A branch of the Hillman family in the USA became involved early on in the whaling industry and as the result travelled widely across the world. They were also involved in the construction of the tough little whaling ships that braved incredible conditions in worldwide oceans as they sought their prey and livelihood – an industry that is eschewed today but whose consequences were little understood at the time.
The Hillman family were based at New Bedford in Massachusetts with most voyages starting and ending there. A few also used the nearby ports of Nantucket and Rochester. The various Hillman whaling masters recorded were between the years 1788 and 1849 – a period of less than a century[1].
Six names are recorded as Masters[2]:
- Benjamin Hillman 1788-1789, a single voyage of 24 months.
- Owen Hillman snr 1792-1803, two voyages of 18 and 9 months. He captained the whalers Maria and Oxford.
- Walter Hillman 1823-1834, four voyages of 13, 11, 12, 11 and 19 months, a total of 56 months or almost six years at sea. He captained the whalers Maria Theresa, Ann Alexander, Java and Rousseau.
- Owen Hillman jnr 1830-1840, four voyages of 13, 11, 22, 25 months, a total of 71 months or six years at sea. Owen captained the whalers Nautilus, Hydaspe, Java and Cicero.
- Gilbert Hillman 1839-1842, a single voyage of 36 months on the vessel Pioneer.
- Grafton Hillman 1845-1849, a single voyage of 45 months on the vessel Smyrna.
Between them these whaling masters brought in 3,695 barrels of “Sperm” (sperm whale oil), 20,658 barrels of “Whale” (baleen whale oil), and 104,508 pounds of “Bone” (baleen or whalebone used in corsets etc.).
The vessels themselves were small by today’s standards, and sail-powered with no cold-storage facilities. They were described as either “ship”, “sloop”, “schooner”, “bark (barque)” or “brig”. Each would have had a number of smaller whaleboats used in the actual hunting and procurement of the whales. Records for most vessels only cover a period of one to five years with one notable exception – the Java was recorded over a period of 49 years being finally lost in the Arctic Ocean. This was 60 years since her construction in 1818 at Medford, Massachusetts. It is possible that more than one vessel carried the name in this period. It is also possible this vessel was one of the 32 whalers abandoned to the Arctic ice in the summer of 1871 and not 1877[3]?
Their voyages were to the South Atlantic and the Pacific, which they may have reached around Cape Horn, with destinations including Brazil, Indian Ocean and New Zealand, and as far south as the tiny South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Whaling destinations of the New Bedford Hillman whalers
From our own experience we know that the little island of St Helena in the South Atlantic was used as a base each whaling season, including stays by Hillman whaling masters. Their “trypots” in which blubber was rendered down to oil by boiling are still to be found on the Island (Figure 2). While there the whalers undoubtedly contributed to the gene pool of the Island, and we have records of them taking on “Saint” men as crew and taking away Saint women as brides. In the 1855 season 43 American whalers called at the Island[4], while in 1875 John Melliss[5] recorded that 60-70 American vessels called at the Island every year April to July to hunt the whales of the South Atlantic. Each vessel was from 80-200 tons in size, working 30-180 miles offshore.
Figure 2 Old whaling “trypot” left on the Island of St Helena
Further evidence for the Hillman involvement not only in whaling, but also in the building of the ships themselves comes from the history of the Hillman Shipyard in New Bedford, Mass.[1] The yard was owned by Jethro (1789-1854) and Zachariah Hillman (born 1796), who built whaling ships. Fifty-six vessels are listed including the Maria Theresa, Richmond named above – and one intriguingly named simply “Hillman”.
Interestingly, several of these old whaling ships ignominiously ended their lives in the “Stone Fleet” – a flotilla of 20 elderly vessels including whalers sunk in 1861 as Unionist blockades of the Confederate ports of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. Each was heavily laden with quarried stone, so they would eventually sink easily. Included in the list are the Hillman vessels Maria Theresa and Richmond. New England had definite Unionist leanings, based on anti-slavery and concerns about Confederate ships interfering with the whalers2.
