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Samuel grew up in Beverly, Massachusetts, and became a ship captain and merchant. His earliest experiences at sea would most likely have been as a crewman on one of the many merchant ships sailing out of Beverly or Salem. According to ship registers for the Ports of Salem and Beverly(1) he was the master of
the schooner Hawk, 69 tons, and the schooner Nancy, 70 tons, both registered in Beverly.(2) Newspaper shipping notices help pinpoint when this was. He presumably was the Capt. Haskell who brought Hawk into Salem, 35 days from Bilbao, Portugal, on 5 June 1802.(1.1) He was about a week shy of his 23rd birthday. There are more newspaper references to a Capt. Haskell associated with Nancy. The first found was on 2 June 1803, when The Salem Gazette listed the ship as having arrived from "Faguira," meaning Figueira, Portugal.(1.2) He sailed from the same port in to Baltimore in later December of that year.(1.3) He was part owner and master of Two Brothers, 97 tons, registered 10 December 1805 in Beverly and cleared for sailing on the 13th.(2.01) Several trips later he set out for Magdalena in June 1806. On 10 December 1807 she arrived back in Beverly from "Dominico" and Tortola, sailing from the former on 17 November.(2.1) She "touched" at Tortola and reported that several vessels, headed for the blockaded islands of St. Croix and St. Thomas, were stopped and detained there by the British. Samuel began his last voyage as owner/master of this ship on 8 March 1809, when he and a crew of 6 signed on for trip to St. Bart's.(2.15) They came back on 16 May 1809, after 16 days of sailing. He reported that the markets there were "dull."(2.2) The ship was sold in May 1809.(3)
Samuel's co-owner of Two Brothers was prominent Boston merchant William Gray. Beginning in 1810 he sailed ships owned solely by Gray, who had acquired a strong interest in trade in St. Petersburg, Russia. The route to St. Petersburg for merchants sailing from England and the United States, intermediate stops were routine. American ships followed the Gulf Stream around the top of the Atlantic Ocean and passed into the North Sea between the Orkney and Shetland Islands of Scotland. Passing through Scandinavia, the route took them along what was contemporarily called The Belt (Danish: baelt). This comprised what is now called, north to south, the Samso Baelt, Storebaelt (Great Belt), Langelandsbaelt and Fehmarbaelt. Samso, Langeland and Fehmar are islands. Helsingor (contemporarily called Elsineur or Elseneur), Denmark, was often the first stop for merchant ships. To the east is the Baltic Sea, and at the far eastern end of that is St. Petersburg. Ships would stop at Kronstadt (contemporarily Cronstadt) Island about ten miles west of St. Petersburg to conduct business in addition to the latter city. On the way back home, more business was often done at Goteborg (contemporarily Gottenburg or Gottenburgh), Sweden.
The Napoleanic Wars made this trip risky. European and Scandanavian countries were tangled in conflict between 1802 and 1814. When Samuel Haskell sailed into the area in 1810, Sweden was an unwilling participant in an embargo against England (called "The Continental System"), forced into it when they lost a war with Russia. Russia was an ally of France, and Napolean was pulling the strings of international trade in Europe, theoretically, but the Swedes ignored the embargo. A safe haven for English ships could be found in Hano Bay along Sweden's southern Baltic coast. English battle ships served as convoys to guide large fleets of merchants through the area and they convened at Hano and Goteborg. Although the neutral Americans were, on paper, free to trade in Baltic ports, they were not necessarily safe from harassment by the Danes. After the war, the United States held Denmark accountable for American merchant shipping losses.
