Mandarin authorities. Sturgis had been prepared to blow up the ship if the pirates caught them in order to save the crew and passengers from being tortured. Lyman reportedly chastised Sturgis for having violated his instructions by bringing the cannon on the voyage.
In 1810, he returned to Boston and married Elizabeth M. Davis, with whom he had one son and five daughters. One daughter, Ellen Sturgis Hooper
Ellen Sturgis Hooper
Ellen Sturgis Hooper was an American poet. A member of the Transcendental Club, she was widely regarded as one of the most gifted poets among the New England Transcendentalists...
, was a Transcendentalist
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
poet and was the mother of Marian Hooper Adams
Marian Hooper Adams
Marian "Clover" Hooper Adams was an American socialite, active society hostess and arbiter of Washington, D.C., and an accomplished amateur photographer....
. Sturgis formed a trading partnership with John Bryant as Bryant, Sturgis & Co.. From 1810 to 1850 more than half of the trade carried on between the Pacific Northwest coast and China was under their direction, including substantial parts of the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
hide trade
Hide trade
The California hide trade was a system of trade during the early 19th century in Alta California, present day California, United States.The circuit would begin with a Clipper sailing ship leaving an East Coast port, often Boston or New York City, loaded with manufactured goods. The ship would then...
.
Sturgis was a longtime member of the Massachusetts House and Senate, a member and sometime president of the Boston Marine Society
Boston Marine Society
The Boston Marine Society is a charitable organization in Boston, Massachusetts, formed "to 'make navigation more safe' and to relieve members and their families in poverty or other 'adverse accidents in life.'" Membership generally consists of current and former ship captains...
, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society
Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
. He donated his childhood house to be the Barnstable public library, now called the Sturgis Library, and his papers are collected there in the Sturgis Library Archives.
One of his descendants donated the Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
estate to the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
.
Ship
The William Sturgis of Boston was an 1849 ship of 649½ tons, built by James O. Curtis in MedfordMedford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
, MA for William F. Weld & Co
William Fletcher Weld
William Fletcher Weld was a shipping magnate during the "Golden Age of Sail". He later invested in railroads and real estate. Weld multiplied his family's fortune into a huge legacy for his descendants and the public.-Early life:...
. She sailed from Cardiff to Iloilo
Iloilo
Iloilo is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Iloilo occupies the southeast portion of Panay Island and is bordered by Antique Province to the west and Capiz Province and the Jintotolo Channel to the north. Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is Guimaras Province,...
with a cargo of coal. On Sept. 19, 1863, she was off the coast of Guimaras
Guimaras
Guimaras is an island province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Among the smallest provinces, its capital is Jordan. The island is located in the Panay Gulf, between the islands of Panay and Negros...
. She struck the Magicienne Bank, then sank on Ottorg Bank.
External links
Further reading
- Sturgis, William, Memoir of the Hon. William Sturgis, Charles Greely Loring, ed., John Wilson & Sons, Boston, 1864.
- Sturgis, William, The Journal of William Sturgis: The Eighteenth-Century Memoirs of a Sailor, S.W. Jackman, ed., ISBN 0-919462-54-5.
- Hooper-Sturgis papers at the Massachusetts Historical SocietyMassachusetts Historical SocietyThe Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...