"Whither You Go I Shall Go": Merchant and Whaling Wives Sea
travel was a rough and desolate life for the men of the crew.
For the wife of a sea captain, it was even more confining and
socially isolated. Wives were not free to roam the ship or
associate with the crew. Much of the time they were expected to
remain below decks in the cabin. Their work on the ship's behalf
included helping with navigation, making sails, and assisting
their husbands with keeping the logbook and accounts. And, of
course, they bore and raised children. A few of these women left
a rich record of their voyages in journals, letters, or diaries.
For many others whose words have been lost, objects gathered
from their travels help us to fill in the picture of what life
on board must have been like. Mary Patten: A Heroine of the Seas
Mary Patten was newly married and barely out of her teens when
she set out with her husband, Joshua, on the clipper ship
Neptune's Car, bound for California. During the voyage, Joshua
taught Mary navigation, m