Captain Jared Jernegan

He captained the whaling bark ORIOLE accompanied by his wife Helen: "Reminisces of a Voyage on the Whaling Bark ORIOLE." by Helen (Mrs. Jared) Jernegan. Publ by Dukes Co. Historical Society, Edgartown, MA

Master and owner-agent of the whaling Bark BOUNDING BILLOW 1881-1882 North Pacific and Arctic Oceans

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Jared Jernegan was born in Edgartown on August 13, 1825, to Nathan and Prudence Jernegan. Up until age 13, he worked on his father's farm but soon after joined a ship's crew and remained on ocean voyages through out his life. In 1868 the Jernegans went aboard the "Roman", bound for the South Pacific. After the "Roman" was crushed by ice, Captain Jernegan returned home. He later went on seven more whaling voyages. -

Another whaling voyage was on the Napoleon on which Jared Jernegan put in to Honolulu in 1875

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People

Jared Jernegan
Jared Jernegan Helen Jernegan Laura Jernegan Prescott Jernegan Marcus Jernegan Nathan Jernegan Thomas Mellen Page:1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Captain Jared Jernegan (1825-1899)

Jared Jernegan (also called Jared Jernegan II), was the son of Nathan Jernegan and Prudence Norton. He was born August 14, 1825, in Edgartown, Massachussetts. His town was a prominent seaport; its soil was light and sandy, not the best for successful farming. Like many young men from Edgartown, Jared adopted the sea as his profession.

In 1839 at age 13, Jared left his father's farm to be a cabin boy on the Alexander Barkley, with Captain Clement Norton, his mother's brother. They sailed through the rich whaling grounds of the South Pacific to New Zealand. Uncle Clement promised that he would be promoted to be a foremast hand if he was "smart." Jared was five feet tall and weighed 92 pounds when they left. When they returned almost 3 years later, he was 16, stood five foot seven and weighed 135 pounds. It appeared he was destined to be a whaler.

Even though Jared's father was a farmer, his family was typical of the close-knit hierarchy of East Coast whaling families in the 1800s. Like Uncle Clement, his brother Nathan and cousin Nathaniel from Edgartown became whaling masters as well.

Young men like Jared, from city and country, were eager for adventure as well as attracted to the promise that "wages were equal to and in most cases superior to those in merchant ships." They responded to ads similar to this typical one:

WANTED LANDSMEN: 1,000 stout young men, American, wanted for the fleet of whaleships now fitting out…None but industrious young men with good recommendations taken. Such will have superior chances for advancement. Outfits to the amount of $75.00 furnished to each individual before proceeding to sea.

Jared was married to Rebecca Ripley in 1847 in Edgartown. They had three children, two daughters who died in infancy and one son, Alymer, born in 1854. Rebecca died from childbirth complications in 1858. All three of his children's births and his wife's death happened while he was away at sea.

In 1861, 35 year old Jared returned to Edgartown as a widower. For almost three years he had been a sad and lonely man at sea while Rebecca's family, the Ripleys, continued to care for his sole surviving child, Alymer. Much to everyone's surprise, after a whirlwind romance, he married a 21 year old school teacher, Helen McClellan Clark, on June 5, 1861. Helen's youthful vitality and sense of adventure brought Jared great happiness and, soon, more children.

Helen and Jared's first child, Laura, was born June 29, 1862, only 26 days after he had sailed for Honolulu as master of the packet ship Erie. The ship carried supplies to whale men in the South Pacific and brought whale oil back to New England. He signed on hoping he would not have to be away for years as he had on whaling voyages.

The voyage on the Erie was ill fated and Jared was lucky to survive. "In four days of hurricane winds off Cape Horn, the Erie was dismasted, her crew exhausted from continuous pumping as the seas crashed over the damaged hull. " On August 20, Captain Knowles of the Southern Rights rescued Captain Jernegan and his crew, saving them from perishing that night.

When Laura was a year old, Jared once again gave in to the call of the sea and the need to support his family, signing on as master of the bark Oriole in June 1863. When he realized how much he missed his wife and young daughter, he invited them to meet him in San Francisco in the fall of 1864 and sail back with him to New Bedford. Realizing that it would be a difficult trip for a young child, on September 1865, Helen left baby Laura with her Aunt Pierce and Alymer with the Ripleys in Edgartown. When the couple returned to New England on April 6, 1866, she had been gone seven months and he for 3 1/2 years.

In 1866, their son Prescott was born. Jared's previous voyage on the Oriole was profitable, so he was content to stay on shore for a longer time, getting to know his young family. In October 1868, the Captain once again went to sea. This time, he took his family along on the Bark Roman out of New Bedford. After arriving in Honolulu, he left for the Arctic whaling season, leaving Helen and the children there to wait for his return. For the next three years, he divided his time between the Arctic and seasonal cruises with his family in the South Pacific.

In 1871, the Roman was crushed by ice and sank in the Arctic. Over 1200 men, women and children whose ships had either sunk or were trapped in the ice were rescued and returned to Hawaii. Captain Jernegan was among them. From there Jared took a steamer to San Francisco and the train back to New England to reunite with his family.

Jared’s third son, Marcus, was born in 1872. After that he went on seven more whaling voyages, but none of them lasted more than two years.

Captain Jernegan's final cruise was between seasons in the bark Mary and Susan . He departed San Francisco in November 1887 and arrived home to retire in April 1888. He happily lived with his wife Helen in his childhood home at 33 South Water Street in Edgartown. Jared died on January 13, 1899 at the age of 74.

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