Biography of George Elliott
George Elliott was born on December 2, 1810, the son of Captain George Elliott and Elizabeth Freeman Elliott, both Americans then living in England. After his father’s death, Elliott’s mother returned to the United States, eventually marrying typefounder W.H. Hill. George apprenticed with his stepfather briefly, then ran away to begin a life at sea. His first experience as a merchant mariner was a sealing voyage aboard the schooner PENGUIN, out of Stonington, Connecticut. After his return, he married Hannah Peters in Stonington on June 20, 1833. Over the years the couple had ten children.
Elliott took to ship again in September 1833 on the schooner ENERGY, sailing from Rocky Hill to Hartford, then New York, Norfolk and Richmond. From Richmond, he shipped on the brig UXOR tending to the ship CHARLES ADAMS, for whaling in the Falklands and off Patagonia. This was the high point of Elliott’s maritime career. The trip was highly successful, and he was assigned work as a substitute boatsteerer. Subsequently, he shipped on several vessels owned by Silas E. Burrows, including the MERCURY, MEDINA and AMES. He was first officer on the AMES, which grounded off Patagonia. He had prospects of being a whaling master, but these were never realized. After further unproductive attempts at whaling, and work as a machinist, Elliott returned to the United States and pursued a variety of occupations in Connecticut, elsewhere in the Northeast, and in the South. He worked as carpenter, mechanic, blacksmith and inventor, with extended absences from home and family. Financial instability marked his later life, and that of his family.
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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:
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
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Occupations:
Administrative Information
Coll. 338, 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.
| George Elliott maritime career and reminiscences, 1829-1839, after 1850 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Vol. 1: Journal of a sealing voyage from Stonington, Connecticut towards Cape Horn onboard the schooner PENGUIN, 1829-1831 (74 pages) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Vol. 2: Journal of a voyage on the schooner ENERGY, 1833 September 4-1833 October 16 (32 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Vol. 3: Journal of a whaling voyage from Stonington, Connecticut on the brig UXOR, William Edward Wheeler, master, as tender to the ship CHARLES ADAMS, Charles T. Stanton, master, Includes drawings of whales and flukes as well as whale stamps. 1833-1834 (84 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Vol. 4: Journal of a voyage to the South Atlantic Ocean on the ship MERCURY; Chas. T. Stanton, master. The brig HENRY acting as tender to the ship. Includes accounts of passage on the vessels EAGLE, ALONZO and MEDINA, 1835 May 24-1838 July 30 (170 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Vol. 5: Journal abstract kept on board the brig ULYSSES of Rio de Janeiro. Summary Recapitulation of the Logbook, 1837 May 3-1838 February 1 (18, 4 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Vol. 6: Journal of a whaling voyage from Rio de Janeiro on the AMES and MEDINA,. Includes account of passages on the EDWARD(S) to Montevideo and CHALCEDONY to Salem, 1838-1843 (70 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Lecture on whales and whaling written by George Elliott, typed note from descendent briefly summarizing Elliott’s career, after 1850, undated (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Advertisement for seal skins from schooner PENGUIN, originally enclosed in Volume 1, probably 1831 (1 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Contract between George Elliot and Silas E. Burrows for first-mate position onboard either the AMES or MEDINA, recipe for Indian rubber cement, both originally enclosed in Volume 3, 1838 June 11, undated (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| George Elliott papers and drawings related to non-maritime career, approximately 1839-1862 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | Partnership contract with Enoch Burt for blacksmithing business, 1845 November 21 (1 item) | |||||||||||
| 4 | Pencil sketches of various inventions George Elliott attempted to create, approximately 1840-1861 (8 items) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Pencil sketches of a door lock system, approximately 1840-1861 (11 items) | ||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous documents and papers of George and Hannah Elliott, Elizabeth Freeman Elliott Hill and other family members, 1816-1857, 1933, 1964 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | George Elliott and Hannah Peters marriage certificate, 1845 November 21 (1 item) | |||||||||||
| 7 | Facsimile of Family Register recording births and marriage of George and Hannah Elliott, children’s names and birthdates, with information added onto the document pertaining to descendents, 1810-1933 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Report of Oakland Lodge, No. 25, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester, 1850 July 1 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Financial receipts and notebooks with accounting, pertaining to George Elliott and his family, 1831 July 2-1856 September 1 (9 items) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Court Summons identifying George Elliott as plaintiff in lawsuit, Manchester, 1849 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Receipt for payment by Elizabeth Elliott of insurance premium issued by Royal Exchange Assurance, London, 1816 October 12 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Reference from A. Bronson, Baptist minister on behalf of Elizabeth Hill as author of A Widow’s Offering; Draft letter from descendent to Reader’s Digest inquiring about possibility of condensation of great-grandmother’s book for publication, 1853, 1964 (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Rent receipts for Mystic and Groton lodgings and receipt for freight shipment on steamer MYSTIC pertaining to Elizabeth Hill, originally enclosed in Vol. 8, 1854 January 1-1857 September 23 (8 items) | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Receipt for registered mail, Hampden and Springfield Laundry price list for 1849, advertisement for vocal lessons offered by E.N. Hill, recipes for diarrhea and hair cleaning solutions, record of wages, inquiry regarding lottery winnings, 1854 January 1-1857 September 23 (8 items) | ||||||||||||
| 15 | Religious verse, undated (2 items) | ||||||||||||
| Correspondence of George Elliott, Hill and Peters families, 1813-1867 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Family correspondence, including letter from Elizabeth Elliott Hill’s brother Edward Freeman to George Elliott about nephew Edward Freeman’s whaling voyage, letter from George Elliott to mother from schooner PENGUIN, 1813-1833 (24 items) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Family correspondence, including letters from George Elliott recounting whaling and other voyages, 1834-1839 (23 items) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Letter to George Elliott in response to application for mate position, 1839 January 22 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Family correspondence, including letter from mother Elizabeth Hill to son George about having avoided LEXINGTON disaster, 1840-1841 (26 items) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Family correspondence, 1842-1844 (19 items) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Family correspondence, 1845-1849 (25 items) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Rent due letter to George Elliott, 1848 March 18 (1 item) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Family correspondence, including letters from Hannah Elliott’s family describing Sacramento flood, 1850-1853 (26 items) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Family correspondence, 1854-1855 (14 items) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Family correspondence, 1856-1867 (30 items) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Family correspondence, some fragmented, undated (11 items) | ||||||||||||
| Published materials, 1794-1852 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Medical pamphlet from a ship’s medicine chest, undated (29 pages) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Vol. 7: Rackham’s Ladies’ Memorandum Book, or, Fashionable Repository, for the year 1818. Three entries are made in cash accounts receipts section for 1824. Bible chapter and verse notes in memorandum section, 1818 (40 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Vol. 8: The Widow’s Offering: an Authentic Narrative of the Parentage, Life, Trials and Travels of Mrs. Elizabeth Hill written by Elizabeth Hill, 1852 edition (179 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Vol. 9: The Widow’s Offering: an Authentic Narrative of the Parentage, Life, Trials and Travels of Mrs. Elizabeth Hill written by Elizabeth Hill, 1856 edition (281 pages) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Vol. 10: The Saint’s Everlasting Rest; or, a Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in their enjoyment Of God in Heaven. Written by Richard Baxter, and abridged by Benjamin Fawcett, 1794 (360 pages) | ||||||||||||