William B. Seabury
Capt. William B. Seabury (1840-1906) was born in New Bedford, Mass., in 1840, and commenced his marine service at Philadelphia while a boy on a vessel in the Brazil sugar trade. He was employed on sailing vessels out of New York until 1864, his last ship being the Gertrude, of which he was first officer.
He then joined the steamship Ocean Queen of Commodore Vanderbilt's line as quarter-
master and then as second and first mate. In I865 he occupied the former position on the steamship Baltic, running to the Isthmus, in December, 1873, subsequently joining the Grenada as first officer. Soon after her arrival in San Francisco in March, 1874, he was promoted to the captaincy of the steamship Arizona. In March, 1875, he was given command of the Citly of Panama, running north with her for four years, except for a few trips when she was relieved by the Constitution and Alaska, which he also handled, and was in command of the former when she was burned.
While in the employ of the Pacific Mail Line, he had charge of all the large steamers owned by that company and superintended the building of the steamer China, nearly every detail of her construction being left to his judgment. He took command of her as soon as she was completed and has run her since between San Francisco and China.
D. E. Griffith, mate and master, was first officer with Captain Seabury on the City of Panama, and ran north on the Dakota for about two years, commanding the steamship for a few trips during the absence of Captain Morse.
Editor's Note: Additional information on Captain William Seabury'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 sailing San Francisco Bay waters during the 1800s. It is well worth a visit.
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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 ofTrade.
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Breverton's Nautical Curiosities: A Book of the Sea
Breverton's Nautical Curiosities" is about ships, people and the sea. However, unlike many other nautical compendiums, the focus of this book is on the unusual, the overlooked or the downright extraordinary.
Thus, someone most of us do not know, Admiral William Brown, is given equal coverage to Admiral Nelson. Without Admiral Brown releasing Garibaldi, modern Italy might not exist. And without the barely known genius John Ericsson designing the "Monitor," the Confederacy might have won the American Civil War.
You will be stimulated as you read about the remarkable people - explorers, admirals and trawlermen - who have shaped our world. The sea has had a remarkable effect upon our language. We hear the terms "steer clear of," "hit the deck," "don't rock the boat," "to harbour a grudge: and the like, and give little thought to their origins. In the pages of this book, the reader will find the roots of "bumpkin," a "brace of shakes," "born with a silver spoon," "booby prize," "above board," "bombed" (in the sense of being drunk), "blind-side," "the pot calling the kettle black," "wasteres," "barbecue" . . . Other colourful terms, which have passed out of common usage, such as "bring one's arse to anchor" (sit down), "belly timber" (food) and "bog orange" (potato) are also included, as well as important pirate haunts, technical terms, famous battles, maritime inventors and ship speed records.
