Daniel’s life centered around Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard MA. There he was born, married, lived (recorded in four decennial Chilmark census reports listing him as “mariner”), died and was buried. From his island home, he sailed as master for 16voyages over a period of 36 years.
He was born on November 6, 1801. His parents were John (1769-1820) and Hannah (1770-1839) Flanders. He married Charlotte Smith in February 1830; after her death in 1842 he married Jane Manter (possibly Mayhew) (born in 1804) in March 1843. Several children were born of the two marriages. A family tree of the Mayhew/Mercer Family, information for which not otherwise verified, lists them chronologically: Mary, Stephen, Josephine, Charlotte, Abbie, Otis, Clarissa, and Daniel. The dates shown are in some cases inconsistent with information in census reports. For example, the family tree shows Mary and Stephen dying in the years of their birth (1833, 1836) while the 1850 census shows them then age 17 and 14. Daniel died on August 8, 1881 of a cause listed as “brain”. He is buried in Abel Hill Cemetery in Chilmark. Jane died in 1893.
Daniel was master of one voyage on one ship with New London as home port:
MENTOR (AS1923): (ship, 460 tons, length 115 ft., built in New York NY in 1810). MENTOR sailed on May 6, 1831 for the So. Atlantic and returned on March 13, 1832. Colby and Decker show Daniel’s first name as David. Mystic Seaport Museum holds the logbook for this voyage. Benjamin Brown was the agent. AV09544.
Daniel spent most of his whaling career as master of ships with home ports other than New London. Not surprisingly given his connection with nearby Martha’s Vineyard, he most often sailed on ships with New Bedford as home port. He served on the following ships (New Bedford home port unless otherwise noted): PARTHIAN (AS0529) for its 1828-1829 voyage; HOPE II (AS0278) for its 1830-1831 voyage; RUSSELL (AS2321, home port Newburgh NY) for its 1832-1834 voyage; TRITON (AS2513, home port Portsmouth NH) for its 1834-1835 voyage; SALLY ANNE (AS0601) for its 1835-1836 voyage; SEINE (AS0610) for its 1837-1838 voyage; CHARLESTON PACKET (AS0106) for its 1840 and 1840-1841 voyages; CORNELIA (AS0105) for its 1843-1846 and 1846-1848 voyages; PERSIA (AS0525) for its 1849 voyage; LaGRANGE (AS1766, home port Mattapoisett MA) for its 1850-1851 voyage; CLARA BELL (AS1106), home port Mattapoisett for its 1852-1856 voyage; SUN (AS0632, home port Mattapoisett) for its 1858-1860 voyage; and OHIO (AS0517) for its 1862-1864 voyage.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
September 2025