New information.    

      I had sporadically sent what I have accumulated about Gay Whalers to organizations, both GLBT and maritime related, sending the information out to at least a dozen recipients and either within hours by way of automatic notifications or a personal one stating that it had been received, a few of which, beyond finding the information interesting, passed it on to individuals and organizations they thought might be interested, with one response containing additional information and a log entry from the Francis A. Barstow coming from the Whaling Museum and Education Center of Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island recounting an incident on that ship and how it was dealt with accompanied by the note,

     "Thank you so much for taking the time to pass along these resources with us.  Finding and sharing queer stories in whaling history has been a priority for our team here at the museum.  It's always nice to hear of others doing similar work.

We recently uncovered a reference in one of our log books to a situation similar to the one you reference on board the Newport.  Ours comes from the Francis A. Barstow, a whaling brig out of San Francisco.  I'm attaching a couple of photos in case you're curious - one of an archivist's note inside the front cover, and one of the page in question.  Note on the latter how the incident is recorded on a piece of scrap paper pinned in place... ready to be removed if the log keeper decides the story is better off buried perhaps? " 

     This was of interest, not only because of the added information I can pass on, but I have a ratty first edition of US Grant's autobiography I was given by a cousin that has a newspaper notification of its publication attached to a random page with a pin similar to the one in the attachment provided. I have thought sexual activity, unless a blatant crime like on the Phelps with the Steward Smith, was something not included in logs which were about ships business and such information important to the ship's owners and investors. There are court cases in Hawai'i dealing with sexual abuse, but that was because it was land not ship related so it appears in legal documents but not logs.

Perhaps this is why the section of page 191 is pinned to page 77, for easy removal. 

“Jan 4 Friday

One of the Boat steerers, Philip Forte, was caught in the act of sodomy with one of the crew of the foremast hands, Jim Keifer, who witnessed the act on the night of Monday Dec, 31, 1894. In consequence of this, the Captain moved him out of the steerage and put him in the Booby Hatch.”

     For clarification, a boat steerer was the harpooner who also steered the boat as the crew approached pursued  whales and were considered in a level below the captain and mates but above that of the non-boat steerer crew members. The foremast crew were the majority of the crew who did most of their work and socializing before the foremast with their berths in the bow of the ship while not being allowed past the aft mast which was an area only for the captain and mates.

Previously we had this from the Newport in 1895

“Monday Feb 11th

A light breeze from the W.N.W. Cloudy and misty Bar. 30.10. Ther. -4 Got a load of meat put the Steward (Scott) forward for Sodomy and Onanism of Bark Wanderer one of the men deserted but was overtaken and brought back,”

And from the Charles Phelps 1843,

Monday Jan the 30

"This day begins with light baffling wind steering NE by East 2 AM wind hauled to ENE heading N at 8 AM wind NNW & clowday at 9am lowered for a Right Whale did not strike 6PM seased Wm H Smith up to the main rigging the Captain gave him 39 lashes for indeavoring to poisen the officers by putting callomil & julep & other stuff in bread He said Wm H Smith indeavored to get the cook to poisen men Forward he also threatened to kill Washington Fletcher & Clark Orlin with a dirk & carving knife and any other that molested him he also tried to hire a Portuguese to commit sodomy for these crimes he received  the above named lashes with a 6 tailed cat put him in irons put him between deck took in sail head W”.