- Greenport NY's 1800s Whaling Captain Edwin Peter Brown -

By Danny McCarthy

Southold Main Road White Flower Farmhouse store employee Meg Bennett let me know about the famous former whaling Captain Edwin Peter Brown and his wife Martha Smith Brewer Brown. I thought this would make an exceptionally terrific idea for a story, and I’m so pleased to provide this "in my own style {!!!}"
Here’s Some Things Considered …
When I went online to the Suffolk Historic Newspapers website and entered keywords Edwin Brown, I came across 98 matches, of which I don't think they ALL applied to the Captain. Here's a link carrying ALL 98 matches if you wish to check them out:
http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/search/pages/results/?date1=01%2F01%2F1725&date2=12%2F31%2F2016&to_year2=2016&searchType=advanced&from_year2=1725&proxdistance=&county=Suffolk&rows=20&ortext=&proxtext=&phrasetext=Edwin+Brown&andtext=&dateFilterType=range&SearchType2=phrase&page=1&sort=relevance
I checked further online on the Brooklyn Daily Eagle Archives website entering keywords Captain Edwin Brown, and there were 31,175 matches. Now that doesn't mean that ALL match findings relate to Captain Edwin Brown. Just for the sake of it, here's a link carrying ALL of the 31,175 matches, if you wish to take the time to check them:
https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=Captain+Edwin+Brown&t=1890
Here's one The Brooklyn Daily Eagle article I found that features an outstanding listing about the Orient Captain Edwin P. Brown that is dated January 12, 1886:
https://www.newspapers.com/image/50462911/?terms=Captain%2BEdwin%2BBrown
The March 1946 Long Island Forum included an entry about the Village House at Orient, Long Island, N.Y. – Home of the Oyster Ponds {stet} Historical Society by Herbert M. Hale, where “The collections of Captain Edwin P. Brown are most complete and show the thoroughness that must have been part of this one of Orient’s old whaling masters who had sailed the seven seas, thus to hand down the sea shells {stet}, corals and carved handiwork done by natives of foreign lands, connecting this village of Orient with the old Orient of the Pacific and the South Seas in the days of salt spray, trade winds, Cape Horn and rough weather.”
The October 8, 1964 The East Hampton Star included discussion of the Oysterponds Historical Society, where at that time: “There {was} a collection of shells made by Captain Edwin Brown {in an exhibit}. There {were also} Indian relics, and a collection of butterflies made by Roy Latham of Orient. A room named for Nancy Latham Griffin has comfortable chairs where one can sit and read leather-bound local history.”
I located a Sunday July 11, 1965 Herald Tribune article by Gene Gleason titled Greenport - Founded 325 Years Ago and Changed But Little -Tourists and Fishing Lifeblood of Village, and guess what is included folks? – Whaling {!}, and the Capt. Edwin P. Brown later on {!}
The article includes this entry: “Off-shore whaling in eastern Long Island dates from Indian days, and was adopted by white settlers there. The first whaling ships began to operate out of Greenport after the Revolution. The peak of the industry came in 1845, when there were ten whaling ships based at Greenport. Voyages of one to three years’ duration were common among the whalers.”
Here We Go! – Ahoy Mateys! …
That July 11 1965 article continues immediately stating: “Capt. Edwin P. Brown, sailing from Greenport on July 19, 1843, was hailed by Capt. Benjamin Wells as he prepared to leave.
‘Captain Brown, when will you be back?’
‘One year from today,’ said Capt. Brown. The captain’s whaling ship circled the globe in 363 days and returned to Greenport without dropping anchor on its long voyage.
An occasional whale wandered into Greenport Harbor, but as the whaling ships became more numerous, whales had to be hunted in the most remote seas. The rise of the petroleum industry sharply narrowed the market for whale oil, and the industry shrank after the Civil War.
The shipyards at Greenport did a thriving business in building and repairing whaling ships and trading schooners. There was a traffic out to Greenport which started by picking up cotton and other cargo in New England which was then shipped to Africa, and traded for slaves. The slaves were sold in the West Indies, with payment in the form of a shipload of rum. …”
Dairy of a Whaling Wife ...
The October 29, 1998 Sag Harbor Express shares information about Martha Smith Brewer Brown’s Diary of a Whaling Wife where she joined her husband Captain Edwin Brown on “a whaling trip around the world in 1847.” ACTUALLY, THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS “SHE WENT A ’WHALING”.
HERE’S SOMETHING THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT THAT FAR FROM A MISSING LINK {!}:
http://joan-druett.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-whaling-wife-who-was-marooned.html
Hear Ye! Hear {M}e! …
Nomi Dayan is the Executive Director at The Whaling Museum & Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor, NY. Nomi Dayan was able to celebrate Mother’s Day herself, and must’ve had a substantially exciting time transforming ideas about the Capt. Edwin Peter Brown and his wife in her online blog. Martha Brown and Capt. Edwin Peter Brown are featured when you scroll down to the section in the blog by Nomi Dayan that is dated 10/2/2017 and carries the title: OH BABY! BIRTH AT SEA. Here’s a link to that BLOG:
http://www.cshwhalingmuseum.org/blog
PAGE 40 in Greenport Yesterday & Today & The Diary of a Country Newspaper by Elsie Knapp Corwin in collaboration with her husband Frederick Langton Corwin shared this:
“ ... {In 1857} During this same winter Capt. E. P. Brown drove from Orient to Greenport on the ice with a two horse sleigh. Returning he put on a ton of coal and the liberty pole that was erected in Orient and remained until during the war.”
In Peconic Bay: Four Centuries of History on Long Island's North and South Forks by Professor Marilyn E. Weigold on page 93 it is written: "The Washington, which is believed to have sailed from Jamesport on one of her voyages, departed from Greenport in July 1843 with Captain Edwin Peter Brown of Orient vowing to return in a year. Exactly one year later, to the day, he made good on his promise after venturing as far as the Indian Ocean and New Zealand."
HERE TOO, IS AN ENTRY FROM THE findagrave WEBSITE:
https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15663399
Don’t Forget {!} …
Here’s a link that carries my North Fork’s Whaling History article from the November 2015 Peconic Bay Shopper. {By the way, my article begins on page three!}:
http://www.academyprintingservices.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/PBS_Nov2015web_Part1.316134125.pdf
PBS_Nov2015web_Part2.316134151.pdf (academyprintingservices.com)
I’d like to offer gratitude to Meg Bennett for even asking about information about the Capt. Edwin Peter Brown.