Samuel captained William Gray's ship Lucia, 310 tons, sailing out of Boston about 13 June 1810.(3.1) They arrived at Kronstadt Island on 10 August, probably after an unreported stop at Helsingor, Denmark, given the travel time.(3.12) Lucia came back into home port on 6 December, having sailed from St. Petersburg on 29 September, Hano on 16 October and Goteborg on 2 November.(3.2) St. Petersburg is inaccessible to ships in the winter, and it was in May that Lucia sailed again for Russia. The events during this trip caused newspaper reports to give details about it that wouldn't otherwise have appeared and provide a good insight into what Samuel experienced when he sailed this route, both typically and not. Lucia left port again on 25 May 1811. After what was described as a "fine passage" of 27 days, which was relatively quick, he arrived at Helsingor. (3.21) By 3 September Lucia was in Kronstadt and in St. Petersburg by 18 September, when the ship would leave for home "in a few days."(3.22) That didn't happen. The ship made another stop at Kronstadt and was there until 5 October. The logbook of Lucia states they left the port of Matvik (often anglicized to Matwick and Matwyk) on Hano Bay, Sweden on 9 November. One hundred thirty four ships attempted to leave there under the watch of the English naval ship St. George on 1 November, but bad weather drove them back. Winter weather was setting in and they were in danger of getting caught in ice. They had to leave.
The unusual part of this trip came next. The fleet stopped and anchored in the far southern end of the Baltic Sea on the night of the 10th. They sailed again for two days, but an undeniable head wind made them anchor again on the night of the 12th in the Fehmarbaelt, near the town of Nysted on Lolland Island. They were still there on the 15th, when a severe storm from the southwest blew in at 10:00 at night. It caused the anchor cables of some of the vessels to snap. Pushed out of control across the water, they got tangled with other anchor lines which then broke. Twelve boats went ashore at Lolland Island. Two crashed into each other and sank. About 12 were damaged enough that they were thought to be a loss. Thirty (Capt. Haskell thought eighteen) made their way back to Matvik safely, although with damage. The gale would have assisted them after they were free of the other boats and it had done away with their anchors, given the wind direction. The next morning Capt. Haskell found St. George in shallow water at Lolland. It was an old and poorly designed ship, so when another boat broke through one of the battleship's anchor cables, there was little to prevent it from eventually being pushed into the Lolland coast. The rudder was smashed. The masts were cut down in an attempt to prevent going ashore, but it didn't help. "Jury masts"(3.24) were built along with a "Packenham" rudder. When the weather finally allowed it, St. George and the 76 (about) seaworthy vessels of the fleet continued to Vinga (also called Wingo) Island west of Goteborg on the 17th, with help from more naval vessels stationed in "The Belt." They reached Vinga on 2 December.
It was thought safe to sail again on the 18th of December, this time with more English naval ships. HMS Victory was among them, the same that had become famous under the flag of Horatio Nelson about six years earlier. Three convoys were created, one with Victory and five other naval ships, one with three more such ships including the disabled St. George under tow. The third was a fleet of merchant ships, Lucia included, escorted by the battleships Hero, Grasshopper, Egeria and Prince William. Unfavorable winds made Admiral Samaurez of Victory to signal a return to Vinga, but the other convoys continued. When entering the North Sea, the merchant convoy divided. Egeria and Prince William headed for Scotland with some of the merchants, while the others probably were aiming for London and the English Channel. By the 23rd the weather went from bad to worse. St. George was probably not as seaworthy as thought, not having been repaired since the initial damage to it in the Baltic. Duty led one of the escorts to stay with St. George even when bad storms made their situation continually worse. Both ships were wrecked on the Danish coast on Christmas Eve with the loss of most of their crews. The merchant convoys continued on across the North Sea, unaware of the disaster. Those who bore north experienced heavy gales, but the others ran into the same scenario as St. George's group along the Danish and Netherlands coasts. By 23 December their fleet had been scattered by gales. The naval ships were left escorting only 18 merchants. The rest of them were fortunate to have either been blown off track or to have headed for Scotland. Hero was blown onto the coast of the Netherlands, also on Christmas Eve, with the loss of the the convoy and most of their crews.
