The Maritime Heritage Project ~~ International Harbors Travel

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The Maritime Heritage Project is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt charitable corporation established in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. by D. Blethen Adams Levy in 1998 to preserve 1800s shipping history and world migration.

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"Master Under God"
Captains exercised absolute authority at sea and so were dubbed "Master Under God"
by early insurance writs, agreements with ship owners and passengers and the Board of Trade.

Jefferson Maury (1826–1895) was born in Virginia and may have been descended from Rev. James Maury, teacher of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe and grandfather of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury, known as the father of modern oceanography and naval meteorology.

Maury entered the U.S. Navy at the age of 15 and received his warrant as a Passed Midshipman in 1847. The following year found him in the Gulf Squadron, participating in the Mexican-American War. In 1854 he was stationed in San Francisco and a year later left the service.

It is not known when Maury joined PMSS, but shipping records indicate that in 1862 he commanded the company’s S.S. Northern Light, a wooden-hulled steamer with side paddle wheels and three masts on a sailing between Aspinwall (Colón), Panama and New York.

The next year he was captain of the S.S. America, followed by the S.S. Atlantic, both plying the same route.

From 1866 until 1870, Maury was master of the S.S. Arizona, which his future neighbor, Captain Seabury, would take over in 1874.

Captain Maury died suddenly at midnight on January 1, 1895. The Berkeley Advocate reported that he had suffered from heart disease. His wife, Adelaide Maury, continued living in their home at 1317 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley until her death in 1916.

Editor's Note: Additional information on Captain Maury's life can be found on the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA) site, which details an area of Berkeley settled by several noted sea captains plying San Francisco Bay waters during the 1800s. It is well worth a visit.

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Page: http://www.maritimeheritage.org/jMaury
Date Entered: June 2007
Source: Geographicus, Newspaper Archives, Daniella Thomson at http://berkeleyheritage.com



Research and WebDesign: D. Blethen Adams Levy
Contact: D. Blethen Adams Levy
www.MaritimeHeritage.org and www.InternationalHarbors.com
1001 Bridgeway, Suite 410
Sausalito, California 94965 U.S.A.