Meeting Uncle Nathan

Jan. 17, 1869

Papa spoke the ship Morning Star. Captain Allen came on board of the ship Roman. Uncle Nathan came on board of us at one o'clock.

 


Two weeks after rounding the Horn, Captain Jared Jernegan spoke with Captain George H. Allen of the bark Morning Star off the coast of Chile. From Captain Allen he learned that his brother Nathan was cruising nearby on the ship Splendid and hoped that their two ships would meet, exchanging news and provisions.

On January 17, 1869, two New England whaling ships, the Roman and the Splendid met at sea. It was a curious meeting between the two whalers. Nathan hadn't been home to Edgartown in over three years, and the Jernegan brothers had not seen each other in 17 years. Both men were Edgartown whaling masters who often spent up to four years away from home and here they met thousands of miles away from home! Laura and Prescott excitedly looked forward to meeting their Uncle Nathan, whom they had never met before.

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Ron Druett