The Lucia logbook says that on Christmas Eve it was in the North Sea between Naze and Fair Isle. The Naze is part of the most southern coast of Norway. Another merchant ship in the fleet was Isis, which is said to have passed Lucia and William & Jane on the 20th. This was before they entered the North Sea. The captain of Isis also said he spoke to Capt. Bunker (of William & Jane) in "the Sleve" on the 25th. The term "sleeve" is used to describe the English Channel, but Capt. Haskell used it to describe an area near the Danish baelts. In this case it was most likely the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Egeria's port of call was Leith, on the Firth, and it was there by the 28th. It also confirms the the American ships - at least four of them - went all the way to the Scottish coast before heading north to Fair Isle. They were by Aberdeen on the 26th, when Lucia was at latitude 57 and saw the American ships Zodiac and William & Jane, and Isis and Lucia are known to have passed Fair Isle on the 30th, and on into the Atlantic Ocean. Capt. Hilliard of Isis said he had headwinds for 10 days after leaving Goteborg, which covers nearly all the days they were in the North Sea. Other merchant ships in the fleet, when their logbook excerpts appeared in newspapers after they returned, said they encountered gales. Luck and skill probably enabled them to escape without damage and make it home with their cargo.
Samuel was owner of the brig William, 200 tons, registered in Beverly on 26 November 1816 and was reported in Fort Royal, Martinique, the following April.(4) Nathaniel Haskell, probably his brother, was the master. Their father owned at least of share of a ship with this name. He apparently was still a co-owner in 1822, when a shipping notice says that it arrived with "hemp, iron, tallow and manufactures" for Samuel. A Mr. Woodbury was master.()(The Haverhill Gazette, 1 October 1822, p. 3) It was probably William again that brought in goods for Samuel which he offered for sale at Whittredge's Wharf in Beverly in January of 1821. William had arrived in Beverly from Russia on December 16th with iron, hemp and manufactures for Samuel.()(The Essex Register, 20 December 1820, p. 3) Samuel also had in interest in goods imported from Russia by the brig St. Clair in 1818,(4). They were 200 tons of "old sable iron," 200 bolts of "best Russian duck," 200 bolts of "Ravens, thick and thin," 40 bolts of "half duck," 10 bags of "the best feathers" and a few casks of "prime bristles." Josiah Lovett, Samuel's wife's cousin who was also a ship captain and merchant, also had an interest. Samuel had a bale of isinglass on the ship Bramin from Russia()(Boston Weekly Report, 6 November 1819, p. 3)
and coffee on the schooner Two Sisters from Santiago, Cuba, in 1823;()(The Haverhill Gazette 15 April 1823, p. 3). He may have been co-owner of a boat named Hope, 30 tons, which was sold in Salem in 1818.()(The Salem Gazette, 10 April 1818, p. 3).
The latest record found of Samuel's maritime activity is connected with the brig Rajah, registered in Beverly on 1 August 1818.(5) He was one of 6 owners. Rajah was about 90 feet long and 25 feet wide. It was reregistered at Beverly on 16 September 1822.
Rajah, watercolor by Antoine Roux, Jr.
"Ar. at Beverly Sunday last, the beautiful brig Rajah, of 250 tons, from Newburyport, intended for the India trade, coppered and copper fastened, owned by a company of gentlemen in that place."(Salem Gazette, 8 August 1818)
On what was likely her maiden voyage and near the Western Islands (Azores), a "small piratical hermaphrodite brig" overtook Rajah, where she was boarded and robbed of $1,200.00 in specie and other items.(5.25) Rajah continued to Gibraltar. Newspaper reports differ as to her route. She was in Gibraltar on 23 July, supposedly having come from Sumatra and on her way to Marseilles(5.5), but this was likely a reverse of the facts. She arrived back in Beverly on 30 August 1820, 134 days sailing from Sumatra with a cargo of pepper.(5.6) Another report said she was heading for Calcutta, which was either a mistake or an intermediate port for trade.(5.75) In any case, when she was cleared to sail in August 1818(5.8), her destination was the East Indies. However, after nearly a year out of home port, it is likely that she had been trading somewhere by the time she reached Gibraltar in July 1819, but it seems extremely unlikely she made four passes around the Cape of Good Hope and through the Indian Ocean on one voyage.
