A GENERAL SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND, INCLUDING, INCIDENTALLY, AN ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES OF THE NORSEMEN, SO FAR AS THEY MAY HAVE BEEN CONNECTED WITH NARRAGANSETT BAY: AND PERSONAL NARRATIVES OF SOME NOTABLE VOYAGES ACCOMPLISHED BY SAILORS FROM THE MOUNT HOPE LANDS BY WILFRED HAROLD MUNRO OF BROWN UNIVERSITY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1917 Copyright, 1917, by Princeton University Press Published November, 1917 Printed

From the earliest days of the Plymouth Colony the name Mount Hope Lands has been applied to the peninsula in Narragansett Bay of which Bristol, Rhode Island, is the chief town. The history of this town is more crowded with notable incident than that of any other in New England. First and most picturesque is the story of the Norsemen. Around Mount Hope the legends of the Norsemen cluster, shadowy, vague, elusive, and yet altogether fascinating. Only legends they are and must remain. After the lap

Most famous among the names of the old sea captains of Bristol is that of Simeon Potter. For almost half a century Potter was the most conspicuous figure in the town in which he was born. He was also one of the influential men in the Colony and State of Rhode Island for a large part of that time. Simeon Potter was born in Bristol in the year 1720. His father was not a man of fortune and the boy’s education was almost entirely neglected. His letters, even in advanced age, are those of an illitera

Letter of Father Fauque, Missionary of the Society of Jesus, to Father ——, of the same Society, containing an Account of the Capture of Fort d’Oyapoc by an English pirate . [7] At Cayenne , the 22d of December, 1744 . My Reverend Father ,—The peace of our Lord be with you! I will make you a partaker of the greatest happiness I have experienced in my life, by informing you of the opportunity I had of suffering something for the glory of God. I returned to Oyapoc on the 25th of October last. Some

John De Wolf was born in Bristol on September 6, 1779. His father, Simon, the third son of Mark Anthony, founder of the Bristol family, was lost at sea with his older brother, Mark, in 1779 or ’80, when his only child was but an infant in arms. He was forced by poverty to begin a seafaring life at the age of thirteen. His great ability quickly manifested itself and at the age of twenty-four he was placed in command of a vessel bound on one of the most fascinating as well as one of the most hazar

A VOYAGE TO THE NORTH PACIFIC AND A JOURNEY THROUGH SIBERIA MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY AGO. BY CAPTAIN JOHN D’WOLF. (CAMBRIDGE, 1861) My only object in combining the reminiscences and memoranda of my first voyage as a shipmaster into a connected narrative is to leave some slight record of that voyage in my family. Although I am not one of those who regard everything beyond the smoke of their own chimneys as marvellous I think my expedition to the Northwest Coast was made a little remarkable from t

The story of the life of James De Wolf reads like a chapter of wild romance. Without any advantages of birth, fortune or education his indomitable energy and his commanding abilities won for him a seat in the greatest deliberative assembly in the world, the Senate of the United States, and also secured for him one of the largest fortunes in America. He was born in Bristol, March 18, 1764, the seventh son of Mark Anthony De Wolf, clerk of the Prince Charles of Lorraine, whose raid upon the coast

JOURNAL OF THE PRIVATE ARMED BRIGANTINE YANKEE, OLIVER WILSON COMMANDER— COMMENCED ON THE 15TH OCTOBER, 1812. (Kept by Noah Jones, Captain’s Clerk). Thursday, 15th October, 1812. At 4 p. m. Capt. Wilson, accompanied by his Lieutenants, Master, Surgeon and Clerk, came on board. All hands were piped to muster, and on inspection the Commander found his crew consisted of ninety-five as prime fellows as ever went to sea. N. B. The Yankee is completely equipped with arms, ammunition, provisions and ot