Benjamin was born on August 29, 1813 in New London. He was the son of Capt. Henry Hempstead and Nancy (Barber) Hempstead. Their gravestones in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London (sec. 2) record their dates: Henry: April 26, 1788 – February 8, 1883 and Nancy: August 17, 1790 – January 13, 1873. Henry’s Find A Grave site shows that Henry and Nancy had ten children, four of whom became New London whaling masters: Benjamin, John (AM2558), Denison (AM2557), and Elias (AM2555). Denison’s obituary adds his brothers Henry and George as whaling captains, but neither is shown in AOWV. No record was found that Benjamin married or had children.
Benjamin began his career of whaling by serving as a member of the crew for four voyages on three ships, all with New London as home port: GEORGIA (AS1468) for its 1832-1833 voyage, AERONAUT (AS0826) for its 1834-1836 and 1838-1840 voyages (he was mate on the 1838 voyage), and BOSTON (see below) for its 1840-1841 voyage. Benjamin was awarded Seamen’s Protection Certificate #177 in New London on June 12, 1838.
With his crew experience behind him, Benjamin became master for six voyages on five ships, four or possibly five of which had New London as home port.
BOSTON (AS0999): (bark, 291 tons, length 91 ft., built in Charlestown MA in 1810). BOSTON sailed on June 18, 1841 for New Zealand where it was condemned and considered lost in January 1843. Dennis Wood Abstract 1-065. Joseph Lawrence was the agent. AV01939.
CONNECTICUT (AS1144): (ship, 398 tons, length 108 ft., built in Norwich CT in 1822, condemned and sold in Honolulu in 1849). Some sources (including AOWV) record its home port as Norwich, others report New London. CONNECTICUT sailed on September 5, 1843 for the Indian Ocean and returned on July 5, 1848. Wood Abstract 1-121. Frink, Chew & CO. was the agent. AV03276.
COREA (AS1152): (ship, 367 tons, length 116 ft., built in Duxbury MA in 1834, ended its days in Stone Fleet #1). COREA sailed on October 21, 1845 for the NW coast and returned on June 1, 1849. Frink, Chew & Co. was the agent. It sailed again in 1852 for the No. Pacific and returned in April 19, 1853. Benjamin was the master when it sailed in 1852, and at some point, time and circumstances not known, he left the ship and was replaced by ….Cranskie(AM1406). Frink & Prentiss was the agent. Colby does not list the 1852 voyage. Starbuck lists COREA’s name for the voyage but the only other information shown is the June 1 return date and the oil taken. AV03340 and AV3342.
PHOENIX (AS2188): (ship, 404 tons, length 110 ft., built in Philadelphia PA in 1811). PHOENIX sailed on October 29, 1857 for No. Pacific and returned on July 18,1861. Wood Abstract 3-572. The ship was sold to the U.S. Government in October 1861 and was sunk in Charleston SC harbor as part of Stone Fleet #1. George Huntley was the agent. AV11631.
PERU (AS0555): (bark, 221 tons, length 84 ft., built in Hanover MA in 1816, broken up in 1843). PERU sailed on May 28, 1864 to the Pacific and returned on May 8, 1869. Benjamin was the master when it sailed in 1864 and at some point, time and circumstances not known, he left the ship and was replaced by …. Hull (AM2775), and then Hull left, to be replaced by James M. Smith (AM4507). Wood Abstract 4-345 records “Sailed May 28, 1864 for the Sandwich Islands, Hull master at Honolulu Dec. 3d.”. Decker records “Ross” as the master when it sailed in 1864. Williams & Haven was the master. AV11447.
The New London Day (3/7/1887) reports that Benjamin returned to New London “after an absence of 12 years spent in Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. Capt. Hempstead will make his home in New London henceforth”. At Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London, close by gravestones of several members of the Hempstead family, including his parents, is the gravestone of “Capt. Benj. B. Hempstead” showing him born on August 29, 1813 and dying on May 11, 1887.
Having read this far, the reader would be justified in thinking Benjamin’s life is a neat package. However, the first sign of an issue with Benjamin’s story appears on AOWV’s “Master” page for Benjamin (AM2556) where the following appears: “Death. At sea? (1841-1845)?”. The author could find no other reference to his death in the remaining AOWV materials about Benjamin’s career, and in fact AOWV continues to show Benjamin as master for his remaining voyages. The Connecticut Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices for Benjamin Hempstead adds to the story with the following notation under the date December 10, 1842: “Hempstead, Capt. Benjamin. Port Cooper. Of whaling bargue ‘Boston’, Drowned”. The 1842 date is during BOSTON’s 1841 voyage; Port Cooper is in New Zealand, its destination. Adding to this story is The New York Observer (12/31/1842) reporting the following item under the title “He Has Claims on our Sympathy”: “Open the first newspaper which comes to hand, and mark the shipwrecks – the lives lost and the rescued. I open the one which happens to lie before me. It is the N.Y. Observer for Dec. 10, 1842. It states that Capt. Benjamin Hempstead, of the whaling bark Boston, was recently drowned at Port Cooper, by the upsetting of his boat in the surf”. Other newspapers printed this same story.
The author is perplexed what to make of this story of Benjamin dying 45 years before the date of death on his gravestone? The Wood Abstract for this voyage makes no mention of Benjamin’s death. Several voyages with Benjamin as master followed BOSTON’s voyage during which he supposedly died. The height, skin color, hair color, and age of the ”master” of the subsequent voyages (taken from New London Crew Lists) is generally consistent with Benjamin’s data. No record was found of another Benjamin Hempstead sailing at about that time. The only conclusion that the author can reach is that a mistake was made identifying the person who died in the surf at Port Cooper in December 1842, that it was not Benjamin, that the error was carried forward, confusing researchers like the author, and that Benjamin died, not in 1842 but in 1887 in New London.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
February 2026