Isaac was born on March 9, 1782, place not determined. He was the son of Capt. Benjamin (1742-1809) and Abigail (Doolittle) English. Colonial Families of the United States, the accuracy of which is not certain, provides information about the families of Benjamin and Abigail and their activities in the colonial period. Isaac married Catherine Ross, about whom little is known. They had, according to the Colonial Families source, six children: William (1809-1838), Nathaniel (1811-1895), Sarah (1814-1890), Hannah (perhaps Maria Hannah) 1817-1846), Catherine (1817-1867), and Julia (1824-1884). Isaac died on October 9, 1826 in New Haven CT; Catherine died on October 7, 1867. Their gravestone in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, shown in Find A Grave, describes Isaac as “Capt.” and shows him as age 44 at his death, Catherine as 77 at her death.
Isaac was master of one voyage on one ship, home port New London:
MARY ANN (AS1878): (brig, 186 tons, length 79’, built in New London in 1810, withdrawn in 1822, possibly 1824). It sailed on August 13, 1819 for the Brazil Banks and returned on July 10, 1820. The Connecticut Ship Database shows that MARY ANN was engaged in the coastal trade from 1811-1824. AV09286.
Colby (p. 5) and Decker (p. 37) describe how Daniel Deshon as agent and another agent, T. W. Williams, acted in 1819 to reestablish whaling out of New London. MARY ANN was one of the two ships that Daniel backed in that year. To quote from Decker, “Deshon’s other whaler, the Mary Ann, did not fare so well. Under [Isaac], an 1819-1820 voyage ended with only 59 barrels of oil worth $650.48”. Caulfied (p. 642 is to the same effect.
No record could be found of other whaling ships on which Isaac served, as master or crew member.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
May 2025