There are records of the Hillmans on the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, just offshore from New Bedford[6]. 168 male Hillmans occur in the one family with whaling predominating for the 70 years between 1740 and 1809. The records include occupations for 50 men of the Hillman family of which 36 (72%) were in the pursuit of marine activities, mainly whaling.
Figure 3 Hillman whalers of Martha’s Vineyard
Robert Hillman (1747-1824) buried at Chilmark, Mass., was master of the whaler “Trelawney” shipping out of Bristol, England. He it was who is recorded visiting in 1794 in the annals of St Helena[7],[8],[9]. Robert Hillman is also recorded[10] as Captain of the “Hannah” and smuggling tea from London to Martha’s Vineyard after the 1767 Stamp Act.
Samuel Hillman, blacksmith of Chilmark, died at sea in 1836 on the whaler “Richmond” shipping out of New Bedford, Mass. Another Hillman descendant from Martha’s Vineyard – Gilbert Russell Hillman (born 1802) was also recorded as master of the whaler “Smyrna” out of New Bedford in 1845, later joining the California Goldrush, then farming back in New Vineyard.
Gilbert R. Hillman in 1821 sailed on board the “Lone” from Edgartown, Mass, around Cape Horn, eventually himself becoming master of a whaling vessel[11]. He is almost certainly the Gilbert Hillman noted above as master of the Pioneer in 1839. He too moved to California later in life. H.W. Hillman quotes “He was one of the earlier pioneers to California, where he engaged in farming, and in the transportation of fruits upon the Sacramento River. Capt. Hillman was a man of energy, and industry, and whatever he undertook was sure to result in pecuniary success. His farm, situated in the Northern part of the town was in all its surroundings, a model of neatness and thrift, which characterized it’s owner”.
H.W. Hillman11 has more information on Owen Hillman snr. who was a master mariner and later a marine pilot. His son, Owen Hillman jnr. (1803-1873), was a whaler from 14 years old, becoming a master mariner in his turn. Both are noted above in the New Bedford records.
Charles Banks6 offers no evidence of the origins of these Hillmans of New England, only to assume that they were from England originally. H.W. Hillman notes they appear to be descendants of John Hillman, a land grantor recorded in 1693 in Duke’s County who married Susannah Sampson, who reputedly arrived in 1620 as a young girl on the “Mayflower” from Plymouth, England.
Sources:
[1] Mystic Seaport Museum, G.W. Blunt Library. 2017. Hillman Shipyard Collection 1827-1862. https://research.mysticseaport.org/coll/coll009/
[2] National Maritime Digital Library, American Offshore Whaling Voyages. https://nmdl.org/projects/aowv/aowv/
[3] Hall, Elton W. 1981. Panoramic Views of Whaling by Benjamin Russell. Old Dartmouth Historical Sketch No.80. Old Dartmouth Historical Society Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Mass.
[4] Perrin, William. 1985. The Former Dolphin Fishery of St Helena. http://swfsc.noaa.gov/publications/CR/1985/8568.PDF
[5] Melliss, John Charles. 1875. St Helena – A Physical, Historical and Topographical Description of the Island. Reeve & Co., London.
[6] Banks, Charles. 1925. The History of Martha’s Vineyard. Vol III Family Genealogies, Hillman Family pp. 194-208. Digitised by C Baer 1999 http://history.vineyard.net//hillmanb.htm
[7] Lady Magazine. 1796. Home News. p.429
[8] Poole, Dorothy Cottle . 1976. A New Vineyard. Duke’s County Historical Society, Edgartown, Mass. http://history.vineyard.net/hillmanb.htm#robert146
[9] Clayton, Jane. 2014. Ships employed in the South Sea Whale Fishery from Britain: 1775-1815. Berforts Group.
[10] Mayhew, Eleanor Ransom. (1956). Martha’s Vineyard: a short history by various hands, together with a guide to points of interest. Duke’s County Historical Society, Edgartown, Mass.
[11] Hillman, H.W. 1905. Ancestral Chronological Record of the Hillman Family 1550-1905. Schenectady, New York, Walls Press, Scotia, NY.