Everything about Mayhew Folger totally explained
Mayhew Folger (
March 9,
1774 -
September 1,
1828) was a ship's captain, whaler, who captained the sealing ship
Topaz that rediscovered the
Pitcairn Islands in 1808. Only one of
HMS Bounty's mutineers was still alive: Alexander Smith, whose alias was
John Adams.
Early life
Mayhew was born on
March 9,
1774, in
Nantucket, Massachusetts to William Folger and Ruth Coffin. Mayhew was a member of the Folger whaling family of
Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was a first cousin three times removed of
Benjamin Franklin on his father's side. He married his second cousin, Mary Joy on March 7, 1798 on Nantucket.
Rediscovery of the Pitcairn Islands
Mayhew Folger captained the ship
Topaz that left Boston on April 5, 1807 hunting for seals. They rediscovered the
Pitcairn Islands on
February 6,
1808. Only one of the original
HMS Bounty mutineers, Alexander Smith, whose real name was
John Adams, was still alive. The
Topaz remained at the island for only ten hours.
The Bounty's Chronometer
Captain Folger was given the Bounty's azimuth compass and
Larcum Kendall K2
marine chronometer by Adams. The K2 was the third precision marine chronometer made after the H4, which won the
Longitude Prize. The chronometer was taken by the Spanish governor at
Juan Fernandez Island. The compass remained in Folger's possession and he made use of it aboard the Topaz until he reached Boston, where he put it in to an instrument maker for a new 'card' (face). He sent the compass to the Admiralty in 1813. The chronometer was later purchased by a Spaniard named Castillo. When he died, his family conveyed it to Captain Herbert of
HMS Calliope, who had it conveyed to the
British Museum around 1840. The chronometer is now in Greenwich, London.
Accounts of the rediscovery
The discovery was reported by Folger to the
Royal Navy 1808, a report of which reached the British
Admiralty on May 14, 1809. It was published in the
Quarterly Review in 1810. Captain Folger also related an account of the discovery to his friend Captain Amasa Delano, who published the account in his book
A Narrative of Voyages and Travels in 1817. This account is also included in the book
Pitcarin Island, written by Charles Nordoff and James Hall.
Later years
He died September 1, 1828 in
Massillon, Ohio.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mayhew Folger'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mayhew_folger.totallyexplained.com">Mayhew Folger Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
