Charles D. Prescott Papers, 1880-1921, 1930, 1951
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Not requestable
Scope and Content Note
The Charles D. Prescott papers document the activities of this Maine ship captain and his family. It has been organized into two series.
Series I. Shipping Papers contains letters, account books, and logbooks for various ships that Prescott sailed on. Of interest is the 1882 letter from Enoch Soule to Captain Prescott, giving him permission to take his wife on voyages as he had "never had one disposed to make trouble yet." Box 3 contains a scrapbook made by Prescott's son, Worrall, which includes annotated original manuscript material such as ships' papers, telegrams, letters, bills and receipts, transcripts of letters, a birth certificate, Hong Kong business cards, a notebook created while Prescott was captain of the S. S. El Oriente, and news clippings. It appears that the scrapbook was created in 1950-1951. The series also includes an empty card case that once belonged to Prescott.
Series II. Family Papers includes letters, a photograph, and a copy of the book A Day in a Colonial Home written by Della R. Prescott.
Dates
- Creation: 1880-1921, 1930, 1951
Creator
- Prescott, Charles Dumont, 1848-1927 (Person)
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical Sketches
Charles Dumont Prescott was born in Woolwich, Maine, on October 18, 1848, the son of Joseph and Rebecca (Gray) Prescott. He became captain of the ships Tam O'Shanter, Paramita, and El Oriente, and the S. S. Siglo. In 1903, while captain of the El Dorado, he rescued a young Cuban boy who was found floating in a small dugout off the coast of Georgia.
In 1882 he married Mary Jane Reed (1855-1943) and they had five children: Della Reed (1884-1943); Corinna Carlton (1886-1985); Samuel R. (born 1888); Charles E. (1892-1893); and Worrall Dumont (1900-1976). Della sailed with Captain and Mrs. Dumont on the Tam O'Shanter on a voyage from San Francisco to Antwerp. She was born in Oakland, California, at the home of relatives of Mrs. Prescott. Corinna was born on board the Paramita in 1886.
Prescott died in South Gardiner, Maine, on December 23, 1927.
Enoch D. Soule built and owned the ships Tam O'Shanter and the Paramita. He moved from Freeport, Maine, to Newton, Massachusetts, in 1879 and died in 1894.
Extent
1 linear foot (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Charles D. Prescott papers document the activities of this Maine ship captain and his family.
Series List
SERIES I. Shipping Papers
SERIES II. Family Papers
Physical Location
Phillips Library Stacks
Provenance
This material was donated by Worrall D. Prescott on March 27, 1956, April 3, 1956, March 24, 1961, and August 28, 1967 (acc #13,779, 13,805, 13,820, and 15,416).
Processing Information
Collection processed by Tamara Gaydos, October 2016.
Subject
- Prescott, Charles Dumont, 1848-1927 (Person)
- Prescott, Della R. (Person)
- Prescott, Mary Jane Reed, 1855-1943 (Person)
- Prescott, Worrall Dumont, 1899-1976 (Person)
- Soule, Enoch D. (Person)
- S. S. El Oriente (Steamship) (Organization)
- Paramita (Ship) (Organization)
- Tam O'Shanter (Ship) (Organization)
- Title
- CHARLES D. PRESCOTT PAPERS, 1880-1921, 1930, 1951
- Author
- Processed by: Tamara Gaydos; machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Phillips Library Repository