HANDWRITTEN LETTER (ALS) FROM THIS CABIN BOY ABOARD A YANKEE WHALER to N & WW Billings, datelined "Western Isl, July the 16, 1835 de Sansom, Frank - 1835

1835. Original manuscript. Good. One page, quarto, 18 lines in a clear and bold hand, sepia ink. Sansom states that he is well "with the Blessings of God and Good Friends my Capt is more Like a Father to me then I am Like a Sevant to him and his officers Jest the same as if I was one of the Same Class .... Thair is not a Ship left Newlondon this Season that has more peacible crew .... please to give my best Respect to Mrs Billings and Mrs Swift Mr B pleas to Remember me to Anson Bush .... Please Sir to Excuse the Liberty [signed] Frank Sansom Esq." 10" x 8". Break at one fold, no text loss. Written by a cabin boy on a whaling ship out of New London, Connecticut, owned by N & WW Billings [see Sherman, Whaling Logbooks & Journals, 1613-1927.] The "Western Isl" designation probably means the Azores. According to New Bedford Whaling Museum records, whaling boats from New England frequented the Azores at the time. As to the recipient of this letter, "Billings was established in 1823 and ceased operations in 1851. During this period the company managed at least twelve whaling vessels which, by the end of business, had made it one of the most successful whaling agencies in New London...." [from Mystic Seaport records].