Salty Old Downeaster Sailor

Snug Harbor is on Staten Island in New York.  This is the final resting place of my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Marquis Allen Hall.   For years his death eluded me.  I didn’t know when he died or where he was buried - nada….  A brick wall.  He was born in 1851 in Georgetown, Maine.  Marquis was a Downeaster sailor.  He lived in Boothbay Harbor, Maine most of his life.   Then, a breakthrough!  I found a 1920 census listing for a Marquis Hall that was in New Brighton, New York.  Can this be the right Marquis??  It says “Sailors Snug Harbor Institution” and his birthplace is listed as Maine.  That has GOT to be him!  What in the world is he doing there?? 

I had never heard of this place so I google it and up pops a ton of information about the place and the sailors that lived there.  Jackpot!!!!  In 1833, a home for retired merchant seamen opened, it was called Sailors’ Snug Harbor and it was a home for “aged, decrepit and worn out” mariners.   It was essentially a nursing home for these men.  There are records for each of these ‘inmates’ that lived there and are kept at the Stephen B. Luce Library at SUNY Maritime College.  Snug Harbor Archives  Some of these files have a lot of information in them.  Family information, what vessels they sailed on, what jobs they held, who they worked for etc.  I'm so grateful to those who are the custodian of these very important files.

So, of course, I request  Marquis's file from the library which I received today.  This is genealogy GOLD!  He started sailing in 1867 at the age of 16 on a Schooner called “Vernal” off the coast of Maine and his last voyage was fishing on the Steamer “RJ Killick” in 1913 off the coast of Maine and Massachusetts.  He was 63 when he arrived at Snug Harbor and he died of bladder cancer at the age of 68.  He is buried in the cemetery there.  I'll make a point of going to pay my respects next time I'm in NYC. 

This is what I love about genealogy, it makes these people come alive.  Marquis has been gone for 97 years.  Everyone who knew him has passed long ago.  This man is five generations back from me. He would have been just a name on my tree but I get to glimpse into his life through this document.   I showed these papers to my cousin, Jim, who is also a descendant of Marquis, and we both agreed that we wish his personal effects were still around.  Jim collects watches like the one Marquis owned and what I wouldn’t give to have that bundle of letters.  

Perhaps I’ll buy an anchor charm for my charm bracelet in honor of Marquis the old Downeaster sailor.  

Fair Winds and Following Seas Marquis.