Charles Chandler Oakes (1856 – December 4, 1934) was an American

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, originally on

windjammers A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts that may be square rigged, or fore-and-aft rigged, or a combination of the two. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam ...

and later on steamships. He was also an author: in 1933, he published his memoirs, written with his sea-faring wife. They were re-released in 2009 as ''Beckets & Hinges: Sea Tales of Old North Yarmouth, Maine''.

Life and career

Oakes was born in 1856 in

Yarmouth, Maine Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of Massachusetts, and remained as such for 213 years. In 1849, ...

, to Benjamin Oakes (1819–1901) and Mary Lovell (1819–1866). His older brother, Frank L. Oakes (1850–1912), was also a ship captain. A sister, Annetta, preceded Frank in birth, but died in infancy in 1849. A brother, Willie King, followed in 1853, but died the same year. On March 14, 1888, he married Abbie Buxton (1863–1950), with whom he had one known child, daughter Mary Esther. In 1898, the Oakses were anchored at

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

when they received word of the destruction of the USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor. From Manila, they were witnesses to daily executions on shore as they prepared to discretely leave the harbor while Admiral George Dewey's Asiatic Squadron made its way across the

China Sea The China Seas consist of a series of marginal seas in the Western Pacific Ocean, around China. They are the major components signifying the transition from the continent of Asia to the Pacific Ocean.Pinxian Wang, Qianyu Li, Chun-Feng Li, ''Geol ...

to Hong Kong Harbor.Dale Hill for The Franklin Group, Sun Media affiliate Dale Hill for The Franklin Group, Sun Media affiliate After several years as captain of sea-faring vessels, including the Yarmouth-built ''S. C. Blanchard,'' he became superintendent for Ward Steamship Lines. In 1933, the Oakses self-published their seafaring journals under the titled ''The Old Sea Chest''. They manuscript was split into two parts: part one being Abbie's "My Sea Life"; the second, Charles' "Beckets and Hinges." They were re-released in 2009 as ''Beckets & Hinges: Sea Tales of Old North Yarmouth, Maine''. Oakes was a member of the Masonic lodge in Yarmouth for 57 years.

Death

Oakes died on December 4, 1934, in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, to which he and his wife had moved around 1926 upon Charles' retirement. Aged 78, he was cremated in Santa Ana, then his ashes were interred in Yarmouth's Riverside Cemetery, in the same plot as his parents and three siblings. His wife, who survived him by sixteen years, was also buried in the plot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oakes, Charles Chandler 1856 births 1934 deaths People from Yarmouth, Maine People from Santa Ana, California Sea captains American writers