Samuel may have retired from the sea by 1816, when he owned but did not sail a vessel. He is called a merchant in his obituary and his estate papers and he made a very good living probably from the income of the shipping trade. More can certainly be said of the lucrative pepper trade, but it isn't known yet specifically what the nature was of Samuel's mercantile activities. An inventory of his household belongings show a family that enjoyed moderate wealth. By 1818 he starts to appear in municipal records, first as part jury pools, which continued occasionally to 1827.(6) He evidently had become prominent enough in town affairs to be chosen to replace a selectman-elect who declined the position in March 1825.(7) He was on the South District school committee in 1826, 1828 and 1829.(8) He again replaced a selectman on 1 April 1827.(9) The next month he was voted a "vice selectman."(10)
The cause of Samuel's death in August 1829 at 50 years old isn't known. It was likely due to a short and acute illness such as tuberculosis, given that he was active as a committeeman as late as March of that year.(11)
His estate inventory included a 3/10 share of a schoolhouse on Washington St., Beverly, a share in the #2 social library and 4 pews in "Reverend Mr. Oliphant's meeting house." This was the Dane Street Congregational Church. Peggy's death is recorded in the records of that church. The baptism and death of their first daughter named Mary Anne are found in the First Parish Unitarian (Congregational) Church records.
The epitaph on his gravestone is taken from the last verse of Isaac Watts' hymn 40 and a verse in "How Are Thy Servants Blessed, O Lord" by Joseph Addison. It is carved on a white marble stone that has weathered to a point where those inscriptions are difficult to read. His and Peggy's stones were surely in the old Hale St. portion of Central Cemetery with two of their children. They were moved to or next to the Ellingwood plot in a later section of the cemetery.
Inventory and appraisement of the estate of Samuel Haskell, late of Beverly…merchant, deceased, intestate…
Real Estate
Floor pew no. 54 in Reverend Mr. Oliphant's meeting house $60
Gallery pew no. 14 ditto $10
Personal Estate
Five shares in Beverly bank - $305
13 shares in Beverly marine insurance company - $13
Mahogany desk and bookcase - $12
1 pair mahogany card tables $4, 1 light stand $1.50 - $5.50
Clock $10, writing desk $3, stove $12, fire set $4.50 - $29.50
Pair bellows 50c, glass $3, 6 yellow chairs at 50c - $3 - $6.50
2 do.[yellow] rocking chairs at $1.50 - $3, 2 do. small do. 50c - $3.50
2 waiters 50c, carpet $12, 4 rugs $1, china tea set $5 - $18.50
large caster $1,2 tea pots $1, coffee pot 50c - $2.50
2 large dishes at $1 - $2, 2 at 50c - $1 - $3.00
1 dozen large blue plates $1.25, 4 second size do. do. 25c - $1.50
4 small do. do. 10c, 10 china cups and saucers 50c - .60
Britannia milk picture 25c, 5 silver tumblers $16 - $16.25
1 1/4 dozen large silver spoons, 2 [pap?] spoons and 1 large do. - $24.00
1 1/2 dozen small silver spoons $10, Britannia sugar bowl 50c - $10.50
2 brass lamps $1.50, 2 pair cut decanters $1 - $2.50
1 gilt 30c, 1 common do. 10c, 10 and wine glasses 30c - .70
2 vinegar cruets 20c, 5 glass 50c - .10
8 small goblets 40c, 7 large do. 70c - $1.10
1 butter and cream picture 20c, 1 tray and sniffers 25c - .45
15 small knives and forks $1.25, 5 large do. and carving do. 75c - 2.00
8 volumes books 50c, 1 rocking chair and cushion 15c - .65
1 spy glass $5, trunk and wearing apparel $25 - 30.00
