Biography of Thomas Bowen Lynch
Thomas Bowen Lynch was born in Providence, R.I. on August 25, 1832. As a young man of 17 he and his brother joined the California Gold Rush of 1849, sailing first to Panama and crossing the Isthmus of Panama on foot. Abandoning the Gold Rush, Lynch began a career at sea with various positions, at one time finding himself on a British vessel delivering troops to the Crimean War and was there for the Charge of the Light Brigade. Thomas B. Lynch continued his sailing career, returning home in 1864 to marry Jane Goodwin (Gough) Lynch, with whom he had two sons, Frederick and Frank. Lynch spent the better part of forty years at sea, including surviving ship wrecks, taking part in the blockade of Southern harbors during the Civil War as well as sealing in the Antarctic. He ended his sailing career as the captain of the yacht ILEEN. Captain Thomas B. Lynch died at home in Peace Dale, R.I. on January 28, 1920.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
The Thomas Bowen Lynch Papers are arranged by series as described below.
Series 1: Papers; 1878-1963 and undated
Series 2: Volumes; 1878-1890
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Lynch, Frances
Lynch, Jane (Mrs.), circa 1847-1924
Lynch, Thomas Bowen (Captain), 1832-1920
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Express (Schooner)
Ileen (Sloop)
Places:
Boston (Mass.)
Diego Ramirez Islands (Chile)
Peace Dale (R.I.)
Stonington (Conn.)
Subjects:
Sailing
Sealing
Shipwrecks
Yachting
Document Types:
Correspondence
Periodicals
Personal journals
Occupations:
Merchant
Mariner
Shipmaster
Administrative Information
Coll. 347, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Papers; 1878-1963 and undated | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Thomas B. Lynch’s Memoirs; undated (31 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Personal correspondence from Thomas B. Lynch to his wife Jane Lynch; 1880 (2 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Personal correspondence from unidentified “Bert” to Myra Lynch; 1940 (3 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Shipwrecks, disasters and schooner THOMAS B. HUNT receipt; 1881, undated (8 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Frances Lynch’s manuscript draft and copy of article in “Ships, Sailors and Seaports” published by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society; 1963 (17 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Newspaper articles, obituaries for Thomas B. Lynch and Mrs. Jane Lynch, copy of “The New England Almanac” annotated by Thomas B. Lynch; 1880-1924 (12 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Volumes 1878-1890 | |||||||||||||
| Volume | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Personal logbook of sealing voyage on unidentified vessel; 1878-1879 (1 volume) | ||||||||||||
| Volume | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Personal journal and account book probably from yacht IlEEN; 1890 (1 volume) | ||||||||||||