October 23, 2020
Pages 1182
Whole Number 63
WHALING MASTERS NAMED SPARKS
In the American Guide Series, there is a volume entitled Whaling Masters, prepared by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts, published by the Old Dartmouth Historical Society of New Bedford, Mass., in 1939.
According to the preface of this work: "In the early days of whaling such an entry as 'Captain Abbott of the S. R. Soper' was considered sufficient identification and few given names were recorded. Even United States Customs records contain, In most instances, only the master's surname. Research through age yellowed newspaper files and musty log books by Federal Writers' Project Works provided most of the given names included in this listing."
On page 261 of this book, appear the following records of whaling ships that were commanded by captains named SPARKS.
Captain |
Year |
Name of Ship |
Port |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1841 | Stranger | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1845 | Targuin | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1850 | A. Nickerson | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1886 | Sarah B. Lewis | Boston, Mass. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1891 | B. F. Herriman | San Francisco, California. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1891 | Stamboul | San Francisco, California. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1893 | B. F. Herriman | San Francisco, California. |
| Sparks, - - - - - | 1894 | Rising Sun | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Charles | 1880 | Edward Lee | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Charles | 1881 | Edward Lee | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Charles A. | 1910 | Valkyrie | New Bedford, Mass. |
| Sparks, Charles H. | 1868 | Mary E. Nason | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1842 | Carter Braxton | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1843 | Carter Braxton | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1862 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1866 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1872 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1874 | C. L. Sparks | New Bedford, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1876 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1878 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1879 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Harvey | 1880 | C. L. Sparks | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1858 | N. S. Knight | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1859 | N. S. Knight | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1860 | N. S. Knight | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1861 | N. S. Knight | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1866 | Olive Clark | Provincetown, Mass. |
| Sparks, Herman | 1867 | Olive Clark | Provincetown, Mass. |