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Title Loss of the Ship Two Brothers of Nantucket
Reference MSS 106/Folder 3/1/2
Library Nantucket Historical Association
Collection Thomas Nickerson Collection, 1819-1876
Date n.d.
Description Hand-written account of the wreck of the ship Two Brothers, which happened in 1821. The account is written by Thomas Nickerson who was a boatsteerer onboard at the time. The first part is a prose version of events and the second part a poem about them.
Document Type Journal, Manuscript
Theme(s) Trade and Commerce
Keywords shipwreck, survivor, rescue, recruitment, supplies, indigenous peoples, storm, poem
Countries USA; Chile
Places South Pacific; Hawaii
Ports Nantucket, USA; Valparaiso, Chile; Talcahuano, Chile
Ships Two Brothers, Martha
People George Pollard; Thomas Nickerson
Additional Information

Born in Harwich, Massachusetts, Thomas Nickerson (1805-1883) was brought to Nantucket in 1806 where he was raised by his grandfather, Captain Robert Gibson. In 1819, he sailed for the Pacific in the whaleship Essex under Captain George Pollard. On November 20, 1820, the Essex was sunk by a whale and Nickerson, with nineteen other men, took to three small open boats. After three months of harrowing experiences, he and two others in his boat were picked up by the Brig Indian. He continued a career at sea until the early 1870s when he opened a rooming house on Nantucket. In 1876, he wrote an account of his experiences.

Please note that some of the metadata for this document has been drawn from the Nantucket Historical Association catalogue.

Copyright Nantucket Historical Association