At the age of sixteen, a young man could sign on as a “boy.” (In popular culture today, we often call them “cabin boys.”) Like midshipmen in the Navy, boys had some advantages and often were friends of the captain or the owners. They learned the basics of operating the ship and navigation. Some boys went on to become captains; some never went to sea again. Edwin Mitchell, a teenager from Belfast, took one voyage to California and back in 1866-67, then never went to sea again.
Ship IVANHOE, built at Belfast, ME (Robert B. Applebee Collection, LB1980.223.673.)
On November 10, 1865, at the age of 17, Edwin sailed aboard the ship Ivanhoe from Belfast to New York, then on to San Francisco, Peru, the Chincha Islands, and back to New York. Edwin wrote in his journal nearly every day (Penobscot Marine Museum Archives, MS 9.). He recorded the work he was doing, the animals he saw, the food he ate, and how the trip was generally going. Edwin’s writings document the busy and often tedious life of a sailor. There was always work to be done.
Feb. 11, 1866: I was sent aloft to furl the main sky sail for the first time.
Apr. 27, 1866: This morning for breakfast we had hash and hard tack, for dinner bean soup (dish water), hard tack and salt horse.
Sept. 10, 1866: Came on deck this morning at eight bells, worked all the watch scrubbing paint work.
Nov. 19, 1866: I stood my watch last night. During the night I peeled a basket of potatoes for the cook, and he gave me a good lunch.
Feb. 25: This forenoon I had what us boys call a sailor job (for it is seldom I have one.) I helped set up the main topgallant and royal backstays.
Page from Edwin Mitchell’s diary (Penobscot Marine Museum Archives, MS 9.)
For more excerpts (plus a glossary), check out this document.