Not a great amount of information could be found about Joseph. No information could be found about his parents. Several crew lists showing his age on sailing dates suggest that he was born about 1809. Based on his reported age in New London census reports, he was born about 1808, 1810, or 1811. His Seaman’s Protection Certificate (#5851, issued in New London on July 17, 1817, shows him then age 15 and born in New London, which would make him born about 1802. The other sources suggests that his reported age in his protection certificate is incorrect.
The New London 1850 census report records a family of Joseph (“ship master”) age 42, his wife Frances age 44, son Joseph age 11 and daughter Frances age 8. In the 1870 New London census, he is “ret. mariner” and the children are no longer recorded.
Joseph served as master of several voyages on three ships with New London as home port:
COLUMBUS (AS01443): (brig, 153 tons, length 73’, built in Westport MA in 1822, condemned in 1850). It sailed about June 1, 1846 to the So. Atlantic and returned on May 15, 1848. Dennis Wood Abstracts #2-156. Williams & Barnes was the agent. AV03101.
GENERAL WILLIAMS (AS1445): (ship, 446 tons, length 116’, built in Stonington CT in 1831, burned by SHENANDOAH in the Bering Strait on June 25, 1865, the crew taken aboard GENERAL PIKE (AS0235). It sailed on August 1, 1848 for the NW coast and returned on May 17, 1851. It sailed four months later to the N. Pacific and returned on April 24, 1854. Dennis Wood Abstracts #2-272 for both voyages. AV05530 and AV05531.
MONTEZUMA (AS1970): (ship, 424 tons, length 112’, built in Philadelphia PA in 1822). It sailed on October 2, 1854 for the N. Pacific and returned on June 22, 1857. Dennis Wood Abstracts #3-564 records “Comstock Master at Marguarita Bay 2/11/1857. Condemned and broken up in Honolulu Nov. 1857”. AOWV does not show “Comstock” as master of this ship.
Joseph also served as master of GEORGE (AS1464) for its 1841-1843 voyage and CALEDONIA (AS1024) for its 1843-1846 voyage. AOWV lists Stonington CT as home port for both voyages while Connecticut Ship Database lists New London as home port for both. Colby lists these voyages on its list of Stonington whaling masters.
In Joseph’s later years he suffered from various ailments leading him to move to the sailors retirement home at Sailors Snug Harbor in Staten Island NY. He arrived there only weeks before his death there on July 5, 1883. An obituary (New London Day (7/7/1883, p.4) notes that Frances, with whom he had been married for more than 50 years, survived him. It continued “[He] years ago was the successful master of whaling ships”. It noted that in his retirement years he was a watchman on a lightship at a wharf in New London.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
August 2025