1 bedstead $1, 1 feather bed, pillars and bolster $5 - 6.00
1 straw do. 50c, 1 quilt 75c, 1 press bedstead $1.50 - 2.75
1 leather travelling trunk - 2.00
lot of bottles in closet 25c, stone ware 30c - .58
1 pair scales and weights 25c, 1 old carpet $2 - 2.25
1 low bedstead and bedding - 5.00
1 blue shalloon quilt $2, 1 quilt $1, table leaf 25c - 3.25
4 red chairs 50c, meal chest 50c, old barrels 50c - 1.50
1 quadrant $3, 1 fire fender 50c - 3.50
2 pair dog andirons - .75
1 coffee urn $1, 1 warmer $1 - 2.00
1 oil canister 50c, 1 brass kettle $3 - 2.50
lot of bottles $3, 1 pair Bilboa blankets $3.50 - 6.50
1 pair rose do. $2, 2 pair large linen sheets at $2 1/2 - $5 - 7.00
4 1/2 do. linen do. $6, 4 pair cotton do. $5 - 11.00
7 pair cotton do. $5.25 - 5.25
2 do. linen pillar cases - 1.00
3 pair do. do. do. 90c, 4 pair cotton do. $1 - 1.90
8 pair cotton do. $1.20, 5 linen bolster cases - 6.20
7 cotton bolster cases - 1.75
1 counterpane $1, 1 quilt $2 - 3.00
1 puff $1.50, dark quilt $1 - 2.50
1 patch counterpane $2, puff $1 - 3.00
2 table cloths $6, 4 table cloths $6 - 12.00
5 do. do. $5, 4 do. do. $3 - 8.00
1 dozen towels $1.20, 2 blue table cloths $2 1/2 - 3.70
3 table cloths $6, 2 table cloths $2.50 - 8.50
2 blue do. do. $2, 2 do. do. $1 - 3.00
1 do. do. 50c, 16 linen towels $1.28 - 1.78
3 rugs $2, 3 blankets $3.75, 6 do. do. $6 - 11.75
------
$625.83
desk and bookcase $4, light stand 75c - 4.75
large pine table $1.50, small do. do. 75c - 2.25
warming pan $1, 6 brown chairs at 25c - $1.50 - 2.50
1 large stuffed arm chair - .25
1 red rocking chair and cushion - .30
1 waiter 20c, cooking furnace $1 - 1.20
3 glass lamps - .30
1 small looking glass - .50
3 waiters 30c, case and box 15c - .45
1/2 dozen blue cups and saucers - .30
1/2 dozen do. small plates - .12
1/2 dozen do. 2d size blue do. - .20
2 small pudding dishes - .10
1 oval dish 15c, 8 small soup plates 25c - .40
10 large blue do. 50c, 2 blue oval dishes 30c - .80
1 blue tea pot, sugar and cream - .45
1 sugar bowl and cream pitcher - .30
1 slop bowl 10c, 2 blue pitchers 20c and 15c - .45
1 do. cream pitcher - .10
2 pair butter boats blue - .30
6 pieces blue ware - .30
1 mahogany bureau large - 10.00
1 do. do. small - 3.00
6 yellow chairs at 30c - 1.80
2 rocking do. at 40c - .80
1 easy chair $8, 1 large do. old 10c - 8.10
1 large trunk $2, 1 light stand 50c - 2.50
1 looking glass - 2.00
1 fire set $1.25, 1 pair bellows 20c - 1.45
1 mahogany bedstead - 15.00
1 down bed, pillars and bolster - 20.00
1 straw bed - 1.50
1 counterpain and curtains - 7.00
2 rugs 50c, bureau .75 - 1.25
6 joiner chairs $1.50, 6 yellow do. $1.50 - 3.00
2 arm do. 50c, 1 stuffed arm chair $1 - 1.50
1 pair iron shovel and tongs - .50
1 looking glass - .50
1 stuffed rocking chair - 1.25
1 birch bedstead - 3.00
1 down bed, pillars and bolster - 15.00
1 straw bed, tow covering 50c, 1 quilt $3 - 2.50
2 demijohns 35c, close line 30c - .65
3 covered buckets at 25c - .75
1 case bottles - .50
1 wine seive 25c, bellows 25c - .75
1 sea chest $1, tin ware $2.50 - 3.50
1 large clothes horse - .75
2d size do. 50c, 3d size do. 25c - .75
tin kitchen $1, table 20c - 1.20
2 coffee mills - .50
crockery ware in kitchen - .50
wooden do. do. $1, chopping knife .25 - $1.25
1 copper kettle $2.50, 1 do. do. $2.25, 1 do. do. $2 - 6.75
5 flat irons and grate - 1.40
1 pair small flat irons - .30
1 pair andirons and shovel and tongs and cooking furnace - 1.50
1 small cooking furnace - .25
1 silver watch $7, toaster and gridiron $1 - 8.00
1 brass kettle covered - 1.00
1 copper tea kettle - 1.00
