Braddock was born in Groton CT on December 28, 1809. His parentage was not located. He married Joanna Bailey (born 12/13/1811) on April 14, 1829 in Groton. She came from a family that produced many seamen, recited in a family genealogy (see Sources below), the accuracy of which cannot be verified. Her grandfather, Capt. Thomas Morgan, Jr., was a sea captain. Three brothers served as masters on whaling voyages on ships out of New London: Elisha (AM0226), Joseph (AM0235), and Thomas (AM0239). Braddock was a New London whaling master and their son Braddock was a sea captain. Braddock and Joanna had four children: Joanna (1831-12/22/1834), Braddock (4/17/1834- ), Elisha (12/29/1837- ), and Joanna (3/19/1844-2/3/1872). Groton decennial reports for 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880) show Braddock as “sailor”, “mariner”, “ship master”, and “seaman”. Braddock died in Groton on April 6, 1894, verified by obituary in The Day (New London) of that date. The obituary says that his son Braddock was the only surviving member of his family. Joanna predeceased him, dying on October 6, 1870. They are buried in Starr Burying Ground in Groton. Their memorial stone, showing Braddock as “Capt.”, is shown in Find A Grave.
Braddock served as master on several voyages on ships with New London as home port:
ELECTRA (AS1261): (ship, 348 tons, length 101’, built in Kensington PA in 1811). Sailed on May 31, 1832 for the South Atlantic, returned March 23, 1833. Williams & Barns was the agent. AV04102.
RUTH AND MARY (AS2323): (ship, 290 tons). It was purchased from New York in 1833 and sailed on May 18 of that year. The Newport (RI) Mercury (5/25/1833) describes that voyage: “The Whale Ship Ruth & Mary, Chester, 10 hours from New London for South Atlantic Ocean, went ashore on the S.W. part of Block-Island, in the dense fog on Saturday last. Her masts were cut away, and the ship has since bulged, and will probably be entirely lost.” Not a fortuitous purchase. AV12680.
JASON (AS1690): (ship, 335 tons, length 98’, built in Kittery ME in 181). Sailed on August 10, 1839 for the South Pacific, returned May 28, 1841. E.M. Frink & Co. was the agent. AV07404.
MENTOR (AS1923): (ship, 460 tons, length 114’, built in New York NY in 1810). Sailed on August 12, 1841 for the Indian Ocean, returned on April 7, 1843. AV09548.
CHARLESTON (AS1092): (ship, 373 tons, length 112’, built in Kennebunk ME in 1836). Sailed on June 26, 1844 for the Pacific, returned March 10, 1847 (Starbuck reports July 30, 1845). Dennis Wood Abstracts 2-158 records that the ship sailed to the Sandwich Islands to repair a broken rudder post that the crew could not repair. “Capt. C. had rigged a tiller outside which worked well.” N. & W.W. Billings was the agent. AV02761.
CHARLES CARROLL (AS1078): (ship, 412 tons, length 121’, built in New York NY in 1828, wrecked in the Mozambique Channel in 1862. Sailed on June 7, 1854, returned on June 1, 1858 (Starbuck and Decker agree on return date; AOWV shows October 28, 1854, a few months after departure and probably incorrect). Decker shows “—–Cook” as master of this voyage, Starbuck shows “—–Parsons” as the master. Perkins & Smith was the agent. AV02640.
Braddock also served as master of voyages on two ships with registered home ports in Groton or Mystic: BLACKSTONE (AS0989) for its 1835-1837 and 1837-1839 voyages (Groton) and LEANDER (AS1781) for its 1856-1857 and 1858-1860 voyages (Mystic).
Before becoming a master, Braddock served as a crew member for four voyages on two ships, all with New London as home port: NEPTUNE (AS2032) for its 1826-1827 and 1828-1829 voyages and ELECTRA (AS1261) for its 1829-1830 and 1830-1831 voyages. He would become master of two later voyages of ELECTRA.
To possibly confuse this report, the Hartford Weekly Times, January 7, 1854, contains the following: “Capt. Braddock Chester, who was lost overboard from the brig Rainbow, of New Haven, on the 28t5h of November, was a resident of Groton, where he leaves behind a wife and three children.” Capt. Braddock of this report died in 1894, so presumably there was another captain by the same name.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text. See also Genealogy of James Morgan and his Descendants, found in Ancestry.com.
George Shaw
American Institute of Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
October 2024