Capt. Richard [Tink] Trask

Richard Tink Trask was born only 3 months after parents’ marriage and while father John Tink was at sea. Considered “out of wedlock” even though he likely is son of John Tink. Scandal of pregnancy prompted the Tink family to shun his mother Rebecca (possibly claiming child was not John Tink’s), forcing her into poorhouse after her husband’s death where son Richard was born.

John Tink died at sea without ever having returned to see the infant Richard.

On June 20, 1826, Richard Tink legally changed his last name to his mother’s maiden name of Trask by an act of the general court. According to one story, he chose not to keep the Tink name out of resentment at the Tink family for offering no assistance to his mother after the death of his father, and during his own childhood.5

According to another version, he changed his last name to Trask because his own wife Abigail did not want to be known as “Mrs Tink”.6

Both versions are problematic based on historical record: Richard waited until he was 38 to make the change, and he and Abigail Hooper had already been married for several years. Their son Charles was almost 2 years of age by then, meaning he likely would have been baptized as Charles Tink. One fact that does seem to support the “resentment” explanation is the complete lack of information of Tink ancestry in the family.

Research: From the Manchester Historical Society School Curriculum:

Abigail and Richard Trask: Entrepreneur and Merchant Seaman

The Manchester Historical Society headquarters is the Trask House. The Trask House was home in the 1800’s to Abigail Hooper Trask and Captain Richard Trask and their son Charles. The Captain and his wife were both prominent in the town of Manchester before their marriage in 1823.

Captain Richard Trask: 1788 - 1846 Richard, who grew up in Manchester and went to sea at 12, rose from deck hand to captain and then to shipowner-commander. A warm and affable man, his European contacts included the Russian nobility and Czar Nicholas, who became a personal friend. His last several years at sea were spent as merchant-captain of the square-rigger St. Petersburg, the largest ship ever to clear Boston Harbor at that time. A typical voyage took the Captain from Boston with cargo for New Orleans, where he took on cotton for England and Russia. He wrote home in 1841 that he was sailing out of New Orleans with “the largest cargo carried out of the United States as yit.”

Better at sailing that at spelling, Captain Trask was an affectionate husband and father. He wrote many letters to Abigail and son Charles while at sea and port. He also wrote a letter, which is on exhibit at the Trask House, describing the sinking of the St. Petersburg in Liverpool, England harbor and the refitting of the ship for future use. Captain Trask did not live to be old by today’s standards, but living to 58 years was considered a long life for his time. He certainly lived well. 6

In Nov 1823 when Capt. Richard [Tink] was 35, he married Abigail HOOPER.6