James A. Farquhar was a

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location of ...

and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the late 19th and early 20th century

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

known for his success in sail, steam, sealing and salvage.

Early life and family

Farquhar was born on October 12, 1842 to James Farquhar and Catherine Farquhar (née Bayers). In August 1849, the Farquhar family moved to

Sable island Sable Island (french: île de Sable, literally "island of sand") is a small Canadian island situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island i ...

to work the Eastern Station there after the family had lost their saw-mill, grist-mill and small farm due to debt. James attended lessons on the island and he learned to read and write as well as ride horses during his childhood. He also said that his love of ships began with making ship models while he was child surrounded by the numerous shipwrecks on the island. In 1863 Farquhar Sr. decided to move the family back to mainland Nova Scotia and the family settled in Dartmouth Farquhar married Jessie A. Anderson in Halifax County,

, in 1876. Their first child, a daughter, Bertie sailed in the ship ''Cumberland'' with her parents. The couple's second child, also named James Augustus Farquhar, was born on 27 March 1879, in Musquodoboit Harbour, Halifax county. At the time of the registry of their son's birth they were living at 103 Victoria road, Halifax, Nova Scotia. James and Jesse went on to have several other children, Lillian, Ethel, Harry, Beatrice, and Teddy.

Career

Farquhar's first time working on the sea was aboard the ship ''His Royal Highness Albert Edward Prince of Wales'' which sailed to Baltimore in 1863. Farquhar then made several voyages on various ships sailing around the world and calling at three continents by 1865. Shortly after he was promoted to the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

. When he was 25 years old, Farquhar started diving while working with a salvage crew on the ship ''Thistle''. Farquhar then became the master of ''Thistle'' and after a particularly good haul he bought his first vessel a small

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

; ''James McKeen'' and started his own salvage company. Farquhar took a break in his salvaging business to captain ''Horton''. In 1875 James took a vacation to his hometown where he met his wife Jesse. After his marriage he decided to become a trader to better support his new family and wrote his masters. He, and others, invested to build a ship called ''Cumberland''. It ran aground on its first day but was saved with little damage. Farquhar took his wife and their first daughter to sail with him aboard ''Cumberland''. Before 1878 Bertie and Jesse moved back to Halifax. Soon after James left ''Cumberland'' and went back to salvaging. He became the captain of ''Alhambra'', a steam ship as he was eager to try this new technology. In 1884 he started a steam line for trading and passengers between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and by 1889 he had another steamer. He soon after started trading with the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

under the name J.A. Farquhar & Co. and was quite successful. Farquhar also started dealing in seals, and their products, namely pelts using his ship ''Newfoundland''. On July 9, 1898 ''Newfoundland'' was arrested by the Americans for allegedly running the Cuban blockade but was later cleared of the charges. Farquhar purchased a former British minesweeper named ''Stella Maris'' which he used for salvage and tug boat work. The tug played a heroic but tragic role in the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

in 1917. ''Stella Maris'' was badly damaged and the crew suffered heavy losses but the Farquhar family were ashore at the time and not hurt. From winter 1906 to spring 1907 Farquhar took a vacation in Europe, and he grew especially found of

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

; where he would return to many times before his death. In the same year he bought a yacht, ''Christine''. Farquhar and his wife Jesse would sail around the world together for years to come. The couple loved traveling together, especially in the winter months, by plane, boat, and car.

Death

Farquhar died at the age of 87 on June 4, 1930; His cause of death is listed as arterial sclerosis. At the time of his death he was residing at 99 Inglis street in Halifax.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquhar, James Augustus 1842 births 1930 deaths Canadian sailors