2 copper skillets - 1.00
1 iron pot 75c, 2d size do. 50c - 1.25
1 3d size do. - .40
2 dish kettles 60c, fry kettle 50c - 1.10
2 small iron skillets - .30
baking kettle 25c, fire slice 50c - .75
oil pot 10c, dust pan 10c - .20
floor brush 20c, 3 foot stoves 30c - .50
1 spade 25c, old barrels $2.25 - 2.50
firkin 25c, stone pot 25c - .50
cash deposited in Beverly bank - 540.31
dividend on bank stock - 7.50
3/10 of school house in Washington Street - 75.00
share no. 101 in 2d social library - 1.00
set Scott's Bible - 10.00
-----------------
$1423.41
Amount of real estate - $70.00
Amount of personal estate - $1423.41
-----------------
Total, $1493.41
Dated at Beverly this third day of November, A. D. 1829
Robt. Rantoul, administrator
Josiah Lovett
Josiah Foster 3rd
Albert Thorndike, Committee
children of Samuel and Margaret (Thissel) Haskell (Beverly vital records):
i. Mary Anne b. 12 July 1805, bap. 14 July 1805 (1st Parish Unitarian), d. of epilepsy 2 June 1815 (First Parish Unitarian record and Hale St. Cemetery stone)
ii. Augusta b. 16 November 1807
iii. Elizabeth E(dwards?) b. 3 April 1810
iv. Samuel b. 24 August 1814, d. 16 June 1817 (Hale St. Cemetery stone)
v. Joseph Thissel b. 15 September 1816
vi. Samuel b. 13 July 1818
vii. John Thissel b. 5 March 1820
ix. Mary Anne b. 25 October 1822
vital records sources: Samuel's birth, marriage and death records come from the Beverly vital records. The latter cites the Second Congregational Church as another source for his marriage. His death is also recorded on his gravestone in Central Cemetery, Beverly, and was reported in the Salem Gazette (1 September 1829, p. 3), shown above.
1. Essex Institute Historical Collections, vol. 41, pp. 157-, vol. 42, pp. 103
1.1 Salem Gazette, 7 June 1802, p. 3.
1.2. Ibid, 2 June 1803, p. 3.
1.3. The Baltimore Patriot, 27 December 1803, p. 3.
2. Ship registers of the district of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts, 1789-1900 [hereafter SRDSB], comp. Frank A. Hitchings, etc. (Essex Institute, Salem:1906), p. 80 and p. 129 (Samuel Haskell mentioned as a master, no specifics given, original registers should be checked).
2.01. SRDSB, p. 92; Salem Gazette, 29 April 1817, p. 3
2.1. Salem Gazette, 11 February 1807, p. 2.15. Crewlists, Port of Salem and Beverly, MA. NARA, Northeast Region; SRDSB, p. 188.
2.2. Ibid, 16 May 1809, p. 3
3. SRDSB, p. 188.
3.1. Edward Gray, William Gray of Salem, Merchant (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston & New York:1914), p. 105; Boston Gazette, 14 June 1810, p. 2, ship "Lucea" cleared for "St. Peters.
3.12. The Federal Republican, 7 November 1810, p. 3; The Evening Post, 9 November 1810, p. 3.
3.2. Boston Patriot, 8 December 1810, p. 2.
3.21. The Columbian Centinel, 14 September 1811, p. 2.
3.22. The Columbian Centinel, 26 October 1811, p. 2; The New England Palladium, 6 December 1811, p. 2.
3.24. The same as "jury rigging," which was a temporary solution cobbled together with available materials.
3.3.
3.4.
4. SRDSB, p. 103.
5.
5.25. Ibid, 31 August 1819, p. 3. The brig Erie, which was in the vicinity, was to hunt for the pirates for the next month.
5.5. Ibid, 3 September 1819, p. 3.
5.6. Ibid, 1 September 1820, p. 3.
5.75. Ibid, 28 January 1820, p. 3. Left 27 November in convoy with Erie.
5.8. Ibid, 14 August 1818, p. 3.
6. Beverly Town Records.
7. Ibid, p. 377 (March 1825).
9. Ibid, p. 33 (1 April 1827).
10. Ibid, (17 May 1827).
11. Ibid, (9 March 1829).
all text and photographs © 1998-2005 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted