Caleb was born on June 15, 1813 in Newport RI. He was the son of Capt. George W. Carr (7/12/1778- 7/4/1848) and Margaret (Thurston) Carr. He married Martha E. Gladding on June 11, 1848 in Warren RI. She was the daughter of Capt. Richard E. Gladding. The 1865 census for Newport shows Caleb (51), Martha (29), son George (4), and a Jane (21), perhaps a sister? The 1860 census shows Caleb as 57 (“Boatbuilder”), Martha (47), George (9) and Theodore (2). Caleb died on July 8, 1872 in Newport and is buried in the Common Burial Ground. The gravestone, found in Find A Grave, records Caleb’s dates as 1813-1872 and Martha’s as 1822-1898.
In June 1842 Caleb joined the crew of the New London-based SHAW PERKINS (AS2383), (sloop, 55 tons, 50’ in length, built in Mystic CT in 1840) for a voyage to the Indian Ocean. The crew list for that voyage shows him 29 years old with light skin and dark hair.
Caleb then became her master for her next voyage. She sailed in June 1844 for Desolation Island. The voyage start inauspiciously: the New London Morning News (3/19/1845) records “Sloop Shaw Perkins, of New London, put in with loss of rudder; all bound south.” The Whalemen’s Shipping List (WSL) (1/5/1847) records that as of December 16, 1845, the ship with “Carr” as master was at Desolation Island. WSL (6/8/1847) reports “supposed to be lost at Desolation I.” Starbuck records “Lost at Desolation Island with all on board, eight souls, 1847.” Perkins & Smith were the agents. AV13150.
The author was perplexed squaring the loss of the ship with all hands in 1847 and Caleb’s reported death in 1872. It was only when an Internet search revealed an article in The New London Morning News 6/25/1847), confirmed by the Whalemen’s Shipping List (6/1/1847), providing the probable explanation to the mystery. The article reads:
”On the 17th of January last, the sloop Shaw Perkins, of NL, with 9 persons on board, disappeared off the entrance of Swain’s Bay [Desolation Island], and has not been heard of since – supposed to have been upset in a squall and all hands lost, as it was blowing fresh at the time. The persons on board were Capt. John Baldwin, of Chatauque…” and continues listing the names of seven crew members, with Caleb’s name not mentioned. Note, the article only accounts for eight on board.
At an unknown time after SHAW PERKINS with Caleb as master was last reported in Desolation Island (12/16/1845), Caleb probably left the ship for an unexplained reason, to be succeeded by Capt. Baldwin who had the misfortune to be on board when the ship was lost. Whatever the circumstance that caused Caleb’s departure from the ship, it saved his life. Perhaps that escape from death in the far south Indian Ocean at about age 34 explains the engraving at the bottom of his gravestone: “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY”.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw (Mystic Seaport Museum) August 2024