Brig Kitty logbook, 1785-1787 (majority within 1785)
1 volume
The Brig Kitty logbook spans April 9 to August 19, 1785, detailing the merchant ship's voyage from the port of Piscataqua, likely near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the West Indies and back to the region near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The bulk of the brig's daily entries are recorded in columns to notate the hour of the day, knots and half-knots for speed, the brig's course, the direction of the winds, and general remarks. Most of these remarks relate to weather, sea conditions, handling of sails, and latitude observations, and the writer often used phonetic spellings. The log keeper also indicated when barrels of supplies were broached, like water, bread, beef, and pork, but also indicated when they observed other ships. Occasionally, they would speak with other captains, and the writer would record their port of departure and destination, principally ports in New England and the West Indies. The logbook documents land sightings and their distances from the ship. Some places named include Tobago, Rockley Bay, Grenada, Hispaniola, Cape Tiburon, Cape St. Nicholas, Acklins Island, Crooked Island, among others.
The volume includes a "Harbour Logg," kept from May 22 to July 22 at the "Lee Cayes [Cays]", recording the unloading of staves, boards, and shingles while the Kitty was at its destination, as well as molasses taken on board for the return voyage. Several entries also relate to routine shipboard activities, like mending sails, having a cooper come on board, sending a crew person ashore because of ill health, securing the hold, and watering the ship. A Captain Nott appears to have had control of the ship upon its return voyage. The entry for August 17th includes notes on taking depth soundings with brief remarks about sand samples.
The volume's cover is sailcloth. One edge of the cloth appears to be the selvage, where the cloth was finished to prevent unraveling, suggesting this may have been a repurposed remnant.
A loose receipt dated October 3, 1787, from Dover, New Hampshire, is laid into the volume, recording Benjamin Peirce's survey of pine boards and planks for widow Lydia Tibbits. The verso of an interior page includes several accounts, including one for Miss Plummer of Dover, dated September 19, 1785, for food items and other goods. The final two pages of the volume feature mathematical notations as well as financial accounts, seemingly related to room and board as well as some transactions relating to molasses and other items.