Whaling master active 1850–1870.
Ports of command: New London, Connecticut; New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Little information has been identified concerning Allen’s personal life. His surname appears in the historical record under two spellings, Allen and Allyn. The American Offshore Whaling Voyages database lists his name as “Allyn (Allen)”; Allen is used here for consistency with other sources.
Records indicate that Isaac Allen and Sarah E. Allen had a daughter, Mary W. Allen, who died in New London on 1 November 1863 at age six. She is buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery in New London.
Barnard Colby’s For Oil and Buggy Whips records Isaac Allen as one of several whaling masters “who were lost to whales or shipwrecks,” although no date or vessel is specified. Alexander Starbuck records that QUICKSTEP, Allen’s final command, was lost in 1870. Based on Colby’s statement, Allen may have been lost with the vessel.
Whaling Command (New London)
NEPTUNE (AS2032) — bark, 340 tons, built New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1809
New London → Indian Ocean and North Pacific
May 1850 – 1857
Agent: Williams & Haven
Voyage identifier: AV10376
Allen was the outgoing master. He later left the vessel and was succeeded by Samuel Green, Jr. (AM2313), James M. Green (AM2299), and H. S. Comstock (AM1279) as replacement masters.
DELAWARE (AS1198) — bark, 300 tons, built Damariscotta, Maine, 1848
New London → North Pacific
14 July 1852 – 8 May 1857
Agent: Williams & Barnes
Voyage identifier: AV03659
A logbook for this voyage is held at the Kendall Whaling Museum. Caleb Strong Holt (AM2657), the outgoing master, left the ship and was succeeded by Allen. Allen also later left the vessel and was replaced by B. F. Homan (AM2662) and Theodore Brown (AM0678), possibly Theophilus Brown.
INDIA (AS1645) — ship, 434 tons, built Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 1853
New London → Pacific grounds
1854 – 1858
Agents: Williams & Havens
Voyage identifier: AV06997
Allen served as outgoing master but later left the vessel. Replacement masters included Thomas Long (AM3138) and John Rice (AM4065).
AGATE (AS0795) — brig, 187 tons
New London → Arctic Ocean
16 April 1856 – 26 March 1859
Agent: C. A. Williams & Co.
Voyage identifier: AV00341
Charles Edmund Allen (AM0057) was the outgoing master. He was succeeded by Isaac Allen, who later left the vessel. Subsequent replacement masters included B. F. Homan (AM2662), Allen Comstock (AM1278), John Lawton (AM4855), and John Eldridge (AM1732).
QUICKSTEP (AS2249) — schooner, 103 tons, built New London, Connecticut, 1858
New London → Cumberland Strait
May 1869 – 1870
Agent: Williams & Barnes
Voyage identifier: AV12009
Starbuck records that QUICKSTEP was lost in 1870.
Other Whaling Command
Allen also served as master on several voyages from New Bedford, and in one case San Francisco.
- HERALD (AS0276), voyages AV06505 (1854–1858) and AV06509 (1855–?)
- MILLWOOD (AS0403), voyages AV09820 (April 1865 – November 1866) and AV09821 (April 1867 – November 1868)
- DANIEL WEBSTER (AS0160), voyage AV03570 (March 1860 – January 1863)
Voyage Chronology
The departure and arrival dates recorded for NEPTUNE and DELAWARE overlap. Based on available voyage records, Allen likely sailed initially as master of NEPTUNE when the vessel departed New London in May 1850. At some point after 1852 he left the vessel. DELAWARE sailed from New London in July 1852 for the same Pacific grounds and likely did not reach the region until sometime in 1853. After the original master left DELAWARE, Allen apparently joined the vessel as a replacement master. Both ships returned to New London in 1857.
Related Collection Materials
Mystic Seaport Museum holds several objects associated with the vessel NEPTUNE, although these relate to periods before or after Allen’s service.
- “Whaleship NEPTUNE 1848,” whale tooth, 1849 (MSM 1939.1729)
- Bark NEPTUNE, photograph, after 1870 (MSM 1976.1.184.4)
- Scrimshaw tooth, “1849 Whaleship NEPTUNE,” 1849 (MSM 1939.1734)
- Ship NEPTUNE and schooner MARGARET, Grand Banks, Newfoundland, oil painting by John E. C. Peterson, 1886 (MSM 1958.626)
George Shaw, 2019